SW-084 RFC 2544 Test Report

This page presents the RFC 2544 benchmark test results for the Brainboxes SW-084 5-port Gigabit Ethernet switch. RFC 2544 defines a standardised methodology for benchmarking network interconnect devices, covering throughput, latency, frame loss rate, and back-to-back frame handling.

Testing was performed using the Xena2544 v2.97 automated test suite on 28 January 2026, with a total test duration of 1 hour 33 minutes. Tests used custom frame sizes including standard and jumbo frames (64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 1280, 1518, 2048, 4096, 9000, and 9018 bytes) in a full-mesh, bidirectional topology across all 5 ports at 1 Gbps.

Result: All Tests Passed

The SW-084 passed all RFC 2544 tests. Throughput reached 99.6% of line rate for standard frames (64–4096 bytes) with zero frame loss. Jumbo frames at 9000 and 9018 bytes achieved reduced throughput (50% and 20%) as expected for the full-mesh 5-port topology.

Test	Result
Throughput	Pass — 99.6% line rate for 64–4096 bytes; 50%/20% for 9000/9018 bytes
Latency & Jitter	Pass — at 50% and 100% rates
Frame Loss Rate	Pass — 0% at 50% rate (64–4096); minor loss at jumbo sizes
Back-to-Back	Pass — at 50% and 100% rates

Test Configuration

Parameter	Value
Topology	Mesh
Direction	Bidirectional
Frame Size Type	Custom Sizes
Frame Sizes	64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 1280, 1518, 2048, 4096, 9000, 9018 bytes
Port Count	5
Port Speed	1 Gbps
Test Tool	Xena2544 v2.97
Test Chassis	Abyssinian (S/N 2343912)

Port Configuration

Port ID	Interface Type	Speed	Rate
P-0-2-0	SFP-E 10/100/1000M	Auto	1 Gbps
P-0-2-1	SFP-E 10/100/1000M	Auto	1 Gbps
P-0-2-2	SFP-E 10/100/1000M	Auto	1 Gbps
P-0-2-3	SFP-E 10/100/1000M	Auto	1 Gbps
P-0-2-4	SFP-E	1 Gbit/s	1 Gbps

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Throughput Test

The throughput test determines the maximum rate at which none of the offered frames are dropped by the device. Each frame size was tested for 30 seconds over 1 iteration, with a binary search from 0.1–100% line rate and 0% acceptable loss.

The SW-084 achieved 99.61% throughput for all standard frame sizes (64–4096 bytes) with zero frame loss. For jumbo frames, throughput was limited to 50.05% at 9000 bytes and 20.002% at 9018 bytes, reflecting the switch's internal bandwidth constraints at maximum jumbo frame sizes in a full 5-port mesh.

Frame Size (bytes)	Offered Rate	Tx Rate (L1)	Tx Rate (L2)	Tx (Frames)	Rx (Frames)	Loss	Result
64	99.61%	4.980 Gbps	3.795 Gbps	222,343,200	222,343,200	0	Pass
128	99.61%	4.980 Gbps	4.307 Gbps	126,194,400	126,194,400	0	Pass
256	99.61%	4.980 Gbps	4.620 Gbps	67,669,200	67,669,200	0	Pass
512	99.61%	4.980 Gbps	4.793 Gbps	35,106,600	35,106,600	0	Pass
1024	99.61%	4.980 Gbps	4.885 Gbps	17,889,600	17,889,600	0	Pass
1280	99.61%	4.980 Gbps	4.904 Gbps	14,366,400	14,366,400	0	Pass
1518	99.61%	4.980 Gbps	4.916 Gbps	12,143,400	12,143,400	0	Pass
2048	99.61%	4.980 Gbps	4.932 Gbps	9,031,200	9,031,200	0	Pass
4096	99.61%	4.980 Gbps	4.956 Gbps	4,537,200	4,537,200	0	Pass
9000	50.05%	2.501 Gbps	2.496 Gbps	1,039,800	1,039,800	0	Pass
9018	20.002%	999.24 Mbps	997.03 Mbps	414,600	414,600	0	Pass

All 20 bidirectional port-to-port flows showed identical throughput with zero loss at every frame size.

