IXIA Xcellon-Flex Load Modules

This chapter provides details about Xcellon-Flex family of load modules specifications and features.

The Xcellon-Flex family of high speed load modules delivers high-density, high-performance test solutions. Xcellon, the architecture behind these load modules, features aggregation of multi-core CPUs and high memory to meet testing needs for high-scale performance.

The Xcellon-Flex family consists of the following load modules:

The card names are FlexAP10G16S, FlexFE10G16S, FlexAP1040SQ, and FlexFE40QP.

The Accelerated Performance load module provides architecture for layer 2-7 performance testing, providing ultra-high-scale session and protocol emulation per port. The Full Emulation load module is for layer 2-3 mid-range protocol emulation and scale capacity testing for switches and routers. The Xcellon-Flex Combo 10/40GE Accelerated Performance load module provides both 10GE SFP+ and/or 40GE QSFP+ ports in a single chassis slot. It uses aggregation technoloAgy to combine CPU power and memory, and provides ultra-high networking protocol scalability. The 4x40GE Full Emulation load module has a rich layer 2-7 feature set and is well suited for mid-range protocol emulation and scale testing. The load module is ideal for manufacturers of large-port-count, converged data center switches.

The Xcellon-Flex family load module is shown in the following figure:

Figure: Xcellon-Flex Module-FlexAP10G16S

The Xcellon-Flex family load module is shown in the following figure:

Figure: Xcellon-Flex Module-FlexFE10G16S

Figure: Xcellon-Flex Module-FlexAP1040SQ

Figure: Xcellon-Flex Module-FlexFE40QP

Part Numbers

The part numbers are shown in the following table.

Part Numbers for Xcellon-Flex Modules
Model Number Part Number Description

FlexAP10G16S

944-1060

10 Gigabit Ethernet Accelerated Performance Load Module, 16-Port LAN, SFP+ interface with full performance L2-L7 support.

FlexFE10G16S

944-1061

10 Gigabit Ethernet Full Emulation Load Module, 16-port LAN, SFP+ interface with L2-3 support.

FlexAP1040SQ

944-1062

10/40 Gigabit Ethernet Accelerated Performance Load Module, 16-Ports of SFP+ interfaces and 4-ports of QSFP+ 40GE interfaces with full performance L2-7 support, for XM12-02 (941-0009) High Performance rackmount chassis and XM2-02 (941-0003) portable chassis, requires one or more SFP+ transceiver options: 10GBASE-SR/SW (948-0013), or 10GBASE-LR/LW (948-0014).

FlexFE40QP

944-1065

40 Gigabit Ethernet Full Emulation Load Module, 4-ports of QSFP+ 40GE with L2-3 support.

Specifications

The load module specifications are contained in the following table.

Xcellon-Flex Load Module Specifications
Feature Everest 10GE Full Feature Everest 10GE Reduced Feature Everest Combo Everest 40GE Only

Load Modules

FlexAP10G16S

FlexFE10G16S

FlexAP1040SQ

FlexFE40QP

Number of ports per module

16

16

4

4

Number of chassis slots per module

1

1

1

1

Maximum ports per chassis

XM12 High Performance: 128

XM2Desktop: 16

XM12 High Performance: 128

XM2Desktop: 16

XM12 High Performance: 96-ports 10GE

SFP+ and 24-ports 40GE QSFP

XM2Desktop: 16-ports 10GE SFP+ or 4-

ports 40GE QSFP

XM12 High Performance: 24-ports 40GE

QSFP+

XM2Desktop: 4-ports 40GE QSFP+

Note: XM12 High Performance chassis is required for the simultaneous operation of 128 ports in a single chassis. If a standard XM12 chassis (941-0002) is used with these load modules, conversion to the High Performance model is required. A field replaceable power supply upgrade kit (943-0005) is available for this purpose. When one or more FlexAP10G16S or FlexFE10G16S load modules is installed in an XM12 High Performance chassis, the maximum total number of load modules that may be installed at one time in a single chassis is 8. The XM2 portable chassis (941-0003) supports up to 16 ports (1 load module) of the FlexAP10G16S FlexFE10G16S modules. No other load module is installed in the XM2 chassis when a FlexAP10G16S or FlexFE10G16S load module is installed.

