SW-581 RFC 2544 Test Report

This page presents the RFC 2544 benchmark test results for the Brainboxes SW-581 2-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 4 February 2026, with a total test duration of 10 hours 4 minutes. Tests used custom frame sizes including IEEE defaults and jumbo frames (64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 1280, 1518, 2048, 4096, 8192, and 9000 bytes) in a full-mesh, bidirectional topology across 2 ports at 1 Gbps.

Result: All Tests Passed

The SW-581 passed all RFC 2544 tests. Throughput reached 99.7% of line rate with zero frame loss across all 11 frame sizes including jumbo frames up to 9000 bytes. Latency was exceptionally low at 1.1–73 µs.

Test	Result
Throughput	Pass — 99.7% line rate, all frame sizes including jumbo
Latency & Jitter	Pass — at 50% and 100% rates
Frame Loss Rate	Pass — 0% at 50% rate; 0.01% at 100% rate
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, 8192, 9000 bytes
Port Count	2
Port Speed	1 Gbps
Test Tool	Xena2544 v2.97
Test Chassis	Abyssinian (S/N 2343912)
Module	Odin-1G-3S-6P (S/N 870628)

Port Configuration

Port ID	Interface Type	Speed	Rate
P-0-0-4	SFP-E 10/100/1000M	Auto	1 Gbps
P-0-0-5	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 60 seconds over 3 iterations, with a binary search from 90–100% line rate and 0% acceptable loss.

The SW-581 achieved 99.688% throughput (within 0.3% of full 2 Gbps aggregate line rate) for all 11 frame sizes with zero frame loss, including jumbo frames up to 9000 bytes.

Frame Size (bytes)	Offered Rate	Tx Rate (L1)	Tx Rate (L2)	Tx (Frames)	Rx (Frames)	Loss	Result
64	99.688%	1.994 Gbps	1.519 Gbps	178,013,280	178,013,280	0	Pass
128	99.688%	1.994 Gbps	1.724 Gbps	101,034,600	101,034,600	0	Pass
256	99.688%	1.994 Gbps	1.849 Gbps	54,177,960	54,177,960	0	Pass
512	99.688%	1.994 Gbps	1.919 Gbps	28,107,360	28,107,360	0	Pass
1024	99.688%	1.994 Gbps	1.956 Gbps	14,322,840	14,322,840	0	Pass
1280	99.688%	1.994 Gbps	1.963 Gbps	11,502,360	11,502,360	0	Pass
1518	99.688%	1.994 Gbps	1.968 Gbps	9,722,400	9,722,400	0	Pass
2048	99.688%	1.994 Gbps	1.974 Gbps	7,230,600	7,230,600	0	Pass
4096	99.688%	1.994 Gbps	1.984 Gbps	3,632,880	3,632,880	0	Pass
8192	99.688%	1.994 Gbps	1.989 Gbps	1,820,880	1,820,880	0	Pass
9000	99.688%	1.994 Gbps	1.989 Gbps	1,657,680	1,657,680	0	Pass

Both bidirectional flows showed identical throughput with zero loss at every frame size.

Per-Port Throughput Results

Both ports produced identical results. Data shown is for port P-0-0-4.

Port P-0-0-4

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx (Frames)	Tx Rate (L1)	Tx Rate (L2)	Tx Rate (fps)	Rx (Frames)
64	89,006,640	996.87 Mbps	759.52 Mbps	1,483,444	89,006,640
128	50,517,300	996.87 Mbps	862.16 Mbps	841,955	50,517,300
256	27,088,980	996.87 Mbps	924.64 Mbps	451,483	27,088,980
512	14,053,680	996.87 Mbps	959.40 Mbps	234,228	14,053,680
1024	7,161,420	996.87 Mbps	977.77 Mbps	119,357	7,161,420
1280	5,751,180	996.87 Mbps	981.53 Mbps	95,853	5,751,180
1518	4,861,200	996.87 Mbps	983.91 Mbps	81,020	4,861,200
2048	3,615,300	996.86 Mbps	987.22 Mbps	60,255	3,615,300
4096	1,816,440	996.86 Mbps	992.02 Mbps	30,274	1,816,440
8192	910,440	996.87 Mbps	994.44 Mbps	15,174	910,440
9000	828,840	996.82 Mbps	994.61 Mbps	13,814	828,840

