IPERF for switch hardware testing?

[Mitch Kutzko <mitch --at-- ncsa.uiuc.edu>]

      We are investigating using IPERF for testing Gigabit switch based
products as an alternative to using more expensive off the shelf hardware
switch testing products in a manufacturing environment, but seem to come up
on some limitations.


1.  With a 64bit / 66 mhz PCI bus we seemed to be limited to a throughput
of about 750Mhz bandwidth without excessive loss.

2.  To test more than 2 ports simultaneously one PC per port is required.
In unicast mode the PCI bus bandwidth is a limitation.  Multicast mode
seems to require that the ports be on different PC.

      I was wondering if anyone is using IPERF for switch hardware testing
and has any information to share or ideas of other alternatives?

Steve Brenne
Test Engineer
Radisys Corporation


--
Mitch Kutzko | mitch --at-- dast.nlanr.net | mitch --at-- ncsa.uiuc.edu | 217-333-1199
http://hobbes.ncsa.uiuc.edu/