Per-Port Throughput Results

All 5 ports produced identical results. Data shown is for port P-0-2-0.

Port P-0-2-0

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx (Frames)	Tx Rate (L1)	Tx Rate (L2)	Tx Rate (fps)	Rx (Frames)
64	44,468,640	996.10 Mbps	758.93 Mbps	1,482,288	44,468,640
128	25,238,880	996.09 Mbps	861.49 Mbps	841,296	25,238,880
256	13,533,840	996.09 Mbps	923.91 Mbps	451,128	13,533,840
512	7,021,320	996.09 Mbps	958.64 Mbps	234,044	7,021,320
1024	3,577,920	996.09 Mbps	977.01 Mbps	119,264	3,577,920
1280	2,873,280	996.07 Mbps	980.75 Mbps	95,776	2,873,280
1518	2,428,680	996.08 Mbps	983.13 Mbps	80,956	2,428,680
2048	1,806,240	996.08 Mbps	986.45 Mbps	60,208	1,806,240
4096	907,440	996.01 Mbps	991.17 Mbps	30,248	907,440
9000	207,960	500.21 Mbps	499.10 Mbps	6,932	207,960
9018	82,920	199.85 Mbps	199.41 Mbps	2,764	82,920

Ports P-0-2-1 through P-0-2-4 — identical results

All remaining 4 ports produced the same throughput, frame counts, and zero loss as P-0-2-0 above.

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Latency and Jitter Test

The latency and jitter test measures forwarding delay and its variation across frame sizes. Tests were run for 1 second over 1 iteration using last-to-last latency mode, relative to the throughput test results. Testing was performed at both 50% and 100% of line rate.

Results at 50% Rate

Frame Size (bytes)	Avg Latency (us)	Min Latency (us)	Max Latency (us)	Avg Jitter (us)	Max Jitter (us)	Result
64	1.604	1.036	3.228	0.073	1.587	Pass
128	2.075	1.550	4.099	0.027	2.140	Pass
256	3.543	2.576	6.858	0.038	3.800	Pass
512	5.645	4.629	12.398	0.056	7.384	Pass
1024	10.347	8.734	22.614	0.066	13.494	Pass
1280	14.237	10.787	37.319	0.170	26.508	Pass
1518	16.611	12.695	34.176	0.070	21.432	Pass
2048	22.397	16.945	46.652	0.122	29.659	Pass
4096	38.741	33.366	84.819	0.197	47.123	Pass
9000	78.939	72.712	140.790	0.094	67.521	Pass
9018	73.347	72.832	136.580	0.122	63.167	Pass

Per-Port Latency and Jitter at 50% Rate

Port P-0-2-0

Frame Size (bytes)	Avg Latency (us)	Min Latency (us)	Max Latency (us)	Avg Jitter (us)	Max Jitter (us)
64	1.482	1.036	2.408	0.042	0.865
128	2.079	1.550	4.099	0.028	2.140
256	3.196	2.576	5.174	0.037	2.188
512	5.830	4.629	12.398	0.070	7.384
1024	10.093	8.734	22.614	0.058	13.494
1280	12.881	10.787	30.295	0.120	10.584
1518	15.530	12.719	32.203	0.065	12.316
2048	20.170	16.945	43.164	0.138	15.346
4096	34.754	33.366	77.122	0.229	32.979
9000	73.199	72.712	139.945	0.119	66.824
9018	73.153	72.856	73.289	0.015	0.072

Port P-0-2-4

Frame Size (bytes)	Avg Latency (us)	Min Latency (us)	Max Latency (us)	Avg Jitter (us)	Max Jitter (us)
64	2.009	1.569	3.228	0.130	1.587
128	2.204	2.082	3.116	0.024	0.986
256	3.708	3.108	5.369	0.036	2.188
512	5.695	5.161	8.937	0.046	3.728
1024	10.771	9.266	22.015	0.069	6.903
1280	14.372	11.319	29.047	0.124	17.391
1518	17.983	13.251	33.096	0.083	14.120
2048	22.958	17.501	41.508	0.100	16.718
4096	40.001	33.898	57.520	0.165	23.477
9000	73.330	73.220	140.790	0.088	67.521
9018	73.574	73.388	136.580	0.289	63.167

Ports P-0-2-1, P-0-2-2, P-0-2-3

Latency values for the remaining ports fell within the same range, with average latencies varying by less than ±20% across all 5 ports.

