Data Center Storage 100GE Test Load Module

Storage switch fabric test platform

Problem: Rocketing Storage Workloads Overwhelm Storage Switch Fabrics

Organizations are turning to data center convergence to manage ever-expanding data growth, especially storage workload growth. Convergence of compute, networking, and storage is resulting in significant saving in cost of equipment, energy consumption, and hardware footprint. It also provides the needed infrastructure to enable machine learning, artificial intelligence, and storage network scale-out.

Remote Direct Memory Access over Converged Ethernet version 2 (RoCEv2) technology promises high efficiency in transferring the massive volume of data needed by many modern applications. However, incorrectly configured or non-optimized buffering in a data center Ethernet switching fabric will result in poor application performance, especially under high load.

Solution: Tune Converged Switching Fabric for High Performance and Low Latency

Keysight’s Data Center Storage 100GE Test Load Module generates realistic RoCEv2 traffic at line-rate in a controlled and repetitive manner. It enables users to characterize the performance and latency impacts of various storage workloads and tune switching fabric parameters to overcome network congestion. Running on purpose-built Data Center Storage Load Modules - with 2 x QSFP28 ports that can operate in 100GE, or fanout to 2 x 40GE ports, or fanout to 8 x 25GE ports, or fanout to 8 x 10GE ports, the test solution provides metrics on volume of traffic, latency, and the congestion control mechanism.

Driven by IxLoad – the test application for measuring the quality of experience (QoE) of real-time, business-critical applications with converged multiplay service emulations – the Data Center Storage 100GE Test Load Module is a unique platform for validating RoCEv2 implementations and parameter settings of converged data center switches.

Compared to homegrown or open source test solutions on commercial compute servers, the Keysight RoCEv2 test solution brings higher efficiency through high scalability, high density, simplified and unified management, easier configurability, and lower maintenance while providing comprehensive and replicable testing.

Product Capabilities

Keysight’s Data Center Storage Test Load Module provides data center performance for RoCEv2 and HTTP traffic with full congestion control mechanism support for exercising the systems under test (SUT) in real-world conditions, enabling users to easily identify performance and interoperability issues. The modular architecture of the solution allows linear performance scaling to multi terabits by populating a Keysight XGS12-HSL or XGS12-SDL chassis with up to 12 Data Center Storage Test load modules.

When the testing topology requires more than 24 x 100GE/40GE ports, or more than 96 x 25GE/10GE ports, additional chassis can be used in the same test configuration.

Hardware

The Data Center Storage Test Load Module employs cutting-edge architectural innovations that combine powerful multi-core, multi-threaded network processors and inline field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to generate realistic, cloud-scale volume of state-full traffic while maintaining nanoseconds resolution accuracy for latency measurements.

The Data Center Storage 100GE Test Load Module has two native 100GE QSFP28 ports, providing support for pluggable multi-mode optical transceivers or single mode optical transceivers. The load module can support 100/50/40/25/10GE on the same port, reducing capital expenditure by eliminating the need to buy different hardware for each speed and increasing the efficiency of the test platform.

Each of the 100GE QSFP28 ports can operate through a fan-out cable as 4 x 25GE SFP28 ports or 4 x 10GE SFP+ ports, or speed down as 1 x 40GE QSFP+ port. The Data Center Storage Test Load Module is multiuser: the ports are independent and can be used in a single or multiple concurrent test sessions.

The load module also includes a mission control center CPU (MCC) equipped with dedicated memory and a solid-state drive (SSD) to accelerate boot time and reduce test configuration time.