Scenario
Networks and network devices are becoming increasingly complex. Enterprise expansion, data center convergence, and new service deployments require that diversified networking technologies and devices operate together seamlessly.
Remote locations and changeover from dedicated circuits have multiplied the use of layer 2 and 3 virtual private networks (L2VPN and L3VPNs). VPNs both protect sensitive information and provide virtual network security using authentication and encryption.
The flexibility, pervasiveness, and availability of low-cost switches have given rise to Carrier Ethernet. Making Carrier Ethernet a viable alternative to router-based networks and requiring a number of new protocols and techniques.
As multiple, special-purpose networks converge to a single network carrying voice, video, data, and wireless traffic, it is critical that device manufacturers verify the scalability, stability, and performance of their switches and routers.
Service providers must carry multiplay services on a single IP network in order to offer increasingly popular applications such as YouTube, Facebook, and peer-topeer exchange. The demand for larger capacity and more services increases the complexity and scale of modern networks and devices. Providers must validate service differentiation based on configured quality of service (QoS) policies and SLAs, as well as determine the service impact on existing network structures from new applications.
Within the data center, local area network (LAN) and storage area network (SAN) traffic have traditionally used separate Ethernet and fibre channel networks. Cost-effective 10GE networks have provided the economic incentive to combine these networks using a new generation of data center bridging (DCB) components, including fibre channel over Ethernet (FCoE) switches and SANs.
Ixia Solutions
Ixia’s solutions comprehensively test the interoperability, performance, and scale of networking devices. Ixia’s IxNetwork and IxN2X test applications offer the industry’s most comprehensive test solution for functional and per-formance testing by emulating routing, switching, MPLS, IP multicast, broadband, and authentication protocols.
Ixia test ports accurately emulate an Internet-scale networking environment containing thousands of routers and switches and millions of routes and reachable hosts. Millions of traffic flows can be easily customized to stress and track data plane performance.
Subscriber modeling simulates user communities that match the behavior of city-size groups using multiplay services such as web, e-mail, FTP, peer-to-peer (P2P), voice over IP (VoIP), and video. Ixia's testing capabilities scale to stress the largest and most powerful networking devices.
Ixia load modules, consisting of multiple test ports, provide network interfaces of all types. Our mainstay Ethernet interfaces operate over the full range from 10Mbps through 10, 40, and 100Gbps speeds. In addition, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and packet over SONET (POS) interfaces are available. Line-rate traffic is generated to characterize the performance and reliability of data forwarding.
To test complex scenarios, Ixia's solutions:
- Model millions of services with deterministic traffic profiles
- Define different rate-controllable traffic profiles on a per-service basis
- Validate SLAs through dynamic modification of traffic profiles
- Produce service- and subscriber-level statistics
Full simulation of authenticated, large-scale broadband network communities is supported with web-based, 802.1x, network access control (NAC), and other authentication mechanisms. Encapsulations, including PPP, L2TP, and IPsec are likewise available for exercising broadband access concentrators.
Use IxNetwork and IxN2X GUIs to easily configure complex layer 2/3 VPN topology simulations. Tests scale to stress the performance of the most powerful border gateway protocol (BGP) and multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) capable routers. Each central processing unit (CPU) equipped test port advertises hundreds of label distribution protocol (LDP) sessions and thousands of forwarding equivalence classes (FECs), as well as hundreds of VPN sessions and thousands of VPN routes. Wire-speed traffic can be generated over the VPN topology to simultaneously test data and control planes.
Routing and Switching Protocol Emulation
| Technology | Protocols |
| Routing | RIP, RIPng, OSPFv2/v3, ISISv4/v6, EIGRP, EIGRPv6, BGP4+, BGP+ |
| MPLS | RSVP-TE, RSVP-TE P2MP, LDP, PWE, L3 MPLS VPN, 6PE, GMPLS, MPLS-OAM |
| VPLS | VPLS-LDP, VPLS-BGP |
| High Availability | BFD |
| IP Mutlicast | IGMPv1/v2/v3, MLDv1/v2, PIM-SM/ SSM, PIM-BSR, Multicast VPN, VPNv6, MSDP |
| Switching | STP/RSTP/MSTP, PVST+, RPVST+, Link Aggregation (LACP) |
| Broadband | ANCP, PPPoX, DHCPv4/v6, client/ server, L2TPv2, RADIUS Attributes for L2TP |
Authentication |
802.1x, WebAuth, Cisco NAC |
| Traffic | Ethernet, IPv4, IPv6, VLAN, MPLS multi-label, L2/L3 MPLS, VPN, VPLS, 6VPE, Multicast, Multicast VPN |
Suggested Applications and Platforms
| IxNetwork | Full layer 2/3 switch and router testing, with optional protocols:
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| XG12 Chassis | 12-slot high-performance chassis, with optional load modules:
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