Network Working Group INTERNET-DRAFT Expires in: April 2006 Scott Poretsky Reef Point Systems Shankar Rao Qwest Communications October 2005 Methodology Guidelines for Accelerated Stress Benchmarking Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) statement: By submitting this Internet-Draft, each author represents that any applicable patent or other IPR claims of which he or she is aware have been or will be disclosed, and any of which he or she becomes aware will be disclosed, in accordance with Section 6 of BCP 79. Status of this Memo By submitting this Internet-Draft, I certify that any applicable patent or other IPR claims of which I am aware have been disclosed, and any of which I become aware will be disclosed, in accordance with RFC 3668. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt. The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. Copyright Notice Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005). All Rights Reserved. ABSTRACT Routers in an operational network are simultaneously configured With multiple protocols and security policies while forwarding traffic and being managed. To accurately benchmark a router for deployment it is necessary that the router be tested in these simultaneous operational conditions, which is known as Stress Testing. This document provides the Methodology Guidelines for performing Stress Benchmarking of networking devices. Descriptions of Test Topology, Benchmarks and Reporting Format are provided in addition to procedures for conducting various test cases. The methodology is to be used with the companion terminology document [4]. These guidelines can be used as the basis for additional methodology documents that benchmark specific network technologies under accelerated stress. Poretsky and Rao [Page 1] INTERNET-DRAFT Methodology for Accelerated October 2005 Stress Benchmarking Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................... 2 2. Existing definitions ....................................... 3 3. Test Setup.................................................. 3 3.1 Test Topologies............................................ 3 3.2 Test Considerations........................................ 3 3.3 Reporting Format........................................... 4 3.3.1 Configuration Sets....................................... 5 3.3.2 Startup Conditions....................................... 6 3.3.3 Instability Conditions................................... 6 3.3.4 Benchmarks............................................... 7 4. Example Test Case Procedure................................. 7 5. IANA Considerations......................................... 8 6. Security Considerations..................................... 9 7. Normative References........................................ 9 8. Informative References......................................10 9. Author's Address............................................10 1. Introduction Router testing benchmarks have consistently been made in a monolithic fashion wherein a single protocol or behavior is measured in an isolated environment. It is important to know the limits for a networking device's behavior for each protocol in isolation, however this does not produce a reliable benchmark of the device's behavior in an operational network. Routers in an operational network are simultaneously configured with multiple protocols and security policies while forwarding traffic and being managed. To accurately benchmark a router for deployment it is necessary to test that router in operational conditions by simultaneously configuring and scaling network protocols and security policies, forwarding traffic, and managing the device. It is helpful to accelerate these network operational conditions with Instability Conditions [4] so that the networking devices are stress tested. This document provides the Methodology for performing Stress Benchmarking of networking devices. Descriptions of Test Topology, Benchmarks and Reporting Format are provided in addition to procedures for conducting various test cases. The methodology is to be