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diff --git a/docs/testing/developer/requirements/vswitchperf_ltp.rst b/docs/testing/developer/requirements/vswitchperf_ltp.rst new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2b74d676 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/testing/developer/requirements/vswitchperf_ltp.rst @@ -0,0 +1,1348 @@ +.. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. +.. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 +.. (c) OPNFV, Intel Corporation, AT&T and others. + +.. 3.1 + +***************************** +VSPERF LEVEL TEST PLAN (LTP) +***************************** + +=============== +Introduction +=============== + +The objective of the OPNFV project titled +**Characterize vSwitch Performance for Telco NFV Use Cases**, is to +evaluate the performance of virtual switches to identify its suitability for a +Telco Network Function Virtualization (NFV) environment. The intention of this +Level Test Plan (LTP) document is to specify the scope, approach, resources, +and schedule of the virtual switch performance benchmarking activities in +OPNFV. The test cases will be identified in a separate document called the +Level Test Design (LTD) document. + +This document is currently in draft form. + +.. 3.1.1 + + +.. _doc-id: + +Document identifier +========================= + +The document id will be used to uniquely identify versions of the LTP. The +format for the document id will be: OPNFV\_vswitchperf\_LTP\_REL\_STATUS, where +by the status is one of: draft, reviewed, corrected or final. The document id +for this version of the LTP is: OPNFV\_vswitchperf\_LTP\_Colorado\_REVIEWED. + +.. 3.1.2 + +.. _scope: + +Scope +========== + +The main purpose of this project is to specify a suite of +performance tests in order to objectively measure the current packet +transfer characteristics of a virtual switch in the NFVI. The intent of +the project is to facilitate the performance testing of any virtual switch. +Thus, a generic suite of tests shall be developed, with no hard dependencies to +a single implementation. In addition, the test case suite shall be +architecture independent. + +The test cases developed in this project shall not form part of a +separate test framework, all of these tests may be inserted into the +Continuous Integration Test Framework and/or the Platform Functionality +Test Framework - if a vSwitch becomes a standard component of an OPNFV +release. + +.. 3.1.3 + +References +=============== + +* `RFC 1242 Benchmarking Terminology for Network Interconnection + Devices <http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1242.txt>`__ +* `RFC 2544 Benchmarking Methodology for Network Interconnect + Devices <http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2544.txt>`__ +* `RFC 2285 Benchmarking Terminology for LAN Switching + Devices <http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2285.txt>`__ +* `RFC 2889 Benchmarking Methodology for LAN Switching + Devices <http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2889.txt>`__ +* `RFC 3918 Methodology for IP Multicast + Benchmarking <http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3918.txt>`__ +* `RFC 4737 Packet Reordering + Metrics <http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4737.txt>`__ +* `RFC 5481 Packet Delay Variation Applicability + Statement <http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc5481.txt>`__ +* `RFC 6201 Device Reset + Characterization <http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6201>`__ + +.. 3.1.4 + +Level in the overall sequence +=============================== +The level of testing conducted by vswitchperf in the overall testing sequence (among +all the testing projects in OPNFV) is the performance benchmarking of a +specific component (the vswitch) in the OPNFV platfrom. It's expected that this +testing will follow on from the functional and integration testing conducted by +other testing projects in OPNFV, namely Functest and Yardstick. + +.. 3.1.5 + +Test classes and overall test conditions +========================================= +A benchmark is defined by the IETF as: A standardized test that serves as a +basis for performance evaluation and comparison. It's important to note that +benchmarks are not Functional tests. They do not provide PASS/FAIL criteria, +and most importantly ARE NOT performed on live networks, or performed with live +network traffic. + +In order to determine the packet transfer characteristics of a virtual switch, +the benchmarking tests will be broken down into the following categories: + +- **Throughput Tests** to measure the maximum forwarding rate (in + frames per second or fps) and bit rate (in Mbps) for a constant load + (as defined by `RFC1242 <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1242.txt>`__) + without traffic loss. +- **Packet and Frame Delay Tests** to measure average, min and max + packet and frame delay for constant loads. +- **Stream Performance Tests** (TCP, UDP) to measure bulk data transfer + performance, i.e. how fast systems can send and receive data through + the virtual switch. +- **Request/Response Performance** Tests (TCP, UDP) the measure the + transaction rate through the virtual switch. +- **Packet Delay Tests** to understand latency distribution for + different packet sizes and over an extended test run to uncover + outliers. +- **Scalability Tests** to understand how the virtual switch performs + as the number of flows, active ports, complexity of the forwarding + logic's configuration... it has to deal with increases. +- **Control Path and Datapath Coupling** Tests, to understand how + closely coupled the datapath and the control path are as well as the + effect of this coupling on the performance of the DUT. +- **CPU and Memory Consumption Tests** to understand the virtual + switch’s footprint on the system, this includes: + + * CPU core utilization. + * CPU cache utilization. + * Memory footprint. + * System bus (QPI, PCI, ..) utilization. + * Memory lanes utilization. + * CPU cycles consumed per packet. + * Time To Establish Flows Tests. + +- **Noisy Neighbour Tests**, to understand the effects of resource + sharing on the performance of a virtual switch. + +**Note:** some of the tests above can be conducted simultaneously where +the combined results would be insightful, for example Packet/Frame Delay +and Scalability. + + + +.. 