Report: GSO release notes
[csit.git] / docs / report / vpp_performance_tests / csit_release_notes.rst
index 0318e7a..eff392d 100644 (file)
@@ -4,82 +4,100 @@ Release Notes
 Changes in |csit-release|
 -------------------------
 
-#. **VPP Performance Tests**
+#. VPP PERFORMANCE TESTS
 
-   - **MRR Throughput**: MRR (Maximum Receive Rate) test code has now
-     configurable trial duration and number of consecutive executions.
-     Coverage of MRR tests has been extended across more test
-     scenarios. MRR tests are used for continuous performance trending
-     and for comparison between VPP releases.
+   - CSIT test environment is versioned, see
+     :ref:`test_environment_versioning`.
 
-   - **MLRsearch Throughput**: MLRsearch algorithm has been introduced
-     for all NDR and PDR throughput tests. All tests that previously
-     used binary search got converted to MLRsearch. Coverage of NDR/PDR
-     tests has been extended across more test scenarios.
+   - **GENEVE tests**: Added VPP performance tests for GENEVE tunnels.
+     See :ref:`geneve_methodology` for more details.
 
-   - **L2patch Tests**: Tests measure performance of VPP L2patch, the
-     fastest L2 forwarding path implemented in VPP, that cross-links
-     RX and TX of two physical interfaces.
 
-   - **2-Node Tests**: A new baseline set of 2-node tests covering base
-     ip4, ip6, l2patch, l2bd, l2xc, running on new Xeon Skylake
-     testbeds.
+   - **GSO tests**: Added VPP performance tests for GSOtap and GSOvirtio.
+     All tested topologies are compared with GSO enabled and disabled.
+     In |csit-release| there is only 1t1c tests running.
+     See :ref:`gso_methodology` for more details.
 
-   - **Generated tests**: Simplified and unified test structure, semi-
-     autogenerated by generator script. Test generator is currently
-     able to create test combinations with various frame size and
-     cores combinations. All existing test cases were converted to new
-     format.
 
-   - **Simultaneous Multi-Threading**: SMT-aware detection of server
-     processor operation mode (HyperThreading enabled/disabled) with
-     associated compute resource configuration including thread
-     affinity, number of Rx queues and DPDK I/O mbufs. Tests are
-     automatically tagged during execution to indicate executed thread
-     configuration.
+   - **NAT44 tests**: Added new test type, pure throughput tests.
+     They are similar to PPS tests, but they employ ramp-up trials
+     to ensure all sessions are created (and not timing out)
+     for performance trials.
 
-   - **Intel Xeon Skylake Support**: Support for 2-Node and 3-Node
-     physical testbed topologies based on the new SuperMirco servers
-     each with two Intel Xeon Skylake Platinum processors. Full
-     Ansible playbooks refactor for quick server (re)installation and
-     reference pointers of configuration.
+   - **Jumbo for ipsec**: Test cases with 9000 byte frames are re-enabled
+     in ipsec suites.
 
-#. **Presentation and Analytics Layer**
+   - **Randomized profiles**: Improved repeatability and cycle length.
+     For details, see :ref:`packet_flow_ordering`.
 
-   - **Performance trending**: Further improved continuous performance
-     trending with anomaly detection and analysis.
+   - **Arm 2n-tx2 testbed**: New physical testbed type installed in
+     FD.io CSIT, with VPP and DPDK performance data added to CSIT
+     trending and this report.
 
-#. **Test Framework Optimizations**
+   - **Framework speedup**: Shortened overall test job duration
+     by using a different test selection mechanism (using --test
+     instead of --include) and by avoiding unnecessary PAPI reconnects.
 
-   - **General Code Housekeeping**: Ongoing RF keywords optimizations,
-     removal of redundant RF keywords.
+#. TEST FRAMEWORK
+
+   - **TRex ASTF**: Improved capability to run TRex in advanced stateful mode.
+
+   - **CSIT PAPI support**: Due to issues with PAPI performance, VAT is
+     still used in CSIT for all VPP scale tests. See known issues below.
+
+   - **General Code Housekeeping**: Ongoing code optimizations,
+     speed ups and bug fixes.
+
+#. PRESENTATION AND ANALYTICS LAYER
+
+   - **Graphs improvements**: Updated Packet Latency graphs,
+     see :ref:`latency_methodology`.
+
+.. raw:: latex
+
+    \clearpage
+
+.. _vpp_known_issues:
 
 Known Issues
 ------------
 
 List of known issues in |csit-release| for VPP performance tests:
 
