path: root/docs/report/introduction/physical_testbeds.rst

.. _tested_physical_topologies:

Performance Physical Testbeds
=============================

All :abbr:`FD.io (Fast Data Input/Ouput)` :abbr:`CSIT (Continuous System
Integration and Testing)` performance test results included in this
report are executed on the physical testbeds hosted by :abbr:`LF (Linux
Foundation)` FD.io project, unless otherwise noted.

Two physical server topology types are used:

- **2-Node Topology**: Consists of one server acting as a System Under
  Test (SUT) and one server acting as a Traffic Generator (TG), with
  both servers connected into a ring topology. Used for executing tests
  that require frame encapsulations supported by TG.

- **3-Node Topology**: Consists of two servers acting as a Systems Under
  Test (SUTs) and one server acting as a Traffic Generator (TG), with
  all servers connected into a ring topology. Used for executing tests
  that require frame encapsulations not supported by TG e.g. certain
  overlay tunnel encapsulations and IPsec. Number of native Ethernet,
  IPv4 and IPv6 encapsulation tests are also executed on these testbeds,
  for comparison with 2-Node Topology.

Current FD.io production testbeds are built with SUT servers based on
the following processor architectures:

- Intel Xeon: Cascadelake 6252N, Icelake 8358.
- Intel Atom: Denverton C3858, Snowridge P5362.
- Arm: TaiShan 2280, hip07-d05, Neoverse N1.
- AMD EPYC: Zen2 7532.

Server SUT performance depends on server and processor type, hence
results for testbeds based on different servers must be reported
separately, and compared if appropriate.

Complete technical specifications of compute servers used in CSIT
physical testbeds are maintained in FD.io CSIT repository:
https://git.fd.io/csit/tree/docs/lab/testbed_specifications.md.

Physical NICs and Drivers
-------------------------

SUT and TG servers are equipped with a number of different NIC models.

VPP is performance tested on SUTs with the following NICs and drivers:

#. 2p10GE: x550, x553 Intel (codename Niantic)
   - DPDK Poll Mode Driver (PMD).
#. 4p10GE: x710-DA4 Intel (codename Fortville, FVL)
   - DPDK PMD.
   - AVF in PMD mode.
   - AF_XDP in PMD mode.
#. 2p25GE: xxv710-DA2 Intel (codename Fortville, FVL)
   - DPDK PMD.
   - AVF in PMD mode.
   - AF_XDP in PMD mode.
#. 4p25GE: xxv710-DA4 Intel (codename Fortville, FVL)
   - DPDK PMD.
   - AVF in PMD mode.
   - AF_XDP in PMD mode.
#. 4p25GE: E822-CQDA4 Intel (codename Columbiaville, CVL)
   - DPDK PMD.
   - AVF in PMD mode.
#. 2p100GE: cx556a-edat Mellanox ConnectX5
   - RDMA_core in PMD mode.
#. 2p100GE: E810-2CQDA2 Intel (codename Columbiaville, CVL)
   - DPDK PMD.
   - AVF in PMD mode.

DPDK applications, testpmd and l3fwd, are performance tested on the same
SUTs exclusively with DPDK drivers for all NICs.

TRex running on TGs is using DPDK drivers for all NICs.

VPP hoststack tests utilize ab (Apache HTTP server benchmarking tool)
running on TGs and using Linux drivers for all NICs.

For more information see :ref:`vpp_test_environment`
and :ref:`dpdk_test_environment`.

.. _physical_testbeds_2n_zn2:

2-Node AMD EPYC Zen2 (2n-zn2)
-----------------------------

One 2n-zn2 testbed in in operation in FD.io labs. It is built based on
two SuperMicro SuperMicro AS-1114S-WTRT servers, with SUT and TG servers
equipped with one AMD EPYC Zen2 7532 processor each (256 MB Cache, 2.40
GHz, 32 cores). 2n-zn2 physical topology is shown below.

.. only:: latex

    .. raw:: latex

        \begin{figure}[H]
            \centering
                \graphicspath{{../_tmp/src/introduction/}}
                \includegraphics[width=0.90\textwidth]{testbed-2n-zn2}
                \label{fig:testbed-2n-zn2}
        \end{figure}

.. only:: html

    .. figure:: testbed-2n-zn2.svg
        :alt: testbed-2n-zn2
        :align: center

SUT NICs:

#. NIC-1: x710-DA4 4p10GE Intel.
#. NIC-2: xxv710-DA2 2p25GE Intel.
#. NIC-3: cx556a-edat ConnectX5 2p100GE Mellanox.

TG NICs:

#. NIC-1: x710-DA4 4p10GE Intel.
#. NIC-2: xxv710-DA2 2p25GE Intel.
#. NIC-3: cx556a-edat ConnectX5 2p100GE Mellanox.

