LANforge-FIRE Traffic Generation
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The LANforge-FIRE Cookbook provides a set of high-level examples of how to setup useful test scenarios in LANforge-FIRE for traffic generation. Each example intends to give the reader a brief introduction to the test scenario and a set of step-by-step instructions on how to use the LANforge-GUI to configure the test.
All of the following examples will work on Linux systems running the LANforge software with the LANforge kernel and a sufficient license. If you are running another Linux kernel, you will not be able to exactly duplicate some of the examples, but there are usually work-arounds available to assist you. Please contact us at support@candelatech.com if you have any questions.
If you are using the Windows version of LANforge, you will have to modify ports using the Windows utilities. Everything else should work approximately the same, but the performance is limited to 10Mbps speeds.
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Before attempting the examples below, ensure that you have successfully
followed these software installation guides:
LANforge-GUI Installation
LANforge Server Installation
It is also recommended that you back up your current running LANforge Server database so that you may safely return to your current operating state.
Goal: To setup and run traffic on a switched network.
In this test scenario, a basic, unmanaged switch is the device under test (DUT) while LANforge-FIRE is used to generate traffic and verify switch throughput.
| A: Go to the Port Manager. |  |
| B: Modify port eth0. |  |
| C: Modify port eth1. |  |
| D: Verify port configuration. |  |
| A: Go to the Layer-3 tab. |  |
| B: Create a new Cross-Connect. |  |
| C: Verify new Cross-Connect. |  |
| A: On the Layer-3 tab, highlight the cross-connect. Select Start, and then Display. |  |
| B: Layer-3 cross-connect display. |  |
| A: Select Report Manager from the Reporting Menu. |  |
| B: Choose a directory and save data. After desired test duration, Stop Saving and Generate Report. |  |
| C: Highlight desired entities, and Generate Report. |  |
| D: Last line indicates location of HTML report. |  |
| E: View HTML report. |  |
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Goal: To setup and run traffic on a routed network.
In this test scenario, LANforge-FIRE is used to generate traffic to a basic router in order to test throughput.
| A: Go to the Port Manager. |  |
| B: Modify port eth0. Set a valid network IP address and Gateway IP. |  |
| C: Modify port eth1. Set a valid network IP address and Gateway IP. |  |
| D: Verify port configuration. |  |
| A: Go to the Layer-3 tab. |  |
| B: Create a new Cross-Connect. |  |
| C: Verify new Cross-Connect. |  |
| A: On the Layer-3 tab, highlight the cross-connect. Select Start, and then Display. |  |
| B: Layer-3 cross-connect display. |  |
| A: Go to the Layer-3 Endpoints tab. |  |
| B: Scroll to the right to view Latency and Dropped Packets. |  |
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Goal: To setup and run traffic to a firewall.
In this test scenario, LANforge-FIRE is used to generate traffic to a basic firewall in order to find the maximum number of simultaneous TCP connections that the firewall will allow before dropping packets on a single UDP connection.
In order to be able to find the maximum number of simultaneous connnections, this example will demonstrate how to utilize the scripting capability of the LANforge software to create hundreds of TCP connections each with their own unique source and destination MACs and IPs.
Please note that there are a wide variety of firewall solutions available. This example was tested on two types of firewalls:
Assuming your firewall DUT is up and running, the following steps will describe how to setup and run a script on your LANforge system.
NOTE: If you are attempting to run this test scenario, you will need a LANforge
license key that enables the correct number of ports.
Please contact us at
support@candelatech.com for assistance.
| A: Modify the $lfmgr_host variable.
Use "localhost" if the script is run on the same system that is running the LANforge Server. Use <IP-address-of-LANforge-Server> if the script is run on a separate system. |
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| B: Modify the $lf1_ports and $lf2_ports variables.
These should be set to the port numbers that LANforge will use. In this example, we are using eth1 which is port 2 and eth2 which is port 3. Port numbers can be easily determined on the Port Mgr tab of the LANforge-GUI. |
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| C: Modify $ip_base1 and $ip_base2 variables.
