Benchmarking Methodology for Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Controller Performance
RFC 8456
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) V. Bhuvaneswaran
Request for Comments: 8456 A. Basil
Category: Informational Veryx Technologies
ISSN: 2070-1721 M. Tassinari
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
V. Manral
NanoSec
S. Banks
VSS Monitoring
October 2018
Benchmarking Methodology for Software-Defined Networking (SDN)
Controller Performance
Abstract
This document defines methodologies for benchmarking the control-
plane performance of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Controllers.
The SDN Controller is a core component in the SDN architecture that
controls the behavior of the network. SDN Controllers have been
implemented with many varying designs in order to achieve their
intended network functionality. Hence, the authors of this document
have taken the approach of considering an SDN Controller to be a
black box, defining the methodology in a manner that is agnostic to
protocols and network services supported by controllers. This
document provides a method for measuring the performance of all
controller implementations.
Status of This Memo
This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
published for informational purposes.
This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has
received public review and has been approved for publication by the
Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Not all documents
approved by the IESG are a candidate for any level of Internet
Standard; see Section 2 of RFC 7841.
Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8456.
Bhuvaneswaran, et al. Informational [Page 1]
RFC 8456 SDN Controller Benchmarking Methodology October 2018
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................4
1.1. Conventions Used in This Document ..........................4
2. Scope ...........................................................4
3. Test Setup ......................................................4
3.1. Test Setup - Controller Operating in Standalone Mode .......5
3.2. Test Setup - Controller Operating in Cluster Mode ..........6
4. Test Considerations .............................................7
4.1. Network Topology ...........................................7
4.2. Test Traffic ...............................................7
4.3. Test Emulator Requirements .................................7
4.4. Connection Setup ...........................................8
4.5. Measurement Point Specification and Recommendation .........9
4.6. Connectivity Recommendation ................................9
4.7. Test Repeatability .........................................9
4.8. Test Reporting .............................................9
5. Benchmarking Tests .............................................11
5.1. Performance ...............................................11
5.1.1. Network Topology Discovery Time ....................11
5.1.2. Asynchronous Message Processing Time ...............13
5.1.3. Asynchronous Message Processing Rate ...............14
5.1.4. Reactive Path Provisioning Time ....................17
5.1.5. Proactive Path Provisioning Time ...................19
5.1.6. Reactive Path Provisioning Rate ....................21
5.1.7. Proactive Path Provisioning Rate ...................23
5.1.8. Network Topology Change Detection Time .............25
5.2. Scalability ...............................................26
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