Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet XMV12X Application & Streams Module

Ixia's Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet Application & Streams Module offers complete Layer 2-7 network and application testing functionality in a single Optixia XM load module. The twelve Gig Ethernet ports may either be used individually or aggregated through a 10 Gigabit Ethernet port or one of the Gig Ethernet ports. This architecture allows the processing power and resources of up to twelve per-port CPUs to be combined into one physical port, providing the highest Layer 4-7 line-rate performance, unmatched in any other Layer 4-7 test solution. Each test port supports wire-speed Layer 2-3 traffic generation and analysis, high-performance routing/bridging protocol emulation, and true Layer 4-7 application traffic generation and subscriber emulation. Using 12 GbE ports per module, ultra-high density test environments can be created for auto-negotiable 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet over copper as well as fiber. With 12 slots per Optixia XM12 chassis, up to 144 Gigabit Ethernet and 12 10GbE test ports are available in a single test system.

Each GbE port on an XMV12X module contains a powerful RISC processor running Linux and a full, testing-optimized TCP/IP stack. This processing power allows the XMV12X to emulate real-world application traffic, including voice, video and massive amounts of data. 10 GbE is the catalyst for rolling out new, advanced networking and security applications that are being incorporated into enterprise networks. It powers the performance required for bandwidth intensive Triple Play services such as video conferencing, telepresence, VoIP and database applications. The XMV12X supplies the horsepower required to test secure delivery of converged services at 10G speeds while ensuring quality of service.

Specifications

Load Module	ASM1000XMV12X-01
Connector Type	RJ45 or SFP for GbE ports; XFP for 10GbE port
Number of Ports	12 GbE (10/100/1000) + 10GbE
Maximum Ports per Chassis	144 GbE + 12 10GbE
Layer 2-3 Routing Protocol and Emulation	Yes
Layer 4-7 Application Traffic Testing	Yes
IEEE 1588 v2 Precision Time Protocol (PTP)	Yes
Capture Buffer per Port	64MB
Number of Transmit Flows per Port (sequential values)	Billions
Number of Transmit Flows per Port (arbitrary values)	98K
Number of Trackable Receive Flows per Port	128K
Number of Stream Definitions per Port	256 in Packet Stream Mode (sequential) or Advanced Stream (interleaved) modes. Each Stream Definition can generate millions of unique traffic flows
Transmit Engine	Wire-speed packet generation with timestamps, sequence numbers, data integrity signature, and packet group signatures
Receive Engine	Wire-speed packet filtering, capturing, real-time latency for each packet group, data integrity, and sequence checking
User Defined Field (UDF) Features	Fixed, increment or decrement by user-defined step, value lists, range lists, cascade, random, and chained
Table UDF Feature	Comprehensive packet editing function for emulating large numbers of sophisticated flows. Up to 98K table UDF entries are supported on the XMV12X.
Filters	48-bit source/destination address, 2x128-bit user-definable pattern and offset, frame length range, CRC error, data integrity error, sequence checking error (small, big, reverse)
Data Field (per stream)	Fixed, increment (Byte/Word), decrement (Byte/Word), random, repeating, user-specified up to 13K bytes
Statistics and Rates: Counter Size: 64-Bit	Link State, Line Speed, Frames Sent, Valid Frames Received, Bytes Sent/Received, Fragments, Undersize, Oversize, CRC Errors, VLAN Tagged Frames, User-Defined Stat 1, User- Defined Stat 2, Capture Trigger (UDS 3), Capture filter (UDS 4), User-Defined Stat 5, User-Defined Stat 6, 8 QoS counters, Data Integrity Frames, Data Integrity Errors, Sequence Checking Frames, Sequence Checking Errors, ARP, and Ping requests and replies
Error Generation	CRC (Good/Bad/None), Undersize, Oversize
Packet Flow Statistics	Real-time statistics to track up to 128K packet flows on the XMV12X with throughput and latency measurements.
Latency Measurements	20 ns resolution
IPv4, IPV6, UDP, TCP	Hardware checksum generation
Frame Length Controls	Fixed, random, weighted random, or increment by user-defined step, random, weighted random
Operating Temperature Range	41°F to 95°F (5°C to 35°C), ambient air [1]
Applications (Non-Aggregate Mode)	IxLoad: Layer 4-7 performance testing of content-aware devices and networks IxExplorer: Layer 2-3 wire-speed traffic generation and analysis Tcl API: Custom user script development for Layer 2-7 testing
Applications (1G-Aggregate Mode)	IxLoad: Layer 4-7 performance testing of content-aware devices and networks
Applications (10G-Aggregate Mode)	IxLoad: Layer 4-7 performance testing of content-aware devices and networks

Application Layer Performance Testing

Ixia's Gigabit Ethernet XMV modules support high performance testing of content-aware devices and networks via the IxLoad application. IxLoad creates real-world traffic scenarios at the TCP/UDP (Layer 4) and Application (Layer 7) layers, emulating clients and servers for Web (HTTP, SSL), FTP, Email (SMTP, POP3, IMAP), Streaming (RTP, RTSP), Video (MPEG2, MPEG4, IGMP), Voice (SIP, MGCP), and services such as DNS, DHCP, LDAP and Telnet. Each GE XMV port can be independently configured to run different protocols and client/server scenarios.