used with the companion terminology document [4]. Stress Testing of networking devices provides the following benefits: 1. Evaluation of multiple protocols enabled simultaneously as configured in deployed networks 2. Evaluation of System and Software Stability 3. Evaluation of Manageability under stressful conditions 4. Identification of Buffer Overflow conditions 5. Identification of Software Coding bugs such as: a. Memory Leaks b. Suboptimal CPU Utilization c. Coding Logic Poretsky and Rao [Page 2] INTERNET-DRAFT Methodology for Accelerated October 2005 Stress Benchmarking These benefits produce significant advantages for network operations: 1. Increased stability of routers and protocols 2. Hardened routers to DoS attacks 3. Verified manageability under stress 4. Planning router resources for growth and scale 2. Existing definitions The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14, RFC 2119 [6]. RFC 2119 defines the use of these key words to help make the intent of standards track documents as clear as possible. While this document uses these keywords, this document is not a standards track document. Terms related to Accelerated Stress Benchmarking are defined in [4]. 3. Test Setup 3.1 Test Topologies Figure 1 shows the physical configuration to be used for the methodologies provided in this document. The number of interfaces between the tester and DUT will scale depending upon the number of control protocol sessions and traffic forwarding interfaces. A separate device may be required to externally manage the device in the case that the test equipment does not support such functionality. Figure 2 shows the logical configuration for the stress test methodologies. Each plane may be emulated by single or multiple test equipment. 3.2 Test Considerations The Accelerated Stress Benchmarking test can be applied in service provider test environments to benchmark DUTs under stress in an environment that is reflective of an operational network. A particular Configuration Set is defined and the DUT is benchmarked using this configuration set and the Instability Conditions. Varying Configuration Sets and/or Instability Conditions applied in an iterative fashion can provide an accurate characterization of the DUT to help determine future network deployments. Poretsky and Rao [Page 3] INTERNET-DRAFT Methodology for Accelerated October 2005 Stress Benchmarking ___________ | DUT | ___|Management | | | | | ----------- \/ ___________ | | | DUT | |--->| |<---| xN | ----------- | xN interfaces | | interfaces | ___________ | | | | | |--->| Tester |<---| | | ----------- Figure 1. Physical Configuration ___________ ___________ | Control | | Management| | Plane |___ ___| Plane | | | | | | | ----------- | | ----------- \/ \/ ___________ ___________ | Security | | |<-----------| Plane | | DUT | | | |--->| |<---| ----------- | ----------- | | | | ___________ | | | Data | | |--->| Plane |<---| | | ----------- Figure 2. Logical Configuration 3.3 Reporting Format Each methodology requires reporting of information for test repeatability when benchmarking the same or different devices. The information that are the Configuration Sets, Instability Conditions, and Benchmarks, as defined in [4]. Example reporting formats for each are provided below. Poretsky and Rao [Page 4] INTERNET-DRAFT Methodology for Accelerated October 2005 Stress Benchmarking 3.3.1 Configuration Sets Configuration Sets may include and are not limited to the following examples. Example Routing Protocol Configuration Set- PARAMETER UNITS BGP Enabled/Disabled Number of EBGP Peers Peers Number of IBGP Peers Peers Number of BGP Route Instances Routes Number of BGP Installed Routes Routes MBGP Enabled/Disabled Number of MBGP Route Instances Routes Number of MBGP Installed Routes Routes IGP Enabled/Disabled IGP-TE Enabled/Disabled Number of IGP Adjacencies Adjacencies Number of IGP Routes Routes Number of Nodes per Area Nodes Example MPLS Protocol Configuration Set- PARAMETER UNITS MPLS-TE Enabled/Disabled Number of Tunnels as Ingress Tunnels Number of Tunnels as Mid-Point Tunnels Number of Tunnels