10-Gigabit Ethernet Switch Performance Testing - Ixia

10-Gigabit Ethernet Switch Performance Testing
Abstract The first generation of 10-Gigabit Ethernet
(10GE) switches, introduced in early 2002
after IEEE 802.3ae standardization,
proved to be subpar. Some switches barely
reached 50 percent of line rate
throughput, even for large packet sizes,
and exhibited poor latency, limited feature
sets, and high per-port costs.
The second generation of 10GE products
has arrived, with substantial packet
processing capabilities that enable
additional services. Key functions in this
Introduction Ethernet networking technology is now
virtually ubiquitous; it has evolved from
10Base-T (IEEE 802.3) in 1983, Fast
Ethernet (IEEE 802.3u) in 1995, 1-Gigabit
Ethernet (802.3z) in 1998 to 10-Gigabit
Ethernet (802.3ae) in 2002. The 10-
Gigabit Ethernet standard provides a
significant increase in bandwidth while
maintaining compatibility with the installed
base of 802.3-standard interfaces, to
protect existing investments in Ethernet
technology. The IEEE 802.3ae 10-Gigabit
Ethernet standard defines both LAN and
WAN physical layers, the latter of which is
compatible with existing SONET
infrastructure.
Ethernet not only dominates the LAN
market, but is also taking hold in the Metro
Area Network (MAN) market. It has
extended into the WAN arena as both its
distance and capacity has increased.
Ethernet at 1-Gigabit and 10-Gigabit
speeds has attracted increasing attention
from carriers operating in the MAN and
WAN market segments.
technology include performing the
necessary packet classification, header
modification, policing of flows, and
queuing/scheduling — all at wire-speed
rates.
This white paper reviews the common
building blocks of a multiple line card
10GE switch, identifies various stress
points within the switch, and offers various
test methodologies to test these stress
points.
After nearly two years of slow growth
during 2001 and 2002, worldwide Layer 2
and Layer 3 Ethernet switch revenue
began to accelerate in mid-2003, and is
expected to grow from $11.8 billion in
2004 to $15 billion in 2006, according to
Infonetics Research's quarterly market
share and forecast service, L2–L3
Ethernet Switches. Worldwide port
shipments are predicted to grow 75
percent — from 161 million in 2003 to 279
million in 2006.
The strongest growth in the Ethernet
switch market has come from 10GE
chassis ports and revenue, driven by 10GE
deployment in service provider metro
networks, and by the proliferation of 1GE
to desktops/laptops as a standard
interface.
10-Gigabit Ethernet has been developed to
support a wide range of applications —
from the enterprise network, through the
edge and metro network, and into the wide
area network.
10-Gigabit Ethernet Switch Performance Testing Copyright © 2004, Ixia 5