Published Paper Details:

Packet generators are crucial components in performance evaluations of network equipment, but can often be very expensive tools for companies in need of these to invest in. This creates a need for a more cost-effective solution to be able to scale the performance testing into the everyday life of the developers at companies developing these products. This report investigates this by looking at how open-source packet generator software can be used together with off-the-shelf hardware to decrease costs compared to buying commercial systems using purpose-built hardware. The state of the art of packet generation is reviewed and the most promising solutions are evaluated in more detail. An implementation of a prototype system for packet generation using open-source software and commodity hardware is also presented to show both challenges and possibilities with this approach. A conclusion is reached that while the commercial products using purpose-built hardware still have use cases when they are the preferred choice, solutions using open-source software together with off-the-shelf hardware can fill the need for scalable and cost-effective packet generation in other situations.