If you lack bonding NICs and/or drivers and OS support, an alternate method for getting both directions of traffic is to feed one fiber interface into a switch port, feed the second fiber interface into a second switch port, then span both to a mirror port. Of course, you'll have to make sure your aggregate traffic doesn't devour your bandwidth, but we've used this method successfully with a Cisco Catalyst 2914.
A well-designed test plan is essential if you want usable results when evaluating multiple products. Like a seasoned carpenter who measures twice and cuts once, you'll find that most of your conceptual thinking and problem-solving happens during the development of the test plan. You'll set the goals of the testing, work out the network design, determine the resources needed, and create a checklist of metrics and their measurements.
To begin, write a problem statement and list the features you require in order of importance. If you started the purchase process with an RFI (Request for Information) or RFP (Request for Proposal), some of this work may be done. The features you want to test are goals to be achieved.
Next, assign measurement metrics to each testing goal. Determining the measurement metrics can be as straightforward as deciding whether to measure in bits per second, sessions per second, sustained sessions, latency or some combination of these. Softer metrics, such as testing integration, will depend on what you're trying to accomplish. For example, you could state that criteria for "good integration" include a well-defined API and support for multiple protocols.
Design your test bed and include all supporting hardware and software. Establish your addressing and routing. Try to make the test mirror your designated installation as closely as possible. For example, if a system under test (SUT) is commonly sandwiched between two routers, put the routers into your test bed.
Send your test plan to colleagues for comment. Ideally, get feedback from the people you're testing for to make sure you're testing the features important to them.
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