hp opennfv* platform and intel® onp transform … stack based on open-source open standards figure...

Network virtualization and cloud-enabled technologies are steadily reshaping the network architectures of telecommunication providers, creating strong incentives to demonstrate the viability of these technologies for commercial use. As commercial deployments accelerate, work still needs to be done. Through an open ecosystem and open standards approach, stakeholders are collaborating to improve interoperability at each layer of the Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI). One of the primary objectives in this collaborative work is to measure performance in a consistent and predictable way. Another goal is to minimize the complexity in planning and implementing infrastructures based on software-defined networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). To these ends, Intel and HP are removing the guesswork from the integration and performance measurements through a commercial platform based on the Intel® Open Network Platform (Intel® ONP) reference architecture.

Intel ONP offers a blueprint for redefining network architectures around the principles of virtualization. This reference architecture decouples network functions from the underlying hardware components, setting up an infrastructure for service chaining and providing a model open to centralized provisioning and management of network resources. HP has advanced the architecture further with the HP OpenNFV platform, adapting it for commercial deployments.

The rapid transformation of network infrastructures from fixed, physically based constructs to virtualized, highly manageable frameworks demands a structured and open approach. Through the efforts of Intel and HP, telecommunication providers, enterprises, and cloud-service providers are able to more accurately assess the virtualized environments as part of an NFVI. This paper explains the concepts surrounding the HP NFVI evaluation platform and provides highlights of the initial test results.

What is the Intel® Open Network Platform Reference Architecture?

To streamline the evaluation, design, and deployment of open SDN and NFV solutions, the Intel ONP reference architecture helps accelerate development of commercial hardware and software platforms (see Figure 1). With Intel ONP, key leaders in telecom carrier networks, enterprise environments, and cloud data centers can more easily build solutions using an open-source software stack running on industry-standard high-volume servers. The reference architecture gives solution providers a way to plan, evaluate, and benchmark components in advance of NFV deployments. This effort has the support of industry consortiums, telecommunications and cloud providers, and leading companies involved in open-source projects.

white paper

Transforming Networks with NFVI, HP Carrier-Grade Servers, and Intel® ONPIntel® Network Platform Group Developing Solutions with Intel® ONP Reference Architecture

Intel ONP is based on the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) framework, as described in the section that follows.

ETSI Established the Framework

ETSI through the Industry Specification Group (ISG) for NFV has provided much of the groundwork for implementing NFV technology, mapping out the architectural framework in a group specification, “ETSI GS NFV 002 v1.1.1.”1 As shown in Figure 2, this NFV architectural framework identifies functional blocks and the main interfaces between the blocks. A number of them are already available in current deployments; others can be added to further virtualize network operations. These ingredients provide the inspiration and technical basis for Intel ONP, which draws heavily on the framework that ETSI has developed.

The primary functional blocks include:

• Virtualized Network Function (VNF)

• Element Management System (EMS)

• NFV Infrastructure, including:

- Hardware and virtualized resources

- Virtualization Layer

- Virtualized Infrastructure Manager(s)

- Orchestrator

- VNF Manager(s)

• Service, VNF, and Infrastructure Description

• Operations and Business Support Systems (OSS/BSS)

The functional block diagram of the NFV architectural framework (shown in Figure 2) includes reference points (indicated by solid lines) that are within NFV scope.

The functions shown in this architectural framework highlight only those elements that are essential for virtualizing network operations. The operators of the network can selectively decide which of the network functions should be virtualized. NFV components can also work effectively with legacy hardware in hybrid environments, allowing system architects to progressively phase in virtualized appliances over time.

Industry-Standard Server Based on Intel® Architecture

A Server Reference Architecture Optimized for SDN/NFV

VMVIRTUAL SWITCH

HW OFFLOADDPDK LINUX/

KVM

Software Stack Based on Open-Source Open Standards

Figure 1. The Intel® Open Network Platform reference architecture enables efficient development of software-defined networking/Network Functions Virtualization solutions.