$ip_base1 will be the first two octets of the LAN addresses. $ip_base2 will be the first two octets of the WAN addresses. IP addresses in the script must correspond to the setup of the firewall DUT. |
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| D: Modify the $num_macvlans variable for the target number of connections.
Depending on how your firewall is setup, the $num_macvlans variable should be set to somewhere between 100 - 1000. Please note that the LANforge system will need sufficient resources in order to be able to handle a greater number of connections. For example, a dual-core Xeon at 3.2 GHz with 1GB RAM can handle up to 2000 connections, but the $report_timer variable will need to be set to 8000 - 10000 when attempting this many connections. For this script, keep the $num_macvlans below 1000. In our testing of this example, we found the following results:
|
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| E: Modify @min_pkt_szs and @max_pkt_szs.
It is recommended that the packet size be left at 1472bytes to approximate actual traffic. |
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| F: Modify $min_rate and $max_rate variables.
In order to find the maximum number of simultaneous connections, it is recommended that the $min_rate and $max_rate are set to 9600bps which is enough traffic to simulate an actual TCP connection, but not so much that it will overwhelm the LANforge system while trying to setup hundreds of additional TCP connections. |
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| G: Modify $loop_max.
Each test loop is run from a clean LANforge database to $num_macvlan connections while keeping track of the number of successful TCP connections before detecting any dropped packets on the UDP connection. At the conclusion of $loop_max tests, an average number of successful TCP connections is calculated and displayed. |
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At a Linux command prompt, type the following commands:
"tar -xvzf LANforgeExtras-5.0.2_Linux.tar.gz" - To unzip the Extras package which
includes the LANforge Perl Modules.
"cp lf_macvlan3.pl tools/scripts/" - To copy the script into the scripts directory.
"perl lf_macvlan3.pl" - To execute the script.
Alternatively, you can type "perl lf_macvlan3.pl > filename.txt" to
redirect the script output to a file.
In Windows, it is recommended that you install Cygwin and then run the exact same commands as described above for a Linux command prompt.
3 test runs completed.
Average number of simultaneous TCP connections: 83
Done at: Tue Jun 5 13:09:13 PDT 2007
200 TCP connections were made.
No dropped packets were detected on the UDP connection.
Try increasing the number of connections.
Done at: Tue Jun 5 13:49:13 PDT 2007
You can increase $num_macvlans up to 1000 if your LANforge system has enough resources and a sufficient license key. Anything above 1000 will require additional modifications to the script. Please contact us at support@candelatech.com for assistance.
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Goal: To setup and run traffic to a Web Server.
In this test scenario, LANforge-FIRE is used to generate traffic in the form of URL requests in order to determine the maximum number of URLs/second the Web Server can process.
Please note that the Web Server used in this example is an isolated Linux system running Apache.
| A: Go to the Port Manager. |  |
| B: Modify the port connected to the Web Server. Set a valid network IP address and Gateway IP. |  |
| C: Verify port configuration. |  |
| A: Go to the Layer-4 tab. |  |
| B: Create a Layer-4 Endpoint.
Enter a name and select the port configured in the previous step. URLs per 10m should be set to around 1,200,000 which is 2,000 URLs/second. Leave the SSL Cert alone as we are not using it in this example. UL/DL should be set to Download. URL should be set to the Web Server's IP address and file that you wish to download. In this example, index.html is a small test file. File is the designated location that the downloaded file will be stored. In this example, we use /dev/null which will essentially throw the file away so that it does not slow down the LANforge system with writing files. Allow reuse should be checked to enhance the performance of the LANforge system so that it can maximize the number of URL requests it can make per connection. |
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| C: Repeat the above step to make 10 Layer-4 Endpoints.
By setting up 10 Layer-4 Endpoints, each attempting to generate 2000 URL requests per second, we are effectively attempting to generate 20,000 URL requests per second. |
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| A: On the Layer-4 tab, highlight one Layer-4 endpoint.
Select Start, and then repeat for all 10 Layer-4 endpoints.