All AMD EPYC Zen2 7532 servers run with AMD SMT enabled, doubling the
number of logical cores exposed to Linux.

.. _physical_testbeds_2n_clx:

2-Node Xeon Cascadelake (2n-clx)
--------------------------------

Three 2n-clx testbeds are in operation in FD.io labs. Each 2n-clx testbed
is built with two SuperMicro SYS-7049GP-TRT servers, SUTs are equipped with two
Intel Xeon Gold 6252N processors (35.75 MB Cache, 2.30 GHz, 24 cores).
TGs are equiped with Intel Xeon Cascade Lake Platinum 8280 processors (38.5 MB
Cache, 2.70 GHz, 28 cores). 2n-clx physical topology is shown below.

.. only:: latex

    .. raw:: latex

        \begin{figure}[H]
            \centering
                \graphicspath{{../_tmp/src/introduction/}}
                \includegraphics[width=0.90\textwidth]{testbed-2n-clx}
                \label{fig:testbed-2n-clx}
        \end{figure}

.. only:: html

    .. figure:: testbed-2n-clx.svg
        :alt: testbed-2n-clx
        :align: center

SUT NICs:

#. NIC-1: x710-DA4 4p10GE Intel.
#. NIC-2: xxv710-DA2 2p25GE Intel.
#. NIC-3: cx556a-edat ConnectX5 2p100GE Mellanox.
#. NIC-4: empty, future expansion.
#. NIC-5: empty, future expansion.
#. NIC-6: empty, future expansion.

TG NICs:

#. NIC-1: x710-DA4 4p10GE Intel.
#. NIC-2: xxv710-DA2 2p25GE Intel.
#. NIC-3: cx556a-edat ConnectX5 2p100GE Mellanox.
#. NIC-4: empty, future expansion.
#. NIC-5: empty, future expansion.
#. NIC-6: x710-DA4 4p10GE Intel. (For self-tests.)

All Intel Xeon Cascadelake servers run with Intel Hyper-Threading enabled,
doubling the number of logical cores exposed to Linux.

.. _physical_testbeds_2n_icx:

2-Node Xeon Icelake (2n-icx)
----------------------------

One 2n-icx testbed is in operation in FD.io labs. It is built with two
SuperMicro SYS-740GP-TNRT servers, each in turn equipped with two Intel Xeon
Platinum 8358 processors (48 MB Cache, 2.60 GHz, 32 cores).

.. only:: latex

    .. raw:: latex

        \begin{figure}[H]
            \centering
                \graphicspath{{../_tmp/src/introduction/}}
                \includegraphics[width=0.90\textwidth]{testbed-2n-icx}
                \label{fig:testbed-2n-icx}
        \end{figure}

.. only:: html

    .. figure:: testbed-2n-icx.svg
        :alt: testbed-2n-icx
        :align: center

SUT and TG NICs:

#. NIC-1: xxv710-DA2 2p25GE Intel.
#. NIC-2: E810-2CQDA2 2p100GbE Intel (* to be added).
#. NIC-3: E810-CQDA4 4p100GbE Intel (* to be added).

All Intel Xeon Icelake servers run with Intel Hyper-Threading enabled,
doubling the number of logical cores exposed to Linux.

.. _physical_testbeds_3n_icx:

3-Node Xeon Icelake (3n-icx)
----------------------------

One 3n-icx testbed is in operation in FD.io labs. It is built with three
SuperMicro SYS-740GP-TNRT servers, each in turn equipped with two Intel Xeon
Platinum 8358 processors (48 MB Cache, 2.60 GHz, 32 cores).

.. only:: latex

    .. raw:: latex

        \begin{figure}[H]
            \centering
                \graphicspath{{../_tmp/src/introduction/}}
                \includegraphics[width=0.90\textwidth]{testbed-3n-icx}
                \label{fig:testbed-3n-icx}
        \end{figure}

.. only:: html

    .. figure:: testbed-3n-icx.svg
        :alt: testbed-3n-icx
        :align: center

SUT and TG NICs:

#. NIC-1: xxv710-DA2 2p25GE Intel.
#. NIC-2: E810-2CQDA2 2p100GbE Intel (* to be added).
#. NIC-3: E810-CQDA4 4p100GbE Intel (* to be added).

All Intel Xeon Icelake servers run with Intel Hyper-Threading enabled,
doubling the number of logical cores exposed to Linux.

.. _physical_testbeds_3n_alt:

3-Node ARM Altra (3n-alt)
---------------------------

One 3n-tsh testbed is built with: i) one SuperMicro SYS-740GP-TNRT
server acting as TG and equipped with two Intel Xeon Icelake Platinum
8358 processors (80 MB Cache, 2.60 GHz, 32 cores), and ii) one Ampere
Altra server acting as SUT and equipped with two Q80-30 processors
(80* ARM Neoverse N1). 3n-alt physical topology is shown below.