Table of Contents

What is the Intel® Open Network Platform Reference Architecture? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

ETSI Established the Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Intel ONP Provides a Platform to Develop Commercial Solutions . . . . . . . . . 3

EnsuringanEffectiveFramework for NFV Development . . . . . . . . . . 3

HP Introduces a Platform for NFV Development . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

HP NFV Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

NFV Reference Architecture . . . . 4

NFV System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

HP OpenNFV Labs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Common Platform to Develop and Demonstrate End-Use Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

HP/Intel ONP Test Environment . . 6

Benchmark Results - Bare Metal L2 Forwarding . . . . . . 6

Benchmark Results - SR-IOV/VM L2 Forwarding . . . . . 7

Benchmark Results – OVS Forwarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Summary of the Test Results . . . 9

Future Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Next Steps: Future Collaborations . . . . . . . . . . 11

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

TestConfigurationDetails . . . . . . 12

2Transforming Networks with NFVI, HP Carrier-Grade Servers, and Intel ONP

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Figure 2. An end-to-end functional block diagram of the Network Functions Virtualization architecture defined by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute.

Figure 3. The taxonomy of Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) architectures.

ETSI GS NFV 002 v1.1.1

Originally mapped out the architectural framework for implementing NFV technology. Developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) through the Industry Specification Group (ISG).

Intel ONP provides a blueprint for building a hardware/software NFV platform that supports NFV capabilities.

HP OpenNFV defines a reference architecture for delivering commercial NFV solutions to market.

A complete, integrated NFV platform to accelerate virtual network function development.

Intel® Open Network Platformreference architecture, release 1.4

HP OpenNFV, NFV reference architecture

Turnkey NFV system

In short, the ETSI NFVI framework served as the basis for the Intel ONP reference architecture, which in turn underlies the HP NFV reference architecture (see Figure 3). The end result is a commercial, turnkey NFV system ready for deployments.

Intel ONP Provides a Platform to Develop Commercial Solutions

As SDN/NFV technology matures and participating companies define their open-source components and underlying standards, Intel ONP serves as a model for an interoperable hardware/software platform upon which building blocks can be added to deliver specific NFV capabilities.

The open-source software stack runs on top of the hardware platform specified by Intel ONP as shown in Figure 4, which is based on standard, high-volume servers (SHVSs) powered by the Intel® Xeon® processor E5 family.

Ensuring an Effective Framework for NFV Development

A reliable, hardened NFVI platform is a prerequisite to commercial developments. This platform must be current—integrating the latest versions of components from open-source projects—and deliver assurance that the components specified are fully interoperable.


The value of Intel ONP lies in the demonstrated wide-scale interoperability of proven components. Through the tested reference architecture ingredients and the industry standardization work, NFV developers have a solid infrastructure and compatible building blocks to confidently work on solutions that further advance the development of SDN solutions. HP is the largest single contributor to OpenStack*, and Intel has also made substantial contributions to this and related open-source projects, such as OpenDaylight and Open vSwitch*.

To reduce the complexity for planners and developers, Intel and HP have shared knowledge and expertise, working jointly on proof-of-concept (PoC) projects.

HP Introduces a Platform for NFV Development

By integrating the latest SDN/NFV technology advances into a standardized architectural framework, HP has engineered a flexible, proven NFVI to support NFV developers and their customers.

HP OpenNFV details how a collection of NFV components can be rapidly assembled to construct a complete NFV infrastructure (NFVI).

The distribution of NFV solutions takes place through:

• NFV reference architecture

• NFV System

HP NFV Options

Communication service providers (CSPs) evaluating NFV solutions have two available options from HP. The NFV reference architecture supplements existing systems by identifying HP products that readily integrate with scalable, high-performing, and robust NFV solutions. NFV System, the second option, offers a fully integrated turnkey solution that can be ordered through single stockkeeping units (SKUs).

NFV Reference Architecture

The NFV reference architecture provides a set of hardware, software, and networking configuration rules and best practices for building NFV solutions. The architecture also outlines multiple hardware configurations to address typical use cases and different performance requirements. Addressing compute, storage, and networking with a broad set of products, the reference architecture is an effective tool for solution architects and accounts that are developing customized solutions for customers with specific needs and requirements. The architecture also covers software and virtualized solutions.

NFV System

HP NFV System is a complete integrated NFV platform designed to enable CSPs to accelerate VNF deployments. A fully integrated stack that comes with hardware and software installed and configured, this turnkey solution simplifies the move of CSPs’ VNFs into customer trials and production. The solution features components from HP’s hardware portfolio that have been carefully chosen to satisfy industry requirements. Specific care has been taken to provide a platform that is

Figure 4. Software stack and hardware platform for the Intel® Open Network Platform reference architecture, release 1.4.

