Remote Ethernet/IP Testing with PacketExpert™
Overview
Engineers that manage large Ethernet/IP networks must find ways to remotely test and monitor their networks for performance. GL Communications offers PacketExpert™ as a comprehensive Ethernet/IP testing solution with convenient remote access capabilities. PacketExpert™ can be deployed at a remote site and at a local site for an end-to-end network test.
Network tests include:
- RFC 2544 (throughput, loss, latency statistics)
- RFC 6349 (TCP throughput)
- ITU-T Y.1564 (Verify service level agreements such as bandwidth)
- Bit error rate testing
- Multi-stream traffic generation
The PacketExpert™ at the remote site can be left in ‘loopback mode’, i.e. all incoming packets are sent back to the source. The engineer can conveniently leave the remote PacketExpert™ in loopback mode indefinitely and collect all relevant statistics at the local end.
If the network engineer wishes to remotely access PacketExpert™, they can do so through Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). PacketExpert™ is connected to a PC on a management network. This test PC runs Windows 7/10 with RDP enabled and can therefore be easily accessed remotely.
Additionally, PacketExpert™ can be accessed through a command line interface. The remotely deployed PacketExpert™ can run a server and listen for instructions via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Python, C# and TCL APIs are supported. The command line interface allows the engineer to fully automate the testing process.
In the near future, GL will release a software upgrade to PacketExpert™ which will include web browser-based access to all network test modules mentioned above. All common web browsers will be supported. The network engineer simply needs to enter the IP Address of the remotely deployed PacketExpert™ into the browser.
To summarize, PacketExpert™ supports many remote access methods including:
- RDP
- Command line interface
- Web browser access (coming soon)
These remote access methods save the network engineer valuable time and money by eliminating the need to physically visit the remote site repeatedly. For more information, please visit our PacketExpert™ web page.
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