As each endpoint is started, the rate of URLs/second will start to converge on a rate that the Web Server is capable of providing. Finding the final Web Server performance rate is a matter of adding up the rates of all running Layer-4 endpoints. The reason to have 10 of these Layer-4 endpoints is that each endpoint can make an independently large number of URL requests without having to wait for too many replies. Each URL request is waiting for a reply from the Web Server, so if we only had one Layer-4 endpoint making requests, it would spend too much time waiting for replies instead of generating more requests. Spreading the URL requests over 10 endpoints allows each LANforge connection to the Web Server to maximize its rate of URL requests. |
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| B: Layer-4 Endpoint Results.
After starting all 10 endpoints, and letting them run for at least 1 minute, the overall URLs/second rate converges to around 17,000 URLs/second. |
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Goal: To setup and run traffic to a DSLAM system as shown in the CT570 product description.
Please refer to the diagram in the CT570 link above. In this test scenario, the LANforge-FIRE Core is one interface on a LANforge system. The LANforge-FIRE Edge is another interface on the same LANforge system. The LF Core interface is connected to the upstream DSLAM interface either directly or through a switch. The CPEs are connected to a multi-port VLAN switch which has a VLAN trunk that is connected to the LF Edge. Traffic is sent between the LF Core and the LF Edge to achieve end-to-end network traffic testing of the DSLAM system.
| A: Go to the Port Manager. |  |
| B: Modify the port connected to the DSLAM. Set a valid network IP address and IP mask. |  |
| C: Verify port configuration. |  |
| A: On the Port Manager tab, highlight the port that will connect to the multi-port switch and will also be your VLAN trunk. This is the LF Edge part of the diagram. |  |
| B: Select the Create button.
Select 802.1q for the virtual interface type. VLAN ID should correspond to your multi-port switch VLAN configuration. Quantity is the number of virtual interfaces you want to create. Fill in the appropriate IP address and IP mask. Select OK or Apply to create the virtual interfaces. |
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| C: Verify that the virtual interfaces are created and have the correct IP assignments. |  |
| D: Modify each port's MAC address for each virtual interface so that they are unique.
Select the 'Set MAC' checkbox on the left to make the MAC address field editable. |
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| E: Scroll to the right to verify that the MAC addresses are unique. |  |
| A: Go to the Layer-3 tab. |  |
| B: Select the Create button.
Fill in a connection name, select a connection type and set the report timer. Make endpoint A the DSLAM upstream port or LF Core. Make endpoint B the CPE downstream port or LF Edge. You can make the TX/RX rates asymmetric for the connection to simulate how the connection would be used in a real-world scenario. Here we have about 5Mbps downstream (DSLAM to CPE) and 1Mbps upstream (CPE to DSLAM). Select Apply to create the connection. |
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| C: Change the connection name and endpoint B to the next
virtual interface then select Apply to create the next connection.
Repeat until all five connections are created. |
 |
| A: Highlight the connections you want to start. |  |
| B: Select the Start button. |  |
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Goal: To setup and run VoIP traffic.
In this example, LANforge-FIRE is used to setup two VoIP test calls
that may be used as a basis for VoIP load testing or VoIP Gateway testing.
Test 1: Directed VoIP call where a LANforge Endpoint calls another
LANforge Endpoint.
Test 2: Gateway VoIP call where two LANforge Endpoints register with
a VoIP Gateway so that the call from one endpoint to the other
goes through the gateway.
The VoIP Gateway used in this example is Asterisk.
| A: Go to the Port Manager. |  |
| B: Modify eth1 and eth2 to set a valid network IP address and mask.
If your network has DHCP service, you can select the DHCP checkbox so that each port is a DHCP client and will acquire its IP address from your DHCP server. |
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| C: Verify port configuration. |  |
| A: Go to the VoIP/RTP tab. |  |
| B: Select the Create button.
Enter test-1 for the CX Name. Select Multi-Call, Directed. Endpoint A should be on Port eth1. If you have a PESQ licensed server available, you can select Record and Enable PESQ. Endpoint B should be on Port eth2. If you are using PESQ, be sure to enter a Record file and the IP address and port of your PESQ licensed server. Be sure to set this endpoint to Receive the call. Select OK to create the VoIP Directed call. |
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| C: Verify that the test call is created. |  |
| A: Go to the VoIP/RTP tab. |  |
| B: Select the Create button.