Open-Source Software Stack Based on ETSI-NFVI Reference Architecture

Intel® QuickAssist Technology DriverIntel® Ethernet Drivers: 10 and 40 GbE

Industry-Standard High Volume Server

OpenStack* Cloud OSOpen Daylight Controller

Linux* Fedora OSKVM Hypervisor

DPDKOpen vSwitch*

Open vSwitch An Open Virtual Switch

Intel® Xeon® processor E5 v3

Intel® Ethernet Controller XL710

Intel® Communications Chipset 89xx Series


flexible, scalable, and able to meet any type of data plane performance, as well as meet typical telecom requirements. The HP NFV System solution includes HP Helion OpenStack Carrier Grade, which builds on HP Helion OpenStack to provide a highly available and high-performance cloud platform—well-equipped to run demanding VNFs.

Because physical infrastructure management (PIM) and virtual infrastructure management (VIM) are tightly integrated, managing this stack is easy. HP OneView is fully integrated with HP Helion OpenStack Carrier Grade. Hardware events are elevated throughout the stack and available for consumption. To simplify the process of provisioning hardware and software components, orchestration is fully integrated with HP Helion and HP OneView. HP also offers a full selection of management and orchestration components for the MANO layer of an NFVI environment, as part of the HP OpenNFV offering.

HP OpenNFV Labs

Developed around principles of openness, OpenNFV gives CSPs the means to select their own VNF partners. HP then helps partners validate the interoperability of components within complex NFVI environments through HP OpenNFV Labs. These labs are located worldwide: in Houston, Texas, USA; Grenoble, France; Tel Aviv, Israel; and Seoul, South Korea. CSPs can also conduct NFV PoC and feasibility tests for new NFV applications on the HP NFV reference architecture.

Through the availability of HP’s NFVI, software vendors (ISVs), technology partners, system integrators, and network equipment providers (NEPs) can more efficiently establish NFV

environments and take advantage of OpenNFV labs located worldwide for performing partner integration and developing PoCs. The labs serve as incubators for NFV innovation and are open to all companies that want to validate their applications (subject to resource limitations and funding of necessary resources). HP can provide testing and assurance to CSPs that their applications and their preferred partners can be validated on the reference architecture platform.

Why Network Functions Virtualization?

Today’s mobile and fixed networks are populated with many types and instances of proprietary hardware devices designed to run communication service provider (CSP) applications. With NFV, CSPs are migrating these applications to a common operating environment on a common platform, taking advantage of modern open and standard hardware and software advances (in particular, cloud, converged IT infrastructure, and virtualization). With these, CSPs can realize significant gains in agility and a reduction in operational expenses, as well as potential reductions in capital expenses, through the use of virtualization for network applications and services.2

“ With more than 20 global NFV proof-of-concept projects in motion, we are well positioned to understand and help guide carriers on their journey to cloud-based delivery models. Our open architectural approach, in collaboration with Intel and our OpenNFV technology partners, is designed to ensure that carriers have a flexible, multivendor platform from which to quickly test and then launch new and innovative services.”3

- Werner Schaefer, VP Network Functions Virtualization Business,

Hewlett Packard

Common Platform to Develop and Demonstrate End-Use Conditions

HP is actively involved in many standards organizations—as a board member, as a committee chair, or making significant contributions to the following:

• Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS)

• CloudEthernet Forum, ETSI

• Open Networking Foundation (ONF)

• TM Forum

• OASIS

• Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA)

• Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

• OPNFV

• Top contributor and user of NFV/SDN open-source initiatives, such as OpenStack and Open Daylight


Using the ingredients of Intel ONP, HP identified a set of key building blocks for an NFV solution. This set of building blocks resulted in the specification for the HP OpenNFV reference architecture, the basis of tested commercial offerings by HP. The reference architecture brings a number of components together as a complete deployable package. The package includes HP’s cloud, OpenStack, networking, storage, server, operations support system (OSS), IT management, and professional services expertise, along with key partners and HP virtualized network functions.

HP plans to continue aligning its commercial NFVI platform development in concert with upcoming releases of Intel ONP. Through this cooperation, HP and Intel are helping serve the needs of ecosystem partners that require reliable and proven solutions to support commercial deployments.

HP/Intel ONP Test Environment

The HP NFV Infrastructure Lab partnered with Intel to measure packet-processing performance on HP Servers within the Intel ONP reference architecture. The key objective of the engagement was to demonstrate that Intel ONP enables data plane performance on standard servers in support of real-time, low-latency NFV application environments.

