IXIA XMVAE GE Load Modules
This chapter provides details about Ixia's XMVAE-Gigabit Ethernet test modules the specifications and features.
Ixia's XMVAE Gigabit Ethernet test modules provide complete Layer 2-7 network and application testing functionality in a single test system for Automotive Ethernet switch and ECU testing. Ixia test system supports Automotive Ethernet specific interface for 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet speeds for testing Automotive Ethernet network components in next-generation vehicles and smart cars.
The XMVAE load modules include support for BroadR-Reach transceivers for testing BroadR-Reach enabled Automotive Ethernet switch and ECU functionality. Each test port on the module has the following:
- Auto-negotiable /100/1000 Mbps Ethernet over copper
- Gigabit Fiber and 100Base-FX Ethernet over fiber
- A powerful RISC processor running Linux
- A full, test-optimized TCP/IP stack
The XMVAE architecture provides unprecedented performance and flexibility for testing the following:
- BroadR-Reach enabled Automotive switches
- ADAS/Infotainment ECUs
- Media and wireless access devices
- Gateways and AUTOSAR IP/Ethernet applications for Automotive use
The XMVAE load module supports the following:
- Wire-speed Layer 2-3 traffic generation and analysis
- High performance IPv4/IPv6 protocol emulations
- Ethernet ECU behavior emulation and true Layer 4-7 application traffic generation on each test port
Ixia's XMVAE Gigabit Ethernet modules comprise an 8 and a 16 port full-performance configuration, providing scalability and affordability for a diverse range of test requirements. With 12 slots per XGS12-SD high performance chassis, up to 96/192 Ethernet ECU ports can be simulated in a single test system to create high density automotive network test environments. In an XM2 chassis system, up to 32 ECU ports can be simulated for low scale requirements.
Key Features
The key features of XMVAE load modules are as follows:
Flexible Packet Generation
- Each Ixia GE XMVAE test port is capable of generating precisely-controlled network traffic at up to wire speed using Ixia’s IxExplorer test application.
- Millions of packet flows can be configured on each port with fully customizable packet header fields. Flexible header control is available for Ethernet, IPv4/v6, IPX, ARP, TCP, UDP, VLANs, QinQ, and many others protocols.
- Payload contents can also be customized with incrementing/decrementing, fixed, random, or user-defined information.
- Frame sizes can be fixed, varied according to a pattern, or randomly assigned across a weighted range.
- Rate control can be flexibly defined in frames per second, bits per second, percentage of line rate, or inter-packet gap time.
Real-time Latency
Packets representing different traffic profiles can be associated with packet group identifiers (PGIDs). The receiving port measures the minimum, maximum, and average latency in real time for each packet belonging to different groups. Measurable latencies include:
- Instantaneous latency and inter-arrival time where each packet is associated with one group ID
- Latency bins, where PGIDs can be associated with a latency range
- Latency over time, where multiple PGIDs can be placed in "time buckets" with fixed durations
-
First and last time stamps, where each PGID can store the timestamps of first and last received packets
Transmit Scheduler
There are two modes of transmission available - Packet Stream and Advanced Stream Scheduler.
In Packet Stream Scheduler mode, the transmit engine allows configuration of up to 256 unique sequential stream groupings on each port. Multiple streams can be defined in sequence, each containing multiple packet flows defined by unique characteristics. After transmission of all packets in the first stream, control is passed to the next defined stream in the sequence. After reaching the last stream in the sequence, transmission may either cease, or control may be passed on to any other stream in the sequence. Therefore, multiple streams are cycled through, representing different traffic profiles to simulate real network traffic. In Advanced Stream Scheduler mode, the transmission of stream groupings is interleaved per port. For example, assume a port is configured with three streams. If Stream 1 is defined with IP packets at 20% of line rate, Stream 2 is defined with TCP packets at 50% of line rate, and Stream 3 is defined with MPLS packets at 30% of line rate, data on the port will be transmitted at an aggregate utilization of 100% with interleaved IP, TCP, and MPLS packets.
Extensive Statistics
- Real-time 64-bit frame counts and rates
- Spreadsheet presentation format for convenient manipulation of statistics counters
- Eight quality of service counters (supporting 802.1p, DSCP, and IPv4 TOS measurements)
- Six user-defined statistics that use a trigger condition
- Extended statistics for ARP, ICMP, and DHCP
- Transmit stream statistics for frame counts and rate
- External logging to file for statistics and alerts
- Audible and visual alerts with user-definable thresholds
Data Capture
Each port of the load module is equipped with 64 MB of capture memory, capable of storing tens of thousands of packets in real time. The capture buffer can be configured to store packets based on user-defined trigger and filter conditions. Decodes for VLAN, IPv4, IPv6, ARP, ICMP, DHCP, IGMP, UDP, TCP and various other protocols are provided.
