Internet DRAFT - draft-ietf-bmwg-ngfw-performance

draft-ietf-bmwg-ngfw-performance







Benchmarking Methodology Working Group                      B. Balarajah
Internet-Draft                                                          
Obsoletes: 3511 (if approved)                            C. Rossenhoevel
Intended status: Informational                                  EANTC AG
Expires: 25 April 2023                                        B. Monkman
                                                              NetSecOPEN
                                                         22 October 2022


    Benchmarking Methodology for Network Security Device Performance
                  draft-ietf-bmwg-ngfw-performance-15

Abstract

   This document provides benchmarking terminology and methodology for
   next-generation network security devices including next-generation
   firewalls (NGFW) and next-generation intrusion prevention systems
   (NGIPS).  The main areas covered in this document are test
   terminology, test configuration parameters, and benchmarking
   methodology for NGFW and NGIPS.  (It is assumed that readers have a
   working knowledge of these devices and the security functionality
   they contain.)  This document aims to improve the applicability,
   reproducibility, and transparency of benchmarks and to align the test
   methodology with today's increasingly complex layer 7 security-
   centric network application use cases.  As a result, this document
   makes RFC3511 obsolete.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
   working documents as Internet-Drafts.  The list of current Internet-
   Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on 25 April 2023.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2022 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.



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   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/
   license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document.
   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
   and restrictions with respect to this document.  Code Components
   extracted from this document must include Revised BSD License text as
   described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   2.  Requirements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   3.  Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   4.  Test Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.1.  Testbed Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.2.  DUT/SUT Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
       4.2.1.  Security Effectiveness Configuration  . . . . . . . .  12
     4.3.  Test Equipment Configuration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
       4.3.1.  Client Configuration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
       4.3.2.  Backend Server Configuration  . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
       4.3.3.  Traffic Flow Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
       4.3.4.  Traffic Load Profile  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
   5.  Testbed Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
   6.  Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
     6.1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
     6.2.  Detailed Test Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
     6.3.  Benchmarks and Key Performance Indicators . . . . . . . .  23
   7.  Benchmarking Tests  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
     7.1.  Throughput Performance with Application Traffic Mix . . .  25
       7.1.1.  Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
       7.1.2.  Test Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
       7.1.3.  Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
       7.1.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results  . . . . . . . .  28
     7.2.  TCP/HTTP Connections Per Second . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
       7.2.1.  Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
       7.2.2.  Test Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
       7.2.3.  Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
       7.2.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results  . . . . . . . .  31
     7.3.  HTTP Throughput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  32
       7.3.1.  Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  32
       7.3.2.  Test Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  32
       7.3.3.  Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  32
       7.3.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results  . . . . . . . .  35
     7.4.  HTTP Transaction Latency  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  36
       7.4.1.  Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  36
       7.4.2.  Test Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  36
       7.4.3.  Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  36



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       7.4.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results  . . . . . . . .  38
     7.5.  Concurrent TCP/HTTP Connection Capacity . . . . . . . . .  39
       7.5.1.  Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  39
       7.5.2.  Test Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  39
       7.5.3.  Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  39
       7.5.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results  . . . . . . . .  41
     7.6.  TCP/QUIC Connections per Second with HTTPS Traffic  . . .  42
       7.6.1.  Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43
       7.6.2.  Test Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43
       7.6.3.  Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43
       7.6.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results  . . . . . . . .  45
     7.7.  HTTPS Throughput  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  46
       7.7.1.  Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  46
       7.7.2.  Test Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  46
       7.7.3.  Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  46
       7.7.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results  . . . . . . . .  48
     7.8.  HTTPS Transaction Latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  49
       7.8.1.  Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  49
       7.8.2.  Test Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  49
       7.8.3.  Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  49
       7.8.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results  . . . . . . . .  51
     7.9.  Concurrent TCP/QUIC Connection Capacity with HTTPS
           Traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  52
       7.9.1.  Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  52
       7.9.2.  Test Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  52
       7.9.3.  Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  53
       7.9.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results  . . . . . . . .  55
   8.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  56
   9.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  56
   10. Contributors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  57
   11. Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  57
   12. References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  57
     12.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  57
     12.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  57
   Appendix A.  Test Methodology - Security Effectiveness
           Evaluation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  59
     A.1.  Test Objective  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  59
     A.2.  Testbed Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  60
     A.3.  Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  60
       A.3.1.  DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters  . . . . . . . . . .  60
       A.3.2.  Test Equipment Configuration Parameters . . . . . . .  60
     A.4.  Test Results Validation Criteria  . . . . . . . . . . . .  60
     A.5.  Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  61
     A.6.  Test Procedures and Expected Results  . . . . . . . . . .  62
       A.6.1.  Step 1: Background Traffic  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  62
       A.6.2.  Step 2: CVE Emulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  62
   Appendix B.  DUT/SUT Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  63
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  63



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1.  Introduction

   18 years have passed since IETF initially recommended test
   methodology and terminology for firewalls ([RFC3511]).  Firewalls
   have evolved significantly from the days of simple ACL filters.  As
   the underlying technology progresses and improves, recommending test
   methodology and terminology for firewalls, requirements, and
   expectations for network security elements has increased
   tremendously.  Security function implementations have evolved and
   diversified into intrusion detection and prevention, threat
   management, analysis of encrypted traffic, and more.  In an industry
   of growing importance, well-defined and reproducible key performance
   indicators (KPIs) are increasingly needed to enable fair and
   reasonable comparison of network security functions.  These reasons
   led to the creation of a new next-generation network security device
   benchmarking document, which makes [RFC3511] obsolete.  Measurement
   of performance for processing of IP fragmented traffic (see
   Section 5.9 of [RFC3511]) was not included in this document since IP
   fragmentation does today not commonly occur in traffic anymore,
   unlike it might have been at the time when [RFC3511] was written.  It
   should also be noted that [RFC2647] retains significant value and has
   been consulted frequently while creating this document.

   For a more detailed explanation of what an NGFW is see the Wikipedia
   article [Wiki-NGFW].

2.  Requirements

   The keywords "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP
   14 [RFC2119], [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
   capitals, as shown here.

3.  Scope

   This document provides testing terminology and testing methodology
   for modern and next-generation network security devices that are
   configured in Active ("Inline", see Figure 1 and Figure 2) mode.  It
   covers the validation of security effectiveness configurations of
   network security devices, followed by performance benchmark testing.
   This document focuses on advanced, realistic, and reproducible
   testing methods.  Additionally, it describes testbed environments,
   test tool requirements, and test result formats.







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   The performance testing methodology described in this document is not
   intended for security devices/systems that rely on machine learning
   or behavioral analysis.  If such features are present in a Device
   Under Test/System Under Test (DUT/SUT), they should be disabled.

4.  Test Setup

   The test setup defined in this document applies to all benchmarking
   tests described in Section 7.  The test setup MUST be contained
   within an Isolated Test Environment (see Section 3 of [RFC6815]).

4.1.  Testbed Configuration

   Testbed configuration MUST ensure that any performance implications
   that are discovered during the benchmark testing aren't due to the
   inherent physical network limitations such as the number of physical
   links and forwarding performance capabilities (throughput and
   latency) of the network devices in the testbed.  For this reason,
   this document recommends avoiding external devices such as switches
   and routers in the testbed wherever possible.

   In some deployment scenarios, the network security devices (DUT/SUT)
   are connected to routers and switches, which will reduce the number
   of entries in MAC or ARP/ND (Address Resolution Protocol/ Neighbor
   Discovery) tables of the DUT/SUT.  If MAC or ARP/ND tables have many
   entries, this may impact the actual DUT/SUT performance due to MAC
   and ARP/ND table lookup processes.  This document also recommends
   using test equipment with the capability of emulating layer 3 routing
   functionality instead of adding external routers in the testbed.

   The testbed setup Option 1 (Figure 1) is the RECOMMENDED testbed
   setup for the benchmarking test.

   +-----------------------+                   +-----------------------+
   | +-------------------+ |   +-----------+   | +-------------------+ |
   | | Emulated Router(s)| |   |           |   | | Emulated Router(s)| |
   | |    (Optional)     | +----- DUT/SUT  +-----+    (Optional)     | |
   | +-------------------+ |   |           |   | +-------------------+ |
   | +-------------------+ |   +-----------+   | +-------------------+ |
   | |     Clients       | |                   | |      Servers      | |
   | +-------------------+ |                   | +-------------------+ |
   |                       |                   |                       |
   |   Test Equipment      |                   |   Test Equipment      |
   +-----------------------+                   +-----------------------+

                     Figure 1: Testbed Setup - Option 1





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   If the test equipment used is not capable of emulating OSI layer 3
   routing functionality or if the number of used ports is mismatched
   between the test equipment and the DUT/SUT (need for test equipment
   port aggregation), the test setup can be configured as shown in
   Figure 2.

    +-------------------+      +-----------+      +--------------------+
    |Aggregation Switch/|      |           |      | Aggregation Switch/|
    | Router            +------+  DUT/SUT  +------+ Router             |
    |                   |      |           |      |                    |
    +----------+--------+      +-----------+      +--------+-----------+
               |                                           |
               |                                           |
   +-----------+-----------+                   +-----------+-----------+
   |                       |                   |                       |
   | +-------------------+ |                   | +-------------------+ |
   | | Emulated Router(s)| |                   | | Emulated Router(s)| |
   | |     (Optional)    | |                   | |     (Optional)    | |
   | +-------------------+ |                   | +-------------------+ |
   | +-------------------+ |                   | +-------------------+ |
   | |      Clients      | |                   | |      Servers      | |
   | +-------------------+ |                   | +-------------------+ |
   |                       |                   |                       |
   |    Test Equipment     |                   |    Test Equipment     |
   +-----------------------+                   +-----------------------+

                     Figure 2: Testbed Setup - Option 2

4.2.  DUT/SUT Configuration

   The same DUT/SUT configuration MUST be used for all benchmarking
   tests described in Section 7.  Since each DUT/SUT will have its own
   unique configuration, users MUST configure their devices with the
   same parameters and security features that would be used in the
   actual deployment of the device or a typical deployment.  The DUT/SUT
   MUST be configured in "Inline" mode so that the traffic is actively
   inspected by the DUT/SUT.














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   Table 2 and Table 3 below describe the RECOMMENDED and OPTIONAL sets
   of network security features for NGFW and NGIPS, respectively.  If
   the recommended security features are not enabled in the DUT/SUT for
   any reason, the reason MUST be reported with the benchmarking test
   results.  For example, one reason for not enabling the anti-virus
   feature in NGFW may be that this security feature was not required
   for a particular customer deployment scenario.  It MUST be also noted
   in the benchmarking test report that not enabling the specific
   recommended security features may impact the performance of the DUT/
   SUT.  The selected security features MUST be consistently enabled on
   the DUT/SUT for all benchmarking tests described in Section 7.

   To improve repeatability, a summary of the DUT/SUT configuration
   including a description of all enabled DUT/SUT features MUST be
   published with the benchmarking results.

   The following table provides a brief description of the security
   features and these are approximate taxonomies of features commonly
   found in currently deployed NGFW and NGIDS.  The features provided by
   specific implementations may be named differently and not necessarily
   have configuration settings that align with the taxonomy.

