A benchmarking methodology for evaluating software switch performance for NFV

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Interest in software networking has grown significantly since the introduction of Network Function Virtualization (NFV). Software switches are used in NFV to steer traffic between different virtualized network functions and physical Network Interface Cards (NICs). It is becoming more and more important to objectively evaluate and compare the performance of the multiple alternative implementations that have recently been proposed. A comprehensive performance analysis is still missing for two main reasons: (i) the amount of time required to configure and compare all such tools is enormous; (ii) it is very difficult to define a proper methodology to compare different solutions in a fair manner. In this paper we propose a methodology based on four simple yet representative test scenarios used to evaluate the performance of software switches. We apply this methodology to measure throughput and latency metrics for 6 state-of-The-Art software switches namely, OVS-DPDK, snabb, BESS, FastClick, VPP and netmap VALE. Our work constitutes a first step to building a better understanding of design tradeoffs and identifying performance bottlenecks.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 2019 IEEE Conference on Network Softwarization
Subtitle of host publicationUnleashing the Power of Network Softwarization, NetSoft 2019
EditorsChristian Jacquenet, Filip De Turck, Prosper Chemouil, Flavio Esposito, Olivier Festor, Walter Cerroni, Stefano Secci
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages251-253
Number of pages3
ISBN (Electronic)9781538693766
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2019
Event5th IEEE Conference on Network Softwarization, NetSoft 2019 - Paris, France
Duration: 24 Jun 201928 Jun 2019

Publication series

NameProceedings of the 2019 IEEE Conference on Network Softwarization: Unleashing the Power of Network Softwarization, NetSoft 2019

Conference

Conference5th IEEE Conference on Network Softwarization, NetSoft 2019
Country/TerritoryFrance
CityParis
Period24/06/1928/06/19

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