Question and Answer

How Can I Test the Ability of my Router to Handle Thousands of Label Switched Paths (LSPs)?

With RouterTester's capability of advertising OSPF-TE topologies coupled with RSVP-TE signaling, large numbers of LSPs can be built through a router under test (see also Verifying MPLS - What you Need to Know Before you Start August, 2001 INSIGHT).

Using RouterTester's OSPF-TE network simulation capabilities, distinct OSPF router "clouds" can be advertised from RouterTester into every port on the router under test. In essence, the router under test believes that it is part of a network containing hundreds of routers.

Next, using RouterTester's RSVP-TE emulation, tunnels can be built between any pair of simulated routers, through the router under test. This step can be easily repeated through either the RouterTester GUI, a task-focused QuickTest, or through the Tcl API to create thousands of tunnels through the router under test.

Once the tunnels have been built, wire-speed packets can be sent over these tunnels, with the appropriate negotiated MPLS label values, to stress the ability of the router to forward packets at up to wire-speed over thousands of tunnels.