Results at 100% Rate

Frame Size (bytes)	Avg Latency (us)	Min Latency (us)	Max Latency (us)	Avg Jitter (us)	Max Jitter (us)	Result
64	1.985	1.036	2.961	0.016	1.250	Pass
128	2.912	1.550	4.271	0.045	2.044	Pass
256	3.929	2.576	6.861	0.021	2.213	Pass
512	7.759	4.629	12.976	0.024	4.281	Pass
1024	13.543	8.734	21.988	0.015	8.371	Pass
1280	15.104	10.787	24.065	0.022	8.347	Pass
1518	18.769	12.695	33.286	0.023	12.340	Pass
2048	24.521	16.945	37.993	0.019	15.707	Pass
4096	50.860	33.366	88.091	0.028	32.930	Pass
9000	89.514	72.712	145.192	0.120	72.116	Pass
9018	85.836	72.856	138.071	0.374	64.635	Pass

Per-Port Latency and Jitter at 100% Rate

Port P-0-2-0

Frame Size (bytes)	Avg Latency (us)	Min Latency (us)	Max Latency (us)	Avg Jitter (us)	Max Jitter (us)
64	1.982	1.036	2.576	0.015	0.673
128	2.458	1.550	3.209	0.065	1.250
256	3.907	2.576	5.222	0.021	1.323
512	7.539	4.653	10.282	0.025	2.020
1024	14.009	8.734	18.404	0.015	8.347
1280	15.585	10.787	19.759	0.020	8.298
1518	17.294	12.719	22.750	0.022	9.742
2048	22.258	16.969	26.134	0.019	8.731
4096	44.746	33.366	54.462	0.022	20.085
9000	88.738	72.712	118.849	0.085	46.040
9018	84.479	72.856	121.976	0.219	49.071

Port P-0-2-4

Frame Size (bytes)	Avg Latency (us)	Min Latency (us)	Max Latency (us)	Avg Jitter (us)	Max Jitter (us)
64	2.225	1.569	2.892	0.016	0.697
128	3.334	2.082	4.271	0.066	2.044
256	4.642	3.132	6.861	0.020	2.213
512	7.158	5.161	8.817	0.026	2.790
1024	14.594	9.290	18.624	0.016	8.371
1280	15.201	11.343	19.955	0.022	8.347
1518	15.869	13.227	19.145	0.024	5.725
2048	25.382	17.501	33.594	0.019	15.707
4096	51.202	33.922	64.616	0.038	29.467
9000	78.567	73.244	145.192	0.068	71.635
9018	88.914	73.388	138.071	0.312	64.635

Ports P-0-2-1, P-0-2-2, P-0-2-3

Latency values for the remaining ports fell within the same range as P-0-2-0 and P-0-2-4 above.

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Frame Loss Rate Test

The frame loss rate test measures the percentage of frames that are not forwarded by the device under steady-state conditions. Each frame size was tested for 1 second over 1 iteration. No pass/fail criteria were configured.

At 50% rate, the SW-084 achieved zero frame loss for frame sizes 64–4096 bytes. Minor loss was observed at 9000 bytes (12 frames, 0.03%) and 9018 bytes (39 frames, 0.11%). At 100% rate, zero loss was seen for 64–1024 bytes, with increasing loss at larger jumbo frame sizes — reaching 29.52% at 9000 bytes and 31.19% at 9018 bytes at full line rate.

