NFV performance testing showed zero packet-loss throughput in real-world environment
Looking to tackle performance questions surrounding the deployment of network function virtualization platforms, Overture released the results of a collaborative effort showing robust performance of NFV service chaining.
Overture said the testing, which was done in partnership with Brocade, Intel and Spirent, showed “zero packet loss throughput” for a pair of gigabit ports carrying “line-rate IMIX traffic through multiple [virtual network functions] in a pure-play NFV environment.” The company noted that “pure-play NFV” is considered the running of software VNFs on standards servers with no specialized networking hardware.
“These real-world simulation tests prove that NFV can deliver high performance at the customer premise to support even the most demanding communication service provider environment,” the company noted.
The testing was said to include a combination of Overture’s Ensemble Carrier Ethernet VNF, Brocade’s Vyatta 5600 virtual router and Spirent’s TestCenter Virtual, which were all orchestrated by Overture’s Ensemble Service Orchestrator and testing performed on an Intel Atom C2000 processor-based server acting as the VNF hosting platform. Telecom provider Integra Telecom also participated as an observer of all tests and verified the results.
Overture CTO Prayson Pate said the server platform cost less than $1,000, which is an important part of NFV’s promise to allow telecom operators to tap into generic hardware in order to run virtualized services.
Testing gauged the performance of Overture’s VNF by itself and in a service chain with one or more of Brocade’s Vyatta virtual routers. Overture said its ECE switching VNF “delivered wire-speed throughput in all tests,” with the tests using a “realistic mix of frame sizes, using a frame length distribution model based on Internet backbone traffic.”
In addition to no measured packet loss, the testing was said to show maximum latency typically measured in microseconds, and “much lower than the tens-of-milliseconds threshold where many enterprise applications experience degraded performance.”
RCR Wireless News spoke with Mike Heffner, senior director of technical product marketing at Overture Networks, on the testing results.
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