Port P-0-0-5 — identical results

Port P-0-0-5 produced the same throughput, frame counts, and zero loss as P-0-0-4 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 60 seconds over 3 iterations 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	1.371	1.036	1.737	0.011	0.120	Pass
128	1.883	1.550	2.226	0.013	0.096	Pass
256	2.910	2.576	3.253	0.014	0.096	Pass
512	4.962	4.629	5.305	0.020	0.096	Pass
1024	9.068	8.734	9.411	0.025	0.120	Pass
1280	11.121	10.787	11.463	0.022	0.096	Pass
1518	13.029	12.695	13.372	0.017	0.096	Pass
2048	17.280	16.945	17.621	0.013	0.072	Pass
4096	33.701	33.366	34.019	0.015	0.096	Pass
8192	66.546	66.209	66.885	0.019	0.096	Pass
9000	73.026	72.688	73.364	0.023	0.120	Pass

Per-Port Latency and Jitter at 50% Rate

The two ports show slightly different latencies due to asymmetric forwarding paths. P-0-0-4 consistently measures ~0.55 µs lower than P-0-0-5.

Port P-0-0-4

Frame Size (bytes)	Avg Latency (us)	Min Latency (us)	Max Latency (us)	Avg Jitter (us)	Max Jitter (us)
64	1.097	1.036	1.157	0.011	0.072
128	1.608	1.550	1.670	0.013	0.072
256	2.634	2.576	2.696	0.014	0.072
512	4.687	4.629	4.749	0.020	0.096
1024	8.792	8.734	8.854	0.025	0.120
1280	10.845	10.787	10.907	0.022	0.096
1518	12.753	12.695	12.815	0.017	0.096
2048	17.004	16.945	17.065	0.013	0.072
4096	33.426	33.366	33.486	0.015	0.072
8192	66.270	66.209	66.329	0.019	0.096
9000	72.749	72.688	72.808	0.023	0.096

Port P-0-0-5

Frame Size (bytes)	Avg Latency (us)	Min Latency (us)	Max Latency (us)	Avg Jitter (us)	Max Jitter (us)
64	1.646	1.593	1.737	0.011	0.120
128	2.158	2.106	2.226	0.012	0.096
256	3.185	3.132	3.253	0.013	0.096
512	5.237	5.185	5.305	0.020	0.096
1024	9.343	9.290	9.411	0.024	0.096
1280	11.396	11.343	11.463	0.022	0.096
1518	13.304	13.251	13.372	0.017	0.096
2048	17.556	17.501	17.621	0.013	0.072
4096	33.975	33.922	34.019	0.015	0.096
8192	66.822	66.765	66.885	0.019	0.096
9000	73.302	73.244	73.364	0.023	0.120

Results at 100% Rate

Frame Size (bytes)	Avg Latency (us)	Min Latency (us)	Max Latency (us)	Avg Jitter (us)	Max Jitter (us)	Result
64	1.396	1.036	1.785	0.006	0.096	Pass
128	1.886	1.550	2.226	0.010	0.072	Pass
256	2.912	2.576	3.277	0.012	0.096	Pass
512	4.964	4.629	5.329	0.015	0.120	Pass
1024	9.068	8.734	9.435	0.020	0.120	Pass
1280	11.122	10.787	11.487	0.023	0.120	Pass
1518	13.030	12.695	13.396	0.024	0.120	Pass
2048	17.280	16.945	17.645	0.025	0.120	Pass
4096	33.701	33.366	34.043	0.013	0.096	Pass
8192	66.549	66.209	67.535	0.018	0.697	Pass
9000	73.029	72.688	74.014	0.026	0.745	Pass

Per-Port Latency and Jitter at 100% Rate

Port P-0-0-4

Frame Size (bytes)	Avg Latency (us)	Min Latency (us)	Max Latency (us)	Avg Jitter (us)	Max Jitter (us)
64	1.121	1.036	1.229	0.006	0.096
128	1.611	1.550	1.670	0.010	0.072
256	2.636	2.576	2.696	0.012	0.072
512	4.688	4.629	4.749	0.015	0.072
1024	8.792	8.734	8.854	0.019	0.096
1280	10.845	10.787	10.907	0.022	0.096
1518	12.753	12.695	12.815	0.024	0.096
2048	17.004	16.945	17.065	0.024	0.096
4096	33.425	33.366	33.486	0.012	0.072
8192	66.270	66.209	66.329	0.014	0.096
9000	72.749	72.688	72.808	0.022	0.096

Port P-0-0-5

Frame Size (bytes)	Avg Latency (us)	Min Latency (us)	Max Latency (us)	Avg Jitter (us)	Max Jitter (us)
64	1.671	1.593	1.785	0.006	0.096
128	2.161	2.106	2.226	0.009	0.072
256	3.188	3.132	3.277	0.012	0.096
512	5.240	5.185	5.329	0.015	0.120
1024	9.343	9.290	9.435	0.020	0.120
1280	11.398	11.343	11.487	0.023	0.120
1518	13.306	13.251	13.396	0.024	0.120
2048	17.556	17.501	17.645	0.025	0.120
4096	33.976	33.922	34.043	0.013	0.096
8192	66.827	66.765	67.535	0.022	0.697
9000	73.309	73.244	74.014	0.030	0.745

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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 60 seconds over 3 iterations. No pass/fail criteria were configured.