3.2 + +.. _details-of-LTP: + +=================================== +Details of the Level Test Plan +=================================== + +This section describes the following items: +* Test items and their identifiers (TestItems_) +* Test Traceability Matrix (TestMatrix_) +* Features to be tested (FeaturesToBeTested_) +* Features not to be tested (FeaturesNotToBeTested_) +* Approach (Approach_) +* Item pass/fail criteria (PassFailCriteria_) +* Suspension criteria and resumption requirements (SuspensionResumptionReqs_) + +.. 3.2.1 + +.. _TestItems: + +Test items and their identifiers +================================== +The test item/application vsperf is trying to test are virtual switches and in +particular their performance in an nfv environment. vsperf will first try to +measure the maximum achievable performance by a virtual switch and then it will +focus in on usecases that are as close to real life deployment scenarios as +possible. + +.. 3.2.2 + +.. _TestMatrix: + +Test Traceability Matrix +========================== +vswitchperf leverages the "3x3" matrix (introduced in +https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-bmwg-virtual-net-02) to achieve test +traceability. The matrix was expanded to 3x4 to accommodate scale metrics when +displaying the coverage of many metrics/benchmarks). Test case covreage in the +LTD is tracked using the following catagories: + + ++---------------+-------------+------------+---------------+-------------+ +| | | | | | +| | SPEED | ACCURACY | RELIABILITY | SCALE | +| | | | | | ++---------------+-------------+------------+---------------+-------------+ +| | | | | | +| Activation | X | X | X | X | +| | | | | | ++---------------+-------------+------------+---------------+-------------+ +| | | | | | +| Operation | X | X | X | X | +| | | | | | ++---------------+-------------+------------+---------------+-------------+ +| | | | | | +| De-activation | | | | | +| | | | | | ++---------------+-------------+------------+---------------+-------------+ + +X = denotes a test catagory that has 1 or more test cases defined. + +.. 3.2.3 + +.. _FeaturesToBeTested: + +Features to be tested +========================== + +Characterizing virtual switches (i.e. Device Under Test (DUT) in this document) +includes measuring the following performance metrics: + +- **Throughput** as defined by `RFC1242 + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1242.txt>`__: The maximum rate at which + **none** of the offered frames are dropped by the DUT. The maximum frame + rate and bit rate that can be transmitted by the DUT without any error + should be recorded. Note there is an equivalent bit rate and a specific + layer at which the payloads contribute to the bits. Errors and + improperly formed frames or packets are dropped. +- **Packet delay** introduced by the DUT and its cumulative effect on + E2E networks. Frame delay can be measured equivalently. +- **Packet delay variation**: measured from the perspective of the + VNF/application. Packet delay variation is sometimes called "jitter". + However, we will avoid the term "jitter" as the term holds different + meaning to different groups of people. In this document we will + simply use the term packet delay variation. The preferred form for this + metric is the PDV form of delay variation defined in `RFC5481 + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5481.txt>`__. The most relevant + measurement of PDV considers the delay variation of a single user flow, + as this will be relevant to the size of end-system buffers to compensate + for delay variation. The measurement system's ability to store the + delays of individual packets in the flow of interest is a key factor + that determines the specific measurement method. At the outset, it is + ideal to view the complete PDV distribution. Systems that can capture + and store packets and their delays have the freedom to calculate the + reference minimum delay and to determine various quantiles of the PDV + distribution accurately (in post-measurement processing routines). + Systems without storage must apply algorithms to calculate delay and + statistical measurements on the fly. For example, a system may store + temporary estimates of the mimimum delay and the set of (100) packets + with the longest delays during measurement (to calculate a high quantile, + and update these sets with new values periodically. + In some cases, a limited number of delay histogram bins will be + available, and the bin limits will need to be set using results from + repeated experiments. See section 8 of `RFC5481 + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5481.txt>`__. +- **Packet loss** (within a configured waiting time at the receiver): All + packets sent to the DUT should be accounted for. +- **Burst behaviour**: measures the ability of the DUT to buffer packets. +- **Packet re-ordering**: measures the ability of the device under test to + maintain sending order throughout transfer to the destination. +- **Packet correctness**: packets or Frames must be well-formed, in that + they include all required fields, conform to length requirements, pass + integrity checks, etc. +- **Availability and capacity** of the DUT i.e. when the DUT is fully “up” + and connected, following measurements should be captured for + DUT without any network packet load: + + - Includes average power consumption of the CPUs (in various power states) and + system over specified period of time. Time period should not be less + than 60 seconds. + - Includes average per core CPU utilization over specified period of time. + Time period should not be less than 60 seconds. + - Includes the number of NIC interfaces supported. + - Includes headroom of VM workload processing cores (i.e. available + for applications). + +.. 3.2.4 + +.. _FeaturesNotToBeTested: + +Features not to be tested +========================== +vsperf doesn't intend to define or perform any functional tests. The aim is to +focus on performance. + +.. 