SNE

Calnex SNE Multi-Port, Multi-User Network Emulator

Multi-port, multi-user Ethernet network emulator supporting 1GbE to 100GbE interfaces with 55+ impairments and delay emulation up to 30 seconds.

Network Interfaces
1G: up to 16; 10G: up to 12; 25G: up to 8; 50G: up to 8; 100G: up to 8
Standard Network Interfaces
1G: GbE Copper; 10G: SFP+; 25G: SFP28; 50G: QSFP28; 100G: QSFP28
Optional Network Interfaces
1G: RJ45; 10G: SFP+; 25G: SFP28; 50G: QSFP28; 100G: QSFP28
Max. Packet Rate Per Port (bi-directional)
1G: 2.96 million; 10G: 29.6 million; 25G: 37.2 million; 50G: 62.5 million; 100G: 62.5 million
Datasheet

Overview

The Calnex SNE is a multi-port, multi-user network emulator and simulator used to reproduce real-world network conditions in the lab, so that applications and infrastructure can be tested before deployment. It supports 100GbE, 50GbE, 25GbE, 10GbE and 1GbE interfaces in a 2U rack chassis with four slots for interface cards, which can be mixed to suit the required port count and rates.

Network emulation and simulation

The SNE provides common impairments such as delay, jitter and bandwidth throttling as well as advanced impairments including packet fragmentation, video corruption, BER corruption, reordering, duplication and loss models. Packets can be sent between any port and any other port, and multiple paths can be modelled and switched in real time to simulate back-up circuits and switchovers. A 5G dataset modelled from carrier data is available for testing applications under common 5G conditions.

User interface and automation

The instrument is controlled from a web browser through a Web UI, in which users build network "maps" by dragging impairments onto a canvas and linking them in the required order. A dashboard view shows port configuration, link status and port allocation per user. Automation is available through a RESTful API and through the Timeline (auto-change) feature, which schedules changes to emulation settings from the Web UI without scripting.

Multi-user operation and analysis

Each user can be allocated a pair of ports or a group of ports for exclusive use, allowing a single unit to be shared by a team. Built-in filters target specific traffic streams, load generators and PCAP replay add background traffic, and Wireshark integration supports live capture and root cause analysis.

Key Features

  • 100GbE, 50GbE, 25GbE, 10GbE and 1GbE interfaces supported
  • Up to 8 ports 100GbE/50GbE/25GbE, up to 16 ports 10GbE/1GbE
  • Web-based user interface (Web UI) with drag-and-drop network maps
  • RESTful API for remote control and test automation
  • Multi-user operation with port reservation
  • Timeline feature for automation via the Web UI without scripting
  • Any port to any port packet flow without limitations
  • Delay emulation up to 30 seconds at reduced bandwidth
  • 55+ impairments and tools
  • Audio and video MPEG (H.264 & H.265) modification and corruption
  • Packet fragmentation down to 68 byte MTU and reordering
  • Generic full packet inspection and filtering
  • Packet modification of any bits or bytes of any packet
  • Load generators, background traffic and PCAP file replay
  • Non-volatile capture and replay
  • Link flapping
  • Markov random packet drop
  • 20Mbyte bandwidth throttle buffer for video applications
  • Automated 5G network model
  • Personalized user annotations on maps
  • Wireshark integration
  • Flexible interfaces: QSFP28, SFP28, SFP+ or RJ-45