Modes of Operation

Ixia's ASM modules can operate in three different modes providing a flexible, scalable and powerful layer 4-7 performance.

• Non-Aggregated Mode
  In this mode, the twelve 10/100/1000Mbps ports provide L2-L7 XMV functionality. Each port is capable of providing high performance packet generation and application layer testing by employing its own port CPU resources as well as the dedicated hardware stream engine. In this mode the 10GE Aggregation Port is disabled.
• Gigabit Aggregated Mode
  Gigabit Aggregated Mode allows the twelve port CPUs to be assigned to any of 12 GbE test ports through the switch fabric. Aggregation of the processing power will allow application layer testing at line rate regardless of the test objective. A cluster of port CPUs can be assigned to any of the physical ports. Ixia test applications will transparently configure the available port CPU resources and make the assignment to a physical port to achieve the test objectives. This mode is exclusive to L4-7 testing and there is no support for hardware stream engine. In this mode the 10GE Aggregation Port and unused Gigabit ports are disabled.
• 10GE Aggregated Mode
  In 10GE Aggregated Mode, all of the twelve PCPU's are assigned to the 10GE Aggregation Port through the switch fabric. Aggregation of the processing power will allow application layer testing at line rate (10 Gbps). applications will transparently configure the PCPU resources to achieve the test objectives. This mode is exclusive to L4-7 testing and there is no support for hardware stream engine. In this mode the twelve Gigabit ports are disabled.

Flexible Packet Generation

Each Ixia GE XMV test port is capable of generating precisely controlled network traffic at up to wire speed of the network interface using Ixia's IxExplorer test application. Up to millions of packet flows can be configured on each port with fully customizable packet header fields. Flexible header control is available for Ethernet, IPv4/v6, IPX, ARP, TCP, UDP, VLANs, QinQ, MPLS, GRE, and many others. Payload contents can also be customized with incrementing/decrementing, fixed, random, or user-defined information. Frame sizes can be fixed, varied according to a pattern, or randomly assigned across a weighted range. Rate control can be flexibly defined in frames per second, bits per second, percentage of line rate, or inter-packet gap time.

Real-Time Latency

Packets representing different traffic profiles can be associated with Packet Group Identifiers (PGIDs). The receiving port measures the minimum, maximum, and average latency in real time for each packet belonging to different groups. Measurable latencies include:

• Instantaneous latency and inter-arrival time where each packet is associated with one group ID
• Latency bins, where PGIDs can be associated with a latency range
• Latency over time, where multiple PGIDs can be placed in "time buckets" with fixed durations
• First and last time stamps, where each PGID can store the timestamps of first and last received packets

Transmit Scheduler

There are two modes of transmission are available - Packet Stream and Advanced Stream Scheduler:

Packet Stream Scheduler
In Packet Stream Scheduler mode, the transmit engine allows configuration of up to 256 unique sequential stream groupings on each port. Multiple streams can be defined in sequence, each containing multiple packet flows defined by unique characteristics. After transmission of all packets in the first stream, control is passed to the next defined stream in the sequence. After reaching the last stream in the sequence, transmission may either cease, or control may be passed on to any other stream in the sequence. Therefore, multiple streams are cycled through, representing different traffic profiles to simulate real network traffic.

Advanced Stream Scheduler
In Advanced Stream Scheduler mode, the transmission of stream groupings is interleaved per port. For example, assume a port is configured with three streams. If Stream 1 is defined with IP packets at 20% of line rate, Stream 2 is defined with TCP packets at 50% of line rate, and Stream 3 is defined with MPLS packets at 30% of line rate, data on the port will be transmitted at an aggregate utilization of 100% with interleaved IP, TCP, and MPLS packets.