.. only:: latex

    .. raw:: latex

        \begin{figure}[H]
            \centering
                \graphicspath{{../_tmp/src/introduction/}}
                \includegraphics[width=0.90\textwidth]{testbed-3n-alt}
                \label{fig:testbed-3n-alt}
        \end{figure}

.. only:: html

    .. figure:: testbed-3n-alt.svg
        :alt: testbed-3n-alt
        :align: center

SUT1 and SUT2 NICs:

#. NIC-1: xl710-QDA2-2p40GE Intel.

TG NICs:

#. NIC-1: xxv710-DA2-2p25GE Intel.
#. NIC-2: xl710-QDA2-2p40GE Intel.
#. NIC-3: e810-XXVDA4-4p25GE Intel.
#. NIC-4: e810-2CQDA2-2p100GE Intel.

.. _physical_testbeds_3n_tsh:

3-Node ARM TaiShan (3n-tsh)
---------------------------

One 3n-tsh testbed is built with: i) one SuperMicro SYS-7049GP-TRT
server acting as TG and equipped with two Intel Xeon Skylake Platinum
8180 processors (38.5 MB Cache, 2.50 GHz, 28 cores), and ii) one Huawei
TaiShan 2280 server acting as SUT and equipped with one  hip07-d05
processor (64* ARM Cortex-A72). 3n-tsh physical topology is shown below.

.. only:: latex

    .. raw:: latex

        \begin{figure}[H]
            \centering
                \graphicspath{{../_tmp/src/introduction/}}
                \includegraphics[width=0.90\textwidth]{testbed-3n-tsh}
                \label{fig:testbed-3n-tsh}
        \end{figure}

.. only:: html

    .. figure:: testbed-3n-tsh.svg
        :alt: testbed-3n-tsh
        :align: center

SUT1 and SUT2 NICs:

#. NIC-1: connectx4 2p25GE Mellanox.
#. NIC-2: x520 2p10GE Intel.

TG NICs:

#. NIC-1: x710-DA4 4p10GE Intel.
#. NIC-2: xxv710-DA2 2p25GE Intel.
#. NIC-3: xl710-QDA2 2p40GE Intel.

.. _physical_testbeds_2n_tx2:

2-Node ARM ThunderX2 (2n-tx2)
-----------------------------

One 2n-tx2 testbed is built with: i) one SuperMicro SYS-7049GP-TRT
server acting as TG and equipped with two Intel Xeon Skylake Platinum
8180 processors (38.5 MB Cache, 2.50 GHz, 28 cores), and ii) one Marvell
ThnderX2 9975 (28* ThunderX2) server acting as SUT and equipped with two
ThunderX2 ARMv8 CN9975 processors. 2n-tx2 physical topology is shown below.

.. only:: latex

    .. raw:: latex

        \begin{figure}[H]
            \centering
                \graphicspath{{../_tmp/src/introduction/}}
                \includegraphics[width=0.90\textwidth]{testbed-2n-tx2}
                \label{fig:testbed-2n-tx2}
        \end{figure}

.. only:: html

    .. figure:: testbed-2n-tx2.svg
        :alt: testbed-2n-tx2
        :align: center

SUT NICs:

#. NIC-1: xl710-QDA2 2p40GE Intel (not connected).
#. NIC-2: xl710-QDA2 2p40GE Intel.

TG NICs:

#. NIC-1: xl710-QDA2 2p40GE Intel.

.. _physical_testbeds_3n_snr:

3-Node Atom Snowridge (3n-snr)
------------------------------

One 3n-snr testbed is built with: i) one SuperMicro SYS-740GP-TNRT
server acting as TG and equipped with two Intel Xeon Icelake Platinum
8358 processors (48 MB Cache, 2.60 GHz, 32 cores), and ii) SUT equipped with
one Intel Atom P5362 processor (27 MB Cache, 2.20 GHz, 24 cores). 3n-snr
physical topology is shown below.

.. only:: latex

    .. raw:: latex

        \begin{figure}[H]
            \centering
                \graphicspath{{../_tmp/src/introduction/}}
                \includegraphics[width=0.90\textwidth]{testbed-3n-snr}
                \label{fig:testbed-3n-snr}
        \end{figure}

.. only:: html

    .. figure:: testbed-3n-snr.svg
        :alt: testbed-3n-snr
        :align: center

SUT1 and SUT2 NICs:

#. NIC-1: e822cq-DA4 4p25GE fiber Intel.

TG NICs:

#. NIC-1: e810xxv-DA4 4p25GE Intel.