QA:Testcase Virtualization XenDomU Network Performance

Description

This test case checks the network performance; relative transfer rates for Dom0 <=> DomU and Dom0 <=> external vs. DomU <=> external.

How to test

1. Start a listener on DomU

   $> nc -l 1234 >/dev/null

   Note: this port may need to be opened on the firewall. Or just drop the firewall for the test ($> /etc/rc.d/init.d/iptables stop)
2. On the host start sending some data

   $> dd if=/dev/zero bs=1M count=3000 | nc <ip-of-guest> 1234

   Capture the MB/s that nc outputs when it completes.
3. Reverse the listener and the sender and compare the rates.
4. Repeat the process but using an external host. Try with the external host as both a listener and sender for both Dom0 and DomU. Compare the rates of Dom0 send/recv vs. DomU send/recv.

Expected Results

1. The transfer rates for DomU will be generally slower than Dom0, even as mush as 30% is expected. Much more than 30% slower may indicate a problem.