At 50% rate, the SW-581 achieved zero frame loss across all frame sizes. At 100% rate, a uniform loss of 0.01% was observed across all 11 frame sizes (30,668 total frames lost).

Results at 50% Rate

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx (Frames)	Rx (Frames)	Tx Rate (L1)	Loss (Frames)	Loss Rate	Result
64	89,285,640	89,285,640	1,000 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
128	50,675,640	50,675,640	1,000 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
256	27,173,880	27,173,880	1,000 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
512	14,097,720	14,097,720	1,000 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
1024	7,183,800	7,183,800	999.98 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
1280	5,769,120	5,769,120	999.98 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
1518	4,876,440	4,876,440	1,000 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
2048	3,626,640	3,626,640	999.99 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
4096	1,822,080	1,822,080	999.96 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
8192	913,200	913,200	999.89 Mbps	0	0%	Pass
9000	831,480	831,480	999.99 Mbps	0	0%	Pass

Per-Port Frame Loss at 50% Rate

Both ports transmitted and received equal frame counts with zero loss at 50% rate.

Port P-0-0-4

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx (Frames)	Tx Rate (L1)	Tx Rate (fps)	Rx (Frames)
64	44,642,820	500 Mbps	744,047	44,642,820
128	25,337,820	500 Mbps	422,297	25,337,820
256	13,586,940	500 Mbps	226,449	13,586,940
512	7,048,860	500 Mbps	117,481	7,048,860
1024	3,591,900	499.99 Mbps	59,865	3,591,900
1280	2,884,560	499.99 Mbps	48,076	2,884,560
1518	2,438,220	500 Mbps	40,637	2,438,220
2048	1,813,320	499.99 Mbps	30,222	1,813,320
4096	911,040	499.98 Mbps	15,184	911,040
8192	456,600	499.95 Mbps	7,610	456,600
9000	415,740	500 Mbps	6,929	415,740

Port P-0-0-5 — identical results

Port P-0-0-5 produced the same frame counts and zero loss as P-0-0-4 above.

Results at 100% Rate

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx (Frames)	Rx (Frames)	Tx Rate (L1)	Loss (Frames)	Loss Rate	Result
64	178,571,400	178,557,945	2,000 Mbps	13,455	0.01%	Pass
128	101,351,280	101,343,750	2,000 Mbps	7,530	0.01%	Pass
256	54,347,760	54,343,818	2,000 Mbps	3,942	0.01%	Pass
512	28,195,440	28,193,389	2,000 Mbps	2,051	0.01%	Pass
1024	14,367,720	14,366,669	2,000 Mbps	1,051	0.01%	Pass
1280	11,538,360	11,537,513	2,000 Mbps	847	0.01%	Pass
1518	9,752,880	9,752,162	2,000 Mbps	718	0.01%	Pass
2048	7,253,280	7,252,744	2,000 Mbps	536	0.01%	Pass
4096	3,644,280	3,644,007	2,000 Mbps	273	0.01%	Pass
8192	1,826,520	1,826,381	2,000 Mbps	139	0.01%	Pass
9000	1,662,960	1,662,834	2,000 Mbps	126	0.01%	Pass

Per-Port Frame Loss at 100% Rate

At 100% rate, frame loss was distributed asymmetrically: approximately 75% of lost frames occurred on the P-0-0-4→P-0-0-5 flow, with 25% on the reverse.

Port P-0-0-4

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx (Frames)	Tx Rate (L1)	Tx Rate (fps)	Rx (Frames)
64	89,285,700	1,000 Mbps	1,488,095	89,282,517
128	50,675,640	1,000 Mbps	844,594	50,673,873
256	27,173,880	1,000 Mbps	452,898	27,172,966
512	14,097,720	1,000 Mbps	234,962	14,097,244
1024	7,183,860	999.99 Mbps	119,731	7,183,616
1280	5,769,180	999.99 Mbps	96,153	5,768,983
1518	4,876,440	1,000 Mbps	81,274	4,876,273
2048	3,626,640	999.99 Mbps	60,444	3,626,515
4096	1,822,140	999.99 Mbps	30,369	1,822,076
8192	913,260	999.96 Mbps	15,221	913,227
9000	831,480	999.99 Mbps	13,858	831,450

