TNT10G: A high-accuracy 10 GbE traffic player and recorder for multi-Terabyte traces

Abstract

In this paper we present TNT10G (multi-Terabyte trace Network Tester), an FPGA-based tool for replaying and capturing massive Ethernet traces at 10 Gb/s. The tool is capable of reproducing and storing terabytes of network traffic at line rate, even if small packets are being used. Moreover, since the design works at low level (XGMII), accuracy is better than 10 ns, and it is also possible to observe and generate anomalous conditions, such as malformed frames, FCS errors, or illegal inter-frame gaps. All such features make TNT10G a truly useful tool for network testing and monitoring at 10 Gb/s. The design uses the NetFPGA-10G platform, although it could be easily ported to other boards since it uses standard AXI buses. The key element to achieve line-rate operation is a custom-developed Linux driver, which works in conjunction with a high-speed DMA backend core from Northwest Logic. Such blocks, together with a RAID0 array of commodity SSD disks, enable operation at 10 Gb/s. Finally, the use of a low-cost academic board together with off-the-shelf components allows for an open, extensible and cost-effective solution, a unique combination not found in commercial products.