Carrier networks are constantly expanding and evolving to accommodate a growing number of users, higher-bandwidth applications, and complex services such as IPv4 and IPv6 VPNs. Manufacturers are developing core and edge routers that must cope with thousands of peer routing sessions and thousands of VPNs from multiple customers, each with many sites.

The BGP4 protocol is used in practically every carrier network to exchange reachability information between routing devices. BGP4 is also a cornerstone of BGP-MPLS VPNs, described in RFC 4364, which allow service providers to offer layer-3 Virtual Private Networks to thousands of customers simultaneously by tunneling through an IP backbone.

Equipment manufacturers and service providers who are developing or deploying BGP4 routers face many test challenges. For example:

• Performance - How quickly can BGP reconverge after a fault, and how does Graceful Restart impact fault recovery time?
• Scalability - How many BGP peers and BGP-MPLS VPNs can be supported?
• Interoperability - Will incompatible BGP4 implementation details from another vendor's router cause faults?

For more background on IP and MPLS test issues and related solutions, please see our resources page at the link below.

MPLS/IP Core Web page | Back to top

Verifying BGP4 scalability requires the ability to rapidly configure, run, and scale fundamental test scenarios such as:

• Route table scalability
• Route flapping
• Reconvergence time
• IPv6 Functionality (such as 6PE BGP/MPLS Tunneling)

For more information on testing IP routing and MPLS devices, please see the 100+ test cases in our Agilent Journal of Internet Test Methodologies at the link below.

Agilent Journal of Internet Test Methodologies | View sample Journal test case | Back to top

Agilent N2X offers the most usable at scale solution for verifying BGP4 and BGP VPNs.

The N2X IPv4 and IPv6 routing emulations (E7882A and E7885A) have recently been enhanced to accelerate configuration and execution of large-scale tests. Key features include :

• Summarization and Visualization of large topologies in a single high-level view using N2X Route Profiles, VPN Route Profiles, and VRF Definition Pools
  • Topology Aggregation enables control of thousands of peers and routes with a few parameters
  • Inline Editing offers rapid configuration (parametric control) without the need to open additional dialog boxes
  • Multi-select allows selection of parameters and objects across (for example) multiple ports to ease the creation and editing of large topologies
• Multiple protocol visibility lets you view the attributes of any or all protocols, as you choose, to better visualize emulated networks
• State display enables real-time rolling state feedback on BGP with millisecond response, color-coded for clarity
• Rate and Filter Action Controls provide control over the rate and scope of test parameters - such as the opening and closing of peer sessions, and the advertising and withdrawal of routes - to automate tests without the need for scripting
• Industry-leading protocol performance and scalability - such as 4,000 BGP sessions per port on the powerful N2X XS-2 test cards

N2X provides superior ease-of-use and visualization at scale compared to spreadsheet-style use models.

IPv4 Routing Emulation Software (E7882A) | IPv6 Routing Emulation Software (E7885A) | BGP4 Conformance Test Suite (N5704A) | Back to top

The new high-scale IPv4 and IPv6 routing emulations (E7882A and E7885A) and the BGP4 conformance test software (N5704A) are available now on the N2X platform. A short product video that demonstrates scalability testing of BGP4, including the verification of BGP-MPLS VPNs, can be viewed at the link below. Please contact your local Agilent representative for a live product demonstration at your site.

Demo Video | Back to top

Click here to contact your local Agilent representation for more information.

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Agilent N2X - The most comprehensive multi-service test solution for converging network infrastructures.