3.2.5 + +.. _Approach: + +Approach +============== +The testing approach adoped by the vswitchperf project is black box testing, +meaning the test inputs can be generated and the outputs captured and +completely evaluated from the outside of the System Under Test. Some metrics +can be collected on the SUT, such as cpu or memory utilization if the +collection has no/minimal impact on benchmark. +This section will look at the deployment scenarios and the general methodology +used by vswitchperf. In addition, this section will also specify the details of +the Test Report that must be collected for each of the test cases. + +.. 3.2.5.1 + +Deployment Scenarios +-------------------------- +The following represents possible deployment test scenarios which can +help to determine the performance of both the virtual switch and the +datapaths to physical ports (to NICs) and to logical ports (to VNFs): + +.. 3.2.5.1.1 + +.. _Phy2Phy: + +Physical port → vSwitch → physical port +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ +.. code-block:: console + + _ + +--------------------------------------------------+ | + | +--------------------+ | | + | | | | | + | | v | | Host + | +--------------+ +--------------+ | | + | | phy port | vSwitch | phy port | | | + +---+--------------+------------+--------------+---+ _| + ^ : + | | + : v + +--------------------------------------------------+ + | | + | traffic generator | + | | + +--------------------------------------------------+ + +.. 3.2.5.1.2 + +.. _PVP: + +Physical port → vSwitch → VNF → vSwitch → physical port +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ +.. code-block:: console + + _ + +---------------------------------------------------+ | + | | | + | +-------------------------------------------+ | | + | | Application | | | + | +-------------------------------------------+ | | + | ^ : | | + | | | | | Guest + | : v | | + | +---------------+ +---------------+ | | + | | logical port 0| | logical port 1| | | + +---+---------------+-----------+---------------+---+ _| + ^ : + | | + : v _ + +---+---------------+----------+---------------+---+ | + | | logical port 0| | logical port 1| | | + | +---------------+ +---------------+ | | + | ^ : | | + | | | | | Host + | : v | | + | +--------------+ +--------------+ | | + | | phy port | vSwitch | phy port | | | + +---+--------------+------------+--------------+---+ _| + ^ : + | | + : v + +--------------------------------------------------+ + | | + | traffic generator | + | | + +--------------------------------------------------+ + +.. 3.2.5.1.3 + +.. _PVVP: + +Physical port → vSwitch → VNF → vSwitch → VNF → vSwitch → physical port +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +.. code-block:: console + + _ + +----------------------+ +----------------------+ | + | Guest 1 | | Guest 2 | | + | +---------------+ | | +---------------+ | | + | | Application | | | | Application | | | + | +---------------+ | | +---------------+ | | + | ^ | | | ^ | | | + | | v | | | v | | Guests + | +---------------+ | | +---------------+ | | + | | logical ports | | | | logical ports | | | + | | 0 1 | | | | 0 1 | | | + +---+---------------+--+ +---+---------------+--+ _| + ^ : ^ : + | | | | + : v : v _ + +---+---------------+---------+---------------+--+ | + | | 0 1 | | 3 4 | | | + | | logical ports | | logical ports | | | + | +---------------+ +---------------+ | | + | ^ | ^ | | | Host + | | L-----------------+ v | | + | +--------------+ +--------------+ | | + | | phy ports | vSwitch | phy ports | | | + +---+--------------+----------+--------------+---+ _| + ^ ^ : : + | | | | + : : v v + +--------------------------------------------------+ + | | + | traffic generator | + | | + +--------------------------------------------------+ + +.. 3.2.5.1.4 + +Physical port → VNF → vSwitch → VNF → physical port +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +.. code-block:: console + + _ + +----------------------+ +----------------------+ | + | Guest 1 | | Guest 2 | | + |+-------------------+ | | +-------------------+| | + || Application | | | | Application || | + |+-------------------+ | | +-------------------+| | + | ^ | | | ^ | | | Guests + | | v | | | v | | + |+-------------------+ | | +-------------------+| | + || logical ports | | | | logical ports || | + || 0 1 | | | | 0 1 || | + ++--------------------++ ++--------------------++ _| + ^ : ^ : + (PCI passthrough) | | (PCI passthrough) + | v : | _ + +--------++------------+-+------------++---------+ | + | | || 0 | | 1 || | | | + | | ||logical port| |logical port|| | | | + | | |+------------+ +------------+| | | | + | | | | ^ | | | | + | | | L-----------------+ | | | | + | | | | | | | Host + | | | vSwitch | | | | + | | +-----------------------------+ | | | + | | | | | + | | v | | + | +--------------+ +--------------+ | | + | | phy port/VF | | phy port/VF | | | + +-+--------------+--------------+--------------+-+ _| + ^ : + | | + : v + +--------------------------------------------------+ + | | + | traffic generator | + | | + +--------------------------------------------------+ + +.. 3.2.5.1.5 + +Physical port → vSwitch → VNF +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +.. code-block:: console + + _ + +---------------------------------------------------+ | + | | | + | +-------------------------------------------+ | | + | | Application | | | + | +-------------------------------------------+ | | + | ^ | | + | | | | Guest + | : | | + | +---------------+ | | + | | logical port 0| | | + +---+---------------+-------------------------------+ _| + ^ + | + : _ + +---+---------------+------------------------------+ | + | | logical port 0| | | + | +---------------+ | | + | ^ | | + | | | | Host + | : | | + | +--------------+ | | + | | phy port | vSwitch | | + +---+--------------+------------ -------------- ---+ _| + ^ + | + : + +--------------------------------------------------+ + | | + | traffic generator | + | | + +--------------------------------------------------+ + +.. 3.2.5.1.6 + +VNF → vSwitch → physical port +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +.. code-block:: console + + _ + +---------------------------------------------------+ | + | | | + | +-------------------------------------------+ | | + | | Application | | | + | +-------------------------------------------+ | | + | : | | + | | | | Guest + | v | | + | +---------------+ | | + | | logical port | | | + +-------------------------------+---------------+---+ _| + : + | + v _ + +------------------------------+---------------+---+ | + | | logical port | | | + | +---------------+ | | + | : | | + | | | | Host + | v | | + | +--------------+ | | + | vSwitch | phy port | | | + +-------------------------------+--------------+---+ _| + : + | + v + +--------------------------------------------------+ + | | + | traffic generator | + | | + +--------------------------------------------------+ + +.. 