RADCOM Announces IP Blaster for Testing ATM IP Routers
RADCOM announced the release of its new IP Blaster software that provides network managers with the ability to transmit IP packets at up to 353,000 pps in order to test layer 3 switching and IP routing. The IP Blaster tests ATM IP routers to improve performance and avoid potential traffic bottlenecks. It runs on RADCOM's RC-155-C ATM analyzer and Prism series analyzers.
What is IP routing?
As ATM is further deployed, the use of ATM attached routers is more common. Routers are used to interconnect multiple segments of a network, and IP is the protocol of choice in today's networks. As more and more segments are attached to such routers, they can easily become bottlenecks for inter-segment traffic. ATM IP routers implement software-based routing decisions which are more time-consuming than hardware-based processing, a second cause for bottlenecks. Thus the importance of testing a router's capacity before it is deployed.
Testing ATM IP Routers
Using the IP Blaster, network managers can fine-tune their networks by determining a router's maximum capacity by actually increasing the speed of data until it reaches the router's capacity. Data can be increased gradually or radically at the flip of a button to the full ATM line speed. Developers can also use the IP Blaster to test their IP router's capacity and improve performance.
True testing of ATM IP routers cannot be achieved with simple ATM traffic generators which transmit a cell header and hex payload. An ATM IP router reassembles the ATM cells into a packet, evaluates the address contained in the packet, re-segments the packet into ATM cells and passes the cells to the correct location. Therefore, testers must be used which can generate complete IP messages. Otherwise, it is impossible to fully test the router's performance.
The IP Blaster allows the user to define the exact contents of an IP Ping message to be sent across the network. These Pings may then be sent to the device under test as a continuous stream of ATM cells at rates up to 155 Mbps or may be transmitted as bursts of a defined number of cells. Since the Pings generated by the RC-155-C include the correct AAL 5 CRC and IP FCS information, the destination device will interpret and in many cases respond to the Ping (echo request) messages with an ICMP Echo Response.
The performance of the device or system under test can be measured by comparing the amount of data transmitted into the link with the amount received as measured by an ATM management system or an attached ATM analyzer such as RADCOM's PrismLite.
About RADCOM
RADCOM, a member of the RAD Group, develops, manufactures, markets and supports internetworking test and analysis equipment for data communications networks.
For further information, please
contact Avi Zamir at 201-529-2020.