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Spirent TestCenter: Why configured traffic load may not match actual load?

Environment/Versions
  • Adding some other key words for searchability of this article.
    • Unexpected traffic rate
    • Rate not sent as configured
Answer
  • For this example, it uses 1.111% as the load per stream block:
    • The overall configured rate shows 29.997% and the actual rate shows up as 29.994%
  • Environment:
    • The interface is 10G
    • There are 27 streams set for 1.111% (111.1M)
    • There are 3 types of frame sizes, 64B, 1500, 9000.
  • Convert to bits:
    • 64B + IFG + Preamble = 84B = 672 bits
    • 1500 + IFG + Preamble = 1520B = 12160 bits
    • 9000 + IFG + Preamble = 9020B = 72160 bits
  • Frame rate in fps for 1.111% (111,100,000 bps)
    • 64B = 165,327 (672 bits x 165,327 = 111,099,744) (as close to 111,100,000 without going over)
    • 1500 = 9136 (12160 x 9136 = 111,093,760) (as close to 111,100,000 without going over)
    • 9000 = 1539 (72160 x 1539 = 111,054,240) (as close to 111,100,000 without going over)
  • There are 27 streams, 9 of each frame size
    • 64B = 111,099,744 x 9 = 999,897,696 bps
    • 1520B = 111,093,760 x 9 = 999,843,840
    • 9020B = 111,054,240 x 9 = 999,488,160
    • Total = 2,999,229,696 bps
    • 2,999,229,696 / 10G = 29.9923% (We can see the overall actual rate is different from the configured rate.)
  • From the calculation above it is not possible to get exactly 1.111% with any of the 3 frames sizes. 
  • Rate is load per stream block so I would expect each stream block would behave similarly as well as individually.
  • So if each stream block has just a little less than 1.111%, when you add the rates of multiple stream blocks, we can see that the overall actual rate will get further away from the overall Configured rate.
  • If all streams were the same size the TestCenter algorithm could compensate a bit and even with multiple frame sizes but there is probably some limitations and more so with multiple frames sizes.
  • Still, from just going by the calculations it is not possible to reach exactly 1.111% thus the configured rate may not match the actual rate.

Product : Spirent TestCenter,PGA