    +================+================================================+
    | DUT/SUT        | Description                                    |
    | Features       |                                                |
    +================+================================================+
    | TLS Inspection | DUT/SUT intercepts and decrypts inbound HTTPS  |
    |                | traffic between servers and clients.  Once the |
    |                | content inspection has been completed, DUT/SUT |
    |                | encrypts the HTTPS traffic with ciphers and    |
    |                | keys used by the clients and servers.  For     |
    |                | TLS1.3, the DUT works as a middlebox (proxy)   |
    |                | and it holds the certificates and Pre-Shared   |
    |                | Keys (PSK) that are trusted by the client and  |
    |                | represent the identity of the real server.     |
    +----------------+------------------------------------------------+
    | IDS/IPS        | DUT/SUT detects and blocks exploits targeting  |
    |                | known and unknown vulnerabilities across the   |
    |                | monitored network.                             |
    +----------------+------------------------------------------------+
    | Anti-Malware   | DUT/SUT detects and prevents the transmission  |
    |                | of malicious executable code and any           |
    |                | associated communications across the monitored |
    |                | network.  This includes data exfiltration as   |
    |                | well as command and control channels.          |
    +----------------+------------------------------------------------+
    | Anti-Spyware   | Anti-Spyware is a subcategory of Anti Malware. |
    |                | Spyware transmits information without the      |



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    |                | user's knowledge or permission.  DUT/SUT       |
    |                | detects and blocks initial infection or        |
    |                | transmission of data.                          |
    +----------------+------------------------------------------------+
    | Anti-Botnet    | DUT/SUT detects and blocks traffic to or from  |
    |                | botnets.                                       |
    +----------------+------------------------------------------------+
    | Anti-Evasion   | DUT/SUT detects and mitigates attacks that     |
    |                | have been obfuscated in some manner.           |
    +----------------+------------------------------------------------+
    | Web Filtering  | DUT/SUT detects and blocks malicious websites  |
    |                | including defined classifications of websites  |
    |                | across the monitored network.                  |
    +----------------+------------------------------------------------+
    | DLP            | DUT/SUT detects and prevents data breaches and |
    |                | data exfiltration, or it detects and blocks    |
    |                | the transmission of sensitive data across the  |
    |                | monitored network.                             |
    +----------------+------------------------------------------------+
    | Certificate    | DUT/SUT validates certificates used in         |
    | Validation     | encrypted communications across the monitored  |
    |                | network.                                       |
    +----------------+------------------------------------------------+
    | Logging and    | DUT/SUT logs and reports all traffic at the    |
    | Reporting      | flow level across the monitored network.       |
    +----------------+------------------------------------------------+
    | Application    | DUT/SUT detects known applications as defined  |
    | Identification | within the traffic mix selected across the     |
    |                | monitored network.                             |
    +----------------+------------------------------------------------+
    | DPI            | DUT/SUT inspects the content of the data       |
    |                | packet.                                        |
    +----------------+------------------------------------------------+

                   Table 1: Security Feature Description
















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          +============================+=============+==========+
          | DUT/SUT (NGFW) Features    | RECOMMENDED | OPTIONAL |
          +============================+=============+==========+
          | TLS Inspection             |      x      |          |
          +----------------------------+-------------+----------+
          | IDS/IPS                    |      x      |          |
          +----------------------------+-------------+----------+
          | Anti-Spyware               |      x      |          |
          +----------------------------+-------------+----------+
          | Anti-Virus                 |      x      |          |
          +----------------------------+-------------+----------+
          | Anti-Botnet                |      x      |          |
          +----------------------------+-------------+----------+
          | Anti-Evasion               |      x      |          |
          +----------------------------+-------------+----------+
          | Web Filtering              |             |    x     |
          +----------------------------+-------------+----------+
          | Data Loss Protection (DLP) |             |    x     |
          +----------------------------+-------------+----------+
          | DDoS Protection            |             |    x     |
          +----------------------------+-------------+----------+
          | Certificate Validation     |             |    x     |
          +----------------------------+-------------+----------+
          | Application Identification |      x      |          |
          +----------------------------+-------------+----------+

                      Table 2: NGFW Security Features

         +==============================+=============+==========+
         | DUT/SUT (NGIPS) Features     | RECOMMENDED | OPTIONAL |
         +==============================+=============+==========+
         | TLS Inspection               |      x      |          |
         +------------------------------+-------------+----------+
         | Anti-Malware                 |      x      |          |
         +------------------------------+-------------+----------+
         | Anti-Spyware                 |      x      |          |
         +------------------------------+-------------+----------+
         | Anti-Botnet                  |      x      |          |
         +------------------------------+-------------+----------+
         | Application Identification   |      x      |          |
         +------------------------------+-------------+----------+
         | Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) |      x      |          |
         +------------------------------+-------------+----------+
         | Anti-Evasion                 |      x      |          |
         +------------------------------+-------------+----------+

                      Table 3: NGIPS Security Features




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   Note: With respect to TLS Inspection, there are scenarios where it
   will be optional.

   Below is a summary of the DUT/SUT configuration:

   *  DUT/SUT MUST be configured in "inline" mode.

   *  "Fail-Open" behavior MUST be disabled.

   *  All RECOMMENDED security features are enabled.

   *  Logging and reporting MUST be enabled.  DUT/SUT SHOULD log all
      traffic at the flow level (5-tuple).  If the DUT/SUT is designed
      to log all traffic at different levels (e.g.  IP packet levels),
      it is acceptable to conduct tests.  However, this MUST be noted in
      the test report.  Logging to an external device is permissible.

   *  Geographical location filtering SHOULD be configured.  If the DUT/
      SUT is not designed to perform geographical location filtering, it
      is acceptable to conduct tests without this feature.  However,
      this MUST be noted in the test report.

   *  Application Identification and Control MUST be configured to
      trigger applications from the defined traffic mix.

   In addition, a realistic number of access control rules (ACL) SHOULD
   be configured on the DUT/SUT where ACLs are configurable and
   reasonable based on the deployment scenario.  For example, it is
   acceptable not to configure ACLs in an NGIPS since NGIPS devices do
   not require the use of ACLs in most deployment scenarios.  This
   document determines the number of access policy rules for four
   different classes of DUT/SUT: Extra Small (XS), Small (S), Medium
   (M), and Large (L).  A sample DUT/SUT classification is described in
   Appendix B.

   The Access Control Rules (ACL) defined in Figure 3 MUST be configured
   from top to bottom in the correct order as shown in the table.  This
   is due to ACL types listed in specificity decreasing order, with
   "block" first, followed by "allow", representing a typical ACL-based
   security policy.  The ACL entries MUST be configured with routable IP
   prefixes by the DUT/SUT, where applicable.  (Note: There will be
   differences between how security vendors implement ACL decision-
   making.)  The configured ACL MUST NOT block the test traffic used for
   the benchmarking tests.







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                                                       +---------------+
                                                       | DUT/SUT       |
                                                       | Classification|
                                                       | # Rules       |
   +-----------+-----------+--------------------+------+---+---+---+---+
   |           | Match     |                    |      |   |   |   |   |
   | Rules Type| Criteria  |   Description      |Action| XS| S | M | L |
   +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |Application|Application| Any application    | block| 5 | 10| 20| 50|
   |layer      |           | not included in    |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | the measurement    |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | traffic            |      |   |   |   |   |
   +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |Transport  |SRC IP and | Any SRC IP prefix  | block| 25| 50|100|250|
   |layer      |TCP/UDP    | used and any DST   |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |DST ports  | ports not used in  |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | the measurement    |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | traffic            |      |   |   |   |   |
   +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |IP layer   |SRC/DST IP | Any SRC/DST IP     | block| 25| 50|100|250|
   |           |           | subnet not used    |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | in the measurement |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | traffic            |      |   |   |   |   |
   +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |Application|Application| Half of the        | allow| 10| 10| 10| 10|
   |layer      |           | applications       |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | included in the    |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | measurement traffic|      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           |(see the note below)|      |   |   |   |   |
   +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |Transport  |SRC IP and | Half of the SRC    | allow| >1| >1| >1| >1|
   |layer      |TCP/UDP    | IPs used and any   |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |DST ports  | DST ports used in  |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | the measurement    |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | traffic            |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | (one rule per      |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | subnet)            |      |   |   |   |   |
   +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |IP layer   |SRC IP     | The rest of the    | allow| >1| >1| >1| >1|
   |           |           | SRC IP prefix      |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | range used in the  |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | measurement        |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | traffic            |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | (one rule per      |      |   |   |   |   |
   |           |           | subnet)            |      |   |   |   |   |
   +-----------+-----------+--------------------+------+---+---+---+---+

                       Figure 3: DUT/SUT Access List



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   Note 1: Based on the test customer's specific use case, the testers
   can increase the number of rules.

   Note 2: If half of the applications included in the test traffic is
   less than 10, the missing number of ACL entries (dummy rules) can be
   configured for any application traffic not included in the test
   traffic.

   Note 3: In the event, the DUT/SUT is designed to not use ACLs it is
   acceptable to conduct tests without them.  However, this MUST be
   noted in the test report.

4.2.1.  Security Effectiveness Configuration

   The selected security features (defined in Table 2 and Table 3) of
   the DUT/SUT MUST be configured effectively to detect, prevent, and
   report the defined security vulnerability sets.  This section defines
   the selection of the security vulnerability sets from the Common
   Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) list for testing.  The
   vulnerability set should reflect a minimum of 500 CVEs from no older
   than 10 calendar years to the current year.  These CVEs should be
   selected with a focus on in-use software commonly found in business
   applications, with a Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS)
   Severity of High (7-10).

   This document is primarily focused on performance benchmarking.
   However, it is RECOMMENDED to validate the security features
   configuration of the DUT/SUT by evaluating the security effectiveness
   as a prerequisite for performance benchmarking tests defined in
   section 7.  In case the benchmarking tests are performed without
   evaluating security effectiveness, the test report MUST explain the
   implications of this.  The methodology for evaluating security
   effectiveness is defined in Appendix A.

4.3.  Test Equipment Configuration

   In general, test equipment allows configuring parameters in different
   protocol layers.  Extensive proof of concept tests conducted to
   support preparation of this document showed that benchmarking results
   are strongly affected by the choice of protocol stack parameters;
   especially OSI layer 4 transport protocol parameters.  For more
   information on how TCP and QUIC parameters will impact performance
   review [fastly].  To achieve reproducible results that will be
   representative for real deployment scenarios, careful specification
   and documentation of the parameters are required.






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   This section specifies common test equipment configuration parameters
   applicable for all benchmarking tests defined in Section 7.  Any
   benchmarking test specific parameters are described under the test
   setup section of each benchmarking test individually.

4.3.1.  Client Configuration

   This section specifies which parameters should be considered while
   configuring emulated client endpoints in the test equipment.  Also,
   this section specifies the RECOMMENDED values for certain parameters.
   The values are the defaults typically used in most of the client
   operating system types.

   Pre-standard evaluations have shown that it is possible to set a wide
   range of arbitrary parameters for OSI layer 4 transport protocols on
   test equipment leading to client-specific results optimization;
   however, only well-defined common parameter sets help to establish
   meaningful and comparable benchmarking results.  For these reasons,
   this document recommends specific sets of transport protocol
   parameters to be configured on test equipment used for benchmarking.

4.3.1.1.  TCP Stack Attributes

   The TCP stack of the emulated client endpoints MUST fulfill the TCP
   requirements defined in [RFC9293] (See Appendix B.).  In addition,
   this section specifies the RECOMMENDED values for TCP parameters
   configured using the following parameters:

   The IPv4 and IPv6 Maximum Segment Size (MSS) are set to 1460 bytes
   and 1440 bytes respectively.  TX and RX initial receive window sizes
   are set to 65535 bytes.  The client's initial congestion window
   should not exceed 10 times the MSS.  Delayed ACKs are permitted and
   the maximum client delayed ACK should not exceed 10 times of the MSS
   before a forced ACK also, the maximum delayed ACK timer is allowed to
   be set to 200 ms.  Up to three retries are allowed before a timeout
   event is declared.  TCP PSH flag is set to high in all traffic.  The
   source port range is in the range of 1024 - 65535.  The clients
   initiate TCP connections via a three-way handshake (SYN, SYN/ACK,
   ACK) and close TCP connections via either a TCP three-way close (FIN,
   FIN/ACK, ACK) or a TCP four-way close (FIN, ACK, FIN, ACK).











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4.3.1.2.  QUIC Specification

   QUIC stack emulation on the test equipment MUST conform to [RFC9000]
   and [RFC9001].  This section specifies the RECOMMENDED values for
   certain QUIC parameters to be configured on test equipment used for
   benchmarking purposes only.  QUIC Stream type (defined in section 2.1
   of [RFC9000]) is set to "Client-Initiated, Bidirectional". 0-RTT and
   early data are Disabled.  QUIC Connection termination method is
   Immediate close (section 10.2 of [RFC9000].  Flow control is enabled.
   UDP payloads are set to datagram size of 1232 bytes for IPv6 and 1252
   bytes for IPv4.  In addition, transport parameters and default values
   defined in section 18.2 of [RFC9000] are RECOMMENDED to configure on
   test equipment.  Also, this document references Appendixes B.1 and
   B.2 of [RFC9002] for congestion control related constants and
   variables.  Any configured QUIC and UDP parameter(s) MUST be
   documented in the test report.

4.3.1.3.  Client IP Address Space

   The client IP space contains the following attributes.

   *  If multiple IP blocks are used, they MUST be consist of multiple
      unique, discontinuous static address blocks.

   *  A default gateway MAY be used.

   *  The DSCP (differentiated services code point) marking should be
      set to DF (Default Forwarding) '000000' on IPv4 Type of Service
      (ToS) field and IPv6 traffic class field.

   *  Extension header(s) MAY be used for IPv6 clients.  If multiple
      extension headers are needed for traffic emulation, this document
      references [RFC8200] to choose the correct order of the extension
      headers within an IPv6 packet.  Testing with extension header(s)
      may impact the performance of the DUT.  The extension headers MUST
      be documented and reported.

   The following equation can be used to define the total number of
   client IP addresses that need to be configured on the test equipment.

   Desired total number of client IP addresses = Target throughput
   [Mbit/s] / Average throughput per IP address [Mbit/s]

   As shown in the example list below, the value for "Average throughput
   per IP address" can be varied depending on the deployment and use
   case scenario.





