NPF Offers New Benchmarking Specs

FREMONT, Calif. -- Continuing its mission to accelerate the adoption of network processing technologies through the creation and adoption of network processing standards and benchmarks, the Network Processing Forum (NPF) today announced the release of new benchmarking specifications for measuring the performance of network processing elements. Specifically, the NPF extended the IP Forwarding Application Level Benchmark Implementation Agreement (IA) to include the IPv6 Internet Protocol and it has released two new benchmarking Implementation Agreements: the Performance Testing Methodology for Fabric Benchmarking IA and the Switch Fabric Benchmark Test Suites IA. The two fabric IA’s complete the set of switch fabric benchmark specifications that began with the switch fabric benchmarking framework that was announced in October of 2002.

These IA’s delineate open, objective and reproducible tests, configurations and reporting formats that enables networking equipment designers and network processing element vendors to easily assess and compare the performance of similar network processing components and systems. All three Benchmark Implementation Agreements are available for free on the NPF web site at http://www.npforum.org/techinfo/approved.shtml.

“The NPF is pleased to provide network processing system benchmarks for the next generation Internet protocol and switch fabrics,” said Claude Basso, board member of the NPF. “We will continue to deliver standards and benchmarks that enhance the value proposition of network processing technologies.”

About the addition of the IPv6 protocol to the IP Forwarding Application Level Benchmark
This enhanced specification measures the forwarding performance of network processing systems with native IPv4, native IPv6 and mixed IPv4/IPv6 traffic. The IA details the terminology, test configuration, benchmark tests and reporting formats needed to measure and publish the forwarding performance of the system being tested. The tests are grouped into three categories: data plane tests, control plane tests, and concurrent data plane and control plane tests.

The data plane tests measure the aggregate forwarding rate, throughput, latency, loss ratio, overload forwarding rate, and system power consumption. Different traffic combinations are used including 100 percent native IPv4, 50 percent IPv4/50 percent IPv6, and 100 percent IPv6. The control plane tests measure the rate that the forwarding table is updated and the concurrent data plane and control plane tests measure the effect of concurrent forwarding table updates on the forwarding rate.

About The Switch Fabric Benchmark Specifications
These two new IA’s join three earlier fabric related specifications (Switch Fabric Benchmarking Framework, Fabric Traffic Models and Fabric Performance Metrics) in a complete suite of switch fabric performance measurement and methodology.

The Performance Testing Methodology for Fabric Benchmarking IA defines the rules and working procedures to be used for fabric benchmarking. The methodology describes how the fabric customer should provide testing requirements and how the fabric customer and fabric vendor should provide system configuration information.

The Switch Fabric Benchmark Test Suites IA details the actual switch fabric tests and reporting formats. The tests are divided into three suites including hardware benchmarks, arbitration benchmarks and multicast benchmarks. Each suite includes multiple tests with their own test objective, arrival pattern, test procedure, and result presentation instructions. The three main performance metrics include latency, accepted vs offered bandwidth and jitter.

Network Processing manufacturers that wish to certify the performance results of their benchmark tests must submit their products to a third party independent auditor and certification authority such as the Tolly Group. Once testing is completed, the NPF provides the “NPF Certified” mark to the manufacturer validating that the benchmark results are in complete compliance with NPF benchmark specifications.

“The IPv6 protocol and switch fabric benchmarks will give system design engineers the objective data they need to select the best network processing components for a given networking solution,” said Serge Audenaert, chair of the NPF benchmarking working group. “This will enable System OEMs to bring network processing-based products to market quicker and more cost effectively.”

Network Processing Forum (NPF)