Network Working Group                                       C. Popoviciu
Internet-Draft                                                  A. Hamza
Intended status: Informational                           G. Van de Velde
Expires: April 10, 2007                                    Cisco Systems
                                                             D. Dugatkin
                                                                    IXIA
                                                         October 7, 2006


                     IPv6 Benchmarking Methodology
             <draft-popoviciu-bmwg-ipv6benchmarking-02.txt>

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Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2006).

Abstract

   The Benchmarking Methodologies defined in RFC2544 [1] are IP version
   independent however, they do not address some of the specificities of
   IPv6.  This document provides additional benchmarking guidelines
   which in conjunction with RFC2544 will lead to a more complete and
   realistic evaluation of the IPv6 performance of network elements.



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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   2.  Tests and Results Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   3.  Test Environment Set Up  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   4.  Test Traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
     4.1.  Frame Formats and Sizes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
       4.1.1.  Frame Sizes to be used on Ethernet . . . . . . . . . .  5
       4.1.2.  Frame Sizes to be used on SONET  . . . . . . . . . . .  5
     4.2.  Protocol Addresses Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
       4.2.1.  DUT Protocol Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
       4.2.2.  Test Traffic Protocol Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . .  6
     4.3.  Traffic with Extension Headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
     4.4.  Traffic set up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   5.  Modifiers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
     5.1.  Management and Routing Traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
     5.2.  Filters  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
       5.2.1.  Filter Format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
       5.2.2.  Filter Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
   6.  Benchmarking Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
     6.1.  Throughput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
     6.2.  Latency  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
     6.3.  Frame Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
     6.4.  Back-to-Back Frames  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
     6.5.  System Recovery  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
     6.6.  Reset  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
   7.  IANA Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
   8.  Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
   9.  Conclusions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
   10. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
   11. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
     11.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
     11.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
   Appendix A.  Maximum Frame Rates Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
     A.1.  Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
     A.2.  Packet over SONET  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
   Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
   Intellectual Property and Copyright Statements . . . . . . . . . . 17













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1.  Introduction

   The benchmarking methodologies defined by RFC2544 [1] are proving to
   be very useful in consistently evaluating IPv4 forwarding performance
   of network elements.  Adherence to these testing and result analysis
   procedures facilitates objective comparison of product IPv4
   performance.  While the principles behind the methodologies
   introduced in RFC2544 are largely IP version independent, the
   protocol continued to evolve, particularly in its version 6 (IPv6).

   This document provides benchmarking methodology recommendations that
   address IPv6 specific aspects such as evaluating the forwarding
   performance of traffic containing extension headers as defined in
   RFC2460 [4].  These recommendations are defined within the RFC2544
   framework and are meant to complement the test and result analysis
   procedures described in RFC2544 and not to replace them.

   The terms used in this document remain consistent with those defined
   in "Benchmarking Terminology for Network Interconnect Devices" [2].
   This terminology document SHOULD be consulted before using or
   applying the recommendations of this document.

   Any methodology aspects not covered in this document SHOULD be
   assumed to be treated based on the RFC2544 recommendations.


2.  Tests and Results Evaluation

   The recommended performance evaluation tests are described in Section
   6 of this document.  Not all these tests are applicable to all
   network element types.  Nevertheless, for each evaluated device it is
   recommended to perform as many of the applicable tests described in
   Section 6 as possible.

   Test execution and the results analysis MUST be performed while
   observing generally accepted testing practices regarding
   repeatability, variance and statistical significance of small numbers
   of trials.


3.  Test Environment Set Up

   The test environment setup options recommended for the IPv6
   performance evaluation are the same to the ones described in Section
   6 of RFC2544, in both single-port and multi-port scenarios.  Single-
   port testing is used in measuring per interface forwarding
   performance while multi-port testing is used to measure the
   scalability of this performance across the entire platform.



