Network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) typically produce a wide range of products such as switches, routers, firewalls, wireless access points, and network interface cards (NICs). 

Network equipment testing

NEMs face the challenge of efficiently developing innovative products that can “do more with less”, using the latest technology. The stakes are high, which means delivering these products on schedule requires rigorous network equipment testing throughout the product development cycle. 

Teledyne LeCroy Xena offers network equipment testing solutions that can cost-effectively verify and validate networking products throughout the product lifecycle, from R&D to volume production. This enables NEMs to ensure that their products perform to specifications and meet quality and reliability standards, even under extreme traffic conditions. 

Functionality verification

Functionality verification is crucial during the development of a new network device, encompassing testing of unicast, multicast, and broadcast traffic, MAC address learning, correct filtering of VLAN tagged traffic, and handling of QoS. Devices must also undergo stress testing with high traffic loads, different packet sizes, and varying interframe gaps. Specifically, for devices with 50–800 Gbps Ethernet ports, basic Layer1 functionality verification is crucial before any Layer 2/3 testing can be performed. 

Performance validation

Performance validation becomes essential as new networking equipment nears product launch, requiring validation of performance and compatibility with other products on the market. For Ethernet devices, network equipment testing often includes benchmarking tests like RFC-2544 to validate key parameters such as throughput, latency, jitter, and packet loss performance of the new device.  

Production testing

Once a new product enters mass production, it is crucial to consistently monitor the quality of the products before they are dispatched from the factory. These quality checks should swiftly identify any malfunctions. Hence, tests designed for production-level testing generally comprise a few fully automated key test cases. 

Customer support

The NEM’s support team may occasionally receive reports about issues encountered by customers when using the network equipment. To replicate the network behavior reported by the customers and confirm potential solutions, the support team typically utilizes various network analyzers and traffic generators. 

Ethernet Traffic Generators for network equipment testing

Ethernet Traffic Generators like Teledyne LeCroy’s Freya, Thor, Loki, and Odin products facilitate verification, validation, debugging and production testing throughout the network equipment’s lifecycle, offering customizable packet flow generation and comprehensive test suites for evaluating throughput, latency, jitter, and more. Additionally, the XOA Python API allows for tailored test script development, promoting efficient testing across all stages of network equipment deployment.