XGS12-SD Chassis (940-0011)

12 load modules:

192-ports of 10GbE

12 load modules:

192-ports of 10GbE

12 load modules:

  • 192-ports of 10GbE
  • 48-ports of 40GbE

12 load modules:

48-ports of 40GbE

XGS12-HSL Chassis (940-0016)

12 load modules:

192-ports of 10GbE

12 load modules:

192-ports of 10GbE

12 load modules:

  • 192-ports of 10GbE
  • 48-ports of 40GbE

12 load modules:

48-ports of 40GbE

XGS12-SDL Chassis (940-0015)

12 load modules:

192-ports of 10GbE

12 load modules:

192-ports of 10GbE

12 load modules:

  • 192-ports of 10GbE
  • 48-ports of 40GbE

12 load modules:

48-ports of 40GbE

XGS2-SD Chassis (940-0010)

2 load modules:

32-ports of 10GbE

2 load modules:

32-ports of 10GbE

2 load modules:

  • 32-ports of 10GbE
  • 8-ports of 40GbE

2 load modules:

8-ports of 40GbE

XGS2-HSL Chassis (940-0014)

2 load modules:

32-ports of 10GbE

2 load modules:

32-ports of 10GbE

2 load modules:

  • 32-ports of 10GbE
  • 8-ports of 40GbE

2 load modules:

8-ports of 40GbE

XGS2-SDL Chassis (940-0013)

2 load modules:

32-ports of 10GbE

2 load modules:

32-ports of 10GbE

2 load modules:

  • 32-ports of 10GbE
  • 8-ports of 40GbE

2 load modules:

8-ports of 40GbE

XG12 Chassis (940-0005)

10 load modules:

160-ports of

10 load modules:

160-ports of 10GbE

10 load modules:

  • 160-ports of 10GbE
  • 40-ports of 40GbE

10 load modules:

40-ports of 40GbE

XM12 HP Chassis (941-0009)

10 load modules:

160-ports of 10GbE

10 load modules:

160-ports of 10GbE

10 load modules:

  • 160-ports of 10GbE
  • 40-ports of 40GbE

10 load modules:

40-ports of 40GbE

XM2 Chassis (941-0003)

2 load modules:

32-ports of 10GbE

2 load modules:

32-ports of 10GbE

2 load modules:

  • 32-ports of 10GbE
  • 8-ports of 40GbE

2 load modules:

8-ports of 40GbE

Supported transceivers

Per-port CPU speed and memory

Capture buffer size

256 MB

64 MB

256MB (10GE), 1GB(40GE)

256 MB

Frame Size

Minimum Frame Size at Line Rate: 48 - No UDF

60 - UDF enabled

Minimum Frame Size - may not be at Line Rate: 48

Maximum Frame Size: P0: 9216B

others 2500B

Minimum Frame Size at Line Rate: 48 - No UDF

60 - UDF enabled

Minimum Frame Size - may not be at Line Rate: 48

Maximum Frame Size: P0: 9216B

others 2500B

Minimum Frame Size at Line Rate: 48 - No UDF

60 - UDF enabled

Minimum Frame Size - may not be at Line Rate: 48

Maximum Frame Size: P0: 9216B

others 2500B

Minimum Frame Size at Line Rate: 60

Minimum Frame Size - may not be at Line Rate: 60

Maximum Frame Size: P0: 9216B

others 2500B

Inter-burst gap: min-max

10: 6400ns-429s in 800ns steps100: 640ns-42.9s in 80ns steps1000: 64ns-16.7ms in 16ns steps

Advanced Scheduler:

10: 0.419s

100: 0.0419s

1000: 0.0167s

10: 6400ns-429s in 800ns steps100: 640ns-42.9s in 80ns steps1000: 64ns-16.7ms in 16ns steps

Advanced Scheduler:

10: 0.419s

100: 0.0419s

1000: 0.0167s

10: 6400ns-429s in 800ns steps100: 640ns-42.9s in 80ns steps1000: 64ns-16.7ms in 16ns steps

