GL Communications announced the release of its enhanced
PacketExpert with MPLS and VLAN (Q-in-Q) network testing capabilities.
MPLS is a switching technology that achieves low latency,
high throughput, and an efficient routing scheme for all types of traffic.
Quality of Service (QoS) and traffic engineering are inherent features of MPLS.
Testing essentially involves sending appropriately
formatted MPLS packets through an MPLS provisioned network and verifying:
Connectivity – traffic is properly routed to the correct destination, i.e Label
Switching Path, Performance – QoS characterstics like Packet Loss, Bandwidth,
and Latency are controlled within defined limits
Both end to end testing from customer edge to customer
edge as well as testing within the core MPLS network is important. GL’s
PacketExpert does both and it supports up to 3 MPLS stacked labels.
Multiple MPLS label stacks are particularly useful in
testing MPLS VPN implementations, multiple MPLS providers and MPLS tunnels.
Supports full editing options for MPLS header and provides detailed statistics.
PacketExpert allows users to configure the Label Value,
the Class of Service (CoS) bits and the Time-to-Live (TTL) for each label, in
addition to selecting the number of MPLS labels. It automatically inserts the
Bottom of Stack flag. Also, MPLS related statistics like the Packet Counts per
Stack position are provided for detailed analysis.
PacketExpert combines MPLS testing with the BERT and RFC
2544 test capabilities. It can send MPLS enabled streams in its BERT and RFC
2544 tests and report various QoS measurements like Bit Error Rate, Throughput,
Frame Loss, and Latency.
VLAN stands for Virtual Local Area Network. As the name
suggests, VLAN technology enables creation of multiple logical networks on the
same physical Ethernet LAN. It achieves this by using the VLAN tagging.
Stacked VLAN (Q-in-Q) support has been added to the BERT
and RFC 2544 tests of PacketExpert. BERT and RFC 2544 support VLAN tagging up
to 3 levels and as part of configuring the BERT / RFC 2544 test stream.
PacketExpert is a portable Quad Port Ethernet / VLAN /
MPLS / IP / UDP Tester with 4 Electrical Ethernet Ports (10/100/1000 Mbps) and
2 Optical Ports (1000 Mbps). PacketExpert connects to a Notebook PC through a
USB 2.0 interface and each port provides independent Ethernet / VLAN / MPLS /
IP / UDP testing at wirespeed for applications such as BERT, RFC 2544, and
Loopback,” said Jagdish Vadalia senior manager, GL.
Users can configure the VLAN ID, the Priority bits and
even the Ether/Type field for each VLAN stack. Also, users can select the
number of VLAN stacks and enabling Q-in-Q in BERT and RFC 2544 testing permits
verification of VLAN QoS requirements,” Vadalia added.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