Enter test-2 for the CX Name. Select Multi-Call, Gateway. Endpoint A should be on Port eth1. Be sure to enter the proper username and password for the endpoint so that it can authenticate with the VoIP Gateway if necessary. Endpoint B should be on Port eth2. Be sure to set this endpoint to Recieve the call. Select OK to create the VoIP Gateway call. |
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| C: Verify that the test call is created. |  |
| A: Highlight Test-1 and select 'Start'. |  |
| B: Go to the VoIP/RTP Endpoints tab to see detailed results.
The PESQ score will be reported after the first successful call is completed and updated after each subsequent call. Notice that the endpoints are Unregistered while the call is in progress because they are not calling through the VoIP gateway. |
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| C: Stop Test-1, highlight Test-2 and select 'Start'. |  |
| D: Go to the VoIP/RTP Endpoints tab to see detailed results.
PESQ remains 0: 0 when it is disabled for the call in progress. Notice that while the call is in progress, the endpoints are Registered with the VoIP gateway. Calls Attempted, Calls Completed and Calls Failed can be viewed by scrolling to the right on the VoIP/RTP Endpoints tab. |
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Goal: To setup and run Wireless LAN traffic using the LANforge CT520.
In this test scenario, the LANforge CT520 is used to simulate 4 virtual wireless stations that associate with a third party access point. Three traffic tests will be configured and run to demonstrate possible wireless access point tests.
| A: Go to the Port Manager and highlight port ath0. |  |
| B: Modify port ath0. |  |
| C: Setup the Wifi Channel and Mode you want to use, then select 'OK'. |  |
| A: Highlight port ath0 and select 'Create'. | |
| B: Select Wifi STA, then fill in the Quantity, STA ID, and ESSID.
For this example, all 4 virtual stations will connect to the same access point. If your access point can serve DHCP, you do not have to enter IP addresses at this point. If you choose to enter IP addresses, the create function will increment the last octet of the IP address for each virtual station created. Select 'OK' when finished. |
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| C: Verify that the virtual wireless stations are created. |  |
| A: Highlight all of the virtual wireless stations and eth0 by using CTRL-select,
then select 'Modify'. Note: This will bring up 5 modify windows at once. |
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| B: Select the DHCP checkbox for each interface to enable it as a DHCP client.
If you are using WEP for the wireless stations, replace 'none' in the Key field with the hexadecimal key string generated by your access point where you enabled WEP. Select 'OK' when finished. |
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| C: If your access point DHCP service is running, the 4 virtual
wireless stations and eth0 will acquire their IP addresses after a few seconds. |
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| D: Scroll to the right to view each station's signal quality and other interface details. |  |
| A: Go to the Layer-3 tab and select 'Create'. |  |
| B: Create a wireless to wired UDP speed test.
Test 1: sta1 to eth0, UDP, 4 Mbps bi-directional, 1472 byte packets. |  |
| C: Create a wireless to wired TCP connections per second test.
Test 2: sta2 to eth0, TCP, Endpoint-A IP Port 0, CX Duration 0. Note: Duration 0 means that there will be zero delay between attempted TCP connections created between sta2 and eth0 which will allow LANforge to generate as many connections per second as possible through the access point. |  |
| D: Create a wireless station to wireless station speed test.
Test 3: sta3 to sta4, UDP, 1 Mbps bi-directional, 1472 byte packets. |  |
| A: Test 1 results show that the wireless station can transmit 4 Mbps, but it can only receive about 2.5 Mbps from the access point. |  |
| B: Test 2 results show that the maximum number of TCP connections established per second through the access point is 165. |  |
| C: Test 3 results show that the maximum throughput between wireless stations
through the access point is about 1 Mbps.
Note: This test was run iteratively at different speeds to determine that 1 Mbps was the maximum stable throughput between wireless stations through the access point. |
 |
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Goal: To setup and run near line-speed 1Gbps traffic using the LANforge Armageddon feature.
