3
Why Now?
lSpeeds
-Devices are now faster than ever.  They look deeper into the packet and make more complex decisions.  We are not just talking about interconnect devices anymore.
lFeatures
-Devices are now able to do protocol conformance validation, security signature recognition, anti-virus, anti-spam, metering, etc.  We need to test these.
lApplications
-The number of applications on our networks is exploding.  Why should we only test with HTTP when it is only part of what the device will see.