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   Throughout the test, the DUT MUST be monitored for relevant resource
   (Processor, Memory, etc.) utilization.  This data is important in
   understanding traffic processing by each DUT and the resources that
   must be allocated for IPv6.  It reveals if the IPv6 traffic is
   processed in hardware, by applicable devices, under all test
   conditions or it is punted in the software switched path.  The data
   collection MUST be done out of band and independent of any management
   data that might be recommended to be collected through the interfaces
   forwarding the test traffic.

   Note: During testing, either static or dynamic Neighbor Discovery can
   be used.  The static option can be used as long as it is supported by
   the test tools.  The dynamic option is preferred if the test tool
   interacts with the DUT during the duration of the test in order to
   maintain the respective neighbor caches active.  The above described
   test scenarios assume the test traffic end points, the IPv6 source
   and destination addresses are not directly attached to the DUT, but
   are seen as one hop beyond, to avoid Neighbor Solicitation (NS) and
   Neighbor Advertisement (NA) storms due to the Neighbor Unreachability
   Detection (NUD) mechanism [5].


4.  Test Traffic

   The traffic used for all tests described in this document SHOULD meet
   the requirements described in this section.  These requirements are
   designed to reflect the characteristics of IPv6 unicast traffic in
   all its aspects.  Using this IPv6 traffic leads to a complete
   evaluation of the network element performance.

4.1.  Frame Formats and Sizes

   Two types of media are commonly deployed and SHOULD be tested:
   Ethernet and SONET.  This section identifies the frame sizes that
   SHOULD be used for each media type.  For all other media types refer
   to the recommendations of RFC2544.

   Similar to IPv4, small frame sizes help characterize the per-frame
   processing overhead of the DUT.  Note that the minimum size of a
   relevant IPv6 packet (it carries minimal upper layer information) is
   larger than that of an IPv4 packet because the former has a 40-bytes
   header while the latter has a minimum header of 20 bytes.

   The frame sizes listed for IPv6 include the extension headers used in
   testing (see section 4.3).  By definition, extension headers are part
   of the IPv6 packet payload.  Depending on the total length of the
   extension headers, their use might not be possible at the smallest
   frame sizes.



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4.1.1.  Frame Sizes to be used on Ethernet

   Ethernet in all its types has become the most commonly deployed
   interface in today's networks.  The following frame sizes SHOULD be
   used for benchmarking over this media type: 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024,
   1280, 1518 bytes.  The 4096, 8192, 9216 bytes long jumbo frame sizes
   SHOULD be used when benchmarking Gigabit Ethernet interfaces.  The
   maximum frame rates for each frame size and the various Ethernet
   interface types are provided in Appendix A.

4.1.2.  Frame Sizes to be used on SONET

   The Packet over SONET (PoS) interfaces are commonly used for core
   uplinks and high bandwidth core links.  For this reason it is
   recommended to evaluate the forwarding performance of such interfaces
   supported by the DUT.  The following frame sizes SHOULD be used this
   media type: 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 1280, 1518, 2048, 4096 bytes.
   The maximum frame rates for each frame size and the various PoS
   interface types are provided in Appendix A.

4.2.  Protocol Addresses Selection

   There are two aspects of the IPv6 benchmarking testing where IP
   address selection considerations MUST be analyzed: The selection of
   IP addresses for the DUT and the selection of addresses for the test
   traffic.

4.2.1.  DUT Protocol Addresses

   There is no IPv6 address range reserved for the Benchmarking
   Methodology Working Group.  To maintain consistency with IPv4
   benchmarking recommendations, IANA SHOULD reserve an IPv6
   benchmarking prefix similar to 192.18.0.0 in RFC 3330 [7].  Similar
   to RFC2544, Appendix C, addresses from the first half of this range
   SHOULD be used for the ports viewed as input and addresses from the
   other half of the range for the output ports.

   The prefix length of the IPv6 addresses configured on the DUT
   interfaces MUST fall into either one of the following two categories:
   o  Prefix length is /126 which would simulate a point-to-point link
      for a core router.
   o  Prefix length is smaller or equal to /64.
   No prefix lengths SHOULD be selected in the range between 64 and 128
   except the 126 value mentioned above.

