Emulation vs. Simulation for Layer 4-7

The difference between emulation and simulation for layers 4-7?

Testing with realistic application emulation is about emulating network traffic that contains realistic traffic patterns and content. This generates results that are far more accurate than using simulation or stateless Layer 2-3 blasting.

The different testing solutions

There are various solutions for testing stateful Layer 4-7 traffic that utilize “real-world traffic” when evaluating the performance of the device or system under test (DUT/SUT). The concepts are similar, but to ensure test results truly reflect the “what-if” scenarios and results in the real world, you need to select the right test solution.

Bringing realism to testing?

Realistic application emulation not only demands true stateful application traffic on top of TCP/IP, but also maintaining the correlation between connections in the application. This White Paper looks at how Xena’s Vulcan platform can be used to realistically emulate applications to give a more accurate indication of how they perform.

Content

• The Importance of Testing with Realistic Emulation
• Layer 4-7 Emulation vs. Simulation
• Simulation
• Realistic Layer 4-7 Emulation
• High-Performance Stateful Testing with Right Solutions