Study of router software performance

Understanding router software performance is crucial for organizations which demand the optimal network quality. Because processing capability has heavy influence to communication networks [1], we need a benchmark for network administrators to choose the routers with the best performance per demand. However, it is hard to find such benchmark at present. In this work, we study router software performance, which is a dominant factor for both control and management plane performances. We firstly introduce Packet Generator and a framework for network professionals to measure and understand router control plane performance. The Packet Generator is capable of sending and receiving network traffic with highest degrees of freedom, which enables users to test router control plane performance under various scenarios, ranging from a single device to a complex network topology. Then we conduct management plane experiments against various network topologies and router software versions