3.2.5.1.7 + +VNF → vSwitch → VNF → vSwitch +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +.. code-block:: console + + _ + +-------------------------+ +-------------------------+ | + | Guest 1 | | Guest 2 | | + | +-----------------+ | | +-----------------+ | | + | | Application | | | | Application | | | + | +-----------------+ | | +-----------------+ | | + | : | | ^ | | + | | | | | | | Guest + | v | | : | | + | +---------------+ | | +---------------+ | | + | | logical port 0| | | | logical port 0| | | + +-----+---------------+---+ +---+---------------+-----+ _| + : ^ + | | + v : _ + +----+---------------+------------+---------------+-----+ | + | | port 0 | | port 1 | | | + | +---------------+ +---------------+ | | + | : ^ | | + | | | | | Host + | +--------------------+ | | + | | | + | vswitch | | + +-------------------------------------------------------+ _| + +.. 3.2.5.1.8 + +HOST 1(Physical port → virtual switch → VNF → virtual switch → Physical port) +→ HOST 2(Physical port → virtual switch → VNF → virtual switch → Physical port) + +HOST 1 (PVP) → HOST 2 (PVP) +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +.. code-block:: console + + _ + +----------------------+ +----------------------+ | + | Guest 1 | | Guest 2 | | + | +---------------+ | | +---------------+ | | + | | Application | | | | Application | | | + | +---------------+ | | +---------------+ | | + | ^ | | | ^ | | | + | | v | | | v | | Guests + | +---------------+ | | +---------------+ | | + | | logical ports | | | | logical ports | | | + | | 0 1 | | | | 0 1 | | | + +---+---------------+--+ +---+---------------+--+ _| + ^ : ^ : + | | | | + : v : v _ + +---+---------------+--+ +---+---------------+--+ | + | | 0 1 | | | | 3 4 | | | + | | logical ports | | | | logical ports | | | + | +---------------+ | | +---------------+ | | + | ^ | | | ^ | | | Hosts + | | v | | | v | | + | +--------------+ | | +--------------+ | | + | | phy ports | | | | phy ports | | | + +---+--------------+---+ +---+--------------+---+ _| + ^ : : : + | +-----------------+ | + : v + +--------------------------------------------------+ + | | + | traffic generator | + | | + +--------------------------------------------------+ + + + +**Note:** For tests where the traffic generator and/or measurement +receiver are implemented on VM and connected to the virtual switch +through vNIC, the issues of shared resources and interactions between +the measurement devices and the device under test must be considered. + +**Note:** Some RFC 2889 tests require a full-mesh sending and receiving +pattern involving more than two ports. This possibility is illustrated in the +Physical port → vSwitch → VNF → vSwitch → VNF → vSwitch → physical port +diagram above (with 2 sending and 2 receiving ports, though all ports +could be used bi-directionally). + +**Note:** When Deployment Scenarios are used in RFC 2889 address learning +or cache capacity testing, an additional port from the vSwitch must be +connected to the test device. This port is used to listen for flooded +frames. + +.. 3.2.5.2 + +General Methodology: +-------------------------- +To establish the baseline performance of the virtual switch, tests would +initially be run with a simple workload in the VNF (the recommended +simple workload VNF would be `DPDK <http://www.dpdk.org/>`__'s testpmd +application forwarding packets in a VM or vloop\_vnf a simple kernel +module that forwards traffic between two network interfaces inside the +virtualized environment while bypassing the networking stack). +Subsequently, the tests would also be executed with a real Telco +workload running in the VNF, which would exercise the virtual switch in +the context of higher level Telco NFV use cases, and prove that its +underlying characteristics and behaviour can be measured and validated. +Suitable real Telco workload VNFs are yet to be identified. + +.. 3.2.5.2.1 + +.. _default-test-parameters: + +Default Test Parameters +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +The following list identifies the default parameters for suite of +tests: + +- Reference application: Simple forwarding or Open Source VNF. +- Frame size (bytes): 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 1280, 1518, 2K, 4k OR + Packet size based on use-case (e.g. RTP 64B, 256B) OR Mix of packet sizes as + maintained by the Functest project <https://wiki.opnfv.org/traffic_profile_management>. +- Reordering check: Tests should confirm that packets within a flow are + not reordered. +- Duplex: Unidirectional / Bidirectional. Default: Full duplex with + traffic transmitting in both directions, as network traffic generally + does not flow in a single direction. By default the data rate of + transmitted traffic should be the same in both directions, please + note that asymmetric traffic (e.g. downlink-heavy) tests will be + mentioned explicitly for the relevant test cases. +- Number of Flows: Default for non scalability tests is a single flow. + For scalability tests the goal is to test with maximum supported + flows but where possible will test up to 10 Million flows. Start with + a single flow and scale up. By default flows should be added + sequentially, tests that add flows simultaneously will explicitly + call out their flow addition behaviour. Packets are generated across + the flows uniformly with no burstiness. For multi-core tests should + consider the number of packet flows based on vSwitch/VNF multi-thread + implementation and behavior. + +- Traffic Types: UDP, SCTP, RTP, GTP and UDP traffic. +- Deployment scenarios are: +- Physical → virtual switch → physical. +- Physical → virtual switch → VNF → virtual switch → physical. +- Physical → virtual switch → VNF → virtual switch → VNF → virtual + switch → physical. +- Physical → VNF → virtual switch → VNF → physical. +- Physical → virtual switch → VNF. +- VNF → virtual switch → Physical. +- VNF → virtual switch → VNF. + +Tests MUST have these parameters unless otherwise stated. **Test cases +with non default parameters will be stated explicitly**. + +**Note**: For throughput tests unless stated otherwise, test +configurations should ensure that traffic traverses the installed flows +through the virtual switch, i.e. flows are installed and have an appropriate +time out that doesn't expire before packet transmission starts. + +.. 