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   (Example 1)  DUT/SUT deployment scenario 1 : 6-7 Mbit/s per IP (e.g.
                1,400-1,700 IPs per 10Gbit/s of throughput)

   (Example 2)  DUT/SUT deployment scenario 2 : 0.1-0.2 Mbit/s per IP
                (e.g.  50,000-100,000 IPs per 10Gbit/s of throughput)

   Client IP addresses MUST be distributed between IPv4 and IPv6 based
   on deployment and use case scenario.  The following options MAY be
   considered for a selection of ratios for both IP addresses and
   traffic load distribution.

   (Option 1)  100 % IPv4, no IPv6

   (Option 2)  80 % IPv4, 20% IPv6

   (Option 3)  50 % IPv4, 50% IPv6

   (Option 4)  20 % IPv4, 80% IPv6

   (Option 5)  no IPv4, 100% IPv6

   Note: IANA has assigned IP address ranges for testing purposes as
   described in Section 8.  If the test scenario requires more IP
   addresses or subnets than IANA has assigned, this document recommends
   using private IPv4 address ranges or Unique Local Address (ULA) IPv6
   address ranges for the testing.

4.3.1.4.  Emulated Web Browser Attributes

   The client (emulated web browser) contains attributes that will
   materially affect the traffic load.  The objective is to emulate
   modern, typical browser attributes to improve the relevance of the
   result set for typical deployment scenarios.

   The emulated browser MUST negotiate HTTP version 1.1 or higher.  The
   emulated browser SHOULD advertise a User-Agent header.  The emulated
   browser MUST enforce content length validation.  HTTP header
   compression MAY be set to enable.  If HTTP header compression is
   configurable in the test equipment, it MUST be documented if it was
   enabled or disabled.  Depending on test scenarios and chosen HTTP
   version, the emulated browser MAY open multiple TCP or QUIC
   connections per Server endpoint IP at any time depending on how many
   sequential transactions need to be processed.

   For HTTP/2 traffic emulation, the emulated browser opens multiple
   concurrent streams per connection (multiplexing).  For HTTPS
   requests, the emulated browser MUST send "h2" protocol identifier
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   (ALPN).  The following default values (see [Undertow]) are the
   RECOMMENDED setting for certain HTTP/2 parameters to be configured on
   test equipment used for benchmarking purposes only:

   *  Maximum Frame size: 16384 bytes

   *  Initial Window size: 65535 bytes

   *  HPACK Header table size: 4096 bytes

   *  Server PUSH enable: false (Note: in [Undertow] the default setting
      is true.  However, for testing purposes, this document recommends
      setting the value false for server push.)

   This document refers to [RFC9113] for further details of HTTP/2.  If
   any additional parameters are used to configure the test equipment,
   they MUST be documented.

   For HTTP/3 traffic emulation, the emulated browsers initiate secure
   QUIC connections using TLS 1.3 ([RFC9001] describes how TLS is used
   to secure QUIC).  This document refers to [RFC9114] for HTTP/3
   specifications.  The specification for transport protocol parameters
   is defined in Section 4.3.1.2.  QPACK configuration settings such as
   MAX_TABLE_CAPACITY and QPACK_BLOCKED_STREAMS are set to zero
   (default) as defined in [RFC9204].  Any HTTP/3 parameters used for
   test equipment configuration MUST be documented.

   For encrypted traffic, the following attributes are defined as the
   negotiated encryption parameters.  The test clients MUST use TLS
   version 1.2 or higher.  The TLS record size MAY be optimized for the
   HTTPS response object size up to a record size of 16 KBytes.  If
   Server Name Indication (SNI) is required (especially if the server is
   identified by a domain name), the client endpoint MUST send TLS
   extension Server Name Indication (SNI) information when opening a
   security tunnel.  Each client connection MUST perform a full TLS
   handshake and session reuse or resumption MUST be disabled.  (Note:
   Real web browsers use session reuse or resumption.  However, for
   testing purposes, this feature must not be used to measure the DUT/
   SUT performance in the worst-case scenario.)

   The following TLS 1.2 supported ciphers and keys are RECOMMENDED for
   HTTPS based benchmarking tests defined in Section 7.

   1.  ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 with Prime256v1 (Signature Hash
       Algorithm: ecdsa_secp256r1_sha256 and Supported group: secp256r1)

   2.  ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 with RSA 2048 (Signature Hash
       Algorithm: rsa_pkcs1_sha256 and Supported group: secp256r1)



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   3.  ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 with Secp384r1 (Signature Hash
       Algorithm: ecdsa_secp384r1_sha384 and Supported group: secp384r1)

   4.  ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 with RSA 4096 (Signature Hash
       Algorithm: rsa_pkcs1_sha384 and Supported group: secp384r1)

   Note: The above ciphers and keys were those commonly used for
   enterprise-grade encryption cipher suites for TLS 1.2 as of the time
   of publication (2022).  Individual certification bodies should use
   ciphers and keys that reflect evolving use cases.  These choices MUST
   be documented in the resulting test reports with detailed information
   on the ciphers and keys used along with reasons for the choices.

   IANA recommends the following cipher suites for use with TLS 1.3
   defined in [RFC8446].

   1.  TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256

   2.  TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384

   3.  TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256

   4.  TLS_AES_128_CCM_SHA256

4.3.2.  Backend Server Configuration

   This section specifies which parameters should be considered while
   configuring emulated backend servers using test equipment.

4.3.2.1.  TCP Stack Attributes

   The TCP stack on the server-side MUST be configured similar to the
   client-side configuration described in Section 4.3.1.1

4.3.2.2.  QUIC Specification

   The QUIC parameters on the server-side MUST be configured similar to
   the client-side configuration.  Any configured QUIC Parameter(s) MUST
   be documented in the report.

4.3.2.3.  Server Endpoint IP Addressing

   The sum of the server IP space MUST contain the following attributes.

   *  The server IP blocks MUST consist of unique, discontinuous static
      address blocks with one IP per server Fully Qualified Domain Name
      (FQDN) endpoint per test port.




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   *  A default gateway is permitted.  The DSCP (differentiated services
      code point) marking is set to DF (Default Forwarding) '000000' on
      IPv4 Type of Service (ToS) field and IPv6 traffic class field.
      Extension header(s) for the IPv6 server is permitted.  If multiple
      extension headers are required, this document referenced [RFC8200]
      to choose the correct order of the extension headers within an
      IPv6 packet.

   *  The server IP address distribution between IPv4 and IPv6 MUST be
      identical to the client IP address distribution ratio.

   Note: The IANA has assigned IP address blocks for the testing purpose
   as described in Section 8.  If the test scenario requires more IP
   addresses or address blocks than the IANA assigned, this document
   recommends using private IPv4 address ranges or Unique Local Address
   (ULA) IPv6 address ranges for the testing.

4.3.2.4.  HTTP / HTTPS Server Pool Endpoint Attributes

   The HTTP 1.1 and HTTP/2 server pools listen on TCP ports 80 and 443
   for HTTP and HTTPS.  HTTP/3 server pool listens on UDP port 443 or
   any port.  The server MUST emulate the same HTTP version (HTTP 1.1 or
   HTTP/2 or HTTP/3) and settings chosen by the client (emulated web
   browser).  For the HTTPS server, TLS 1.2 or higher MUST be used with
   a maximum record size of 16 KByte.  Ticket resumption or session ID
   reuse MUST NOT be used for TLS 1.2 and also session Ticket or session
   cache MUST NOT be used for TLS 1.3.  The server MUST serve a
   certificate to the client.  Cipher suite and key size on the server-
   side MUST be configured similar to the client-side configuration
   described in Section 4.3.1.4.

4.3.3.  Traffic Flow Definition

   This section describes the traffic pattern between client and server
   endpoints.  At the beginning of the test, the server endpoint
   initializes and will be ready to accept connection states including
   initialization of the TCP or QUIC stack as well as bound HTTP and
   HTTPS servers.  When a client endpoint is needed, it will initialize
   and be given attributes such as a MAC and IP address.  The behavior
   of the client is to sweep through the given server IP space,
   generating a recognizable service by the DUT.  Sequential and
   pseudorandom sweep methods are acceptable.  The method used MUST be
   stated in the final report.  Thus, a balanced mesh between client
   endpoints and server endpoints will be generated in a client IP and
   port to server IP and port combination.  Each client endpoint
   performs the same actions as other endpoints, with the difference
   being the source IP of the client endpoint and the target server IP
   pool.  The client MUST use the server IP address or FQDN in the host



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   header.

4.3.3.1.  Description of Intra-Client Behavior

   Client endpoints are independent of other clients that are
   concurrently executing.  When a client endpoint initiates traffic,
   this section describes how the client steps through different
   services.  Once the test is initialized, the client endpoints
   randomly hold (perform no operation) for a few milliseconds for
   better randomization of the start of client traffic.  Each client
   (HTTP 1.1 or HTTP/2) will either open a new TCP connection or connect
   to an HTTP persistent connection still open to that specific server.
   HTTP/3 clients will open UDP streams within QUIC connections.  At any
   point that the traffic profile may require encryption, a TLS
   encryption tunnel will form presenting the URL or IP address request
   to the server.  If using SNI, the server MUST then perform an SNI
   name check with the proposed FQDN compared to the domain embedded in
   the certificate.  Only when correct, will the server process the
   HTTPS response object.  The initial response object to the server is
   based on benchmarking tests described in Section 7.  Multiple
   additional sub-URLs (response objects on the service page) MAY be
   requested simultaneously.  This MAY be to the same server IP as the
   initial URL.  Each sub-object will also use a canonical FQDN and URL
   path.

4.3.4.  Traffic Load Profile

   The loading of traffic is described in this section.  The loading of
   a traffic load profile has five phases: Init, ramp up, sustain, ramp
   down, and collection.

   1.  Init phase: Testbed devices including the client and server
       endpoints should negotiate layer 2-3 connectivity such as MAC
       learning and ARP/ND.  Only after successful MAC learning or ARP/
       ND SHALL the test iteration move to the next phase.  No
       measurements are made in this phase.  The minimum recommended
       time for the Init phase is 5 seconds.  During this phase, the
       emulated clients MUST NOT initiate any sessions with the DUT/SUT,
       in contrast, the emulated servers should be ready to accept
       requests from DUT/SUT or emulated clients.

   2.  Ramp up phase: The test equipment MUST start to generate the test
       traffic.  It MUST use a set of the approximate number of unique
       client IP addresses to generate traffic.  The traffic MUST ramp
       up from zero to desired target objective.  The target objective
       is defined for each benchmarking test.  The duration for the ramp
       up phase MUST be configured long enough that the test equipment
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       defined in Section 6.3 namely, TCP or QUIC Connections Per
       Second, Inspected Throughput, Concurrent TCP or QUIC Connections,
       and Application Transactions Per Second.  No measurements are
       made in this phase.

   3.  Sustain phase: Starts when all required clients are active and
       operating at their desired load condition.  In the sustain phase,
       the test equipment MUST continue generating traffic to a constant
       target value for a constant number of active clients.  The
       minimum RECOMMENDED time duration for sustain phase is 300
       seconds.  This is the phase where measurements occur.  The test
       equipment MUST measure and record statistics continuously.  The
       sampling interval for collecting the raw results and calculating
       the statistics MUST be less than 2 seconds.

   4.  Ramp down phase: The test traffic slows down from the target
       number to 0, and no measurements are made.

   5.  Collection phase: The last phase is administrative and will occur
       when the test equipment merges and collates the report data.

5.  Testbed Considerations

   This section describes steps for a reference test (pre-test) that
   control the test environment including test equipment, focusing on
   physical and virtualized environments and as well as test equipment.
   Below are the RECOMMENDED steps for the reference test.

   1.  Perform the reference test either by configuring the DUT/SUT in
       the most trivial setup (fast forwarding) or without the presence
       of the DUT/SUT.

   2.  Generate traffic from traffic generator.  Choose a traffic
       profile used for the HTTP or HTTPS throughput performance test
       with the smallest object size.

   3.  Ensure that any ancillary switching or routing functions added in
       the test equipment do not limit the performance by introducing
       network metrics such as packet loss and latency.  This is
       specifically important for virtualized components (e.g.,
       vSwitches, vRouters).

   4.  Verify that the generated traffic (performance) of the test
       equipment matches and reasonably exceeds the expected maximum
       performance of the DUT/SUT.

   5.  Record the network performance metrics packet loss and latency
       introduced by the test environment (without DUT/SUT).



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   6.  Assert that the testbed characteristics are stable during the
       entire test session.  Several factors might influence stability
       specifically, for virtualized testbeds.  For example, additional
       workloads in a virtualized system, load balancing, and movement
       of virtual machines during the test, or simple issues such as
       additional heat created by high workloads leading to an emergency
       CPU performance reduction.

   The reference test MUST be performed before the benchmarking tests
   (described in section 7) start.