   Note that /126 prefixes might not be always the best choice for
   addressing point-to-point links such as back-to-back Ethernet unless
   the autoprovisioning mechanism is disabled.  Also, not all network



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   elements support this type of addresses.

   While with IPv6, the DUT interfaces can be configured with multiple
   global unicast prefixes, the methodology described in this document
   does not require testing such a scenario.  It is not expected that
   such an evaluation would bring additional data with respect to the
   performance of the network element.

   The Interface ID portion of the Global Unicast IPv6 DUT addresses
   SHOULD be set to ::1.  There are no requirements in the selection of
   the Interface ID portion of the Link Local IPv6 addresses.

   It is recommended that multiple iterations of the benchmark tests be
   conducted using the following prefix lengths: 32, 48, 64, 126 and
   128.  Other prefix lengths can also be used if desired, however the
   indicated range should be sufficient to establish baseline
   performance metrics.

4.2.2.  Test Traffic Protocol Addresses

   The IPv6 source and destination addresses for the test streams SHOULD
   belong to the IPv6 range to be assigned by IANA as discussed in
   section 4.2.1.  The source addresses SHOULD belong to one half of the
   range and the destination addresses to the other, reflecting the DUT
   interface IPv6 address selection.

   Tests SHOULD first be executed with a single stream leveraging a
   single source-destination address pair.  The tests SHOULD then be
   repeated with traffic using a random destination address in the
   corresponding range.  If the network element prefix lookup
   capabilities are evaluated, the tests SHOULD focus on the IPv6
   relevant prefix boundaries: 0-64, 126 and 128.

   Special care needs to be taken about the Neighbor Unreachability
   Detection (NUD) [5] process.  The IPv6 prefix reachable time in the
   Router Advertisement SHOULD be set to 30 seconds and allow 50%
   jitter.  The IPv6 source and destination addresses SHOULD appear not
   to be directly connected to the DUT to avoid Neighbor Solicitation
   (NS) and Neighbor Advertisement (NA) storms due to multiple test
   traffic flows.

4.3.  Traffic with Extension Headers

   Extension Headers (EH) are an intrinsic part of the IPv6 architecture
   [4].  They are used with various types of practical traffic such as:
   Fragmented traffic, Mobile IP based traffic, Authenticated and
   Encrypted traffic.  For these reasons, all tests described in this
   document SHOULD be performed with both traffic that has no EH and



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   traffic that has a set of EH selected from the following list:
   o  Hop-by-Hop header
   o  Destination Options header
   o  Routing header
   o  Fragment header
   o  Authentication header
   o  Encapsulating Security Payload header
   o  Destination Options header
   o  Mobility header

   Considering the fact that EH are an intrinsic part of the protocol
   and that they fulfill different roles, benchmarking of traffic
   containing each EH individually SHOULD be executed.

   The special processing rules for the Hop-by-Hop extension header
   require a specific benchmarking approach.  Unlike the other EH, this
   header must be processed by each node that forwards the traffic.
   Tests with traffic containing this EH type will not measure the
   forwarding performance of the DUT but rather its EH processing
   ability which is dependent on the information contained in the EH.
   The concern is that this traffic, at high rates, could have a
   negative impact on the operational resources of the router and could
   be used as a security threat.  When benchmarking with traffic that
   contains the Hop-by-Hop EH, the goal is not to measure NDR as in the
   case of the other EHs but rather to evaluate impact of such traffic
   on the router.  In this case, traffic with the Hop-by-Hop EH should
   be sent at 1%, 10% and 50% of the interface total bandwidth.  The
   device resources must be monitored at each traffic rate to determine
   the impact.