Results at 50% Rate

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx (Frames)	Rx (Frames)	Tx Rate (L1)	Loss (Frames)	Loss Rate	Result
64	3,720,220	3,720,220	2,500 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
128	2,111,480	2,111,480	2,500 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
256	1,132,240	1,132,240	2,500 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
512	587,400	587,400	2,500 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
1024	299,320	299,320	2,500 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
1280	240,380	240,380	2,500 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
1518	203,180	203,180	2,500 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
2048	151,100	151,100	2,500 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
4096	75,920	75,920	2,500 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
9000	34,640	34,628	2,500 Mbps	12	0.03%	Pass
9018	34,560	34,521	2,499 Mbps	39	0.11%	Pass

Per-Port Frame Loss at 50% Rate

All 5 ports showed zero loss for 64–4096 bytes. Minor loss at 9000 and 9018 bytes was distributed across specific port combinations.

Port P-0-2-0

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx (Frames)	Tx Rate (L1)	Tx Rate (fps)	Rx (Frames)
64	744,044	500 Mbps	744,044	744,044
128	422,296	500 Mbps	422,296	422,296
256	226,448	500 Mbps	226,448	226,448
512	117,480	499.99 Mbps	117,480	117,480
1024	59,864	499.98 Mbps	59,864	59,864
1280	48,076	499.99 Mbps	48,076	48,076
1518	40,636	499.99 Mbps	40,636	40,636
2048	30,220	499.96 Mbps	30,220	30,220
4096	15,184	499.98 Mbps	15,184	15,184
9000	6,928	499.92 Mbps	6,928	6,922
9018	6,912	499.77 Mbps	6,912	6,912

Ports P-0-2-1 through P-0-2-4

All remaining ports showed zero loss for standard frames. At 9000 and 9018 bytes, individual port loss varied slightly (0–6 frames per port).

Results at 100% Rate

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx (Frames)	Rx (Frames)	Tx Rate (L1)	Loss (Frames)	Loss Rate	Result
64	7,440,460	7,440,360	5,000 Mbps	100	< 0.01%	Pass
128	4,222,960	4,222,960	5,000 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
256	2,264,480	2,264,480	5,000 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
512	1,174,800	1,174,800	5,000 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
1024	598,640	598,640	5,000 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
1280	480,760	480,294	5,000 Mbps	466	0.10%	Pass
1518	406,360	406,066	5,000 Mbps	294	0.07%	Pass
2048	302,220	302,059	5,000 Mbps	161	0.05%	Pass
4096	151,840	151,834	5,000 Mbps	6	< 0.01%	Pass
9000	69,280	48,828	4,999 Mbps	20,452	29.52%	Pass
9018	69,140	47,575	4,999 Mbps	21,565	31.19%	Pass

note

The high frame loss at 9000 and 9018 bytes at 100% rate is expected. The frame loss test sends at full line rate regardless of throughput results. Since the throughput test found the switch can only forward 9000-byte frames at ~50% rate across all 5 ports, sending at 100% exceeds the switch's forwarding capacity for jumbo frames. Standard frame sizes (64–4096 bytes) showed negligible loss.

Per-Port Frame Loss at 100% Rate

For standard frames, loss was zero or negligible across all ports. The significant jumbo frame loss at 100% rate was distributed across all ports, concentrated on port P-0-2-4 which received the highest loss.

Port P-0-2-0

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx (Frames)	Tx Rate (L1)	Tx Rate (fps)	Rx (Frames)
64	1,488,092	1,000 Mbps	1,488,092	1,488,074
128	844,592	1,000 Mbps	844,592	844,592
256	452,896	999.99 Mbps	452,896	452,896
512	234,960	999.99 Mbps	234,960	234,960
1024	119,728	999.97 Mbps	119,728	119,728
1280	96,152	999.98 Mbps	96,152	96,152
1518	81,272	999.97 Mbps	81,272	81,272
2048	60,444	999.99 Mbps	60,444	60,444
4096	30,368	999.96 Mbps	30,368	30,367
9000	13,856	999.85 Mbps	13,856	10,451
9018	13,828	999.82 Mbps	13,828	9,283

Ports P-0-2-1 through P-0-2-4

All ports showed the same pattern: zero/negligible loss for standard frames, significant loss for 9000 and 9018 bytes at full rate.