6.  Reporting

   This section describes how the benchmarking test report should be
   formatted and presented.  It is RECOMMENDED to include two main
   sections in the report: the introduction and the detailed test
   results sections.

6.1.  Introduction

   The following attributes should be present in the introduction
   section of the test report.

   1.  The time and date of the execution of the tests

   2.  Summary of testbed software and hardware details

       a.  DUT/SUT hardware/virtual configuration

           *  This section should clearly identify the make and model of
              the DUT/SUT

           *  The port interfaces, including speed and link information

           *  If the DUT/SUT is a Virtual Network Function (VNF), host
              (server) hardware and software details, interface
              acceleration type such as DPDK and SR-IOV, used CPU cores,
              used RAM, resource sharing (e.g.  Pinning details and NUMA
              Node) configuration details, hypervisor version, virtual
              switch version

           *  details of any additional hardware relevant to the DUT/SUT
              such as controllers

       b.  DUT/SUT software

           *  Operating system name




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           *  Version

           *  Specific configuration details (if any)

       c.  DUT/SUT enabled features

           *  Configured DUT/SUT features (see Table 2 and Table 3)

           *  Attributes of the above-mentioned features

           *  Any additional relevant information about the features

       d.  Test equipment hardware and software

           *  Test equipment vendor name

           *  Hardware details including model number, interface type

           *  Test equipment firmware and test application software
              version

           *  If the test equipment is a virtual solution, the host
              (server) hardware and software details, interface
              acceleration type such as DPDK and SR-IOV, used CPU cores,
              used RAM, resource sharing (e.g.  Pinning details and NUMA
              Node) configuration details, hypervisor version, virtual
              switch version

       e.  Key test parameters

           *  Used cipher suites and keys

           *  IPv4 and IPv6 traffic distribution

           *  Number of configured ACL

           *  TCP, UDP stack parameter if tested

           *  QUIC, HTTP/2, and HTTP/3 parameters if tested

       f.  Details of application traffic mix used in the benchmarking
           test "Throughput Performance with Application Traffic Mix"
           (Section 7.1)

           *  Name of applications and layer 7 protocols

           *  Percentage of emulated traffic for each application and
              layer 7 protocols



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           *  Percentage of encrypted traffic and used cipher suites and
              keys (The RECOMMENDED ciphers and keys are defined in
              Section 4.3.1.4)

           *  Used object sizes for each application and layer 7
              protocols

   3.  Results Summary / Executive Summary

       a.  Results should be presented with an introduction section
           documenting the summary of results in a prominent, easy to
           read block.

6.2.  Detailed Test Results

   In the result section of the test report, the following attributes
   should be present for each benchmarking test.

   a.  KPIs MUST be documented separately for each benchmarking test.
       The format of the KPI metrics MUST be presented as described in
       Section 6.3.

   b.  The next level of detail should be graphs showing each of these
       metrics over the duration (sustain phase) of the test.  This
       allows the user to see the measured performance stability changes
       over time.

6.3.  Benchmarks and Key Performance Indicators

   This section lists key performance indicators (KPIs) for overall
   benchmarking tests.  All KPIs MUST be measured during the sustain
   phase of the traffic load profile described in Section 4.3.4.  Also,
   the KPIs MUST be measured from the result output of test equipment.

   *  Concurrent TCP Connections

      The aggregate number of simultaneous connections between hosts
      across the DUT/SUT, or between hosts and the DUT/SUT (defined in
      [RFC2647]).

   *  Concurrent QUIC Connections

      The aggregate number of simultaneous connections between hosts
      across the DUT/SUT.

   *  TCP Connections Per Second





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      The average number of successfully established TCP connections per
      second between hosts across the DUT/SUT, or between hosts and the
      DUT/SUT.  As described in Section 4.3.1.1, the TCP connections are
      initiated by clients via a TCP three-way handshake (SYN, SYN/ACK,
      ACK).  Then the TCP session data is sent and then the TCP sessions
      are closed via either a TCP three-way close (FIN, FIN/ACK, ACK) or
      a TCP four-way close (FIN, ACK, FIN, ACK).  The TCP sessions MUST
      NOT be closed by RST.

   *  QUIC Connections Per Second

      The average number of successfully established QUIC connections
      per second between hosts across the DUT/SUT.  As described in
      Section 4.3.1.2, the QUIC connections are initiated by clients.
      Then the data is sent and then the QUIC sessions are closed by
      "immediate close" method.

      Since QUIC specification defined in Section 4.3.1.2 recommends
      disabling 0-RTT and early data, this KPI focused on 1-RTT
      handshake.  If required, 0-RTT can be also measured in separate
      test runs while enabling 0-RTT and early data in the test
      equipment.

   *  Application Transactions Per Second

      The average number of successfully completed transactions per
      second.  For a particular transaction to be considered successful,
      all data MUST have been transferred in its entirety.  In case of
      HTTP(S) transactions, it MUST have a valid status code (200 OK).

   *  TLS Handshake Rate

      The average number of successfully established TLS connections per
      second between hosts across the DUT/SUT, or between hosts and the
      DUT/SUT.

      For TLS1.3 the handshake rate can be measured with 0-RTT or 1-RTT
      handshake.  The transport protocol can be either TCP or QUIC.

   *  Inspected Throughput

      The number of bits per second of examined and allowed traffic a
      network security device is able to transmit to the correct
      destination interface(s) in response to a specified offered load.
      The throughput benchmarking tests defined in Section 7 SHOULD
      measure the average Layer 2 throughput value when the DUT/SUT is
      "inspecting" traffic.  It is also acceptable to measure other OSI
      Layer throughput.  However, the measured layer (e.g.  Layer 3



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      throughput) MUST be noted in the report and the user MUST be aware
      of the implication while comparing the throughput performance of
      multiple DUT/SUTs measured in different OSI Layers.  This document
      recommends presenting the inspected throughput value in Gbit/s
      rounded to two places of precision with a more specific Kbit/s in
      parenthesis.

   *  Time to First Byte (TTFB)

      TTFB is the elapsed time between the start of sending the TCP SYN
      packet or QUIC initial Client Hello from the client and the client
      receiving the first packet of application data from the server via
      DUT/SUT.  The benchmarking tests HTTP Transaction Latency
      (Section 7.4) and HTTPS Transaction Latency (Section 7.8) measure
      the minimum, average and maximum TTFB.  The value should be
      expressed in milliseconds.

   *  URL Response time / Time to Last Byte (TTLB)

      URL Response time / TTLB is the elapsed time between the start of
      sending the TCP SYN packet or QUIC initial Client Hello from the
      client and the client receiving the last packet of application
      data from the server via DUT/SUT.  The benchmarking tests HTTP
      Transaction Latency (Section 7.4) and HTTPS Transaction Latency
      (Section 7.8) measure the minimum, average and maximum TTLB.  The
      value should be expressed in milliseconds.

7.  Benchmarking Tests

   This section mainly focuses on the benchmarking tests with HTTP/1.1
   or HTTP/2 traffic which uses TCP as the transport protocol.  In
   particular, this section does not define specific benchmarking tests
   for QUIC or HTTP/3 related KPIs.  However, the test methodology
   defined in the benchmarking tests TCP/QUIC Connections Per Second
   with HTTPS Traffic (Section 7.6), HTTPS Transaction Latency
   (Section 7.8), HTTPS Throughput (Section 7.7), and Concurrent TCP/
   QUIC Connection Capacity with HTTPS Traffic (Section 7.9) can be used
   to test QUIC or HTTP/3 related KPIs.  The throughput performance test
   with the application traffic mix defined in Section 7.1 can be
   performed with any other application traffic including HTTP/3.

7.1.  Throughput Performance with Application Traffic Mix

7.1.1.  Objective

   Using a relevant application traffic mix, determine the sustainable
   inspected throughput supported by the DUT/SUT.




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   Based on the test customer's specific use case, testers can choose
   the relevant application traffic mix for this test.  The details
   about the traffic mix MUST be documented in the report.  At least the
   following traffic mix details MUST be documented and reported
   together with the test results:

      Name of applications and layer 7 protocols

      Percentage of emulated traffic for each application and layer 7
      protocol

      Percentage of encrypted traffic and used cipher suites and keys
      (The RECOMMENDED ciphers and keys are defined in Section 4.3.1.4.)

      Used object sizes for each application and layer 7 protocols

7.1.2.  Test Setup

   Testbed setup MUST be configured as defined in Section 4.  Any
   benchmarking test specific testbed configuration changes MUST be
   documented.

7.1.3.  Test Parameters

   In this section, the benchmarking test specific parameters are
   defined.

7.1.3.1.  DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters

   DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
   Section 4.2.  Any configuration changes for this specific
   benchmarking test MUST be documented.  In case the DUT/SUT is
   configured without TLS inspection, the test report MUST explain the
   implications of this to the relevant application traffic mix
   encrypted traffic.

7.1.3.2.  Test Equipment Configuration Parameters

   Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
   requirements defined in Section 4.3.  The following parameters MUST
   be documented for this benchmarking test:

      Client IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.1.3

      Server IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.2.3

      Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
      Section 4.3.1.3



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      Target inspected throughput: Aggregated line rate of the
      interface(s) used in the DUT/SUT or the value defined based on the
      requirement for a specific deployment scenario

      Initial throughput: 10% of the "Target inspected throughput" Note:
      Initial throughput is not a KPI to report.  This value is
      configured on the traffic generator and used to perform Step 1:
      "Test Initialization and Qualification" described under
      Section 7.1.4.

      One of the ciphers and keys defined in Section 4.3.1.4 are
      RECOMMENDED to use for this benchmarking test.

7.1.3.3.  Traffic Profile

   Traffic profile: This test MUST be run with a relevant application
   traffic mix profile.

7.1.3.4.  Test Results Validation Criteria

   The following criteria are the test results validation criteria.  The
   test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during the whole
   sustain phase of the traffic load profile.

   a.  Number of failed application transactions MUST be less than
       0.001% (1 out of 100,000 transactions) of total attempted
       transactions.

   b.  Number of Terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
       sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
       connections) of total initiated TCP connections.

   c.  If HTTP/3 is used, the number of failed QUIC connections due to
       unexpected HTTP/3 error codes MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of
       100,000 connections) of total initiated QUIC connections.

7.1.3.5.  Measurement

   The following KPI metrics MUST be reported for this benchmarking
   test:

   Mandatory KPIs (benchmarks): Inspected Throughput and Application
   Transactions Per Second

   Note: TTLB MUST be reported along with the object size used in the
   traffic profile.





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   Optional TCP stack related KPIs: TCP Connections Per Second, TLS
   Handshake Rate, TTFB (minimum, average, and maximum), TTLB (minimum,
   average, and maximum)

   Optional QUIC stack related KPIs: QUIC connection per second and
   concurrent QUIC connections

7.1.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results

   The test procedures are designed to measure the inspected throughput
   performance of the DUT/SUT at the sustaining period of the traffic
   load profile.  The test procedure consists of three major steps: Step
   1 ensures the DUT/SUT is able to reach the performance value (initial
   throughput) and meets the test results validation criteria when it
   was very minimally utilized.  Step 2 determines whether the DUT/SUT
   is able to reach the target performance value within the test results
   validation criteria.  Step 3 determines the maximum achievable
   performance value within the test results validation criteria.

   This test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different IP
   types: IPv4 only, IPv6 only, and IPv4 and IPv6 mixed traffic
   distribution.

7.1.4.1.  Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification

   Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces.  All
   interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.

   Configure the traffic load profile of the test equipment to generate
   test traffic at the "Initial throughput" rate as described in
   Section 7.1.3.2.  The test equipment MUST follow the traffic load
   profile definition as described in Section 4.3.4.  The DUT/SUT MUST
   reach the "Initial throughput" during the sustain phase.  Measure all
   KPI as defined in Section 7.1.3.5.  The measured KPIs during the
   sustain phase MUST meet all the test results validation criteria
   defined in Section 7.1.3.4.

   If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
   the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to step 2.

7.1.4.2.  Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective

   Configure test equipment to generate traffic at the "Target inspected
   throughput" rate defined in Section 7.1.3.2.  The test equipment MUST
   follow the traffic load profile definition as described in
   Section 4.3.4.  The test equipment MUST start to measure and record
   all specified KPIs.  Continue the test until all traffic profile
   phases are completed.



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   Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
   to reach the desired value of the target objective ("Target inspected
   throughput") in the sustain phase.  Follow step 3, if the measured
   value does not meet the target value or does not fulfill the test
   results validation criteria.

7.1.4.3.  Step 3: Test Iteration

   Determine the achievable average inspected throughput within the test
   results validation criteria.  The final test iteration MUST be
   performed for the test duration defined in Section 4.3.4.

7.2.  TCP/HTTP Connections Per Second

7.2.1.  Objective

   Using HTTP traffic, determine the sustainable TCP connection
   establishment rate supported by the DUT/SUT under different
   throughput load conditions.