3.2.5.2.2 + +Flow Classification +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Virtual switches classify packets into flows by processing and matching +particular header fields in the packet/frame and/or the input port where +the packets/frames arrived. The vSwitch then carries out an action on +the group of packets that match the classification parameters. Thus a +flow is considered to be a sequence of packets that have a shared set of +header field values or have arrived on the same port and have the same +action applied to them. Performance results can vary based on the +parameters the vSwitch uses to match for a flow. The recommended flow +classification parameters for L3 vSwitch performance tests are: the +input port, the source IP address, the destination IP address and the +Ethernet protocol type field. It is essential to increase the flow +time-out time on a vSwitch before conducting any performance tests that +do not measure the flow set-up time. Normally the first packet of a +particular flow will install the flow in the vSwitch which adds an +additional latency, subsequent packets of the same flow are not subject +to this latency if the flow is already installed on the vSwitch. + +.. 3.2.5.2.3 + +Test Priority +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Tests will be assigned a priority in order to determine which tests +should be implemented immediately and which tests implementations +can be deferred. + +Priority can be of following types: - Urgent: Must be implemented +immediately. - High: Must be implemented in the next release. - Medium: +May be implemented after the release. - Low: May or may not be +implemented at all. + +.. 3.2.5.2.4 + +SUT Setup +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +The SUT should be configured to its "default" state. The +SUT's configuration or set-up must not change between tests in any way +other than what is required to do the test. All supported protocols must +be configured and enabled for each test set up. + +.. 3.2.5.2.5 + +Port Configuration +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +The DUT should be configured with n ports where +n is a multiple of 2. Half of the ports on the DUT should be used as +ingress ports and the other half of the ports on the DUT should be used +as egress ports. Where a DUT has more than 2 ports, the ingress data +streams should be set-up so that they transmit packets to the egress +ports in sequence so that there is an even distribution of traffic +across ports. For example, if a DUT has 4 ports 0(ingress), 1(ingress), +2(egress) and 3(egress), the traffic stream directed at port 0 should +output a packet to port 2 followed by a packet to port 3. The traffic +stream directed at port 1 should also output a packet to port 2 followed +by a packet to port 3. + +.. 3.2.5.2.6 + +Frame Formats +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +**Frame formats Layer 2 (data link layer) protocols** + +- Ethernet II + +.. code-block:: console + + +---------------------------+-----------+ + | Ethernet Header | Payload | Check Sum | + +-----------------+---------+-----------+ + |_________________|_________|___________| + 14 Bytes 46 - 1500 4 Bytes + Bytes + + +**Layer 3 (network layer) protocols** + +- IPv4 + +.. code-block:: console + + +-----------------+-----------+---------+-----------+ + | Ethernet Header | IP Header | Payload | Checksum | + +-----------------+-----------+---------+-----------+ + |_________________|___________|_________|___________| + 14 Bytes 20 bytes 26 - 1480 4 Bytes + Bytes + +- IPv6 + +.. code-block:: console + + +-----------------+-----------+---------+-----------+ + | Ethernet Header | IP Header | Payload | Checksum | + +-----------------+-----------+---------+-----------+ + |_________________|___________|_________|___________| + 14 Bytes 40 bytes 26 - 1460 4 Bytes + Bytes + +**Layer 4 (transport layer) protocols** + + - TCP + - UDP + - SCTP + +.. code-block:: console + + +-----------------+-----------+-----------------+---------+-----------+ + | Ethernet Header | IP Header | Layer 4 Header | Payload | Checksum | + +-----------------+-----------+-----------------+---------+-----------+ + |_________________|___________|_________________|_________|___________| + 14 Bytes 40 bytes 20 Bytes 6 - 1460 4 Bytes + Bytes + + +**Layer 5 (application layer) protocols** + + - RTP + - GTP + +.. code-block:: console + + +-----------------+-----------+-----------------+---------+-----------+ + | Ethernet Header | IP Header | Layer 4 Header | Payload | Checksum | + +-----------------+-----------+-----------------+---------+-----------+ + |_________________|___________|_________________|_________|___________| + 14 Bytes 20 bytes 20 Bytes >= 6 Bytes 4 Bytes + +.. 3.2.5.2.7 + +Packet Throughput +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ +There is a difference between an Ethernet frame, +an IP packet, and a UDP datagram. In the seven-layer OSI model of +computer networking, packet refers to a data unit at layer 3 (network +layer). The correct term for a data unit at layer 2 (data link layer) is +a frame, and at layer 4 (transport layer) is a segment or datagram. + +Important concepts related to 10GbE performance are frame rate and +throughput. The MAC bit rate of 10GbE, defined in the IEEE standard 802 +.3ae, is 10 billion bits per second. Frame rate is based on the bit rate +and frame format definitions. Throughput, defined in IETF RFC 1242, is +the highest rate at which the system under test can forward the offered +load, without loss. + +The frame rate for 10GbE is determined by a formula that divides the 10 +billion bits per second by the preamble + frame length + inter-frame +gap. + +The maximum frame rate is calculated using the minimum values of the +following parameters, as described in the IEEE 802 .3ae standard: + +- Preamble: 8 bytes \* 8 = 64 bits +- Frame Length: 64 bytes (minimum) \* 8 = 512 bits +- Inter-frame Gap: 12 bytes (minimum) \* 8 = 96 bits + +Therefore, Maximum Frame Rate (64B Frames) += MAC Transmit Bit Rate / (Preamble + Frame Length + Inter-frame Gap) += 10,000,000,000 / (64 + 512 + 96) += 10,000,000,000 / 672 += 14,880,952.38 frame per second (fps) + +.. 