Analyze the LAN Switch Power Consumption Test Indicators

To ensure the normal operation of LAN switches, we must ensure the hardware facilities. First, we must select a good data center environment and a stable power supply, which not only greatly ensures the normal operation of switches, it can also prolong its service life.

Depending on the communication properties, the LAN switch must process Communication in hardware or software or in combination of software and hardware. Although the manufacturer of a vswitch rarely discloses its details, it is important for testers to understand that software and hardware can have a significant impact on the energy consumption of the vswitch ..

When a switch cannot process a communication that relies on a hardware chip, it must rely on software running on the main processor, which must increase the CPU burden and increase energy consumption. Therefore, it is very important to measure the time consumption, and the communication type and the communication combination type must be suitable for your purpose.

Although most switches Process Layer-2 Communication in hardware, some switches also process some or all of the layer-3 functions in the main processor. Sometimes it is not easy or even confusing to understand which layer of communication is being processed.

The key is to remember that not the content decides the layer, but the switch function and settings determine the layer. For example, we can pass the layer-7 http Communication through the layer-2 switch, but this switch can only make a decision based on the layer-2 information. Therefore, the results are the same, regardless of whether the communication contains application information or the second-level address information.

Remember, because you want to transmit upper-layer communication, you cannot simply assume that the switch is processing data at a specific level, unless you have developed a test plan, it also proves that you have guided the communication according to the specific level of content in the protocol stack.

For example, we can design many Layer 7 tests to instruct the switch to send communication to a specific port based on the requested web page. In this case, by verifying whether the server has received a "get" request, the tester can easily prove whether the process is being executed at a certain level.

Next we will first explain the measurement indicators and other considerations of the power consumption and efficiency of LAN switches. The following describes how to measure the power consumption of LAN switches. What factors need to be considered when testing the power consumption of LAN switches? There are many factors that can affect the way LAN switches consume power.

The network interface is either copper or optical fiber media, which directly affects the power consumption, as well as the number of active ports and the number of modules that need to transmit software on some layers of the network. In addition, the deeper the communication check, the more power consumption. A layer-4 or above switch needs to be tested, which makes decisions based on the height of the data in the protocol stack and the depth of the data packets. This leads to a different data encoding path, which affects power consumption.

LAN Switch Power Consumption Test Indicators

1. Steady-State Power Consumption

Steady-state power consumption is often used in performance tests. However, from the perspective of power consumption, this is inaccurate. For example, a running fan will undoubtedly increase power consumption. Some manufacturers may allow the fan to run when the system is started, thus "testing" the fan (even if no heat dissipation is required ). Users can test power consumption five minutes after the device is powered on, which temporarily increases power consumption.

In addition, we also need to determine whether the steady-state power consumption is based on a device with an idle port or a device that is processing data communication. Regardless of the definition, it is important to note that cost calculation based on steady-state power consumption alone cannot be very accurate, because over time, switch traffic will not remain in the status of a single communication load.

2. modules/interfaces

To obtain accurate energy consumption numbers, switch tests must note all modules in use in the system. Even a switch with stackable or fixed ports may only use certain modules, which may potentially affect power consumption. In general, this option includes the uplink port and the stacked port used to connect a vswitch baseboard to another vswitch baseboard.

3. Influence of Power Supply

For a system that provides multiple power supplies, when the load is between 50% and 90%, the power supply is generally the most effective, so the power supply option is very important. For a modular system with low load, selecting the highest power function will lead to inefficient use of power supply and higher power consumption.

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