   To measure connections per second, test iterations MUST use different
   fixed HTTP response object sizes (the different load conditions)
   defined in Section 7.2.3.2.

7.2.2.  Test Setup

   Testbed setup MUST be configured as defined in Section 4.  Any
   specific testbed configuration changes (number of interfaces and
   interface type, etc.)  MUST be documented.

7.2.3.  Test Parameters

   In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters are defined.

7.2.3.1.  DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters

   DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
   Section 4.2.  Any configuration changes for this specific
   benchmarking test MUST be documented.

7.2.3.2.  Test Equipment Configuration Parameters

   Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
   requirements defined in Section 4.3.  The following parameters MUST
   be documented for this benchmarking test:

   Client IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.1.3




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   Server IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.2.3

   Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
   Section 4.3.1.3

   Target connections per second: Initial value from product datasheet
   or the value defined based on the requirement for a specific
   deployment scenario

   Initial connections per second: 10% of "Target connections per
   second" (Note: Initial connections per second is not a KPI to report.
   This value is configured on the traffic generator and used to perform
   Step1: "Test Initialization and Qualification" described under
   Section 7.2.4.)

   The client MUST negotiate HTTP and close the connection with FIN
   immediately after the completion of one transaction.  In each test
   iteration, the client MUST send a GET request requesting a fixed HTTP
   response object size.

   The RECOMMENDED response object sizes are 1, 2, 4, 16, and 64 KByte.

7.2.3.3.  Test Results Validation Criteria

   The following criteria are the test results validation criteria.  The
   Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during the whole
   sustain phase of the traffic load profile.

   a.  Number of failed application transactions (receiving any HTTP
       response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
       of 100,000 transactions) of total attempted transactions.

   b.  Number of terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
       sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
       connections) of total initiated TCP connections.

   c.  During the sustain phase, traffic MUST be forwarded at a constant
       rate (considered as a constant rate if any deviation of traffic
       forwarding rate is less than 5%).

   d.  Concurrent TCP connections MUST be constant during steady state
       and any deviation of concurrent TCP connections MUST be less than
       10%. This confirms the DUT opens and closes TCP connections at
       approximately the same rate.







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7.2.3.4.  Measurement

   TCP Connections Per Second MUST be reported for each test iteration
   (for each object size).

7.2.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results

   The test procedure is designed to measure the TCP connections per
   second rate of the DUT/SUT at the sustaining period of the traffic
   load profile.  The test procedure consists of three major steps: Step
   1 ensures the DUT/SUT is able to reach the performance value (Initial
   connections per second) and meets the test results validation
   criteria when it was very minimally utilized.  Step 2 determines
   whether the DUT/SUT is able to reach the target performance value
   within the test results validation criteria.  Step 3 determines the
   maximum achievable performance value within the test results
   validation criteria.

   This test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different IP
   types: IPv4 only, IPv6 only, and IPv4 and IPv6 mixed traffic
   distribution.

7.2.4.1.  Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification

   Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces.  All
   interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.

   Configure the traffic load profile of the test equipment to establish
   "Initial connections per second" as defined in Section 7.2.3.2.  The
   traffic load profile MUST be defined as described in Section 4.3.4.

   The DUT/SUT MUST reach the "Initial connections per second" before
   the sustain phase.  The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST
   meet all the test results validation criteria defined in
   Section 7.2.3.3.

   If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
   the test procedure MUST NOT continue to "Step 2".

7.2.4.2.  Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective

   Configure test equipment to establish the target objective ("Target
   connections per second") defined in Section 7.2.3.2.  The test
   equipment MUST follow the traffic load profile definition as
   described in Section 4.3.4.






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   During the ramp up and sustain phase of each test iteration, other
   KPIs such as inspected throughput, concurrent TCP connections, and
   application transactions per second MUST NOT reach the maximum value
   the DUT/SUT can support.  The test results for specific test
   iterations MUST NOT be reported as valid results if the above
   mentioned KPI (especially inspected throughput) reaches the maximum
   value.  (Example: If the test iteration with 64 KByte of HTTP
   response object size reached the maximum inspected throughput
   limitation of the DUT/SUT, the test iteration MAY be interrupted and
   the result for 64 KByte must not be reported.)

   The test equipment MUST start to measure and record all specified
   KPIs.  Continue the test until all traffic profile phases are
   completed.

   Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
   to reach the desired value of the target objective ("Target
   connections per second") in the sustain phase.  Follow step 3, if the
   measured value does not meet the target value or does not fulfill the
   test results validation criteria.

7.2.4.3.  Step 3: Test Iteration

   Determine the achievable TCP connections per second within the test
   results validation criteria.

7.3.  HTTP Throughput

7.3.1.  Objective

   Determine the sustainable inspected throughput of the DUT/SUT for
   HTTP transactions varying the HTTP response object size.

7.3.2.  Test Setup

   Testbed setup MUST be configured as defined in Section 4.  Any
   specific testbed configuration changes (number of interfaces and
   interface type, etc.)  MUST be documented.

7.3.3.  Test Parameters

   In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters are defined.

7.3.3.1.  DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters

   DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
   Section 4.2.  Any configuration changes for this specific
   benchmarking test MUST be documented.



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7.3.3.2.  Test Equipment Configuration Parameters

   Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
   requirements defined in Section 4.3.  The following parameters MUST
   be documented for this benchmarking test:

   Client IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.1.3

   Server IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.2.3

   Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
   Section 4.3.1.3

   Target inspected throughput: Aggregated line rate of the interface(s)
   used in the DUT/SUT or the value defined based on the requirement for
   a specific deployment scenario

   Initial throughput: 10% of "Target inspected throughput" Note:
   Initial throughput is not a KPI to report.  This value is configured
   on the traffic generator and used to perform Step 1: "Test
   Initialization and Qualification" described under Section 7.3.4.

   Number of HTTP response object requests (transactions) per
   connection: 10

   RECOMMENDED HTTP response object size: 1, 16, 64, 256 KByte, and
   mixed objects defined in Table 4.
























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           +=====================+============================+
           | Object size (KByte) | Number of requests/ Weight |
           +=====================+============================+
           | 0.2                 | 1                          |
           +---------------------+----------------------------+
           | 6                   | 1                          |
           +---------------------+----------------------------+
           | 8                   | 1                          |
           +---------------------+----------------------------+
           | 9                   | 1                          |
           +---------------------+----------------------------+
           | 10                  | 1                          |
           +---------------------+----------------------------+
           | 25                  | 1                          |
           +---------------------+----------------------------+
           | 26                  | 1                          |
           +---------------------+----------------------------+
           | 35                  | 1                          |
           +---------------------+----------------------------+
           | 59                  | 1                          |
           +---------------------+----------------------------+
           | 347                 | 1                          |
           +---------------------+----------------------------+

                          Table 4: Mixed Objects

7.3.3.3.  Test Results Validation Criteria

   The following criteria are the test results validation criteria.  The
   test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during the whole
   sustain phase of the traffic load profile.

   a.  Number of failed application transactions (receiving any HTTP
       response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
       of 100,000 transactions) of attempt transactions.

   b.  Traffic MUST be forwarded at a constant rate (considered as a
       constant rate if any deviation of traffic forwarding rate is less
       than 5%).

   c.  Concurrent TCP connections MUST be constant during steady state
       and any deviation of concurrent TCP connections MUST be less than
       10%. This confirms the DUT opens and closes TCP connections at
       approximately the same rate.







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7.3.3.4.  Measurement

   Inspected Throughput and HTTP Transactions per Second MUST be
   reported for each object size.


7.3.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results

   The test procedure is designed to measure HTTP throughput of the DUT/
   SUT.  The test procedure consists of three major steps: Step 1
   ensures the DUT/SUT is able to reach the performance value (Initial
   throughput) and meets the test results validation criteria when it
   was very minimal utilized.  Step 2 determines whether the DUT/SUT is
   able to reach the target performance value within the test results
   validation criteria.  Step 3 determines the maximum achievable
   performance value within the test results validation criteria.

   This test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different
   IPv4 and IPv6 traffic distribution and HTTP response object sizes.

7.3.4.1.  Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification

   Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces.  All
   interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.

   Configure the traffic load profile of the test equipment to establish
   "Initial inspected throughput" as defined in Section 7.3.3.2.

   The traffic load profile MUST be defined as described in
   Section 4.3.4.  The DUT/SUT MUST reach the "Initial inspected
   throughput" during the sustain phase.  Measure all KPI as defined in
   Section 7.3.3.4.

   The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST meet the test results
   validation criteria "a" defined in Section 7.3.3.3.  The test results
   validation criteria "b" and "c" are OPTIONAL for step 1.

   If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
   the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".

7.3.4.2.  Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective

   Configure test equipment to establish the target objective ("Target
   inspected throughput") defined in Section 7.3.3.2.  The test
   equipment MUST start to measure and record all specified KPIs.
   Continue the test until all traffic profile phases are completed.





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   Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
   to reach the desired value of the target objective in the sustain
   phase.  Follow step 3, if the measured value does not meet the target
   value or does not fulfill the test results validation criteria.

7.3.4.3.  Step 3: Test Iteration

   Determine the achievable inspected throughput within the test results
   validation criteria and measure the KPI metric Transactions per
   Second.  The final test iteration MUST be performed for the test
   duration defined in Section 4.3.4.

7.4.  HTTP Transaction Latency

7.4.1.  Objective

   Using HTTP traffic, determine the HTTP transaction latency when DUT
   is running with sustainable HTTP transactions per second supported by
   the DUT/SUT under different HTTP response object sizes.

   Test iterations MUST be performed with different HTTP response object
   sizes in two different scenarios.  One with a single transaction and
   the other with multiple transactions within a single TCP connection.
   For consistency, both the single and multiple transaction tests MUST
   be configured with the same HTTP version

   Scenario 1: The client MUST negotiate HTTP and close the connection
   with FIN immediately after the completion of a single transaction
   (GET and RESPONSE).

   Scenario 2: The client MUST negotiate HTTP and close the connection
   FIN immediately after the completion of 10 transactions (GET and
   RESPONSE) within a single TCP connection.

7.4.2.  Test Setup

   Testbed setup MUST be configured as defined in Section 4.  Any
   specific testbed configuration changes (number of interfaces and
   interface type, etc.)  MUST be documented.

7.4.3.  Test Parameters

   In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters are defined.








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7.4.3.1.  DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters

   DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
   Section 4.2.  Any configuration changes for this specific
   benchmarking test MUST be documented.

7.4.3.2.  Test Equipment Configuration Parameters

   Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
   requirements defined in Section 4.3.  The following parameters MUST
   be documented for this benchmarking test:

   Client IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.1.3

   Server IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.2.3

   Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
   Section 4.3.1.3


   Target objective for scenario 1: 50% of the connections per second
   measured in benchmarking test TCP/HTTP Connections Per Second
   (Section 7.2)

   Target objective for scenario 2: 50% of the inspected throughput
   measured in benchmarking test HTTP Throughput (Section 7.3)

   Initial objective for scenario 1: 10% of "Target objective for
   scenario 1"

   Initial objective for scenario 2: 10% of "Target objective for
   scenario 2"

   Note: The Initial objectives are not a KPI to report.  These values
   are configured on the traffic generator and used to perform Step1:
   "Test Initialization and Qualification" described under
   Section 7.4.4.

   HTTP transaction per TCP connection: Test scenario 1 with a single
   transaction and test scenario 2 with 10 transactions.

   HTTP with GET request requesting a single object.  The RECOMMENDED
   object sizes are 1, 16, and 64 KByte.  For each test iteration, the
   client MUST request a single HTTP response object size.







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7.4.3.3.  Test Results Validation Criteria

   The following criteria are the test results validation criteria.  The
   Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during the whole
   sustain phase of the traffic load profile.

   a.  Number of failed application transactions (receiving any HTTP
       response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
       of 100,000 transactions) of attempt transactions.

   b.  Number of terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
       sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
       connections) of total initiated TCP connections.

   c.  During the sustain phase, traffic MUST be forwarded at a constant
       rate (considered as a constant rate if any deviation of traffic
       forwarding rate is less than 5%).

   d.  Concurrent TCP connections MUST be constant during steady state
       and any deviation of concurrent TCP connections MUST be less than
       10%. This confirms the DUT opens and closes TCP connections at
       approximately the same rate.

   e.  After ramp up the DUT MUST achieve the "Target objective" defined
       in Section 7.4.3.2 and remain in that state for the entire test
       duration (sustain phase).

7.4.3.4.  Measurement

   TTFB (minimum, average, and maximum) and TTLB (minimum, average, and
   maximum) MUST be reported for each object size.