   The tests with traffic containing each EH individually MUST be
   complemented with tests that contain a chain of two or more EH, chain
   not containing the Hop-by-Hop EH.  The chain should also exclude the
   ESP EH since traffic with an encrypted payload can not be used in
   tests with modifiers such as filters based on upper layer information
   (see Section 5).  Since the DUT is not analyzing the content of the
   EH, a combination of structure-less EH can be used in testing.  The
   recommended EH chain to be used in testing is:
   o  Routing header - 24-32 bytes
   o  Destination Options header - 8 bytes
   o  Fragment header - 8 bytes

   This is a real life EH chain that would be found in an IPv6 packet
   between two mobile nodes exchanged over the optimized path that
   requires fragmentation.  The listed EH lengths represent test tool
   defaults.  The total length of the EH chain SHOULD be larger than 32
   bytes.




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   These extension headers add extra bytes to the payload size of the IP
   packets which MUST be factored in when used in testing at low frame
   sizes.  Their presence will modify the minimum size used in testing.
   For direct comparison between the data obtained with traffic that has
   EH and with traffic that doesn't have them, at low frame size, a
   common bottom size SHOULD be selected for both types of traffic.

   For the most cases, the network elements ignore the EH when
   forwarding IPv6 traffic.  For these reasons it is most likely that
   the EH related performance impact will be observed only when testing
   the DUT with traffic filters that contain matching conditions for the
   upper layer protocol information.  In those cases, the DUT MUST
   traverse the chain of EH, a process that could impact performance.

4.4.  Traffic set up

   All tests recommended in this document SHOULD be performed with bi-
   directional traffic.  For asymmetric situations, tests MAY be
   performed with unidirectional traffic for a more granular
   characterization of the DUT performance.  In these cases, the
   bidirectional traffic testing would reveal only the worst performance
   between the two directions.

   All other traffic profile characteristics described in RFC2544 SHOULD
   be applied in this testing as well.  IPv6 multicast benchmarking is
   outside the scope of this document.


5.  Modifiers

   RFC2544 underlines the importance of evaluating the performance of
   network elements under certain operational conditions.  The
   conditions defined in RFC2544 Section 11 are common to IPv4 and IPv6
   with the exception of Broadcast Frames.  IPv6 does not use layer 2 or
   layer 3 broadcasts.  This section provides additional conditions that
   are specific to IPv6.  The suite of tests recommended in this
   document SHOULD be first executed in the absence of these conditions
   and then repeated under each of the conditions separately.

5.1.  Management and Routing Traffic

   The procedures defined in RFC2544 sections 11.2 and 11.3 are
   applicable for IPv6 Management and Routing Update Frames as well.

5.2.  Filters

   The filters defined in Section 11.4 of RFC2544 apply to IPv6
   benchmarking as well.  The filter definitions however must be



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   expanded to include upper layer protocol information matching in
   order to analyze the handling of traffic with Extension Headers (EH)
   which are an important architectural component of IPv6.

5.2.1.  Filter Format

   The filter format defined in RFC2544 is applicable to IPv6 as well
   except that the Source Addresses (SA) and Destination Addresses (DA)
   are IPv6.  In addition to these basic filters, the evaluation of IPv6
   performance SHOULD analyze the handling of traffic with Extension
   Headers.

   While the intent is not to evaluate a platform's capability to
   process the various extension header types, the goal is to measure
   performance impact when the network element must parse through the EH
   in order to reach upper layer information.  In IPv6, routers do not
   have to parse through the extension headers (other than Hop-by-Hop)
   unless, for example, the upper layer information has to be analyzed
   due to filters.

   For these reasons, to evaluate the network element handling of IPv6
   traffic with EH, the definition of the filters must be extended to
   include conditions applied to upper layer protocol information.  The
   following filter format SHOULD be used for this type of evaluation:


        [permit|deny]  [protocol] [SA] [DA]


   where permit or deny indicates the action to allow or deny a packet
   through the interface the filter is applied to.  The Protocol field
   is defined as:
   o  ipv6: any IP Version 6 traffic
   o  tcp: Transmission Control Protocol
   o  udp: User Datagram Protocol
   and SA stands for the Source Address and DA for the Destination
   Address.

