Date: Fri, 30 Aug 1996 15:59:23 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Dillon <michael@memra.com> To: nanog@merit.edu Subject: Re: Agenda for next NANOG [...] What would it take to set up a couple of Alphas, routers and zero-mile T1's in a portable testing kit to go around from NAP to NAP and run tests? [...] Such machines could run a full suite of tests including FTP'ing large files, downloading complex web pages (i.e. multiple images) as well as the lower level things like ping tests.
This kind of test would provide useful numbers that customers can understand as well as point out problem areas that a NAP operator might need to investigate. And with co-operative NAP peers, the same test kit could be used with T1's out to various locations that feed into the NAP so as to run the same tests across the peer's routers and lines.
Would this kind of testing reveal any useful information that could not be gotten from examining router stats?
Actually, it would be nice if this "portable test kit" were actually an optional board for a router. You could, for example, stick the "portable test kit" board in a router and then test at will. We also tried to explain to our ATM tester vendors that we wanted ttcp implemented in the ATM tester. Some understood, some didn't... -tjs