as Egress Tunnels LDP Enabled/Disabled Number of Sessions Sessions Number of FECs FECs Example Multicast Protocol Configuration Set- PARAMETER UNITS PIM-SM Enabled/Disabled RP Enabled/Disabled Number of Multicast Groups Groups MSDP Enabled/Disabled Example Data Plane Configuration Set- PARAMETER UNITS Traffic Forwarding Enabled/Disabled Aggregate Offered Load bps (or pps) Number of Ingress Interfaces number Number of Egress Interfaces number TRAFFIC PROFILE Packet Size(s) bytes Offered Load (interface) array of bps Number of Flows number Encapsulation(flow) array of encapsulation type Poretsky and Rao [Page 5] INTERNET-DRAFT Methodology for Accelerated October 2005 Stress Benchmarking Management Configuration Set- PARAMETER UNITS SNMP GET Rate SNMP Gets/minute Logging Enabled/Disabled Protocol Debug Enabled/Disabled Telnet Rate Sessions/Hour FTP Rate Sessions/Hour Concurrent Telnet Sessions Sessions Concurrent FTP Session Sessions Packet Statistics Collector Enabled/Disabled Statistics Sampling Rate X:1 packets Security Configuration Set - PARAMETER UNITS Packet Filters Enabled/Disabled Number of Filters For-Me number Number of Filter Rules For-Me number Number of Traffic Filters number Number of Traffic Filter Rules number IPsec tunnels number SSH Enabled/Disabled Number of simultaneous SSH sessions number RADIUS Enabled/Disabled TACACS Enabled/Disabled 3.3.2 Startup Conditions Startup Conditions may include and are not limited to the following examples: PARAMETER UNITS EBGP peering sessions negotiated Total EBGP Sessions IBGP peering sessions negotiated Total IBGP Sessions BGP routes learned rate BGP Routes per Second ISIS adjacencies established Total ISIS Adjacencies ISIS routes learned rate ISIS Routes per Second IPsec tunnels negotiated Total IPsec Tunnels IPsec tunnel establishment rate IPsec tunnels per second 3.3.3 Instability Conditions Instability Conditions may include and are not limited to the following examples: PARAMETER UNITS Interface Shutdown Cycling Rate interfaces per minute BGP Session Flap Rate sessions per minute BGP Route Flap Rate routes per minutes IGP Route Flap Rate routes per minutes LSP Reroute Rate LSP per minute Overloaded Links number Amount Links Overloaded % of bandwidth FTP Rate Mb/minute IPsec Tunnel Flap Rate tunnels per minute Filter Policy Changes policies per hour SSH Session Restart SSH sessions per hour Telnet Session Restart Telnet session per hour Poretsky and Rao [Page 6] INTERNET-DRAFT Methodology for Accelerated October 2005 Stress Benchmarking 3.3.4 Benchmarks Benchmarks are as defined in [1] and listed as follow: PARAMETER UNITS PHASE Stable Aggregate Forwarding Rate pps Startup Stable Latency seconds Startup Stable Session Count sessions Startup Unstable Aggregate Forwarding Rate pps Instability Degraded Aggregate Forwarding Rate pps Instability Ave. Degraded Aggregate Forwarding Rate pps Instability Unstable Latency seconds Instability Unstable Uncontrolled Sessions Lost sessions Instability Recovered Aggregate Forwarding Rate pps Recovery Recovered Latency seconds Recovery Recovery Time seconds Recovery Recovered Uncontrolled Sessions Lost sessions Recovery 4. Example Test Case Procedure 1. Report Configuration Set BGP Enabled 10 EBGP Peers 30 IBGP Peers 500K BGP Route Instances 160K BGP FIB Routes ISIS Enabled ISIS-TE Disabled 30 ISIS Adjacencies 10K ISIS Level-1 Routes 250 ISIS Nodes per Area MPLS Disabled IP Multicast Disabled IPsec Enabled 10K IPsec tunnels 640 Firewall Policies 100 Firewall Rules per Policy Traffic Forwarding Enabled Aggregate Offered Load 10Gbps 30 Ingress Interfaces 30 Egress Interfaces Packet Size(s) = 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 1280, 1518 bytes Forwarding Rate[1..30] = 1Gbps 10000 Flows Encapsulation[1..5000] = IPv4 Encapsulation[5001.10000] = IPsec Poretsky and Rao [Page 7] INTERNET-DRAFT Methodology for Accelerated October 2005 Stress Benchmarking Logging Enabled Protocol Debug Disabled SNMP Enabled SSH Enabled 20 Concurrent SSH Sessions FTP Enabled RADIUS Enabled TACACS Disabled Packet Statistics Collector Enabled 2. Begin Startup Conditions with the DUT 10 EBGP peering sessions negotiated 30 EBGP peering sessions negotiated 1K BGP routes learned per second 30 ISIS Adjacencies 1K ISIS routes learned per second 10K IPsec tunnels negotiated 3. Establish Configuration Sets with the DUT 4. Report Stability Benchmarks as follow: Stable Aggregate Forwarding Rate Stable Latency Stable Session Count It is RECOMMENDED that the benchmarks be measured and recorded at one-second intervals. 