7.4.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results

   The test procedure is designed to measure TTFB or TTLB when the DUT/
   SUT is operating close to 50% of its maximum achievable connections
   per second or inspected throughput.  The test procedure consists of
   two major steps: Step 1 ensures the DUT/SUT is able to reach the
   initial performance values and meets the test results validation
   criteria when it was very minimally utilized.  Step 2 measures the
   latency values within the test results validation criteria.

   This test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different IP
   types (IPv4 only, IPv6 only, and IPv4 and IPv6 mixed traffic
   distribution), HTTP response object sizes, and single and multiple
   transactions per connection scenarios.





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7.4.4.1.  Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification

   Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces.  All
   interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.

   Configure the traffic load profile of the test equipment to establish
   the "Initial objective" as defined in Section 7.4.3.2.  The traffic
   load profile MUST be defined as described in Section 4.3.4.

   The DUT/SUT MUST reach the "Initial objective" before the sustain
   phase.  The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST meet all the
   test results validation criteria defined in Section 7.4.3.3.

   If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
   the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".

7.4.4.2.  Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective

   Configure test equipment to establish the "Target objective" defined
   in Section 7.4.3.2.  The test equipment MUST follow the traffic load
   profile definition as described in Section 4.3.4.

   The test equipment MUST start to measure and record all specified
   KPIs.  Continue the test until all traffic profile phases are
   completed.

   Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT MUST reach
   the desired value of the target objective in the sustain phase.

   Measure the minimum, average, and maximum values of TTFB and TTLB.

7.5.  Concurrent TCP/HTTP Connection Capacity

7.5.1.  Objective

   Determine the number of concurrent TCP connections that the DUT/ SUT
   sustains when using HTTP traffic.

7.5.2.  Test Setup

   Testbed setup MUST be configured as defined in Section 4.  Any
   specific testbed configuration changes (number of interfaces and
   interface type, etc.)  MUST be documented.

7.5.3.  Test Parameters

   In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters are defined.




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7.5.3.1.  DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters

   DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
   Section 4.2.  Any configuration changes for this specific
   benchmarking test MUST be documented.

7.5.3.2.  Test Equipment Configuration Parameters

   Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
   requirements defined in Section 4.3.  The following parameters MUST
   be noted for this benchmarking test:

      Client IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.1.3

      Server IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.2.3

      Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
      Section 4.3.1.3

      Target concurrent connection: Initial value from product datasheet
      or the value defined based on the requirement for a specific
      deployment scenario.

      Initial concurrent connection: 10% of "Target concurrent
      connection" Note: Initial concurrent connection is not a KPI to
      report.  This value is configured on the traffic generator and
      used to perform Step1: "Test Initialization and Qualification"
      described under Section 7.5.4.

      Maximum connections per second during ramp up phase: 50% of
      maximum connections per second measured in benchmarking test TCP/
      HTTP Connections per second (Section 7.2)

      Ramp up time (in traffic load profile for "Target concurrent
      connection"): "Target concurrent connection" / "Maximum
      connections per second during ramp up phase"

      Ramp up time (in traffic load profile for "Initial concurrent
      connection"): "Initial concurrent connection" / "Maximum
      connections per second during ramp up phase"

   The client MUST negotiate HTTP and each client MAY open multiple
   concurrent TCP connections per server endpoint IP.

   Each client sends 10 GET requests requesting 1 KByte HTTP response
   object in the same TCP connection (10 transactions/TCP connection)
   and the delay (think time) between each transaction MUST be X
   seconds.



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   X = ("Ramp up time" + "steady state time") /10

   The established connections MUST remain open until the ramp down
   phase of the test.  During the ramp down phase, all connections MUST
   be successfully closed with FIN.

7.5.3.3.  Test Results Validation Criteria

   The following criteria are the test results validation criteria.  The
   Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during the whole
   sustain phase of the traffic load profile.

   a.  Number of failed application transactions (receiving any HTTP
       response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
       of 100,000 transactions) of total attempted transactions.

   b.  Number of terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
       sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
       connections) of total initiated TCP connections.

   c.  During the sustain phase, traffic MUST be forwarded at a constant
       rate (considered as a constant rate if any deviation of traffic
       forwarding rate is less than 5%).

7.5.3.4.  Measurement

   Average Concurrent TCP Connections MUST be reported for this
   benchmarking test.

7.5.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results

   The test procedure is designed to measure the concurrent TCP
   connection capacity of the DUT/SUT at the sustaining period of the
   traffic load profile.  The test procedure consists of three major
   steps: Step 1 ensures the DUT/SUT is able to reach the performance
   value (Initial concurrent connection) and meets the test results
   validation criteria when it was very minimally utilized.  Step 2
   determines whether the DUT/SUT is able to reach the target
   performance value within the test results validation criteria.  Step
   3 determines the maximum achievable performance value within the test
   results validation criteria.

   This test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different
   IPv4 and IPv6 traffic distributions.







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7.5.4.1.  Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification

   Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces.  All
   interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.

   Configure test equipment to establish "Initial concurrent TCP
   connections" defined in Section 7.5.3.2.  Except ramp up time, the
   traffic load profile MUST be defined as described in Section 4.3.4.

   During the sustain phase, the DUT/SUT MUST reach the "Initial
   concurrent TCP connections".  The measured KPIs during the sustain
   phase MUST meet all the test results validation criteria defined in
   Section 7.5.3.3.

   If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
   the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".

7.5.4.2.  Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective

   Configure test equipment to establish the target objective ("Target
   concurrent TCP connections").  The test equipment MUST follow the
   traffic load profile definition (except ramp up time) as described in
   Section 4.3.4.

   During the ramp up and sustain phase, the other KPIs such as
   inspected throughput, TCP connections per second, and application
   transactions per second MUST NOT reach the maximum value the DUT/SUT
   can support.

   The test equipment MUST start to measure and record KPIs defined in
   Section 7.5.3.4.  Continue the test until all traffic profile phases
   are completed.

   Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
   to reach the desired value of the target objective in the sustain
   phase.  Follow step 3, if the measured value does not meet the target
   value or does not fulfill the test results validation criteria.

7.5.4.3.  Step 3: Test Iteration

   Determine the achievable concurrent TCP connections capacity within
   the test results validation criteria.

7.6.  TCP/QUIC Connections per Second with HTTPS Traffic







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7.6.1.  Objective

   Using HTTPS traffic, determine the sustainable TLS session
   establishment rate supported by the DUT/SUT under different
   throughput load conditions.

   Test iterations MUST include common cipher suites and key strengths
   as well as forward looking stronger keys.  Specific test iterations
   MUST include ciphers and keys defined in Section 7.6.3.2.

   For each cipher suite and key strengths, test iterations MUST use a
   single HTTPS response object size defined in Section 7.6.3.2 to
   measure connections per second performance under a variety of DUT/SUT
   security inspection load conditions.

7.6.2.  Test Setup

   Testbed setup MUST be configured as defined in Section 4.  Any
   specific testbed configuration changes (number of interfaces and
   interface type, etc.)  MUST be documented.

7.6.3.  Test Parameters

   In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters are defined.

7.6.3.1.  DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters

   DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
   Section 4.2.  Any configuration changes for this specific
   benchmarking test MUST be documented.

7.6.3.2.  Test Equipment Configuration Parameters

   Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
   requirements defined in Section 4.3.  The following parameters MUST
   be documented for this benchmarking test:

   Client IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.1.3

   Server IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.2.3

   Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
   Section 4.3.1.3

   Target connections per second: Initial value from product datasheet
   or the value defined based on the requirement for a specific
   deployment scenario.




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   Initial connections per second: 10% of "Target connections per
   second" (Note: Initial connections per second is not a KPI to report.
   This value is configured on the traffic generator and used to perform
   Step1: "Test Initialization and Qualification" described under
   Section 7.6.4.)

   RECOMMENDED ciphers and keys defined in Section 4.3.1.4

   The client MUST negotiate HTTPS and close the connection without
   error immediately after the completion of one transaction.  In each
   test iteration, the client MUST send a GET request requesting a fixed
   HTTPS response object size.  The RECOMMENDED object sizes are 1, 2,
   4, 16, and 64 KByte.

7.6.3.3.  Test Results Validation Criteria

   The following criteria are the test results validation criteria.  The
   test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during the whole
   test duration.

   a.  Number of failed application transactions (receiving any HTTP
       response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
       of 100,000 transactions) of attempt transactions.

   b.  Number of terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
       sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
       connections) of total initiated TCP connections.  If HTTP/3 is
       used, the number of terminated QUIC connections due to unexpected
       errors MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000 connections) of
       total initiated QUIC connections.

   c.  During the sustain phase, traffic MUST be forwarded at a constant
       rate (considered as a constant rate if any deviation of traffic
       forwarding rate is less than 5%).

   d.  Concurrent TCP connections generation rate MUST be constant
       during steady state and any deviation of concurrent TCP
       connections MUST be less than 10%. If HTTP/3 is used, the
       concurrent QUIC connections generation rate MUST be constant
       during steady state and any deviation of concurrent QUIC
       connections MUST be less than 10%. This confirms the DUT opens
       and closes connections at approximately the same rate.

7.6.3.4.  Measurement

   If HTTP 1.1 or HTTP/2 is used, TCP connections per second MUST be
   reported for each test iteration (for each object size).




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   If HTTP/3 is used, QUIC connections per second MUST be measured and
   reported for each test iteration (for each object size).

   The KPI metric TLS Handshake Rate can be measured in the test using 1
   KByte object size.

7.6.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results

   The test procedure is designed to measure the TCP or QUIC connections
   per second rate of the DUT/SUT at the sustaining period of the
   traffic load profile.  The test procedure consists of three major
   steps: Step 1 ensures the DUT/SUT is able to reach the performance
   value (Initial connections per second) and meets the test results
   validation criteria when it was very minimally utilized.  Step 2
   determines whether the DUT/SUT is able to reach the target
   performance value within the test results validation criteria.  Step
   3 determines the maximum achievable performance value within the test
   results validation criteria.

   This test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different
   IPv4 and IPv6 traffic distributions.

7.6.4.1.  Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification

   Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces.  All
   interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.

   Configure the traffic load profile of the test equipment to establish
   "Initial connections per second" as defined in Section 7.6.3.2.  The
   traffic load profile MUST be defined as described in Section 4.3.4.

   The DUT/SUT MUST reach the "Initial connections per second" before
   the sustain phase.  The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST
   meet all the test results validation criteria defined in
   Section 7.6.3.3.

   If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
   the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".

7.6.4.2.  Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective

   Configure test equipment to establish "Target connections per second"
   as defined in Section 7.6.3.2.  The test equipment MUST follow the
   traffic load profile definition as described in Section 4.3.4.

   During the ramp up and sustain phase, other KPIs such as inspected
   throughput, concurrent TCP/QUIC connections, and application
   transactions per second MUST NOT reach the maximum value the DUT/SUT



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   can support.  The test results for the specific test iteration MUST
   NOT be reported as valid results, if the above mentioned KPI
   (especially inspected throughput) reaches the maximum value.
   (Example: If the test iteration with 64 KByte of HTTPS response
   object size reached the maximum inspected throughput limitation of
   the DUT, the test iteration MAY be interrupted, and the result for 64
   KByte should not be reported).

   The test equipment MUST start to measure and record all specified
   KPIs.  Continue the test until all traffic profile phases are
   completed.

   Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
   to reach the desired value of the target objective ("Target
   connections per second") in the sustain phase.  Follow step 3, if the
   measured value does not meet the target value or does not fulfill the
   test results validation criteria.

7.6.4.3.  Step 3: Test Iteration

   Determine the achievable connections per second within the test
   results validation criteria.

7.7.  HTTPS Throughput

7.7.1.  Objective

   Determine the sustainable inspected throughput of the DUT/SUT for
   HTTPS transactions varying the HTTPS response object size.

   Test iterations MUST include common cipher suites and key strengths
   as well as forward looking stronger keys.  Specific test iterations
   MUST include the ciphers and keys defined in Section 7.7.3.2.

7.7.2.  Test Setup

   Testbed setup MUST be configured as defined in Section 4.  Any
   specific testbed configuration changes (number of interfaces and
   interface type, etc.)  MUST be documented.

7.7.3.  Test Parameters

   In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters are defined.








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7.7.3.1.  DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters

   DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
   Section 4.2.  Any configuration changes for this specific
   benchmarking test MUST be documented.

7.7.3.2.  Test Equipment Configuration Parameters

   Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
   requirements defined in Section 4.3.  The following parameters MUST
   be documented for this benchmarking test:

   Client IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.1.3

   Server IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.2.3

   Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
   Section 4.3.1.3

   Target inspected throughput: Aggregated line rate of the interface(s)
   used in the DUT/SUT or the value defined based on the requirement for
   a specific deployment scenario.