5.2.2.  Filter Types

   Based on the RFC2544 recommendations, two types of tests are executed
   when evaluating performance in the presence of modifiers.  One with a
   single filter and one with 25 filters.  The recommended filters are
   exemplified with the help of the IPv6 documentation prefix [8] 2001:
   DB8::.

   Examples of single filters are:




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      Filter for TCP traffic - permit tcp 2001:DB8::1 2001:DB8::2
      Filter for UDP traffic - permit udp 2001:DB8::1 2001:DB8::2
      Filter for IPv6 traffic - permit ipv6 2001:DB8::1 2001:DB8::2

   The single line filter case SHOULD verify that the network element
   permits all TCP/UDP/IPv6 traffic with or without any number of
   Extension Headers from IPv6 SA 2001:DB8::1 to IPv6 DA 2001:DB8::2 and
   deny all other traffic.

   Example of 25 filters:

      deny tcp 2001:DB8:1::1 2001:DB8:1::2
      deny tcp 2001:DB8:2::1 2001:DB8:2::2
      deny tcp 2001:DB8:3::1 2001:DB8:3::2
      ...
      deny tcp 2001:DB8:C::1 2001:DB8:C::2
      permit tcp 2001:DB8:99::1 2001:DB8:99::2
      deny tcp 2001:DB8:D::1 2001:DB8:D::2
      deny tcp 2001:DB8:E::1 2001:DB8:E::2
      ...
      deny tcp 2001:DB8:19::1 2001:DB8:19::2
      deny ipv6 any any

   The router SHOULD deny all traffic with or without extension headers
   except TCP traffic with SA 2001:DB8:99::1 and DA 2001:DB8:99::2.


6.  Benchmarking Tests

   This document recommends the same benchmarking tests described in
   RFC2544 while observing the DUT setup and the traffic setup
   considerations described above.  The following sections state the
   test types explicitly and highlight only the methodology differences
   that might exist with respect to those described in Section 26 of
   RFC2544.

   The specificities of IPv6, particularly the definition of EH
   processing, require additional benchmarking steps.  In this sense,
   the tests recommended by RFC2544 MUST be repeated for IPv6 traffic
   without and with one or multiple extension headers.  IPv6's
   deployment in existing IPv4 environments and the expected long co-
   existence of the two protocols leads network operators to place great
   emphasis on understanding the performance of platforms forwarding
   both types of traffic.  While resource sharing between the two
   protocols, it is important for IPv6 enabled platforms to not
   experience degraded IPv4 performance.  In this context the IPv6
   benchmarking SHOULD be performed in the context of a stand alone
   protocol as well as in the context of its co-existence with IPv4.



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   The modifiers defined are independent of EH type so they can be
   applied equally to each one of the above tests.

   The benchmarking tests described in this section SHOULD be performed
   under each of the following conditions:

   Extension Headers specific conditions:
      i) IPv6 traffic with no extension headers
      ii) IPv6 traffic with one extension header from the list in
      section 4.3
      iii) IPv6 traffic with the chain of extension headers described in
      section 4.3

   Co-existence specific conditions:
      iv) IPv4 ONLY traffic benchmarking
      v) IPv6 ONLY traffic benchmarking
      vi) IPv4-IPv6 traffic mix with the ratio 90% vs 10%
      vii) IPv4-IPv6 traffic mix with the ratio 50% vs 50%
      viii) IPv4-IPv6 traffic mix with the ratio 10% vs 90%

   Combining the test conditions listed for benchmarking IPv6 as a
   stand-alone protocol and the co-existence tests leads to a large
   coverage matrix.  A minimum requirement is to cover the co-existence
   conditions in the case of IPv6 with no extension headers and those
   where either of the traffic is 10% and 90% respectively.

   The subsequent sections describe each specific tests that MUST be
   executed under the conditions listed above for a complete
   benchmarking of IPv6 forwarding performance.

6.1.  Throughput

   Objective: To determine the DUT throughput as defined in RFC1242.