-+---+-----------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
-| # | JiraID                                  | Issue Description                                                                                                               |
-+===+=========================================+=================================================================================================================================+
-| 1 | `CSIT-570                               | Sporadic (1 in 200) NDR discovery test failures on x520. DPDK reporting rx-errors, indicating L1 issue.                         |
-|   | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/CSIT-570>`_  | Suspected issue with HW combination of X710-X520 in LF testbeds. Not observed outside of LF testbeds.                           |
-+---+-----------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
-| 2 | `VPP-1361                               | High failure rate of api call sw_interface_set_flags [admin-up|link-up].                                                        |
-|   | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/VPP-1361>`_  | Failure rate: 30-40% of tests failing due to interfaces not in link-up state after API call sw_interface_set_flags.             |
-+---+-----------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
-| 3 | `CSIT-1234                              | VPP IPSecHW scale interface mode 1core, low NDR and PDR 64B throughput in 3n-hsw testbeds, in CSIT-18.07 vs. CSIT-18.04.        |
-|   | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/CSIT-1234>`_ | ip4ipsecscale1000tnl-ip4base-int 1core CSIT-18.07/18.04 relative change: NDR -31%, PDR -32%, MRR -38%.                          |
-+---+-----------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
-| 4 | `CSIT-1242                              | VPP xl710 ip4base test 1core, low NDR and PDR 64B throughput in 3n-hsw testbeds, in CSIT-18.07 vs. CSIT-18.04.                  |
-|   | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/CSIT-1242>`_ | xl710 ip4base 1core CSIT-18.07/18.04 relative change: NDR -29%, high stdev.                                                     |
-+---+-----------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
-| 5 | `CSIT-1243                              | VPP nat44 base test 2core, low NDR and PDR 64B throughput in 3n-skx testbeds, compared to 3n-hsw testbeds.                      |
-|   | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/CSIT-1243>`_ | ip4base-nat44 2core 3n-skx/3n-hsw relative change: NDR -19%, PDR -22%.                                                          |
-+---+-----------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
-| 6 | `CSIT-1244                              | VPP lispip4 base test 2core, low NDR and PDR 64B throughput in 3n-skx testbeds, compared to 3n-hsw testbeds.                    |
-|   | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/CSIT-1244>`_ | ip4lispip4-ip4base 2core 3n-skx/3n-hsw relative change: NDR -11%, PDR -18%.                                                     |
-+---+-----------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
-| 7 | `CSIT-1245                              | VPP srv6proxy-stat and srv6proxy-masq, much higher NDR and PDR 78B throughput in 3n-hsw testbeds, in CSIT-18.07 vs. CSIT-18.04. |
-|   | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/CSIT-1245>`_ | Due to wrong test suite configuration in dynamic-proxy mode. Artefact of suite code refactoring.                                |
-+---+-----------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
++----+-----------------------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| #  | JiraID                                  | Issue Description                                                                                         |
++====+=========================================+===========================================================================================================+
+|  1 | `CSIT-570                               | Sporadic (1 in 200) NDR discovery test failures on x520. DPDK reporting rx-errors, indicating L1 issue.   |
+|    | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/CSIT-570>`_  | Suspected issue with HW combination of X710-X520 in LF testbeds. Not observed outside of LF testbeds.     |
++----+-----------------------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+|  2 | `VPP-662                                | 9000B packets not supported by NICs VIC1227 and VIC1387.                                                  |
+|    | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/VPP-662>`_   |                                                                                                           |
++----+-----------------------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+|  3 | `CSIT-1763                              | Adapt ramp-up phase of nat44 tests for different frame sizes.                                             |
+|    | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/CSIT-1763>`_ | Currently ramp-up phase rate and duration values are correctly set for tests with 64B frame size.         |
++----+-----------------------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+|  4 | `CSIT-1671                              | All CSIT scale tests can not use PAPI due to much slower performance compared to VAT/CLI (it takes much   |
+|    | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/CSIT-1671>`_ | longer to program VPP). This needs to be addressed on the PAPI side.                                      |
+|    +-----------------------------------------+ The usual PAPI library spends too much time parsing arguments, so even with async processing (hundreds of |
+|    | `VPP-1763                               | commands in flight over socket), the VPP configuration for large scale tests (millions of messages) takes |
+|    | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/VPP-1763>`_  | too long.                                                                                                 |
++----+-----------------------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+|  5 | `VPP-1934                               | [i40e] Interfaces are not brought up from carrier-down.                                                   |
+|    | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/VPP-1934>`_  | In case of i40e -based interface (e.g Intel x700 series NIC) is bound to kernel driver (i40e) and is in   |
+|    |                                         | state "no-carrier" (<NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP>) because previously it was disabled via           |
+|    |                                         | "I40E_AQ_PHY_LINK_ENABLED" call, then VPP during initialization of AVF interface is not re-enabling       |
+|    |                                         | interface link via i40e driver to up.                                                                     |
+|    |                                         | CSIT implemented `workaround for AVF interface <https://gerrit.fd.io/r/c/csit/+/29086>`_ until fixed.     |
++----+-----------------------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+Root Cause Analysis for Performance Changes
+-------------------------------------------
+
+List of RCAs in |csit-release| for VPP performance changes:
+
++----+-----------------------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| #  | JiraID                                  | Issue Description                                                                                         |
++====+=========================================+===========================================================================================================+
+|  1 | `VPP-1972                               | One VPP change has decreased performance of NAT44ed processing, both slow path and fast path.             |
+|    | <https://jira.fd.io/browse/VPP-1972>`   |                                                                                                           |
++----+-----------------------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+