   Initial throughput: 10% of "Target inspected throughput" Note:
   Initial throughput is not a KPI to report.  This value is configured
   on the traffic generator and used to perform Step1: "Test
   Initialization and Qualification" described under Section 7.7.4.

   Number of HTTPS response object requests (transactions) per
   connection: 10

   RECOMMENDED ciphers and keys defined in Section 4.3.1.4

   RECOMMENDED HTTPS response object size: 1, 16, 64, 256 KByte, and
   mixed objects defined in Table 4 under Section 7.3.3.2.

7.7.3.3.  Test Results Validation Criteria

   The following criteria are the test results validation criteria.  The
   test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during the whole
   sustain phase of the traffic load profile.

   a.  Number of failed Application transactions (receiving any HTTP
       response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
       of 100,000 transactions) of attempt transactions.






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   b.  Traffic MUST be generated at a constant rate (considered as a
       constant rate if any deviation of traffic forwarding rate is less
       than 5%).

   c.  Concurrent generated TCP connections MUST be constant during
       steady state and any deviation of concurrent TCP connections MUST
       be less than 10%. If HTTP/3 is used, the concurrent generated
       QUIC connections MUST be constant during steady state and any
       deviation of concurrent QUIC connections MUST be less than 10%.
       This confirms the DUT opens and closes connections at
       approximately the same rate.

7.7.3.4.  Measurement

   Inspected Throughput and HTTPS Transactions per Second MUST be
   reported for each object size.

7.7.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results

   The test procedure consists of three major steps: Step 1 ensures the
   DUT/SUT is able to reach the performance value (Initial throughput)
   and meets the test results validation criteria when it was very
   minimally utilized.  Step 2 determines whether the DUT/SUT is able to
   reach the target performance value within the test results validation
   criteria.  Step 3 determines the maximum achievable performance value
   within the test results validation criteria.

   This test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different
   IPv4 and IPv6 traffic distribution and HTTPS response object sizes.

7.7.4.1.  Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification

   Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces.  All
   interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.

   Configure the traffic load profile of the test equipment to establish
   "Initial throughput" as defined in Section 7.7.3.2.

   The traffic load profile MUST be defined as described in
   Section 4.3.4.  The DUT/SUT MUST reach the "Initial throughput"
   during the sustain phase.  Measure all KPI as defined in
   Section 7.7.3.4.

   The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST meet the test results
   validation criteria "a" defined in Section 7.7.3.3.  The test results
   validation criteria "b", and "c" are OPTIONAL for step 1.





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   If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
   the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".

7.7.4.2.  Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective

   Configure test equipment to establish the target objective ("Target
   inspected throughput") defined in Section 7.7.3.2.  The test
   equipment MUST start to measure and record all specified KPIs.
   Continue the test until all traffic profile phases are completed.

   Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
   to reach the desired value of the target objective in the sustain
   phase.  Follow step 3, if the measured value does not meet the target
   value or does not fulfill the test results validation criteria.

7.7.4.3.  Step 3: Test Iteration

   Determine the achievable average inspected throughput within the test
   results validation criteria.  The final test iteration MUST be
   performed for the test duration defined in Section 4.3.4.

7.8.  HTTPS Transaction Latency

7.8.1.  Objective

   Using HTTPS traffic, determine the HTTPS transaction latency when
   DUT/SUT is running with sustainable HTTPS transactions per second
   supported by the DUT/SUT under different HTTPS response object sizes.

   Scenario 1: The client MUST negotiate HTTPS and close the connection
   immediately after the completion of a single transaction (GET and
   RESPONSE).

   Scenario 2: The client MUST negotiate HTTPS and close the connection
   immediately after the completion of 10 transactions (GET and
   RESPONSE) within a single TCP or QUIC connection.

7.8.2.  Test Setup

   Testbed setup MUST be configured as defined in Section 4.  Any
   specific testbed configuration changes (number of interfaces and
   interface type, etc.)  MUST be documented.

7.8.3.  Test Parameters

   In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters are defined.





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7.8.3.1.  DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters

   DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
   Section 4.2.  Any configuration changes for this specific
   benchmarking test MUST be documented.

7.8.3.2.  Test Equipment Configuration Parameters

   Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
   requirements defined in Section 4.3.  The following parameters MUST
   be documented for this benchmarking test:

   Client IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.1.3

   Server IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.2.3

   Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
   Section 4.3.1.3

   RECOMMENDED cipher suites and key sizes defined in Section 4.3.1.4

   Target objective for scenario 1: 50% of the connections per second
   measured in benchmarking test TCP/QUIC Connections per Second with
   HTTPS Traffic (Section 7.6)

   Target objective for scenario 2: 50% of the inspected throughput
   measured in benchmarking test HTTPS Throughput (Section 7.7)

   Initial objective for scenario 1: 10% of "Target objective for
   scenario 1"

   Initial objective for scenario 2: 10% of "Target objective for
   scenario 2"

   Note: The Initial objectives are not a KPI to report.  These values
   are configured on the traffic generator and used to perform Step1:
   "Test Initialization and Qualification" described under
   Section 7.8.4.

   HTTPS transaction per TCP or QUIC connection: Test scenario 1 with a
   single transaction and scenario 2 with 10 transactions

   HTTPS with GET request requesting a single object.  The RECOMMENDED
   object sizes are 1, 16, and 64 KByte.  For each test iteration, the
   client MUST request a single HTTPS response object size.






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7.8.3.3.  Test Results Validation Criteria

   The following criteria are the test results validation criteria.  The
   Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during the whole
   sustain phase of the traffic load profile.

   a.  Number of failed application transactions (receiving any HTTP
       response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
       of 100,000 transactions) of attempt transactions.

   b.  Number of terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
       sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
       connections) of total initiated TCP connections.  If HTTP/3 is
       used, the number of terminated QUIC connections due to unexpected
       errors MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000 connections) of
       total initiated QUIC connections.

   c.  During the sustain phase, traffic MUST be forwarded at a constant
       rate (considered as a constant rate if any deviation of traffic
       forwarding rate is less than 5%).

   d.  Concurrent TCP or QUIC connections MUST be constant during steady
       state and any deviation of concurrent TCP connections MUST be
       less than 10%. If HTTP/3 is used, the concurrent generated QUIC
       connections MUST be constant during steady state and any
       deviation of concurrent QUIC connections MUST be less than 10%.
       This confirms the DUT opens and closes connections at
       approximately the same rate.

   e.  After ramp up the DUT/SUT MUST achieve the "Target objective"
       defined in the parameter Section 7.8.3.2 and remain in that state
       for the entire test duration (sustain phase).

7.8.3.4.  Measurement

   TTFB (minimum, average, and maximum) and TTLB (minimum, average, and
   maximum) MUST be reported for each object size.

7.8.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results

   The test procedure is designed to measure TTFB or TTLB when the DUT/
   SUT is operating close to 50% of its maximum achievable connections
   per second or inspected throughput.  The test procedure consists of
   two major steps: Step 1 ensures the DUT/SUT is able to reach the
   initial performance values and meets the test results validation
   criteria when it was very minimally utilized.  Step 2 measures the
   latency values within the test results validation criteria.




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   This test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different IP
   types (IPv4 only, IPv6 only, and IPv4 and IPv6 mixed traffic
   distribution), HTTPS response object sizes, and single, and multiple
   transactions per connection scenarios.

7.8.4.1.  Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification

   Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces.  All
   interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.

   Configure the traffic load profile of the test equipment to establish
   the "Initial objective" as defined in Section 7.8.3.2.  The traffic
   load profile MUST be defined as described in Section 4.3.4.

   The DUT/SUT MUST reach the "Initial objective" before the sustain
   phase.  The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST meet all the
   test results validation criteria defined in Section 7.8.3.3.

   If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
   the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".

7.8.4.2.  Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective

   Configure test equipment to establish the "Target objective" defined
   in Section 7.8.3.2.  The test equipment MUST follow the traffic load
   profile definition as described in Section 4.3.4.

   The test equipment MUST start to measure and record all specified
   KPIs.  Continue the test until all traffic profile phases are
   completed.

   Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT MUST reach
   the desired value of the target objective in the sustain phase.

   Measure the minimum, average, and maximum values of TTFB and TTLB.

7.9.  Concurrent TCP/QUIC Connection Capacity with HTTPS Traffic

7.9.1.  Objective

   Determine the number of concurrent TCP/QUIC connections the DUT/SUT
   sustains when using HTTPS traffic.

7.9.2.  Test Setup

   Testbed setup MUST be configured as defined in Section 4.  Any
   specific testbed configuration changes (number of interfaces and
   interface type, etc.)  MUST be documented.



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7.9.3.  Test Parameters

   In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters are defined.

7.9.3.1.  DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters

   DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
   Section 4.2.  Any configuration changes for this specific
   benchmarking test MUST be documented.

7.9.3.2.  Test Equipment Configuration Parameters

   Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
   requirements defined in Section 4.3.  The following parameters MUST
   be documented for this benchmarking test:

      Client IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.1.3

      Server IP address ranges defined in Section 4.3.2.3

      Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
      Section 4.3.1.3

      RECOMMENDED cipher suites and key sizes defined in Section 4.3.1.4

      Target concurrent connections: Initial value from product
      datasheet or the value defined based on the requirement for a
      specific deployment scenario.

      Initial concurrent connections: 10% of "Target concurrent
      connections" Note: Initial concurrent connection is not a KPI to
      report.  This value is configured on the traffic generator and
      used to perform Step1: "Test Initialization and Qualification"
      described under Section 7.9.4.

      Connections per second during ramp up phase: 50% of maximum
      connections per second measured in benchmarking test TCP/QUIC
      Connections per second with HTTPS Traffic (Section 7.6)

      Ramp up time (in traffic load profile for "Target concurrent
      connections"): "Target concurrent connections" / "Maximum
      connections per second during ramp up phase"

      Ramp up time (in traffic load profile for "Initial concurrent
      connections"): "Initial concurrent connections" / "Maximum
      connections per second during ramp up phase"





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   The client MUST perform HTTPS transactions with persistence and each
   client can open multiple concurrent connections per server endpoint
   IP.

   Each client sends 10 GET requests requesting 1 KByte HTTPS response
   objects in the same TCP/QUIC connections (10 transactions/connection)
   and the delay (think time) between each transaction MUST be X
   seconds.

   X = ("Ramp up time" + "steady state time") /10

   The established connections MUST remain open until the ramp down
   phase of the test.  During the ramp down phase, all connections MUST
   be successfully closed with FIN.

7.9.3.3.  Test Results Validation Criteria

   The following criteria are the test results validation criteria.  The
   Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during the whole
   sustain phase of the traffic load profile.

   a.  Number of failed application transactions (receiving any HTTP
       response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
       of 100,000 transactions) of total attempted transactions.

   b.  Number of terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
       sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
       connections) of total initiated TCP connections.  If HTTP/3 is
       used, the number of terminated QUIC connections due to unexpected
       errors MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000 connections) of
       total initiated QUIC connections

   c.  During the sustain phase, traffic MUST be forwarded at a constant
       rate (considered as a constant rate if any deviation of traffic
       forwarding rate is less than 5%).

7.9.3.4.  Measurement

   Average Concurrent TCP or QUIC Connections MUST be reported for this
   benchmarking test.











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7.9.4.  Test Procedures and Expected Results

   The test procedure is designed to measure the concurrent TCP
   connection capacity of the DUT/SUT at the sustaining period of the
   traffic load profile.  The test procedure consists of three major
   steps: Step 1 ensures the DUT/SUT is able to reach the performance
   value (Initial concurrent connection) and meets the test results
   validation criteria when it was very minimally utilized.  Step 2
   determines whether the DUT/SUT is able to reach the target
   performance value within the test results validation criteria.  Step
   3 determines the maximum achievable performance value within the test
   results validation criteria.

   This test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different
   IPv4 and IPv6 traffic distributions.

7.9.4.1.  Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification

   Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces.  All
   interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.

   Configure test equipment to establish "Initial concurrent TCP
   connections" defined in Section 7.9.3.2.  Except ramp up time, the
   traffic load profile MUST be defined as described in Section 4.3.4.

   During the sustain phase, the DUT/SUT MUST reach the "Initial
   concurrent connections".  The measured KPIs during the sustain phase
   MUST meet the test results validation criteria "a", and "b" defined
   in Section 7.9.3.3.

   If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
   the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".

7.9.4.2.  Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective

   Configure test equipment to establish the target objective ("Target
   concurrent connections").  The test equipment MUST follow the traffic
   load profile definition (except ramp up time) as described in
   Section 4.3.4.

   During the ramp up and sustain phase, the other KPIs such as
   inspected throughput, TCP or QUIC connections per second, and
   application transactions per second MUST NOT reach the maximum value
   that the DUT/SUT can support.

   The test equipment MUST start to measure and record KPIs defined in
   Section 7.9.3.4.  Continue the test until all traffic profile phases
   are completed.



