FLOWer - Device benchmarking beyond 100 Gbit/s

Paul Emmerich, Sebastian Gallenmüller, Georg Carle

Abstract: The growth of bandwidth in computer networks fuels the constant adoption of measurement equipment and methodologies. Networking equipment offers processing capacity in the Terabit/s range nowadays. However, test equipment in academia lags behind. We propose FLOWer, a novel and cost effective approach capable of testing such high-speed devices. FLOWer combines an inexpensive software packet generator with an OpenFlow-enabled switch to amplify the bandwidth while sustaining the flexibility of the software solution. By utilizing OpenFlow, FLOWer is able to provide the required bandwidths the software solution cannot generate on its own. We demonstrate a proof-of-concept with example measurements at bandwidths of multiple 100 Gbit/s.