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Back-to-Back Test

The back-to-back test measures the maximum number of frames that can be sent at a given rate without any frame loss. Each frame size was tested with a 1-second burst over 1 iteration.

Results at 50% Rate

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx Burst (Frames)	Tx Burst (Bytes)	Max Offered Rate (fps)	Max Offered Rate (Gbps)	Result
64	3,720,220	238,094,080	3,720,220	2.50	Pass
128	2,111,480	270,269,440	2,111,480	2.50	Pass
256	1,132,240	289,853,440	1,132,240	2.50	Pass
512	587,400	300,748,800	587,400	2.50	Pass
1024	299,320	306,503,680	299,320	2.50	Pass
1280	240,380	307,686,400	240,380	2.50	Pass
1518	203,180	308,427,240	203,180	2.50	Pass
2048	151,100	309,452,800	151,100	2.50	Pass
4096	75,920	310,968,320	75,920	2.50	Pass
9000	9,740	87,660,000	34,640	1.25	Pass
9018	260	2,344,680	34,560	2.50	Pass

Per-Port Back-to-Back at 50% Rate

Burst frames were distributed equally across all 5 ports.

Port P-0-2-0

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx Burst (Frames)	Tx Burst (Bytes)
64	744,044	47,618,816
128	422,296	54,053,888
256	226,448	57,970,688
512	117,480	60,149,760
1024	59,864	61,300,736
1280	48,076	61,537,280
1518	40,636	61,685,448
2048	30,220	61,890,560
4096	15,184	62,193,664
9000	1,948	17,532,000
9018	52	468,936

Ports P-0-2-1 through P-0-2-4 — identical results

All remaining 4 ports produced the same burst frame counts as P-0-2-0 above.

Results at 100% Rate

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx Burst (Frames)	Tx Burst (Bytes)	Max Offered Rate (fps)	Max Offered Rate (Gbps)	Result
64	5,572,180	356,619,520	7,440,460	5.00	Pass
128	4,222,960	540,538,880	4,222,960	5.00	Pass
256	2,264,480	579,706,880	2,264,480	5.00	Pass
512	1,174,800	601,497,600	1,174,800	5.00	Pass
1024	598,640	613,007,360	598,640	5.00	Pass
1280	480,760	615,372,800	480,760	5.00	Pass
1518	284,520	431,901,360	406,360	5.00	Pass
2048	124,840	255,672,320	302,220	5.00	Pass
4096	76,200	312,115,200	151,840	5.00	Pass
9000	800	7,200,000	69,280	5.00	Pass
9018	800	7,214,400	69,140	5.00	Pass

Per-Port Back-to-Back at 100% Rate

Burst frames were distributed equally across all 5 ports. At 100% rate, jumbo frame burst sizes were very small (160 frames per port for 9000/9018 bytes).

Port P-0-2-0

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx Burst (Frames)	Tx Burst (Bytes)
64	1,114,436	71,323,904
128	844,592	108,107,776
256	452,896	115,941,376
512	234,960	120,299,520
1024	119,728	122,601,472
1280	96,152	123,074,560
1518	56,904	86,380,272
2048	24,968	51,134,464
4096	15,240	62,423,040
9000	160	1,440,000
9018	160	1,442,880

Ports P-0-2-1 through P-0-2-4 — identical results

All remaining 4 ports produced the same burst frame counts as P-0-2-0 above.

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About This Test

RFC 2544 defines a standardised benchmarking methodology for network interconnect devices. The tests cover:

• Throughput — maximum rate at which no frames are lost
• Latency — forwarding delay at various frame sizes and rates
• Frame Loss Rate — percentage of frames lost under load
• Back-to-Back — maximum burst length the device can handle without loss

Testing was performed using the Xena2544 automated test suite with 1 iteration per test. This report extends the standard IEEE frame sizes with jumbo frames (2048, 4096, 9000, and 9018 bytes) to validate jumbo frame support. The reduced throughput at 9000 and 9018 bytes reflects the switch's forwarding capacity when handling maximum-size jumbo frames across all 5 ports simultaneously.