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   Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
   to reach the desired value of the target objective in the sustain
   phase.  Follow step 3, if the measured value does not meet the target
   value or does not fulfill the test results validation criteria.

7.9.4.3.  Step 3: Test Iteration

   Determine the achievable concurrent TCP/QUIC connections within the
   test results validation criteria.

8.  IANA Considerations

   This document makes no specific request of IANA.

   The IANA has assigned IPv4 and IPv6 address blocks in [RFC6890] that
   have been registered for special purposes.  The IPv6 address block
   2001:2::/48 has been allocated for the purpose of IPv6 Benchmarking
   [RFC5180] and the IPv4 address block 198.18.0.0/15 has been allocated
   for the purpose of IPv4 Benchmarking [RFC2544].  This assignment was
   made to minimize the chance of conflict in case a testing device were
   to be accidentally connected to the part of the Internet.

9.  Security Considerations

   The primary goal of this document is to provide benchmarking
   terminology and methodology for next-generation network security
   devices for use in a laboratory isolated test environment.  However,
   readers should be aware that there is some overlap between
   performance and security issues.  Specifically, the optimal
   configuration for network security device performance may not be the
   most secure, and vice-versa.  Testing security platforms with working
   exploits and malware carries risks.  Ensure proper access controls
   are implemented to prevent unintended exposure to vulnerable networks
   or systems.  The cipher suites recommended in this document are for
   test purposes only.  The cipher suite recommendation for a real
   deployment is outside the scope of this document.

   Security assessment of an NGFW/NGIPS product could also include an
   analysis whether any type of uncommon traffic characteristics would
   have a significant impact on performance.  Such performance impacts
   would allow an attacker to use such specifically crafted traffic as a
   DoS attack to reduce the remaining performance available to other
   traffic through the NGFW/NGIPS.  Such uncommon traffic
   characteristics might include for example IP fragmented traffic,
   specific type of application traffic, or uncommonly high HTTP
   transaction rate traffic.





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10.  Contributors

   The following individuals contributed significantly to the creation
   of this document:

   Alex Samonte, Amritam Putatunda, Aria Eslambolchizadeh, Chao Guo,
   Chris Brown, Cory Ford, David DeSanto, Jurrie Van Den Breekel,
   Michelle Rhines, Mike Jack, Ryan Liles, Samaresh Nair, Stephen
   Goudreault, Tim Carlin, and Tim Otto.

11.  Acknowledgements

   The authors wish to acknowledge the members of NetSecOPEN for their
   participation in the creation of this document.  Additionally, the
   following members need to be acknowledged:

   Anand Vijayan, Chris Marshall, Jay Lindenauer, Michael Shannon, Mike
   Deichman, Ryan Riese, and Toulnay Orkun.

12.  References

12.1.  Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.

12.2.  Informative References

   [fastly]   Oku, K. and J. Iyengar, "Can QUIC match TCP's
              computational efficiency?", 30 April 2020,
              <https://www.fastly.com/blog/measuring-quic-vs-tcp-
              computational-efficiency>.

   [RFC2544]  Bradner, S. and J. McQuaid, "Benchmarking Methodology for
              Network Interconnect Devices", RFC 2544,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2544, March 1999,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2544>.

   [RFC2647]  Newman, D., "Benchmarking Terminology for Firewall
              Performance", RFC 2647, DOI 10.17487/RFC2647, August 1999,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2647>.




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   [RFC3511]  Hickman, B., Newman, D., Tadjudin, S., and T. Martin,
              "Benchmarking Methodology for Firewall Performance",
              RFC 3511, DOI 10.17487/RFC3511, April 2003,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3511>.

   [RFC5180]  Popoviciu, C., Hamza, A., Van de Velde, G., and D.
              Dugatkin, "IPv6 Benchmarking Methodology for Network
              Interconnect Devices", RFC 5180, DOI 10.17487/RFC5180, May
              2008, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5180>.

   [RFC6815]  Bradner, S., Dubray, K., McQuaid, J., and A. Morton,
              "Applicability Statement for RFC 2544: Use on Production
              Networks Considered Harmful", RFC 6815,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC6815, November 2012,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6815>.

   [RFC6890]  Cotton, M., Vegoda, L., Bonica, R., Ed., and B. Haberman,
              "Special-Purpose IP Address Registries", BCP 153,
              RFC 6890, DOI 10.17487/RFC6890, April 2013,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6890>.

   [RFC8200]  Deering, S. and R. Hinden, "Internet Protocol, Version 6
              (IPv6) Specification", STD 86, RFC 8200,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8200, July 2017,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8200>.

   [RFC8446]  Rescorla, E., "The Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol
              Version 1.3", RFC 8446, DOI 10.17487/RFC8446, August 2018,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8446>.

   [RFC9000]  Iyengar, J., Ed. and M. Thomson, Ed., "QUIC: A UDP-Based
              Multiplexed and Secure Transport", RFC 9000,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC9000, May 2021,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9000>.

   [RFC9001]  Thomson, M., Ed. and S. Turner, Ed., "Using TLS to Secure
              QUIC", RFC 9001, DOI 10.17487/RFC9001, May 2021,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9001>.

   [RFC9002]  Iyengar, J., Ed. and I. Swett, Ed., "QUIC Loss Detection
              and Congestion Control", RFC 9002, DOI 10.17487/RFC9002,
              May 2021, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9002>.

   [RFC9113]  Thomson, M., Ed. and C. Benfield, Ed., "HTTP/2", RFC 9113,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC9113, June 2022,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9113>.





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   [RFC9114]  Bishop, M., Ed., "HTTP/3", RFC 9114, DOI 10.17487/RFC9114,
              June 2022, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9114>.

   [RFC9204]  Krasic, C., Bishop, M., and A. Frindell, Ed., "QPACK:
              Field Compression for HTTP/3", RFC 9204,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC9204, June 2022,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9204>.

   [RFC9293]  Eddy, W., Ed., "Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)",
              STD 7, RFC 9293, DOI 10.17487/RFC9293, August 2022,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9293>.

   [Undertow] "An in depth overview of HTTP/2",
              <https://undertow.io/blog/2015/04/27/An-in-depth-overview-
              of-HTTP2.html>.

   [Wiki-NGFW]
              "",
              <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next-generation_firewall>.

Appendix A.  Test Methodology - Security Effectiveness Evaluation

A.1.  Test Objective

   This test methodology verifies the DUT/SUT is able to detect,
   prevent, and report the vulnerabilities.

   In this test, background test traffic will be generated to utilize
   the DUT/SUT.  In parallel, a number of malicious traffic will be sent
   to the DUT/SUT as encrypted and as well as clear text payload formats
   using a traffic generator.  Section 4.2.1 defines the selection of
   the malicious traffic from the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures
   (CVE) list for testing.

   The following KPIs are measured in this test:

   *  Number of blocked CVEs

   *  Number of bypassed (nonblocked) CVEs

   *  Background traffic performance (verify if the background traffic
      is impacted while sending CVE toward DUT/SUT)

   *  Accuracy of DUT/SUT statistics in terms of vulnerabilities
      reporting






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A.2.  Testbed Setup

   The same testbed MUST be used for security effectiveness tests and as
   well as for benchmarking test cases defined in Section 7.

A.3.  Test Parameters

   In this section, the benchmarking test specific parameters are
   defined.

A.3.1.  DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters

   DUT/SUT configuration parameters MUST conform to the requirements
   defined in Section 4.2.  The same DUT configuration MUST be used for
   the security effectiveness test and as well as for benchmarking test
   cases defined in Section 7.  The DUT/SUT MUST be configured in inline
   mode and all detected attack traffic MUST be dropped and the session
   MUST be reset

A.3.2.  Test Equipment Configuration Parameters

   Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
   requirements defined in Section 4.3.  The same client and server IP
   ranges MUST be configured as used in the benchmarking test cases.  In
   addition, the following parameters MUST be documented for this
   benchmarking test:

   *  Background Traffic: 45% of maximum HTTP throughput and 45% of
      Maximum HTTPS throughput supported by the DUT/SUT (measured with
      object size 64 KByte in the benchmarking tests "HTTP(S)
      Throughput" defined in Section 7.3 and Section 7.7).

   *  RECOMMENDED CVE traffic transmission Rate: 10 CVEs per second

   *  It is RECOMMENDED to generate each CVE multiple times
      (sequentially) at 10 CVEs per second

   *  Ciphers and keys for the encrypted CVE traffic MUST use the same
      cipher configured for HTTPS traffic related benchmarking tests
      (Section 7.6 - Section 7.9)

A.4.  Test Results Validation Criteria

   The following criteria are the test results validation criteria.  The
   test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during the whole
   test duration.





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   a.  Number of failed application transactions in the background
       traffic MUST be less than 0.01% of attempted transactions.

   b.  Number of terminated TCP or QUIC connections of the background
       traffic (due to unexpected errors) MUST be less than 0.01% of
       total initiated TCP connections in the background traffic.

   c.  During the sustain phase, traffic MUST be forwarded at a constant
       rate (considered as a constant rate if any deviation of traffic
       forwarding rate is less than 5%).

   d.  False positive MUST NOT occur in the background traffic.

A.5.  Measurement

   The following KPI metrics MUST be reported for this test scenario:

   Mandatory KPIs:

   *  Blocked CVEs: They MUST be represented in the following ways:

      -  Number of blocked CVEs out of total CVEs

      -  Percentage of blocked CVEs

   *  Unblocked CVEs: They MUST be represented in the following ways:

      -  Number of unblocked CVEs out of total CVEs

      -  Percentage of unblocked CVEs

   *  Background traffic behavior: It MUST be represented in one of the
      followings ways:

      -  No impact: Considered as "no impact'" if any deviation of
         traffic forwarding rate is less than or equal to 5 % (constant
         rate)

      -  Minor impact: Considered as "minor impact" if any deviation of
         traffic forwarding rate is greater than 5% and less than or
         equal to10% (i.e. small spikes)

      -  Heavily impacted: Considered as "Heavily impacted" if any
         deviation of traffic forwarding rate is greater than 10% (i.e.
         large spikes) or reduced the background HTTP(S) throughput
         greater than 10%





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   *  DUT/SUT reporting accuracy: DUT/SUT MUST report all detected
      vulnerabilities.

   Optional KPIs:

   *  List of unblocked CVEs

A.6.  Test Procedures and Expected Results

   The test procedure is designed to measure the security effectiveness
   of the DUT/SUT at the sustaining period of the traffic load profile.
   The test procedure consists of two major steps.  This test procedure
   MAY be repeated multiple times with different IPv4 and IPv6 traffic
   distributions.

A.6.1.  Step 1: Background Traffic

   Generate background traffic at the transmission rate defined in
   Appendix A.3.2.

   The DUT/SUT MUST reach the target objective (HTTP(S) throughput) in
   sustain phase.  The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST meet
   all the test results validation criteria defined in Appendix A.4.

   If the KPI metrics do not meet the acceptance criteria, the test
   procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".

A.6.2.  Step 2: CVE Emulation

   While generating background traffic (in sustain phase), send the CVE
   traffic as defined in the parameter section.

   The test equipment MUST start to measure and record all specified
   KPIs.  Continue the test until all CVEs are sent.

   The measured KPIs MUST meet all the test results validation criteria
   defined in Appendix A.4.

   In addition, the DUT/SUT should either report the detected
   vulnerabilities in the log correctly or if, for example, a different
   naming convention is used, there MUST be reference material available
   that will allow for verification that the correct vulnerability was
   detected.  This reference material MUST be cited in the report.








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Appendix B.  DUT/SUT Classification

   This document aims to classify the DUT/SUT into four different
   categories based on its maximum supported firewall throughput
   performance number defined in the vendor datasheet.  This
   classification MAY help users to determine specific configuration
   scales (e.g., number of ACL entries), traffic profiles, and attack
   traffic profiles, scaling those proportionally to DUT/SUT sizing
   category.

   The four different categories are Extra Small (XS), Small (S), Medium
   (M), and Large (L).  The RECOMMENDED throughput values for the
   following categories are:

   Extra Small (XS) - Supported throughput less than or equal to1Gbit/s

   Small (S) - Supported throughput greater than 1Gbit/s and less than
   or equal to 5Gbit/s

   Medium (M) - Supported throughput greater than 5Gbit/s and less than
   or equal to 10Gbit/s

   Large (L) - Supported throughput greater than 10Gbit/s

Authors' Addresses

   Balamuhunthan Balarajah
   Berlin
   Germany
   Email: bm.balarajah@gmail.com


   Carsten Rossenhoevel
   EANTC AG
   Salzufer 14
   10587 Berlin
   Germany
   Email: cross@eantc.de


   Brian Monkman
   NetSecOPEN
   417 Independence Court
   Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
   United States of America
   Email: bmonkman@netsecopen.org





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