5. Apply Instability Conditions Interface Shutdown Cycling Rate = 1 interface every 5 minutes BGP Session Flap Rate = 1 session every 10 minutes BGP Route Flap Rate = 100 routes per minute ISIS Route Flap Rate = 100 routes per minute IPsec Tunnel Flap Rate = 1 tunnel per minute Overloaded Links = 5 of 30 Amount Links Overloaded = 20% SNMP GETs = 1 per sec SSH Restart Rate = 10 sessions per hour FTP Restart Rate = 10 transfers per hour FTP Transfer Rate = 100 Mbps Statistics Sampling Rate = 1:1 packets 6. Apply Instability Condition specific to test case. Poretsky and Rao [Page 8] INTERNET-DRAFT Methodology for Accelerated October 2005 Stress Benchmarking 7. Report Instability Benchmarks as follow: Unstable Aggregate Forwarding Rate Degraded Aggregate Forwarding Rate Ave. Degraded Aggregate Forwarding Rate Unstable Latency Unstable Uncontrolled Sessions Lost It is RECOMMENDED that the benchmarks be measured and recorded at one-second intervals. 8. Stop applying all Instability Conditions 9. Report Recovery Benchmarks as follow: Recovered Aggregate Forwarding Rate Recovered Latency Recovery Time Recovered Uncontrolled Sessions Lost It is RECOMMENDED that the benchmarks be measured and recorded at one-second intervals. 10. Optional - Change Configuration Set and/or Instability Conditions for next iteration 5. IANA Considerations This document requires no IANA considerations. 6. Security Considerations Documents of this type do not directly affect the security of the Internet or of corporate networks as long as benchmarking is not performed on devices or systems connected to operating networks. 7. Normative References [1] Bradner, S., Editor, "Benchmarking Terminology for Network Interconnection Devices", RFC 1242, October 1991. [2] Mandeville, R., "Benchmarking Terminology for LAN Switching Devices", RFC 2285, June 1998. [3] Bradner, S. and McQuaid, J., "Benchmarking Methodology for Network Interconnect Devices", RFC 2544, March 1999. [4] Poretsky, S. and Rao, S., "Terminology for Accelerated Stress Benchmarking", draft-ietf-bmwg-acc-bench-term-07, work in progress, October 2005. Poretsky and Rao [Page 9] INTERNET-DRAFT Methodology for Accelerated October 2005 Stress Benchmarking [5] Poretsky, S., "Benchmarking Terminology for IGP Data Plane Route Convergence", draft-ietf-bmwg-igp-dataplane-conv-term-08, work in progress, October 2005. [6] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", RFC 2119, March 1997. 8. Informative References [RFC3871] RFC 3871 "Operational Security Requirements for Large Internet Service Provider (ISP) IP Network Infrastructure. G. Jones, Ed.. IETF, September 2004. [NANOG25] "Core Router Evaluation for Higher Availability", Scott Poretsky, NANOG 25, June 8, 2002, Toronto, CA. [IEEECQR] "Router Stress Testing to Validate Readiness for Network Deployment", Scott Poretsky, IEEE CQR 2003. [CONVMETH] Poretsky, S., "Benchmarking Methodology for IGP Data Plane Route Convergence", draft-ietf-bmwg-igp-dataplane-conv-meth-08, work in progress, October 2005. 9. Author's Address Scott Poretsky Reef Point Systems 8 New England Executive Park Burlington, MA 01803 USA Phone: + 1 781 395 5090 EMail: sporetsky@reefpoint.com Shankar Rao 1801 California Street 8th Floor Qwest Communications Denver, CO 80202 USA Phone: + 1 303 437 6643 Email: shankar.rao@qwest.com Poretsky and Rao [Page 10] INTERNET-DRAFT Methodology for Accelerated October 2005 Stress Benchmarking Full Copyright Statement Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005). This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors retain all their rights. 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