Hardware and software components of the test environment included:

• HP ProLiant DL380 Gen9 server

- Includes the Intel® Xeon® processor E5-2600 v3

• Intel® Ethernet Controller XL710 10/40 GbE

• Spirent network test generator

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux*, RHEL 7

• Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) 2.0

• Open vSwitch with dpdk-netdev

More details of the test configuration appear on the last page of this paper.

Testing focused on determining baseline packet-processing performance to enable NFV architects to develop optimal configurations for their applications. RFC 2544 methodology was applied to determine the maximum load at which zero packet loss is observed and then to measure throughput, latency, and jitter at that load for a range of packet sizes. A hardware network packet generator created network traffic for DPDK-enabled L2 and L3 forwarding tests, used in combination with a hardware network test generator (see Figure 5).

A series of software configurations was used to measure different models of DPDK application usage:

• Host-based. DPDK application running directly on the host environment, determining the maximum possible packet processing performance on the given hardware configuration.

• SR-IOV virtual functions. The DPDK application is running in a virtual machine (VM) bound directly to a NIC virtual function. PCI passthrough is employed to pass data directly to the NIC with no intervening vSwitch. This configuration represents the maximum possible performance for a VM-based DPDK app.

• Accelerated vSwitch. The DPDK application is running in a virtual machine using Open vSwitch with DPDK-netdev to route data to the NIC. This configuration models typical VNF usage and measures DPDK performance that can be expected in a fully virtualized environment.

This test provided a baseline measurement of raw packet forwarding performance with a DPDK-enabled L2 forwarding test connected directly to NIC ports (see Figure 6). The throughput approaches line rate for packet sizes of 128 bytes and greater.

Computer Node

Traffic Generator/Tester

L2/L3 Forwarding Application

DPDK

10GbE NIC

1 3

2

Figure 5. Test configuration for bare metal L2 forwarding.

Benchmark Results - Bare Metal L2 Forwarding


Figure 7. Test configuration for SR-IOV/VM L2 forwarding.

Figure 6. Bare metal L2 forwarding results.

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1 64 80.4 79.3 79.3 23593990.8 29761904.8 15855.2

1 128 99.9 99.7 99.7 16839228.2 16891891.9 19937.6

1 256 94.3 93.6 93.6 8481174.2 9057971.0 18726.4

1 512 99.9 99.7 99.7 4684597.3 4699248.1 19937.6

1 1024 99.9 99.7 99.7 2387170.3 2394636.0 19937.6

1 1280 99.9 99.7 99.7 1917177.9 1923076.9 19938.6

1 1518 100.0 99.9 99.9 1623376.6 1625487.6 19974.0

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The next step after bare metal testing was to get the test running on a VM. This test utilized single-root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV) to present virtual functions on the NIC and iommu pass through to bind VMs directly to those virtual functions, with no intervening vSwitch (see Figure 7). The results show that throughput levels in this configuration exhibited little or no line degradation in the network when using the VM (see Figure 8).

Benchmark Results - SR-IOV/VM L2 Forwarding


Figure 9. Test configuration for OVS forwarding.

Figure 8. Benchmark results for SR-IOV/VM L2 forwarding.

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1 64 79.7 77.8 77.8 23148.2 29761904.8 15555.5

1 128 99.9 99.7 99.7 16839228.2 16891891.9 19937.6

1 256 93.7 93.2 93.2 8445946.0 9057971.0 18648.6

1 512 99.9 99.7 99.7 4684597.3 4699248.1 19937.6

1 1024 99.9 99.7 99.7 2387170.3 2394636.0 19937.6

1 1280 99.9 99.7 99.7 1917177.9 1923076.9 19938.6

1 1518 100 99.9 99.9 1623376.6 1625487.6 19974.0

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This test utilized Open vSwitch with DPDK-netdev in place of the L2 forwarding application to measure raw packet processing performance through the vSwitch (see Figure 9). While throughput levels were lower for the smallest packet size, performance was comparable to the previous configurations for 128-byte packets and above (see Figure 10).


Figure 10. Benchmark results for Open vSwitch* forwarding.

