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Clients

Overview

To successfully use an OTG-based Traffic Generator, you need to be able to execute the following tasks over the OTG API:

  • Prepare a Configuration and apply it to a Traffic Generator
  • Control states of the configured objects like Protocols or Traffic Flows
  • Collect and analyze Metrics reported by the Traffic Generator

It is a job of an OTG Client to perform these tasks by communicating with a Traffic Generator via the OTG API. There are different types of such clients, and the choice between them depends on how and where you want to use a Traffic Generator.

Command-line Utilities

Command-line utilities are the fastest way to execute an OTG API request, especially in the environment without access to Python or Go development toolchains. They are also the easiest option to use by someone who is just starting with the OTG.

The most basic utility for any kind of REST API calls, including OTG, is curl. But, it leaves all the knowledge of OTG to the user. See the curl section for examples of using it with OTG.

On the other end of the spectrum is otgen. This command-line utility comes as part of OTG toolkit. It is capable of manipulating a wide range of OTG features while hiding a lot of complexity from a user. otgen is an excelent choice for a first time OTG user to become familiar with this ecosystem. It is also a great choice for an advanced user who needs to execute a common OTG scenario in an environment without a development toolchain. Continue reading about this utility in the otgen section.

Standalone Test Programs

Standalone Test Programs can be developed in Python, Go or other programming languages. They might be useful to validate a particular scenario. For example, to measure a packet loss duration caused by an artificially introduced failure in the network. Typically, such programs would be executed directly when needed, sometimes from a shell script. Often, these programs are a part of a Proof of Concept setup, or a technology demonstration.

To make use of the OTG API easier while developing such programs, snappi or gosnappi libraries should be leveraged. To find more information about these libraries follow to:

Testing Frameworks

Testing frameworks like Pytest are an established choice for implementing CI/CD pipelines that should run automatically without human intervention. When applied to network test, these pipelines provide opportunities such as:

  • validate NOS upgrades on network equipment to identify any breaking changes early
  • certify compatibility between layers in a disaggregated whitebox or SDN solution
  • pre-screen network configuration changes to reduce outages

This is the most common category of OTG applications as of today. Most, if not all OTG-based CI/CD pipelines make use of snappi or gosnappi libraries.