3.2.5.3 + +RFCs for testing virtual switch performance +-------------------------------------------------- + +The starting point for defining the suite of tests for benchmarking the +performance of a virtual switch is to take existing RFCs and standards +that were designed to test their physical counterparts and adapting them +for testing virtual switches. The rationale behind this is to establish +a fair comparison between the performance of virtual and physical +switches. This section outlines the RFCs that are used by this +specification. + +.. 3.2.5.3.1 + +RFC 1242 Benchmarking Terminology for Network Interconnection +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ +Devices RFC 1242 defines the terminology that is used in describing +performance benchmarking tests and their results. Definitions and +discussions covered include: Back-to-back, bridge, bridge/router, +constant load, data link frame size, frame loss rate, inter frame gap, +latency, and many more. + +.. 3.2.5.3.2 + +RFC 2544 Benchmarking Methodology for Network Interconnect Devices +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ +RFC 2544 outlines a benchmarking methodology for network Interconnect +Devices. The methodology results in performance metrics such as latency, +frame loss percentage, and maximum data throughput. + +In this document network “throughput” (measured in millions of frames +per second) is based on RFC 2544, unless otherwise noted. Frame size +refers to Ethernet frames ranging from smallest frames of 64 bytes to +largest frames of 9K bytes. + +Types of tests are: + +1. Throughput test defines the maximum number of frames per second + that can be transmitted without any error, or 0% loss ratio. + In some Throughput tests (and those tests with long duration), + evaluation of an additional frame loss ratio is suggested. The + current ratio (10^-7 %) is based on understanding the typical + user-to-user packet loss ratio needed for good application + performance and recognizing that a single transfer through a + vswitch must contribute a tiny fraction of user-to-user loss. + Further, the ratio 10^-7 % also recognizes practical limitations + when measuring loss ratio. + +2. Latency test measures the time required for a frame to travel from + the originating device through the network to the destination device. + Please note that RFC2544 Latency measurement will be superseded with + a measurement of average latency over all successfully transferred + packets or frames. + +3. Frame loss test measures the network’s + response in overload conditions - a critical indicator of the + network’s ability to support real-time applications in which a + large amount of frame loss will rapidly degrade service quality. + +4. Burst test assesses the buffering capability of a virtual switch. It + measures the maximum number of frames received at full line rate + before a frame is lost. In carrier Ethernet networks, this + measurement validates the excess information rate (EIR) as defined in + many SLAs. + +5. System recovery to characterize speed of recovery from an overload + condition. + +6. Reset to characterize speed of recovery from device or software + reset. This type of test has been updated by `RFC6201 + <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6201.txt>`__ as such, + the methodology defined by this specification will be that of RFC 6201. + +Although not included in the defined RFC 2544 standard, another crucial +measurement in Ethernet networking is packet delay variation. The +definition set out by this specification comes from +`RFC5481 <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5481.txt>`__. + +.. 3.2.5.3.3 + +RFC 2285 Benchmarking Terminology for LAN Switching Devices +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ +RFC 2285 defines the terminology that is used to describe the +terminology for benchmarking a LAN switching device. It extends RFC +1242 and defines: DUTs, SUTs, Traffic orientation and distribution, +bursts, loads, forwarding rates, etc. + +.. 3.2.5.3.4 + +RFC 2889 Benchmarking Methodology for LAN Switching +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ +RFC 2889 outlines a benchmarking methodology for LAN switching, it +extends RFC 2544. The outlined methodology gathers performance +metrics for forwarding, congestion control, latency, address handling +and finally filtering. + +.. 3.2.5.3.5 + +RFC 3918 Methodology for IP Multicast Benchmarking +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ +RFC 3918 outlines a methodology for IP Multicast benchmarking. + +.. 3.2.5.3.6 + +RFC 4737 Packet Reordering Metrics +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ +RFC 4737 describes metrics for identifying and counting re-ordered +packets within a stream, and metrics to measure the extent each +packet has been re-ordered. + +.. 3.2.5.3.7 + +RFC 5481 Packet Delay Variation Applicability Statement +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ +RFC 5481 defined two common, but different forms of delay variation +metrics, and compares the metrics over a range of networking +circumstances and tasks. The most suitable form for vSwitch +benchmarking is the "PDV" form. + +.. 3.2.5.3.8 + +RFC 6201 Device Reset Characterization +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ +RFC 6201 extends the methodology for characterizing the speed of +recovery of the DUT from device or software reset described in RFC +2544. + +.. 3.2.6: + +.. _PassFailCriteria: + +Item pass/fail criteria +========================= + +vswitchperf does not specify Pass/Fail criteria for the tests in terms of a +threshold, as benchmarks do not (and should not do this). The results/metrics +for a test are simply reported. If it had to be defined, a test is considered +to have passed if it succesfully completed and a relavent metric was +recorded/reported for the SUT. + +.. 3.2.7: + +.. _SuspensionResumptionReqs: + +Suspension criteria and resumption requirements +================================================ +In the case of a throughput test, a test should be suspended if a virtual +switch is failing to forward any traffic. A test should be restarted from a +clean state if the intention is to carry out the test again. + +.. 