   Procedure: Same as RFC2544.

   Reporting Format: Same as RFC2544.

6.2.  Latency

   Objective: To determine the latency as defined in RFC1242.

   Procedure: Same as RFC2544.

   Reporting Format: Same as RFC2544.






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6.3.  Frame Loss

   Objective: To determine the frame loss rate, as defined in RFC1242,
   of a DUT throughout the entire range of input data rates and frame
   sizes.

   Procedure: Same as RFC2544.

   Reporting Format: Same as RFC2544.

6.4.  Back-to-Back Frames

   Objective: To characterize the ability of a DUT to process back-to-
   back frames as defined in RFC1242.

   Procedure: Same as RFC2544.

   Reporting Format: Same as RFC2544.

6.5.  System Recovery

   Objective: To characterize the speed at which a DUT recovers from an
   overload condition.

   Procedure: Same as RFC2544.

   Reporting Format: Same as RFC2544.

6.6.  Reset

   Objective: To characterize the speed at which a DUT recovers from a
   device or software reset.

   Procedure: Same as RFC2544.

   Reporting Format: Same as RFC2544.


7.  IANA Considerations

   The BMWG requests a /48 IPv6 prefix length dedicated for IPv6
   benchmarking similar to 192.18.0.0 in RFC 3330 [7].  This prefix
   length provides similar flexibility as the range allocated for IPv4
   benchmarking and it is taking into consideration address conservation
   and simplicity of usage concerns.  Most network infrastructures are
   allocated a /48 prefix, hence this range would allow most network
   administrators to mimic their IPv6 Address Plans when performing IPv6
   benchmarking.



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8.  Security Considerations

   Benchmarking activities as described in this memo are limited to
   technology characterization using controlled stimuli in a laboratory
   environment, with dedicated address space and the constraints
   specified in the sections above.

   The benchmarking network topology will be an independent test setup
   and MUST NOT be connected to devices that may forward the test
   traffic into a production network, or misroute traffic to the test
   management network.

   Further, benchmarking is performed on a "black-box" basis, relying
   solely on measurements observable external to the DUT/SUT.

   Special capabilities SHOULD NOT exit in the DUT/SUT specifically for
   benchmarking purposes.  Any implications for network security arising
   from the DUT/SUT SHOULD be identical in the lab and in production
   networks.

   The isolated nature of the benchmarking environments and the fact
   that no special features or capabilities, other than those used in
   operational networks, are enabled on the DUT/SUT requires no security
   considerations specific to the benchmarking process.


9.  Conclusions

   The Benchmarking Methodology for Network Interconnect Devices
   document, RFC2544 [1], is for the most part applicable to evaluating
   the IPv6 performance of network elements.  This document is
   addressing the IPv6 specific requirements that MUST be observed when
   applying the recommendations of RFC2544.  These additional
   requirements stem from the architecture characteristics of IPv6.
   This document is not a replacement of but a complement to RFC2544.


10.  Acknowledgements

   Scott Bradner provided valuable guidance and recommendations for this
   document.  The authors acknowledge the work done by Cynthia Martin
   and Jeff Dunn with respect to defining the terminology for IPv6
   benchmarking.  The authors would like to thank Bill Kine for his
   contribution to the initial document and to Benoit Lourdelet,
   Athanassios Liakopoulos, Pekka Savola, Bill Cherveny, Sven Lanckmans,
   Silvija Dry and Rajiv Papejna for their feedback.





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11.  References

11.1.  Normative References

   [1]  Bradner, S. and J. McQuaid, "Benchmarking Methodology for
        Network Interconnect Devices", RFC 2544, March 1999.

11.2.  Informative References

   [2]  Bradner, S., "Benchmarking terminology for network
        interconnection devices", RFC 1242, July 1991.

   [3]  Simpson, W., "PPP in HDLC-like Framing", STD 51, RFC 1662,
        July 1994.