In this test scenario, LANforge Armageddon is setup to run at about 80,000 packets/second
full-duplex to achieve near line-speed 1Gbps traffic generation.
Note: In order to use the LANforge Armageddon feature, your system must have
the LANforge kernel patch applied and your system must be properly
licensed. Please feel free to contact us at support@candelatech.com
if you would like to obtain a demo license for the Armageddon feature.
| A: Go to the Port Manager and highlight port eth0 and eth1. |  |
| B: Modify port eth0 and eth1.
In this example, eth0 and eth1 are physically connected to each other with a patch cable. |
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| C: Setup both ports to have valid IP addresses, then select 'OK'. |  |
| A: On the Armageddon tab, select 'Create'. |  |
| B: Select ports eth0 and eth1 and fill in the speed and packet size.
For this example, 1Gbps is about 82562pps at 1514byte packet size. Select 'OK' when finished. |
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| C: Verify that the Armageddon connection is created. |  |
| A: Highlight the Armageddon connection then select 'Start'. |  |
| B: It will take a moment for the Armageddon traffic to stabilize
and depending on the hardware, LANforge will settle on an actual rate which may differ from the requested rate. |
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| C: In this example, this server (3.2GHz Xeon with 4-port 10/100/1000 PCI-X)
is capable of reaching 81,000pps with 1514byte packets or, an equivalent speed of about 981Mbps bi-directional. Also, note that the delay for Armageddon connections is measured in microseconds and in this example, the server experiences about 2900us of delay when sending to itself. |
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Goal: To setup and run traffic containing random MAC addresses using the LANforge Armageddon feature.
In this test scenario, LANforge Armageddon is setup to run with random MAC addresses. This is useful
when performance/stress testing network devices that may not be able to keep up with high-speed traffic
containing rapidly changing MAC addresses.
Note: In order to use the LANforge Armageddon feature, your system must have
the LANforge kernel patch applied and your system must be properly
licensed. Please feel free to contact us at support@candelatech.com
if you would like to obtain a demo license for the Armageddon feature.
| A: Go to the Port Manager and highlight port eth0 and eth1. |  |
| B: Modify port eth0 and eth1.
In this example, eth0 and eth1 are connected to another LANforge system running a WanLink so that the Armageddon traffic can be sniffed on the other machine's interface. |
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| C: Setup both ports to have valid IP addresses, then select 'OK'.
NOTE:Be sure that both ports are in Promiscuous mode by checking the Set Promisc and PROMISC boxes. |
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| A: On the Armageddon tab, select 'Create'. |  |
| B: Select ports eth0 and eth1 and fill in the speed and packet size. |  |
| C: Fill in values for the Source and Destination MAC addresses and specify a MAC count. |  |
| A: Highlight the Armageddon connection then select 'Start'. |  |
| B: On the Port Mgr tab of the other LANforge system, highlight one of the physical interfaces in the Armageddon connection. |  |
| C: Select 'Sniff Packets' to launch Wireshark and begin sniffing traffic.
Stop the Wireshark capture after a few seconds. |
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| D: In the Wireshark capture, verify that the MAC addresses for each packet are different. |  |
| E: In the Wireshark capture, verify that the MAC addresses for each packet are different. |  |
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Goal: To make some tasty chili.
In this test scenario, LANforge-FIRE is not used to generate traffic. Instead, the test engineer should realize that all work and no play makes Homer something something.
Please note that this chili recipe is just as quick and dirty as the rest of the examples in this cookbook, but ever more tasty. Feel free to improvise...
| A: Chop up some onions. One should be good enough. |  |
| B: Chop up some garlic. Just a few cloves. |  |
| A: Brown some ground beef. |  |
| B: Heat up tomato sauce, kidney beans. 16oz of each is good. |  |
| C: Add garlic, onions, beef and spices such as cayenne, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. |  |
| D: Don't forget the beer!
Note: The beer is for you, not the chili...unless of course you are experimenting! |
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| E: Cornbread is also nice to have. |  |
| A: Serve with additional chopped onions, corn chips and cheddar cheese. |  |
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Last modified: Wed Jun 04 17:00:00 PDT 2008