Advanced Scheduler:

10: 0.419s

100: 0.0419s

1000: 0.0167s

10: 6400ns-429s in 800ns steps100: 640ns-42.9s in 80ns steps1000: 64ns-16.7ms in 16ns steps

Advanced Scheduler:

10: 0.419s

100: 0.0419s

1000: 0.0167s

Streams per port

512

256

512

256

Table UDF

1 million entries

256 K entries

1 million entries

1 million entries

Advanced scheduler streams per port

512

256

512

256

Latency

20 ns resolution

20 ns resolution

20 ns resolution

2.5 ns resolution

Ambient Operating Temperature Range

5-30

5-30

5-30

5-30

Transceiver Type

SFP+

SFP+

SFP+

QSFP+

Direct Attach Copper

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

LED

2 LED per Port

2 LED per Port

1 LED per Port

4 LED per Port

ppm Adjust range

+/-100ppm

+/-100ppm

+/-100ppm

+/-100ppm

ppm Adjust port/card

Card

Card

Card

Card

10GbE Interface protocols

10GbE LAN

10GbE LAN

IEEE802.3ae 10GE LAN, IEEE802.3ba

40GBASE-R LAN

IEEE802.3ae 10GE LAN, IEEE802.3ba

40GBASE-R LAN

Data Center Protocol Upgrades

(optional feature)

FCoE, Priority-based Flow Control (IEEE

802.1Qbb) and LLDP/DCBX support

 

Priority-based Flow Control

(IEEE 802.1Qbb)

Multi-core processors

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Aggregation capability

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Layer 2-3 routing protocol emulation

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Layer 4-7 application traffic testing

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Number of transmit flows per port

(sequential values)

Billions

Billions

Billions

Billions

Number of transmit flows per port

(arbitrary values)

1 million

32 K

Number of transmit flows per port

(PGID)

1 million

1 million

Trackable receive flows

1 million

64 K

1 million

64 K

Table UDF

1 million entries

256 K entries

1 million entries

1 million entries

Packet flow statistics

Track 1 million flows

Track 64 K flows

Transmit engine

Wire-speed packet generation with timestamps, sequence numbers, data integrity signature, and packet group signatures.

Wire-speed packet filtering, capturing, realtime latency and inter-arrival time for each packet group, data integrity, and sequence checking.

Receive engine

Wire-speed packet filtering, capturing, real-time latency and inter-arrival time for each packet group, data integrity, and sequence checking

User defined field features

Fixed, increment or decrement by user defined step, value lists, range lists (supported in all 10 GE mode), cascade, random, and chained

Filters

48-bit source/destination address, 2x128-

bit user-definable pattern and offset, frame

length range, CRC error, data integrity

error, and sequence checking error (small,

big, reverse)

Data field per stream

Fixed, increment (byte/word), decrement (byte/word), random, repeating, and userspecified

Error generation

CRC (good/bad/none), undersize, oversize

Latency self-calibration

Ability to calibrate and remove inherent latency

Link Fault Signaling

Link state indicator for No Fault, Local Fault, and Remote Fault.

Link state indicator for No Fault, Local Fault, and Remote Fault.

FlexAP1040SQ (10GE and 40GE): Generate local and remote faults with controls for the number of faults and order of faults, and the ability to select the option to have the transmit port ignore link faults from a remote link partner.

FlexAP1040SQ (10GE and 40GE): Reports the following PCS statistics:

  • Link Fault State - specifies if the link is in Local fault, Remote fault or No fault
  • Local Fault count – number of link transitions from No fault to Local fault
  • Remote Fault count - number of link transitions from No fault to Remote fault
  • Local fault ordered-set count – number of local fault ordered set (this is bigger than Local Fault count)
  • Remote fault ordered-set count - number of remote fault ordered set (this is bigger than Remote Fault count)

Generate local and remote faults with controls for the number of faults and order of faults, and the ability to select the option to have the transmit port ignore link faults from a remote link partner.