Data Integrity
As packets traverse through networks, IP header contents may change resulting in the recalculation of packet CRC values. To validate device performance, the data integrity function of XMVAE Gigabit Ethernet modules allows packet payload contents to be verified with a unique CRC that is independent of the packet CRC. This ensures that the payload is not disturbed as the device changes header fields.
Sequence and Duplicate Packet Checking
Sequence numbers can be inserted at a user-defined offset in the payload of each transmitted packet. Upon receipt of the packets by the device under test (DUT), out-of-sequence errors or duplicated packets are reported in real time at wire-speed rates. The user can define a sequence error threshold to distinguish between small versus big errors, and the receive port can measure the amount of small, big, reversed, and total errors. Alternatively, the user can use the duplicate packet detection mode to observe that multiple packets with the same sequence number are received and analyzed.
L2-3 Protocol Emulation
Ixia's XMVAE Gigabit Ethernet modules support performance and functionality testing using routing/bridging protocol emulation via the IxNetwork and IxAutomate applications. Protocols supported include: VLAN, STP/RSTP, MSTP, PVST+/RPVST+, MSRP, link aggregation (LACP), ESMC, PTP, PPPoX, DHCPv4 client/server, DHCPv6 client/server, 802.1x, WebAuth. IxNetwork offers the customization and flexibility to test hundreds of switches and ECUs. IxNetwork can customize millions of traffic flows to stress data plane performance. Powerful GUI wizards and grid controls allow users to create sophisticated traffic flows with ease. Its enhanced real-time analysis and statistics are capable of reporting comprehensive protocol status and detailed per-flow traffic performance metrics.
AVB Testing
Ixia’s XMVAE Gigabit Ethernet modules support functional and performance testing of MSRP and gPTP protocols. You can send both 1722 encapsulated and VLAN encapsulated traffic at line rate for the AVB reserved streams. Clock hierarchy can be established using gPTP BMCA algorithm and synchronization of various clocks can be measured using the in-built Stratum-3 clock that has 20 ns of timestamp resolution. This load module’s capability to measure the latency, latency variation, loss and sequence errors allows extensive performance evaluation of various algorithms such as strict priority queuing, Weighted Round-Robin, Weighted Fair Queuing and Credit Based Shaper implementations.
ECU Testing
Ixia’s XMVAE Gigabit Ethernet load modules can connect to the BroadR-Reach interface in ECUs using PHY media converters. The load module can be used to load the Automotive Ethernet network with traffic and test ECU functionality. IxNetwork’s powerful Traffic Template can be used to generate custom ECU protocols and load the desired traffic that can be sent at any rate up to the wire-speed. Various bench marking tests like RFC 2544 can be run to fully qualify the embedded switches in the ECUs.
Application Layer Performance Testing
Ixia's XMVAE Gigabit Ethernet modules support performance testing of content-aware devices and networks via the IxLoad application. IxLoad creates real-world traffic scenarios at the TCP/UDP (Layer 4) and application (Layer 7) layers, emulating clients and servers for web (HTTP, SSL), P2P, FTP, email (SMTP, POP3, IMAP), streaming (RTP, RTSP), video (MPEG2, MPEG4, IGMP and RSTP), voice (SIP, H.323, H.248, SCCP and MGCP), and infrastructure services such as DNS, DHCP, LDAP, AAA, and Telnet. Security platforms can be tested with integrated L2/L3 authentication mechanisms such as 802.1x and NAC, as well generated malicious traffic to test for security. Each 1GbE XMVAE port can be independently configured to run different protocols and client/server scenarios.
Tcl API
Ixia's XMVAE Gigabit Ethernet modules are supported by a comprehensive Tcl application programming interface (API). This API allows users to develop custom scripts and integrate the modules into automated test environments.
Load Modules
The XMVAE family consists of the following models:
- An 8-Port Dual-PHY (RJ45 and SFP) 10/100/1000 Mbps load module
- A 16-Port Dual-PHY (RJ45 and SFP) 10/100/1000 Mbps load module
Each of these load modules are described as follows:
LSM1000XMVAE8
LSM1000XMVAE8 Gigabit Ethernet is an 8-Port Dual-PHY (RJ45 and SFP) 10/100/1000 Mbps load module. It provides complete L2-7 support and is compatible with the XGS12-SD rack mount chassis (940-0011) and XM2 desktop chassis (941-0023).
It requires the following:
- Separate BroadR-Reach transceivers
-
SFP transceivers- SFP-LX, SFP-SX, and SFP-CU,required by Fiber ports
The LSM1000XMVAE8 load module is shown in the following figure:
Figure: LSM1000XMVAE8
LSM1000XMVAE16
LSM1000XMVAE16 Gigabit Ethernet is a 16-Port Dual-PHY (RJ45 and SFP) 10/100/1000 Mbps load module. It provides complete L2-7 support and is compatible with the XGS12-SD rack mount chassis (940-0011) and XM2 desktop chassis (941-0023).
