Ixia's product suite tests virtualized data centers

From Test and Measurement World

Expanding into virtual network and virtualization testing, Ixia has launched the IxVM platform to enable data-center managers to assess virtual infrastructure performance and capacity. IxVM builds on the company's library of Layer 2–7 performance test tools that discover, manage, and automate testing in large virtualized environments.

With the suite of IxVM tools, it is possible to test Layer 2/3 virtual network resources and Layer 4–7 virtual applications. IxChariot VM, a component of IxVM, uses software endpoints—small software components that run on each virtual machine—that send and receive traffic, while measuring performance. This makes it possible to source traffic from virtual servers in the same manner as the supported applications. IxExplorer VM uses software endpoints to generate Layer2/3 traffic to test features such as VLAN and QoS.

IxVM allows performance testing across thousands of VMs (virtual machines) simultaneously with real-world application traffic. It also enables independent measurement and convergence testing of VM migration; tuning of virtual resources, such as servers and NICs; measurement of key performance indicators, like delay, jitter, or packet loss, through virtual switches; and testing of network performance variances when running applications over different operating systems.