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1 64 59.7 58.9 58.9 17536013.1 29761904.8 11784.2

1 128 99.9 99.7 99.7 16839228.2 16891891.9 19937.6

1 256 99.9 99.7 99.7 9029731.0 9057971.0 19937.6

1 512 99.9 99.7 99.7 4684597.3 4699248.1 19937.6

1 1024 99.9 99.7 99.7 2387170.3 2394636.0 19937.6

1 1280 99.9 99.7 99.7 1917177.9 1923076.9 19938.6

1 1518 100 99.9 99.9 1623376.6 1625487.6 19974.0

Summary of the Test Results

The test results outlined in this white paper validate that for baseline configurations that measure the maximum possible throughput, line rate speeds approaching 10GbE can be maintained for all but the smallest packet size (64 bytes) in our measurements. This confirms that DPDK-enabled configurations have the theoretical bandwidth capability to support the most demanding NFV application environments.

With applications running in the VM, using SR-IOV, one can get almost line-rate performance as can be accomplished with a host-based configuration.

Future Study

Key areas for future study include:

• Additional Open vSwitch testing configurations, including routing of packets between multiple VMs through the vSwitch. This will represent another more realistic NFV application configuration and will indicate how much packet-processing bandwidth can be expected in such a deployment scenario.

• Execution of DPDK packet processing throughput tests with Intel® Ethernet Controller XL710 10GbE and 40GbE NICs. Initial results for Intel® Ethernet Controller X710 10GbE NICs are promising. Measuring throughput with

40GbE NICs should result in much higher packet rates, constrained only by PCI bus capacity on the card.

• Investigation of latency results. Currently, average latency looks reasonable (in the 10 microsecond range), but there is some variability in maximum latency numbers that warrant further study.

• Different Intel® Xeon® processors. Testing is planned to determine the impact of different Intel Xeon processor types, to include four processor configurations and Intel® Xeon® processor D product family System-on-a-Chip (SOC). Allocation of VMs to separate NUMA zones on the processor is a promising area of investigation.


Testing conclusively demonstrated the viability of Intel ONP NFV Infrastructure technologies running on HP ProLiant server platforms for supporting NFV application deployments on standard servers. New hardware configurations and advanced test configurations are planned as part of the continuing partnership between HP and Intel.

“ Engineering and technical support that we received from Intel enabled us to make tremendous progress on the testing, especially as we got deeper into points involving the Intel ONP architecture, DPDK, and Open vSwitch. Having the Intel team on board proved very useful in dealing with the complexities of the infrastructure and determining the best ways to tune and optimize at a very low level to ensure top performance. Intel absolutely helped us with our ability to get results.”

- Al Sanders, R&D Project Manager, Hewlett-Packard NFV Infrastructure Lab

First Commercial Deployment of the Intel® Open Network Platform

Through a joint Intel and HP project, HP has released the first commercially available NFV environment: HP Helion OpenStack*. Intel provided optimizations for Open vSwitch* and OpenStack that were incorporated into HP Helion. The turnkey commercial release, an HP market-ready NFV system, helps minimize the difficulty and complexity that many companies experience when adopting cloud-based IT solutions.

Figure 11. HP Helion OpenStack* released for commercial use.

HP Helion Linux*

HP ProLiant Server blade and rack mounted

OpenStack Optimizations for Networking: SR-IOV

HP Helion Orchestrator

Debian Linux, KVM HypervisorHP and Intel collaborating to deliver

commercial NFV solutions.

HP Helion uses key Intel optimizations across Open vSwitch*, OpenStack*.

HP Helion is a commercial product built with ONP hardware elements.

Open vSwitch with DPDK Open vSwitch An Open Virtual Switch

Intel® Xeon® processor E5 v3

Intel® Ethernet Controller XL710

Intel® Communications Chipset 89xx Series

HP Helion OpenStack*

1

2

3


Next Steps: Future Collaborations

HP and Intel plan to continue work in this area, with the ongoing evaluation and use of Intel ONP as a means for HP to build commercial NFVI solutions. Keeping up with the progression of major open-source projects—including OpenStack, Open Daylight, Open vSwitch—is a key deliverable. As new versions of Intel ONP are released, HP plans to perform benchmarking similar to the tests detailed in this paper to track and improve performance and efficiency across the network.

A new industry project, the OPNFV Project, shares the goal of accelerating the release of NFV products and services, with continuing development of a carrier-grade, integrated, open-source platform for testing components from relevant upstream projects. Ongoing work by Intel, HP, and other industry leaders in OPNFV continues the ecosystem development—based on open-source NFV standards.

Along with other industry organizations that develop ingredients for constructing a full-featured NFVI, Intel and HP helped the community in the first release of OPNFV (Arno) in June 2015. OPNFV focuses on supporting developer efforts to build, install, and explore platform capabilities for NFVI components.

