OSPF Benchmarking Terminology and Concepts
RFC 4062
Document | Type | RFC - Informational (April 2005; No errata) | |
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Authors | Aman Shaikh , Russ White , Vishwas Manral | ||
Last updated | 2015-10-14 | ||
Stream | Internent Engineering Task Force (IETF) | ||
Formats | plain text html pdf htmlized (tools) htmlized bibtex | ||
Stream | WG state | (None) | |
Document shepherd | No shepherd assigned | ||
IESG | IESG state | RFC 4062 (Informational) | |
Action Holders |
(None)
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Consensus Boilerplate | Unknown | ||
Telechat date | |||
Responsible AD | David Kessens | ||
Send notices to | <kdubray@juniper.net> |
Network Working Group V. Manral Request for Comments: 4062 SiNett Corp. Category: Informational R. White Cisco Systems A. Shaikh AT&T Labs (Research) April 2005 OSPF Benchmarking Terminology and Concepts Status of This Memo This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Copyright Notice Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005). Abstract This document explains the terminology and concepts used in OSPF benchmarking. Although some of these terms may be defined elsewhere (and we will refer the reader to those definitions in some cases) we include discussions concerning these terms, as they relate specifically to the tasks involved in benchmarking the OSPF protocol. 1. Introduction This document is a companion to [BENCHMARK], which describes basic Open Shortest Path First [OSPF] testing methods. This document explains terminology and concepts used in OSPF Testing Framework Documents, such as [BENCHMARK]. 2. Specification of Requirements The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [RFC2119]. [RFC2119] key words in this document are used to ensure methodological control, which is very important in the specification of benchmarks. This document does not specify a network-related protocol. Manral, et al. Informational [Page 1] RFC 4062 OSPF Benchmarking Terminology April 2005 3. Common Definitions Definitions in this section are well-known industry and benchmarking terms that may be defined elsewhere. o White Box (Internal) Measurements - Definition White box measurements are those reported and collected on the Device Under Test (DUT) itself. - Discussion These measurements rely on output and event recording, along with the clocking and time stamping available on the DUT itself. Taking measurements on the DUT may impact the actual outcome of the test, since it can increase processor loading, memory utilization, and timing factors. Some devices may not have the required output readily available for taking internal measurements. Note: White box measurements can be influenced by the vendor's implementation of various timers and processing models. Whenever possible, internal measurements should be compared to external measurements to verify and validate them. Because of the potential for variations in collection and presentation methods across different DUTs, white box measurements MUST NOT be used as a basis for comparison in benchmarks. This has been a guiding principle of the Benchmarking Methodology Working Group. o Black Box (External) Measurements - Definition Black box measurements infer the performance of the DUT through observation of its communications with other devices. - Discussion One example of a black box measurement is when a downstream device receives complete routing information from the DUT, it can be inferred that the DUT has transmitted all the routing information available. External measurements of Manral, et al. Informational [Page 2] RFC 4062 OSPF Benchmarking Terminology April 2005 internal operations may suffer in that they include not just the protocol action times, but also propagation delays, queuing delays, and other such factors. For the purposes of [BENCHMARK], external techniques are more readily applicable. o Multi-device Measurements - Measurements assessing communications (usually in combination with internal operations) between two or more DUTs. Multi-device measurements may be internal or external. 4. Terms Defined Elsewhere Terms in this section are defined elsewhere and are included only as they apply to [BENCHMARK]. o Point-to-Point Links - Definition See [OSPF], Section 1.2. - DiscussionShow full document text