Specifications

Physical
Network Interfaces 1G: up to 16; 10G: up to 12; 25G: up to 8; 50G: up to 8; 100G: up to 8
Key highlights state up to 16 ports 10GbE/1GbE
Standard Network Interfaces 1G: GbE Copper; 10G: SFP+; 25G: SFP28; 50G: QSFP28; 100G: QSFP28
Optional Network Interfaces 1G: RJ45; 10G: SFP+; 25G: SFP28; 50G: QSFP28; 100G: QSFP28
Max. Packet Rate Per Port (bi-directional) 1G: 2.96 million; 10G: 29.6 million; 25G: 37.2 million; 50G: 62.5 million; 100G: 62.5 million
Dimensions 2u Rack
Intrinsic Latency <20µs
All interface rates
Max. Frame Size Jumbo Mode 9219 bytes; Non-jumbo Mode 1542 bytes
Interface card slots 4
General
Timing Precision 10µs
Traffic Capture and Replay with Looping Volatile Storage (20G RAM) standard; Non-volatile Storage (1TB SSD) optional
Max Traffic Capture Rate 1Gb/s
Any Port to Any Port Packets can be sent between any port
Provided as standard
Live Changes Real-time modification of any impairment setting
Provided as standard
Bi-directional, Independent Emulations Standard
Timeline Schedule changes to emulation settings with no manual intervention required
Option: loop timeline for continuous playback
Link Flap Standard
Wire-rate recording storage Up to 12 minutes of storage for wire-rate recording at 10Gbps
Delay Emulation
1GbE Delay Emulation up to 1.25secs
10GbE Delay Emulation up to 0.5secs
n/a on 1G
25GbE Delay Emulation up to 0.5secs
50GbE Delay Emulation up to 0.339secs
100GbE Delay Emulation up to 0.339secs
Delay Emulation (at reduced bandwidth) up to 30secs
1GbE Extended Delay Emulation
Extended Delay Emulation
up to 10secs
Optional
10GbE Extended Delay Emulation
Extended Delay Emulation
up to 4secs
Optional
25GbE Extended Delay Emulation
Extended Delay Emulation
up to 4secs
Optional
50GbE Extended Delay Emulation
Extended Delay Emulation
up to 2.714secs
Optional
100GbE Extended Delay Emulation
Extended Delay Emulation
up to 2.714secs
Optional
Latency types Fixed Latency, Variable Latency, Ramp, Normal / Gaussian, Sinusoidal Wave
Jitter 0.1ms to 100ms or 0.1 to 100% of constant delay
Timing Constraints (Start / Duration) 0.01ms to 360,000ms (in 0.01ms increments)
Bandwidth Emulation
Buffer size user configurable up to 20Mbytes for video
Constant Throttle 128bits/sec to 1G
Random Range (min to max with time constraints) 128bits/sec to 1G
Random Range Duration 1000ms to 60 minutes (in 0.1ms increments)
Background Traffic Generation Range 500byte/sec to 1G
Fixed data rate; generate broadcast packets
Background Traffic Range Duration 1000ms to 360,000ms (in 1ms increments)
Reordering and Corruption
Time Based Re-order Displace packet from 0.1ms to 500 ms
Position Based Re-order Displace packet up to 10,000 places
Bitflips Start and end position (first byte to last byte), 1 to 100%
Byte Overwrites Start and end position (first byte to last byte), 1 to 100%
Ethernet Fragmentation MTU: 68 to 9000
Bit Error Rate (Per) Simulation x bits in y received (1 bit to IE+15)
Enable/Disable FCS Standard
Duplication and Loss
Simple Duplication Packets received on link will be immediately duplicated once
Timed Duplication Single duplication after specified delay (1ms to 10,000ms)
Complex Duplication Specified multiple duplications after specified time delay (1ms to 1,000ms)
Loss — Standard Drop x packets in y received
Loss — Percentage Drop 1% to 100% (in increments of 1%)
Loss — Markov 2 state random packet drop (as per ITU-T G.1050 Appendix II - Gilbert-Elliott model)
Loss — Other modes Outage, Drop Evenly, Drops in Bursts
Loss Timing Constraints (Start / Duration) 0.01ms to 360,000ms (in 0.01ms increments)
Modification, Analysis and Management
Generic Packet Modifier Modify up to 6 bit / byte sections per packet
Bandwidth Graph Show bandwidth utilization — export, clipboard, peak and averaging, etc.
Packet Rates Show packet utilization, Inter Packet Gap
RESTful API for Test Automation Standard
Smart Start-up Automatically launch previous map on boot
Multi-user Support Unlimited users, share maps, assign ports to individual users
Hardware NTP Time Stamping Lock hardware and packet timings to accurate internal / external clocks
Filtering and Reporting
Maximum Filter unlimited
Connect multiple filters in any way to create complex filter rules
Standard filters IP source / destination address; TCP and UDP source and destination port (including range) and packet length; MAC Address Src / Dst single or range; Ethernet Payload; Packet Counting
Advanced filters Generic Filter (multiple bit / byte values with logic operations); IP Protocol — Payload Type and Value; MPLS — MPLS Label, QoS Value, TTL Value; VLAN — VLAN ID, User Priority
MPEG Video and RTP A/V filters optional
Live Monitoring Bandwidth monitoring, packets per second, interpacket gap, export to CSV max / average values, etc.
Wireshark Integration on up to 200 protocols
Interface Card Performance
STD (10GbE/1GbE Standard Specification)
10G STD
Wire Rate with 128 byte traffic on all ports (up to eight 10GbE ports); Wire Rate with 64 byte traffic on any four 10GbE ports or all 1GbE ports
2 port 10G STD card
HPC (10GbE/1GbE High Port Count Performance)
10G HPC
Wire Rate with iMix traffic on all ports (up to sixteen 10GbE ports); Wire Rate with 64 byte traffic on any two 10GbE ports or all 1GbE ports
4 port 10G HPC card; mixing 4 port HPC and 2 port STD modules not currently permitted