Transmit line clock adjustment

Ability to adjust the parts per million (ppm) line frequency over a range of the following

  • LAN mode: +/-100 ppm

IPv4, IPv6, UDP, TCP

Hardware checksum generation and verification

Frame length controls

Fixed, random, weighted random, or increment by user-defined step

Operating temperature range

41°F to 86°F (5°C to 30°C), ambient air

Note: When an Xcellon-Flex load module is installed in an XM12 chassis, the maximum operating temperature of the chassis is 30°C (86°F) ambient air temperature.

40 GE Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS) test features

IEEE 802.3ba compliant PCS transmit and receive side test capabilities

Per PCS lane, transmit lane mapping

Supports all combinations of PCS lane mapping: Default, Increment, Decrement, Random, and Custom

Per PCS lane, lane marker, or lane marker and payload error injections

Ability to inject errors into the PCS Lane Marker and simultaneously into PCS Lane Marker and Payload fields by the user. This

includes the ability to inject sync bit errors into the Lane Marker and Payload. User can control the PCS lane, number or errors, period count and manage the repetition of the injected errors.

Per PCS lane, receive lanes statistics

PCS Sync Header and Lane Marker Lock, Lane Marker mapping, Relative lane skew measurement (up to 104 microseconds), Sync Header and PCS Lane Marker Error counters, indicators for Loss of Synch Header and Lane Marker, BIP8 errors.

Mechanical Specification of FlexAP10G16S/FlexFE10G16S Load Modules

Front Panel

The Front panel of FlexAP10G16S/FlexFE10G16S load module is shown in the following figure:

Figure: Front panel of FlexAP10G16S/FlexFE10G16S

Led Panel

Led panel of FlexAP10G16S/FlexFE10G16S Load Module Specifications
Feature Specification

LED1

TX

10GE Link up = Solid Green

10GE TX Active = Blinking Green

10GE TX Error = Blinking Red

Inactive = Off

LED2

RX

Loopback = Solid Green

10GE RX Active = Blinking Green

10GE RX Error = Blinking Red

Link Down = Solid Red

Port Inactive = Off

When port is in aggregation mode (the PCPU resource is used by other port), TX/RX LEDs are inactive (i.e. off). The aggregation egress port will have normal TX/RX LED operation.

Mechanical Specification of FlexAP1040SQ Load Modules

Front Panel Production – 944-1062-02

The Front panel of FlexAP1040SQ load module is shown in the following figure:

Figure: Front panel of FlexAP1040SQ

Led Panel Production – 944-1062-02

The Led panel of FlexAP1040SQ load module is shown in the following figure:

Figure: Led panel of FlexAP1040SQ

Led panel of FlexAP1040SQ Load Module Specifications
Feature Specification

10GE Mode

1 LED/Port where LED number matches port number

Blinking Green

Tx/Rx Activity

Blinking Red

Rx Error

Solid Red

Link down

Solid Green

Link up

Solid Yellow

Loopback

Off

Port is inactive

When port is in aggregation mode (the PCPU resource is used by other port), TX/RX LEDs are inactive (i.e. off). The aggregation egress port will have normal TX/RX LED operation.

FeatureSpecification

40GE Mode

LED/Port aligned from top/down defined as follows:

  • Tx
  • Rx
  • Link
  • Error

Definition matches the 40G Only definition.

Mechanical Specification of FlexAP40QP4 Load Modules

Front Panel

The Front panel of FlexAP40QP4 load module is shown in the following figure:

Figure: Front panel of FlexAP40QP4

Led Panel

Led panel of FlexAP40QP4 Load Module Specifications
FeatureSpecification

 

 

LED/Port aligned from top/down defined as follows:

  • Tx
  • Rx
  • Link
  • Error

LED1

TX

 

10GE TX Active = Blinking Green

 

10GE TX Error = Blinking Red

 

Inactive = Off

LED2

RX

 

10GE RX Active = Blinking Green

 

10GE RX Error = Blinking Red

 

Port Inactive = Off

LED3

Link

 

Link up = Solid Green

 

Link Down = Solid Red

 

Internal Loopback = Solid Yellow

 

Line Loopback = Solid Blue

 

Port Inactive = Off

LED4

Error

 

Remote Faults = Blinking Yellow

 

Local Faults = Solid Red

 

Port Inactive = Off