Traffic Management Benchmarking
RFC 7640

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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                    B. Constantine
Request for Comments: 7640                                          JDSU
Category: Informational                                      R. Krishnan
ISSN: 2070-1721                                                Dell Inc.
                                                          September 2015

                    Traffic Management Benchmarking

Abstract

   This framework describes a practical methodology for benchmarking the
   traffic management capabilities of networking devices (i.e.,
   policing, shaping, etc.).  The goals are to provide a repeatable test
   method that objectively compares performance of the device's traffic
   management capabilities and to specify the means to benchmark traffic
   management with representative application traffic.

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 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7640.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2015 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
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   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Constantine & Krishnan        Informational                     [Page 1]
RFC 7640             Traffic Management Benchmarking      September 2015

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................3
      1.1. Traffic Management Overview ................................3
      1.2. Lab Configuration and Testing Overview .....................5
   2. Conventions Used in This Document ...............................6
   3. Scope and Goals .................................................7
   4. Traffic Benchmarking Metrics ...................................10
      4.1. Metrics for Stateless Traffic Tests .......................10
      4.2. Metrics for Stateful Traffic Tests ........................12
   5. Tester Capabilities ............................................13
      5.1. Stateless Test Traffic Generation .........................13
           5.1.1. Burst Hunt with Stateless Traffic ..................14
      5.2. Stateful Test Pattern Generation ..........................14
           5.2.1. TCP Test Pattern Definitions .......................15
   6. Traffic Benchmarking Methodology ...............................17
      6.1. Policing Tests ............................................17
           6.1.1. Policer Individual Tests ...........................18
           6.1.2. Policer Capacity Tests .............................19
                  6.1.2.1. Maximum Policers on Single Physical Port ..20
                  6.1.2.2. Single Policer on All Physical Ports ......22
                  6.1.2.3. Maximum Policers on All Physical Ports ....22
      6.2. Queue/Scheduler Tests .....................................23
           6.2.1. Queue/Scheduler Individual Tests ...................23
                  6.2.1.1. Testing Queue/Scheduler with
                           Stateless Traffic .........................23
                  6.2.1.2. Testing Queue/Scheduler with
                           Stateful Traffic ..........................25
           6.2.2. Queue/Scheduler Capacity Tests .....................28
                  6.2.2.1. Multiple Queues, Single Port Active .......28
                           6.2.2.1.1. Strict Priority on
                                      Egress Port ....................28
                           6.2.2.1.2. Strict Priority + WFQ on
                                      Egress Port ....................29
                  6.2.2.2. Single Queue per Port, All Ports Active ...30
                  6.2.2.3. Multiple Queues per Port, All
                           Ports Active ..............................31
      6.3. Shaper Tests ..............................................32
           6.3.1. Shaper Individual Tests ............................32