Specifications are taken from the manufacturer's documentation. See the datasheet for complete and current values.

Applications

  • SD-WAN
  • Cloud computing/data center migration
  • Broadcast quality video networks (SMPTE)
  • AV/video conferencing
  • Video/voice applications (IPTV, VoIP)
  • Mobile subscriber networks (VoLTE, eMBMS)
  • Content delivery networks
  • CoS/QoS levels
  • WAN acceleration/network optimization
  • LAN/WAN enterprise networks
  • ADSL/FTTH
  • SLA verification
  • ITU-T Y.1731/IEEE 802.1ag operations and maintenance
  • Satellite links
  • Storage networks
  • Telecom/Federal network applications
  • Carrier Wi-Fi
  • Cable/broadband networks
  • Microwave
  • Wifi and Wimax
  • RoIP
  • GPRS, 3G, 4G and 5G
  • DSL, ADSL and XDSL
  • 5G network infrastructure emulation (fronthaul, midhaul, backhaul)
  • Network troubleshooting and design
  • Application performance testing

Options & Accessories

Option Description
1GRJ 1GbE card — 2 or 4 ports of 1GbE Electrical (RJ45)
10G 10GbE card — 2 or 4 ports of 10GbE/1GbE Optical (SFP+); 2 port STD card or 4 port HPC card
25G (SFP28) 25GbE card — 2 ports of 25G/10G/1G Optical (SFP28)
25G (QSFP28) 25GbE card — 2 ports of 25G Optical (QSFP28)
50G 50GbE card — 2 ports of 50/25G Optical (QSFP28)
100G 100GbE card — 2 ports of 100/50/25G Optical (QSFP28)
Extended Delay Emulation Extended Delay Emulation — Up to 10secs at 1GbE, 4secs at 10GbE/25GbE, 2.714secs at 50GbE/100GbE
Non-volatile Storage Traffic Capture and Replay Non-volatile Storage (1TB SSD) — Max Traffic Capture Rate 1Gb/s
RTP Analyzer RTP Analyzer — Output detailed information on RTP streams
TCP Client TCP Client — Simulate clients with data streams
TCP Server TCP Server — Simulate servers with data streams
DDOS Simulation DDOS Simulation — Simulate extremely stressful DDOS environments
AV Pack Audio Visual (AV) Pack — RTP Filter; MPEG H.264 and H.265 Corruptor
MPEG Video Filter MPEG Video filter
RTP A/V Filter RTP A/V filter

Documents & Resources