How we tested the Dell PowerConnect 6024 switch.
We tested a Dell PowerConnect 6024 model with 24 10/100/1000Base-T ports. The PowerConnect 6024 had the following hardware, software and firmware versions:
• SW version: 1.0.2.07• Boot version: 1.0.0.13• HW version: 00.01.64
We used a Spirent Communications Smartbits 6000 chassis load with Terametrics XD 10/100/1000Base-T cards for all the testing. We used Smartflow Version 3.10 for most tests and TeraRouting Test v3.0 software for all routing table capacity and convergence tests.
We ran four categories of tests – basic functions, performance, redundancy and management. The following lists the test methodology by category.
Basic function tests
Reboot time
The switch reboot time was measured by stopwatch from initiating a reboot until the console user interface became active.
Redundancy
Redundant power supplies
The redundant power supply functionality was tested as follows:
• We plugged both power supplies into a power source.• We then pulled the power source on one power supply and verified proper switch operation.• We replaced the power source and verified proper switch operation.• We repeated the test for the other power source. Redundant fans
The redundant fans were tested as follows:
• We plugged in both system fans.• We pulled one system fan unit and verified proper switch operation.• We replaced the system fan.• We repeated the test for the other system fan.
Layer 2 performance
Layer 2 throughput
Layer 2 throughput was measured by finding the maximum throughput without loss in a full-mesh traffic pattern over all ports of the switch with all ports running in full duplex 1000Base-T mode. We ran a packet loss test to determine the switch’s packet loss rate from 10% to 100% maximum input load in 10% increments.
Layer 2 packet latency
Layer 2 latency was measured at the maximum throughput with no loss in a full-mesh traffic pattern over all ports of the switch with all ports running in full duplex 1000Base-T mode.
Layer 3 performance
Layer 3 throughput
Layer 3 throughput was measured by finding the maximum throughput without loss in a full-mesh traffic pattern over all ports of the switch with all ports running in full duplex 1000Base-T mode. We ran a packet loss test to determine the switch’s packet loss rate from 10% to 100% maximum input load in 10% increments.
Layer 3 packet latency
Layer 3 latency was measured at the maximum throughput with no loss in a full-mesh traffic pattern over all ports of the switch with all ports running in full duplex 1000Base-T mode.
Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
We determined the maximum number of RIP routes supported by the device by loading the routing table with advertised routes until the routing table could not hold any more information.
We tested route convergence using the following procedure:
• Send 80% of max number of supported routes.• Send traffic over those routes to verify the routes.• Withdraw 20% of the advertised routes to measure the amount of time for the router to adjust and to confirm that the router adjusted properly. Do this by measuring the amount of traffic lost since traffic is equally distributed over all routes.• Re-advertise the withdrawn routes to verify that the routes are added to the route table, see how long it takes to add the routes and if the router can properly handle the route operations. Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
We determined the maximum number of OSPF routes supported by the device by loading the routing table with advertised routes until the routing table could not hold any more.
We tested route convergence by using the by following the procedure:
• Send 80% of max number of supported routes.• Send traffic over those routes to verify the routes.• Withdraw 20% of the advertised routes to measure the amount of time for the router to adjust and to confirm that the router adjusted properly. Do this by measuring the amount of traffic lost since traffic is equally distributed over all routes.• Re-advertise the withdrawn routes to verify that the routes are added to the route table, see how long it takes to add the routes and if the router can properly handle the route operations. Access Control Lists (ACL)
We tested the ACL performance using the following procedure:
• Build an ACL with 1024 entries (max entries per acl) where first 1023 entries are ‘deny 11.0.0.0 255.255.255.255 101.0.0.0 255.255.255.255 dscp 32’ the last entry is ‘permit 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0’• Assign this ACL to each physical port.• Run a full-mesh Layer 3 max throughput and full-mesh Layer 3 latency test.
Quality of service
802.1p VLAN priority
We tested 802.1p virtual LAN priority functionality using the following procedure:
• Configure the Ethernet interfaces for VLAN tagging.• Configure test equipment to send traffic from Ports 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, and 23 to Ports 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, and 24 in a unidirectional mesh arrangement.• For each source and destination port pair, send 8 individual flows corresponding to all 8 VLAN priority values.• Starting with a traffic load of 40% for each input port, increase load by 10% to 100% wire-speed for each input port.• Measure packet loss and latency for each VLAN value at each load value. Based on the relative loss and latency results, determine if the switch VLAN priority functionality is working correctly. Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP)
We tested DSCP priority functionality using the following procedure:
• Configure the Ethernet interfaces to trust incoming packet DSCP values.• Configure test equipment to send traffic to Ports 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, and 23 to Ports 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, and 24 in a unidirectional mesh arrangement.• For each source and destination port pair, send 8 individual flows corresponding to 8 DSCP values (upper three bit values of 000, 001, 010, 011, 100, 101, 110 and 111).• Starting with a traffic load of 40% for each input port, increase load by 10% to 100% wire-speed for each input port.• Measure packet loss and latency for each DSCP at each load value. Based on the relative loss and latency results, determine if the switch DSCP priority functionality is working correctly. Management
We assessed the usability and functionality of the command-line interface, the Web interface and the Dell Network Manager interface.
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