Extensive Statistics

• Real-time 64-bit frame counts and rates
• Spreadsheet presentation format for convenient manipulation of statistics counters
• Eight Quality of Service counters (supporting 802.1p, DSCP, and IPv4 TOS measurements)
• Six user-defined statistics that use a trigger condition
• Extended statistics for ARP, ICMP, and DHCP
• Transmit stream statistics for frame counts and rate
• External logging to file for statistics and alerts
• Audible and visual alerts with user-definable thresholds

Data Capture

Each port is equipped with 64 MB of capture memory, capable of storing tens of thousands of packets in real time. The capture buffer can be configured to store packets based on user-defined trigger and filter conditions. Decodes for IPv4, IPv6, UDP, ARP, BGP-4, IS-IS, OSPF, TCP, DHCP, IPX, RIP, IGMP, CISCO ISL, VLAN, and MPLS are provided.

Data Integrity

As packets traverse through networks, IP header contents may change resulting in the recalculation of packet CRC values. To validate device performance, the data integrity function of Gigabit Ethernet XMV modules allows packet payload contents to be verified with a unique CRC that is independent of the packet CRC. This ensures that the payload is not disturbed as the device changes header fields.

Sequence and Duplicate Packet Checking

Sequence numbers can be inserted at a user-defined offset in the payload of each transmitted packet. Upon receipt of the packets by the Device Under Test (DUT), out-of sequence errors or duplicated packets are reported in real time at wire-speed rates. The user can define a sequence error threshold to distinguish between small versus big errors, and the receive port can measure the amount of small, big, reversed, and total errors. Alternatively, the user can use the duplicate packet detection mode to observe that multiple packets with the same sequence number are received and analyzed.

IEEE 1588 v2 - Precision Time Protocol (PTP)

This load module supports IEEE 1588 v2 (Precision Time Protocol (PTP) or Precision Clock Synchronization Protocol) in IPv4 multicast. Ixia's implementation is based on two-step clock. Ports support Grand Master, Master and Slave clock emulations. Each port is capable of transmitting non-PTP and PTP traffic simultaneously. Histogram reporting capability allows tracking of slave clock offset from the master clock at different points in the network. Full IEEE 1588 packet composition, and transmit and receive decode capabilities are available in IxExplorer. In addition, customizable negative testing capabilities and features help with characterization of clock synchronization within a network.

Application Layer Performance Testing

Ixia's Gigabit Ethernet XMV modules support high performance testing of content-aware devices and networks via the IxLoad application. IxLoad creates real-world traffic scenarios at the TCP/UDP (Layer 4) and Application (Layer 7) layers, emulating clients and servers for Web (HTTP, SSL), FTP, Email (SMTP, POP3, IMAP), Streaming (RTP, RTSP), Video (MPEG2, MPEG4, IGMP), Voice (SIP, MGCP), and services such as DNS, DHCP, LDAP and Telnet. Each GE XMV port can be independently configured to run different protocols and client/server scenarios.

Tcl API

Ixia's Gigabit Ethernet XMV modules are supported by a comprehensive Tcl Application Programming Interface (API). This API allows users to develop custom scripts, and integrate the modules into automated test environments.

Custom Applications

The Linux Software Development Kit (SDK) allows existing Linux applications to be compiled and run on GE XMV ports. Additionally, users can develop their own custom applications and integrate them into the Ixia test environment.

Product Ordering Information

944-0013 ASM1000XMV12X-01
10 Gigabit Ethernet, Application and Stream Load Module, 1-10G or 12-Port Dual-PHY (RJ45 and SFP) 10/100/1000 Mbps, for OPTIXIA XM2 or OPTIXIA XM12 chassis; CPU with 1Giga Byte of memory per GbE port; On-Board Port Aggregation; GbE Fiber Ports REQUIRE SFP transceivers, options include SFP-LX or SFP-SX; and 10GbE port requires a XFP transceiver, options are either 948-0003 (XFP-850), XFP-1310, or XFP-1550

944-0067-01
SW-IEEE1588v2-OPT12, Configuration Option, Ethernet Timing Option, License per module; Includes support for master and/or slave clock emulation; REQUIRES Purchase of a supported load module [see 944-0032 (LSM1000XMV12-01), 944-0033 (LSM1000XMVR12-01), or 944-0013 (ASM1000XMV12X-01)].

SFP-LX
SFP Transceiver - 1310nm LX

SFP-SX
SFP Transceiver - 850nm SX

XFP-850 (948-0003-01) XFP 850 nm Transceiver

XFP-1550
XFP 1550nm Transceiver

XFP-1310
XFP 1310nm Transceiver

---

¹ - The maximum operating temperature for these load modules lowers the maximum operating temperature to these limits when used in an XM2 or XM12 chassis.

P/N: 915-0705-01 Rev. C – December 2008

This material is for informational purposes only and subject to change without notice. It describes Ixia's present plans to develop and make available to its customers certain products, features and capabilities. Ixia is only obligated to provide those deliverables specifically included in a written agreement between Ixia and the customer.

[ back | top of page | back to products ]