“We’re already seeing a positive impact from NFV on the telecom market segment through a wide variety of successful proofs of concept and active involvement in solutions and standards development from every facet of the telecommunication industry. But Arno, and future OPNFV releases, will

help to speed the transition from PoC to industry adoption by providing a standardized, proven, open-source NFV infrastructure that is suitable for all NFV applications. Arno is the first instantiation of an OPNFV platform and comprises the NFV infrastructure and VIM components of the NFV architecture specified by the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI). Intel and HP are both active proponents and ongoing contributors to this effort.” 4

- John Healy, General Manager SDN Division, Intel Corporation

Summary

Benchmarking results produced on the HP ProLiant DL380 Gen9 server platform demonstrated conclusively that standard, high-volume servers can successfully deliver the level of data-plane performance required to support demanding NFV architectures and carrier-grade installations.

Through ongoing technical and architectural collaboration between HP and Intel, as well as other partners working in the NFV space, Intel ONP continues to enhance the performance for enterprise and carrier-grade telecommunications deployments. Mutual contributions to industry consortia and standards bodies also move network transformation forward toward faster adoption. The knowledge and expertise accumulated from all of the collaborative projects reaches end users through the Intel® Network Builders program, making it possible to add VNF on top of an established, proven infrastructure.

Adoption of NFV technology adds agility and manageability to networking environments and the ability to create new services for customers more efficiently at lower costs. By establishing the framework and commercializing the infrastructure that makes large-scale NFV deployments possible, Intel and HP have given telecom providers and enterprises the confidence to move ahead with the virtualization of network services.

“Only eight months after its formation, OPNFV has met one of its major goals by creating an integrated build, deployment, and testing environment that accelerates NFV implementation and interoperability. With Arno, we now have a solid foundation for testing some of the key resource orchestration and network control components for NFV. This is a great testament to the power of an open-source collaborative model and the strength of the NFV ecosystem, which is supported by key IT partners Intel and Hewlett Packard.”

- Prodip Sen, Chairman of the OPNFV Board of Directors


CALL TO ACTIONOrganizations evaluating the viability of SDN/NFV solutions for enterprise deployments can choose from

numerous resources, including the following:

Learn more about HP’s NFV solutions and HP OpenNFV: hp.com/go/nfv

Learn more about the Intel® Open Network Platform: www.intel.com/ONP

Download the Intel Open Network Platform Server Reference Architecture for NFV and SDN: 01.org/packet-processing/

Learn more about Intel Network Builders: networkbuilders.intel.com/

Test Configuration Details

HP ProLiant DL360 Gen9 Server. Processor type: Intel® Xeon® processor E5-2640 v3 @ 2.60 GHz. BIOS settings: Hyperthreading off. Intel® Turbo Boost Technology: enabled. DCU data prefetcher: enabled. DCU instruction prefetcher: enabled. Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O: enabled. HP power regulator: HP Static High Performance Mode. Memorypre-failurenotificationmode: disabled.

Operating system: Red Hat Enterprise Linux* 7. Linuxconfiguration-Firewall: disabled. Network manager: initially disabled, but re-enabled to support networking in VM; enabled in most recent tests. Irqbalance: disabled. ssh: enabled. gdm: disabled in both base system and VM.

IPV4 forwarding: disabled. Host kernel boot parameters: hugepagesz=1G, hugepages=32, isololate cores of CPU where card is with isolcpus (but not core 0).

Original DPDK used: 1.7.1. Final DPDK used: 1.8.0. Test equipment is Spirent for traffic generation and analysis. Test methodology Is RFC2544. Throughput requires lossless packet flow. Latency measurement is LIFO. Throughput measurements were 1-minute runs typically, with some 5-minute runs. Latency measurements were 1-hour runs.

Transforming Networks with NFVI, HP Carrier-Grade Servers, and Intel ONP

1 ETSI, “Network Functions Virtualization (NFV): Architectural Framework” (2013). http://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_gs/nfv/001_099/002/01.01.01_60/gs_nfv002v010101p.pdf

2 HP CSP NFV Cloud, (2015). http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/getpdf.aspx/4AA5-5725ENW.pdf?ver=1.0

3 http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-news/press-release.html?id=1815962#.Vao2wGBRjRk

4 https://communities.intel.com/community/itpeernetwork/datastack/blog/2015/06/04/opnfv-arno-release-speeds-industry-adoption-of-nfv

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hp opennfv* platform and intel® onp transform … stack based on open-source open standards figure...

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