3.2.8: + +.. _TestDelierables: + +Test deliverables +================== +Each test should produce a test report that details SUT information as well as +the test results. There are a number of parameters related to the system, DUT +and tests that can affect the repeatability of a test results and should be +recorded. In order to minimise the variation in the results of a test, +it is recommended that the test report includes the following information: + +- Hardware details including: + + - Platform details. + - Processor details. + - Memory information (see below) + - Number of enabled cores. + - Number of cores used for the test. + - Number of physical NICs, as well as their details (manufacturer, + versions, type and the PCI slot they are plugged into). + - NIC interrupt configuration. + - BIOS version, release date and any configurations that were + modified. + +- Software details including: + + - OS version (for host and VNF) + - Kernel version (for host and VNF) + - GRUB boot parameters (for host and VNF). + - Hypervisor details (Type and version). + - Selected vSwitch, version number or commit id used. + - vSwitch launch command line if it has been parameterised. + - Memory allocation to the vSwitch – which NUMA node it is using, + and how many memory channels. + - Where the vswitch is built from source: compiler details including + versions and the flags that were used to compile the vSwitch. + - DPDK or any other SW dependency version number or commit id used. + - Memory allocation to a VM - if it's from Hugpages/elsewhere. + - VM storage type: snapshot/independent persistent/independent + non-persistent. + - Number of VMs. + - Number of Virtual NICs (vNICs), versions, type and driver. + - Number of virtual CPUs and their core affinity on the host. + - Number vNIC interrupt configuration. + - Thread affinitization for the applications (including the vSwitch + itself) on the host. + - Details of Resource isolation, such as CPUs designated for + Host/Kernel (isolcpu) and CPUs designated for specific processes + (taskset). + +- Memory Details + + - Total memory + - Type of memory + - Used memory + - Active memory + - Inactive memory + - Free memory + - Buffer memory + - Swap cache + - Total swap + - Used swap + - Free swap + +- Test duration. +- Number of flows. +- Traffic Information: + + - Traffic type - UDP, TCP, IMIX / Other. + - Packet Sizes. + +- Deployment Scenario. + +**Note**: Tests that require additional parameters to be recorded will +explicitly specify this. + + +.. 3.3: + +.. _TestManagement: + +Test management +================= +This section will detail the test activities that will be conducted by vsperf +as well as the infrastructure that will be used to complete the tests in OPNFV. + +.. 3.3.1: + +Planned activities and tasks; test progression +================================================= +A key consideration when conducting any sort of benchmark is trying to +ensure the consistency and repeatability of test results between runs. +When benchmarking the performance of a virtual switch there are many +factors that can affect the consistency of results. This section +describes these factors and the measures that can be taken to limit +their effects. In addition, this section will outline some system tests +to validate the platform and the VNF before conducting any vSwitch +benchmarking tests. + +**System Isolation:** + +When conducting a benchmarking test on any SUT, it is essential to limit +(and if reasonable, eliminate) any noise that may interfere with the +accuracy of the metrics collected by the test. This noise may be +introduced by other hardware or software (OS, other applications), and +can result in significantly varying performance metrics being collected +between consecutive runs of the same test. In the case of characterizing +the performance of a virtual switch, there are a number of configuration +parameters that can help increase the repeatability and stability of +test results, including: + +- OS/GRUB configuration: + + - maxcpus = n where n >= 0; limits the kernel to using 'n' + processors. Only use exactly what you need. + - isolcpus: Isolate CPUs from the general scheduler. Isolate all + CPUs bar one which will be used by the OS. + - use taskset to affinitize the forwarding application and the VNFs + onto isolated cores. VNFs and the vSwitch should be allocated + their own cores, i.e. must not share the same cores. vCPUs for the + VNF should be affinitized to individual cores also. + - Limit the amount of background applications that are running and + set OS to boot to runlevel 3. Make sure to kill any unnecessary + system processes/daemons. + - Only enable hardware that you need to use for your test – to + ensure there are no other interrupts on the system. + - Configure NIC interrupts to only use the cores that are not + allocated to any other process (VNF/vSwitch). + +- NUMA configuration: Any unused sockets in a multi-socket system + should be disabled. +- CPU pinning: The vSwitch and the VNF should each be affinitized to + separate logical cores using a combination of maxcpus, isolcpus and + taskset. +- BIOS configuration: BIOS should be configured for performance where + an explicit option exists, sleep states should be disabled, any + virtualization optimization technologies should be enabled, and + hyperthreading should also be enabled, turbo boost and overclocking + should be disabled. + +**System Validation:** + +System validation is broken down into two sub-categories: Platform +validation and VNF validation. The validation test itself involves +verifying the forwarding capability and stability for the sub-system +under test. The rationale behind system validation is two fold. Firstly +to give a tester confidence in the stability of the platform or VNF that +is being tested; and secondly to provide base performance comparison +points to understand the overhead introduced by the virtual switch. + +* Benchmark platform forwarding capability: This is an OPTIONAL test + used to verify the platform and measure the base performance (maximum + forwarding rate in fps and latency) that can be achieved by the + platform without a vSwitch or a VNF. The following diagram outlines + the set-up for benchmarking Platform forwarding capability: + + .. code-block:: console + + __ + +--------------------------------------------------+ | + | +------------------------------------------+ | | + | | | | | + | | l2fw or DPDK L2FWD app | | Host + | | | | | + | +------------------------------------------+ | | + | | NIC | | | + +---+------------------------------------------+---+ __| + ^ : + | | + : v + +--------------------------------------------------+ + | | + | traffic generator | + | | + +--------------------------------------------------+ + +* Benchmark VNF forwarding capability: This test is used to verify + the VNF and measure the base performance (maximum forwarding rate in + fps and latency) that can be achieved by the VNF without a vSwitch. + The performance metrics collected by this test will serve as a key + comparison point for NIC passthrough technologies and vSwitches. VNF + in this context refers to the hypervisor and the VM. The following + diagram outlines the set-up for benchmarking VNF forwarding + capability: + + .. code-block:: console + + __ + +--------------------------------------------------+ | + | +------------------------------------------+ | | + | | | | | + | | VNF | | | + | | | | | + | +------------------------------------------+ | | + | | Passthrough/SR-IOV | | Host + | +------------------------------------------+ | | + | | NIC | | | + +---+------------------------------------------+---+ __| + ^ : + | | + : v + +--------------------------------------------------+ + | | + | traffic generator | + | | + +--------------------------------------------------+ + + +**Methodology to benchmark Platform/VNF forwarding capability** + + +The recommended methodology for the platform/VNF validation and +benchmark is: - Run `RFC2889 <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2289.txt>`__ +Maximum Forwarding Rate test, this test will produce maximum +forwarding rate and latency results that will serve as the +expected values. These expected values can be used in +subsequent steps or compared with in subsequent validation tests. - +Transmit bidirectional traffic at line rate/max forwarding rate +(whichever is higher) for at least 72 hours, measure throughput (fps) +and latency. - Note: Traffic should be bidirectional. - Establish a +baseline forwarding rate for what the platform can achieve. - Additional +validation: After the test has completed for 72 hours run bidirectional +traffic at the maximum forwarding rate once more to see if the system is +still functional and measure throughput (fps) and latency. Compare the +measure the new obtained values with the expected values. + +**NOTE 1**: How the Platform is configured for its forwarding capability +test (BIOS settings, GRUB configuration, runlevel...) is how the +platform should be configured for every test after this + +**NOTE 2**: How the VNF is configured for its forwarding capability test +(# of vCPUs, vNICs, Memory, affinitization…) is how it should be +configured for every test that uses a VNF after this. + +**Methodology to benchmark the VNF to vSwitch to VNF deployment scenario** + +vsperf has identified the following concerns when benchmarking the VNF to +vSwitch to VNF deployment scenario: + +* The accuracy of the timing synchronization between VNFs/VMs. +* The clock accuracy of a VNF/VM if they were to be used as traffic generators. +* VNF traffic generator/receiver may be using resources of the system under + test, causing at least three forms of workload to increase as the traffic + load increases (generation, switching, receiving). + +The recommendation from vsperf is that tests for this sceanario must +include an external HW traffic generator to act as the tester/traffic transmitter +and receiver. The perscribed methodology to benchmark this deployment scanrio with +an external tester involves the following three steps: + +#. Determine the forwarding capability and latency through the virtual interface +connected to the VNF/VM. + +.. Figure:: vm2vm_virtual_interface_benchmark.png + + Virtual interfaces performance benchmark + +#. Determine the forwarding capability and latency through the VNF/hypervisor. + +.. Figure:: vm2vm_hypervisor_benchmark.png + + Hypervisor performance benchmark + +#. Determine the forwarding capability and latency for the VNF to vSwitch to VNF + taking the information from the previous two steps into account. + +.. Figure:: vm2vm_benchmark.png + + VNF to vSwitch to VNF performance benchmark + +vsperf also identified an alternative configuration for the final step: + +.. Figure:: vm2vm_alternative_benchmark.png + + VNF to vSwitch to VNF alternative performance benchmark + +.. 3.3.2: + +Environment/infrastructure +============================ +Intel is providing a hosted test-bed with nine bare-metal environments +allocated to different OPNFV projects. Currently a number of servers in +`Intel POD 3 <https://wiki.opnfv.org/display/pharos/Intel+Pod3>`__ are +allocated to vsperf: + + * pod3-wcp-node3 and pod3-wcp-node4 which are used for CI jobs. + * pod3-node6 which is used as a vsperf sandbox environment. + +vsperf CI +--------- +vsperf CI jobs are broken down into: + + * Daily job: + + * Runs everyday takes about 10 hours to complete. + * TESTCASES_DAILY='phy2phy_tput back2back phy2phy_tput_mod_vlan + phy2phy_scalability pvp_tput pvp_back2back pvvp_tput pvvp_back2back'. + * TESTPARAM_DAILY='--test-params TRAFFICGEN_PKT_SIZES=(64,128,512,1024,1518)'. + + * Merge job: + + * Runs whenever patches are merged to master. + * Runs a basic Sanity test. + + * Verify job: + + * Runs every time a patch is pushed to gerrit. + * Builds documentation. + +Scripts: +-------- +There are 2 scripts that are part of VSPERFs CI: + + * build-vsperf.sh: Lives in the VSPERF repository in the ci/ directory and is + used to run vsperf with the appropriate cli parameters. + * vswitchperf.yml: YAML description of our jenkins job. lives in the RELENG + repository. + +More info on vsperf CI can be found here: +https://wiki.opnfv.org/display/vsperf/VSPERF+CI + +.. 3.3.3: + +Responsibilities and authority +=============================== +The group responsible for managing, designing, preparing and executing the +tests listed in the LTD are the vsperf committers and contributors. The vsperf +committers and contributors should work with the relavent OPNFV projects to +ensure that the infrastructure is in place for testing vswitches, and that the +results are published to common end point (a results database). + |