It requires the following:
- Separate BroadR-Reach transceivers
-
SFP transceivers- SFP-LX, SFP-SX, and SFP-CU,required by Fiber ports
The LSM1000XMVAE16 load module is shown in the following figure:
Figure: LSM1000XMVAE16
Part Numbers
Part Numbers for XMVAE Load Module and Supported Adapters are provided in the following table.
Model Number | Part Number | Description |
---|---|---|
LSM1000XMVAE8 |
944-1130 |
|
LSM1000XMVAE16 |
944-1131 |
|
Specifications
The load module specifications are provided in the following table:
Feature | Details |
---|---|
Load module |
LSM1000XMVAE8 LSM1000XMVAE16 |
Connector type |
SFP, can connect to BroadR-Reach transceivers or BroadR-Reach media converters, or 1GE copper or fiber transceivers. |
Maximum ports per chassis |
32 ports - XM2 Desktop 192 ports in XGS12-SD Rack mount |
Connection speed |
Auto-negotiable 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet over copper and Gigabit Fiber and100Base-FX Ethernet over Fiber |
Port CPU/memory per port |
800MHz /1GB |
Number of ports per model |
16/8 |
Layer 2-3 switching/routing protocol testing |
Yes |
Layer 4–7 application traffic testing |
Yes |
AUTOSAR IP/Ethernet bus compatibility tests |
Yes |
AUTOSAR IP/Ethernet stack functionality tests |
Yes |
IEEE Audio/Video Bridging tests for AVB bridge and end points |
Yes |
802.1AS/gPTP timing and sync tests |
Yes |
Capture buffer per port |
64 MB |
Number of transmit flows per port (sequential values) |
Billions |
Number of transmit flows per port (arbitrary values) |
98 K |
Number of track-able receive flows per port |
512 K |
Number of stream definitions per port |
4096 |
Transmit engine |
Wire-speed packet generation with timestamps, sequence numbers, data integrity signature, and packet group signatures. |
Receive engine |
Wire-speed packet filtering, capturing, real-time latency for each packet group, data integrity, and sequence checking. |
Statistics and rates (counter size: 64-Bit) |
Link State, Line Speed, Frames Sent, Valid Frames Received, Bytes Sent/Received, Fragments, Undersize, Oversize, CRC Errors, VLAN Tagged Frames, 8 QoS counters, Data Integrity Frames, Data Integrity Errors, Sequence Checking Frames, Sequence Checking Errors, ARP, and Ping requests and replies. |
Error generation |
CRC (Good/Bad/None), Undersize, Oversize. |
Packet flow statistics |
Real-time statistics to track up to 128K packet flows with throughput and latency measurements. |
Latency measurements |
20ns resolution |
IPv4, IPv6, UDP, TCP |
Hardware checksum generation |
Frame length controls |
Fixed, random, weighted random, or increment by user-defined step, random, weighted random. |
Application Support
The Ixia application support for XMVAE load modules is provided in the following table:
Application | Support |
---|---|
IxExplorer |
A full-featured layer 2-3 wire-speed Ethernet traffic generation and analysis test application with full support for stateless protocol functional and scalability testing. IxExplorer is included with the purchase of all Ixia chassis. |
IxNetwork |
IxNetwork provides wire-rate traffic generation with service modeling that builds realistic, dynamically-controllable data-plane traffic. IxNetwork offers the industry's best test solution for functional and performance testing by using comprehensive emulation for switching, routing, ARP, ICMP, DHCP, IPv4, IPv6, multicast, timing and AVB protocols. |
IxLoad |
Provides a scalable solution for testing converged multiplay services and application delivery platforms. IxLoad emulates data, voice, and video subscribers and associated protocols for performance testing as well as the ability to generate malicious traffic to test for security. |
IxANVL |
Provides industry standard AUTOSAR IP/Ethernet bus compatibility, standards compliance, interoperability, ECU configuration and functionality tests for Automotive Ethernet switches and ECUs. |
Mechanical Specifications
LED Panel
Each LSM1000XMVAE8 and LSM1000XMVAE16 port incorporates a set of 2 LEDs, as described in the following table.
LED Label | Copper | Fiber |
---|---|---|
Link/Tx (Upper LED) |
Color is used to indicate the link speed:
Flashing indicates transmit activity. Off if link is down. |
Green indicates link has been established and flashes during transmit activity. |
Rx/Error (Lower LED) |
Three conditions apply:
|
Green indicates link has been established and flashes during receive activity. Continuous red indicates a receive error. |