   [4]  Deering, S. and R. Hinden, "Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6)
        Specification", RFC 2460, December 1998.

   [5]  Narten, T., Nordmark, E., and W. Simpson, "Neighbor Discovery
        for IP Version 6 (IPv6)", RFC 2461, December 1998.

   [6]  Malis, A. and W. Simpson, "PPP over SONET/SDH", RFC 2615,
        June 1999.

   [7]  IANA, "Special-Use IPv4 Addresses", RFC 3330, September 2002.

   [8]  Huston, G., Lord, A., and P. Smith, "IPv6 Address Prefix
        Reserved for Documentation", RFC 3849, July 2004.


Appendix A.  Maximum Frame Rates Reference

   This appendix provides the formulas to calculate and the values for
   the maximum frame rates for two media types: Ethernet and SONET.

A.1.  Ethernet

   The maximum throughput in frames per second (fps) for various
   Ethernet interface types and for a frame size X can be calculated
   with the following formula:

                    Line Rate (bps)
             ------------------------------
             (8bits/byte)*(X+20)bytes/frame

   The 20 bytes in the formula is the sum of the Preamble (8 bytes) and
   the Inter Frame Gap (12 bytes).  The maximum throughput for various
   PoS interface types and frame sizes:



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             Size     10Mb/s   100Mb/s   1000Mb/s   10000Mb/s
             Bytes    pps      pps       pps        pps

             64       14881    148810    1488096    14880952
             128      8446     84449     844595     8445946
             256      4529     45290     452899     4528986
             512      2350     23497     234962     2349625
             1024     1198     11973     119731     1197318
             1280     961      9616      96153      961538
             1518     813      8128      81275      812744
             4096     303      3036      30369      303692
             8192     152      1522      15221      152216
             9216     135      1353      13534      135340

A.2.  Packet over SONET

   ANSI T1.105 SONET provides the formula for calculating the maximum
   available bandwidth for the various Packet over SONET (PoS) interface
   types:

             STS-Nc (N = 3X, where X=1,2,3,etc)

             [(N*87) - N/3]*(9 rows)*(8 bit/byte)*(8000 frames/sec)

   Packets over SONET can use various encapsulations: PPP [6], HDLC [3]
   and Frame Relay.  All these encapsulations use a 4 bytes header, a 2
   or 4 bytes FCS field and a 1 byte Flag.  The maximum frame rate for
   various interface types can be calculated with the formula:

                    Line Rate (bps)
             ------------------------------
             (8bits/byte)*(X+1)bytes/frame

   The maximum throughput for various PoS interface types and frame
   sizes:

            Size   OC-3     OC-12      OC-48      OC-192      OC-768
            Bytes  fps      fps        fps        fps         fps

            64     288,000  1,152,000  4,608,000  18,432,000  73,728,000
            128    145,116  580,465    2,321,860  9,287,442   37,149,767
            256    72,840   291,362    1,165,447  4,661,790   18,647,160
            512    36,491   145,965    583,860    2,335,439   9,341,754
            1024   18,263   73,054     292,215    1,168,859   4,675,434
            2048   9,136    36,545     146,179    584,714     2,338,858
            4096   4,569    18,277     73,107     292,429     1,169,714





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Authors' Addresses

   Ciprian Popoviciu
   Cisco Systems
   Kit Creek Road
   RTP, North Carolina  27709
   USA

   Phone: 919 787 8162
   Email: cpopovic@cisco.com


   Ahmed Hamza
   Cisco Systems
   3000 Innovation Drive
   Kanata  K2K 3E8
   Canada

   Phone: 613 254 3656
   Email: ahamza@cisco.com


   Gunter Van de Velde
   Cisco Systems
   De Kleetlaan 6a
   Diegem  1831
   Belgium

   Phone: +32 2704 5473
   Email: gunter@cisco.com


   Diego Dugatkin
   IXIA
   26601 West Agoura Rd
   Calabasas  91302
   USA

   Phone: 818 444 3124
   Email: diego@ixiacom.com











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