Overview of IxOS
This chapter provides a basic overview of IxOS.
About the Ixia Product Family
The Ixia system is the most comprehensive tool available for testing multilayer High Speed Ethernet, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, Ethernet Gigabit, 10/40/100 Gigabit Ethernet, ATM, and Packet over SONET switches, routers, and networks.
The Ixia product family includes chassis, load modules, the Ixia IxExplorer software program, and optional Tcl scripts and related software. A chassis can be configured with any mix of load modules, and multiple chassis can be connected in a daisy chain or star topology and synchronized to support very large and complex test environments. The Ixia IxExplorer software provides complete configuration, control, and monitoring of all Ixia resources in the test network, and the Tcl scripts allow to rapidly conduct the most popular industry benchmark tests.
The XM12 provides high port density and hot swappable capability.
The XM2 is the next generation portable chassis that is a combination of the architecture with the XM form factor. The XM2 provides hot-swappable capability in a more portable format.
The XGS12 Chassis – XGS12-SD and XGS12-HS are the next generation high performance platform capable of supporting XM form factor load modules. XGS12-SD and XGS12-HS are 12-slot chassis with high-speed backplane (160 Gbps between each adjacent two cards) designed for aggregation across load modules. These chassis are capable of testing high density, multi-Terabit bandwidth, Carrier class core edge, metro routers and data center switches. This flexible platform supports layer 2-7 testing on a massive scale and provides the most comprehensive solution for performance, functional, security, and conformance testing of network equipment and network applications.
The 2-slot XGS2 chassis - XGS2-SD and XGS2-HS provide highly flexible and portable chassis that powers load modules and test applications to create an Ixia test system. The XGS2 platform provides the foundation for a complete benchtop or rackmount test environment. The chassis platform supports Ixia applications for performance, functional, conformance, and security testing.
A range of 1 to 48 ports can be packaged depending on network technology. An Ixia card is also referred to as a load module. For most media, any combination of load modules may be included in a single chassis. The highly scalable architecture supports daisy-chaining of up to 256 chassis that may be locally synchronized. Thus, even the most complex systems can be tested thoroughly and cost-effectively.
You can configure and control the unit directly through connections to a keyboard, mouse, monitor, and printer. Also, the unit can be connected to an Ethernet network and an administrator can remotely monitor and control it using the IxExplorer software program. Multiple users can access the unit simultaneously, splitting the ports within a chassis and controlling the activity and configuration of all ports and functions.
Front panel displays give immediate indication of link state, transmission or reception of packets, and error conditions. Ixia’s powerful IxExplorer and Microsoft Windows-based software provides easy configuration, control, and status. The Ixia system offers an optional suite of scripts written in the industry-standard scripting language Tcl, which stands for Tool Command Language (commonly pronounced as tickle).
Each Ixia chassis is equipped with one or more Intel processors. The operating system installed on the chassis may be Windows XP Professional or Windows 7 Professional.
Note: Ixia supports upgrades to the Microsoft operating system (OS) on Ixia chassis. Contact Ixia Technical Support for assistance with Microsoft OS upgrade options.
Additional information on the operation of the Ixia chassis and load modules can be found in the other Ixia guides, which include the following:
- IxExplorer User Guide: Provides information on the use of the Ixia IxExplorer GUI.
- Ixia Platform Reference Guide: Provides information on Ixia chassis and load modules, including specifications.
- IxAutomate User Guide: Provides information on the use of the Ixia IxAutomate GUI, for automated testing.
- Tcl Development Guide: Provides information on the Ixia Tcl API used in creating customized test scripts.
Comprehensive Help is included in the IxExplorer GUI software.