Port P-0-0-5

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx (Frames)	Tx Rate (L1)	Tx Rate (fps)	Rx (Frames)
64	89,285,700	1,000 Mbps	1,488,095	89,275,427
128	50,675,640	1,000 Mbps	844,594	50,669,876
256	27,173,880	1,000 Mbps	452,898	27,170,851
512	14,097,720	1,000 Mbps	234,962	14,096,144
1024	7,183,860	999.99 Mbps	119,731	7,183,053
1280	5,769,180	999.99 Mbps	96,153	5,768,530
1518	4,876,440	1,000 Mbps	81,274	4,875,889
2048	3,626,640	999.99 Mbps	60,444	3,626,228
4096	1,822,140	999.99 Mbps	30,369	1,821,931
8192	913,260	999.96 Mbps	15,221	913,154
9000	831,480	999.99 Mbps	13,858	831,384

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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 60-second burst over 3 iterations.

Results at 50% Rate

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx Burst (Frames)	Tx Burst (Bytes)	Max Offered Rate (fps)	Max Offered Rate (Gbps)	Result
64	89,285,714	5,714,285,696	1,488,095	1.00	Pass
128	50,675,674	6,486,486,272	844,595	1.00	Pass
256	27,173,912	6,956,521,472	452,899	1.00	Pass
512	14,097,744	7,218,044,928	234,962	1.00	Pass
1024	7,183,908	7,356,321,792	119,732	1.00	Pass
1280	5,769,230	7,384,614,400	96,154	1.00	Pass
1518	4,876,462	7,402,469,316	81,274	1.00	Pass
2048	3,626,692	7,427,465,216	60,445	1.00	Pass
4096	1,822,156	7,463,550,976	30,369	1.00	Pass
8192	913,296	7,481,720,832	15,222	1.00	Pass
9000	831,484	7,483,356,000	13,858	1.00	Pass

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

Each port sustained the full 60-second burst with zero loss at 50% rate.

Port P-0-0-4

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx Burst (Frames)	Tx Burst (Bytes)
64	44,642,857	2,857,142,848
128	25,337,837	3,243,243,136
256	13,586,956	3,478,260,736
512	7,048,872	3,609,022,464
1024	3,591,954	3,678,160,896
1280	2,884,615	3,692,307,200
1518	2,438,231	3,701,234,658
2048	1,813,346	3,713,732,608
4096	911,078	3,731,775,488
8192	456,648	3,740,860,416
9000	415,742	3,741,678,000

Port P-0-0-5 — identical results

Port P-0-0-5 produced the same burst frame counts and zero loss as P-0-0-4 above.

Results at 100% Rate

At 100% rate (full 2 Gbps aggregate), the back-to-back burst sizes were significantly smaller due to the switch's internal buffer limits at full wire speed. All bursts completed with zero loss within the reported burst size.

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx Burst (Frames)	Tx Burst (Bytes)	Max Offered Rate (fps)	Max Offered Rate (Gbps)	Result
64	2,439,986	156,159,104	2,976,190	2.00	Pass
128	2,420,334	309,802,752	1,689,189	2.00	Pass
256	2,415,663	618,409,643	905,797	2.00	Pass
512	1,149,463	588,525,227	469,925	2.00	Pass
1024	520,171	532,655,445	239,464	2.00	Pass
1280	394,556	505,031,680	192,308	2.00	Pass
1518	322,239	489,159,308	162,549	2.00	Pass
2048	205,085	420,013,397	120,890	2.00	Pass
4096	66,803	273,623,723	60,739	2.00	Pass
8192	17,243	141,251,925	30,443	2.00	Pass
9000	17,254	155,286,000	27,716	2.00	Pass

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

Burst frames were split equally between both ports with zero loss.

Port P-0-0-4

Frame Size (bytes)	Tx Burst (Frames)	Tx Burst (Bytes)
64	1,219,993	78,079,552
128	1,210,167	154,901,376
256	1,207,831	309,204,821
512	574,732	294,262,613
1024	260,086	266,327,723
1280	197,278	252,515,840
1518	161,120	244,579,654
2048	102,542	210,006,699
4096	33,401	136,811,861
8192	8,621	70,625,963
9000	8,627	77,643,000

Port P-0-0-5 — identical results

Port P-0-0-5 produced the same burst frame counts and zero loss as P-0-0-4 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. Each test was run for 3 iterations and results averaged to minimise measurement variance. This report extends the standard IEEE frame sizes with jumbo frames (2048, 4096, 8192, and 9000 bytes) to validate jumbo frame support.