# US 2019/0173764 A1 · Sdn control plane performance testing > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0173764 A1 - Document ID: US20190173764A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/833,798 - Filed: 2017-12-06 - Published: 2019-06-06 - Earliest claimed: 2017-12-06 - Assignees: Nokia Technologies Oy - Applicants: Nokia Technologies Oy - Inventors: Catello Di Martino - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190173764A1 ## CPC - H04L 41/145: {involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network} - H04L 41/122: of virtualised topologies, e.g. software-defined networks [SDN] or network function virtualisation [NFV] - H04L 41/24: {using dedicated network management hardware} - H04L 43/50: Testing arrangements - H04L 41/342: between virtual entities, e.g. orchestrators, SDN or NFV entities - H04L 41/344: Out-of-band transfers - H04L 41/40: using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract The present disclosure generally discloses a performance testing capability configured for performance testing in communication networks. The performance testing capability may be configured to support in-production performance testing in communication networks. The performance testing capability may be configured to support in-production performance testing in Software Defined Networking (SDN) based communication networks. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An apparatus, comprising: a processor and a memory communicatively connected to the processor, the processor configured to support testing of a software defined network (SDN) comprising an SDN data plane and an SDN control plane, the processor configured to: receive, based on querying of the SDN control plane, a description of a topology of the SDN data plane; and configure, based on the description of the topology of the SDN data plane, a cloned SDN data plane configured to emulate the SDN data plane. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the description of the topology of the SDN data plane comprises a description of hosts of the SDN data plane, a description of SDN switches of the SDN data plane, and a description of links between SDN switches of the SDN data plane. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to receive the description of the topology of the SDN data plane via a control plane switch configured to support port mirroring for a set of ports communicatively connected to the SDN control plane. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the description of the topology of the SDN data plane comprises an address of a SDN controller of the SDN control plane, wherein, to configure the cloned SDN data plane configured to emulate the SDN data plane, the processor is configured to: request creation of a virtual resource configured to host a cloned SDN control plane configured to emulate the SDN control plane; and configure a set of cloned SDN switches of the cloned SDN data plane with an address of the virtual resource configured to host the cloned SDN control plane configured to emulate the SDN control plane. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: receive control plane state information of an SDN controller of the SDN control plane; and configure, based on the control plane state information of the SDN controller of the SDN control plane, a cloned SDN controller configured to emulate the SDN controller of the SDN control plane. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to receive the control plane state information of the SDN controller of the SDN control plane via a control plane switch configured to support port mirroring for a set of ports communicatively connected to the SDN control plane. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to: receive a mirrored service request comprising a mirrored version of a request for a service issued for the SDN; and send the mirrored service request to the cloned SDN controller. ### Claim 8 A method, comprising: receiving, by a processor based on querying of software defined network (SDN) control plane of an SDN comprising the SDN control plane and an SDN data plane, a description of a topology of the SDN data plane; and configuring, by the processor based on the description of the topology of the SDN data plane, a cloned SDN data plane configured to emulate the SDN data plane. ### Claim 9 An apparatus, comprising: a processor and a memory communicatively connected to the processor, the processor configured to support testing of a software defined network (SDN) comprising an SDN data plane and an SDN control plane, the processor configured to: receive, from a control plane switch, a mirrored service request associated with a service request associated with the SDN; and send the mirrored service request toward a cloned SDN controller configured to emulate an SDN controller of the SDN control plane. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to: set a port of the control plane switch to tag traffic from the SDN control plane with a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) identifier different than a VLAN Identifier used in the SDN. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to: create a set of virtual network cards corresponding to a set of SDN controller instances providing the SDN controller of the SDN control plane. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the virtual network cards are created to have Internet Protocol (IP) addresses matching respective IP addresses of the respective SDN controller instance and a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) identifier different than a VLAN identifier associated with the SDN controller instances. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to: connect the virtual network cards to a control plane switch configured to support port mirroring for a set of ports communicatively connected to the SDN control plane. ### Claim 14 (depends on 9) The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to: create a testing control plane switch configured to support sending of the mirrored service request toward the cloned SDN controller configured to emulate the SDN controller of the SDN control plane. ### Claim 15 (depends on 9) The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to: receive, based on querying of the SDN control plane, a description of a topology of the SDN data plane; and configure, based on the description of the topology of the SDN data plane, a cloned SDN data plane configured to emulate the SDN data plane. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is configured to receive the description of the topology of the SDN data plane via the control plane switch. ### Claim 17 (depends on 9) The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to: receive control plane state information of the SDN controller of the SDN control plane; and configure, based on the control plane state information of the SDN controller of the SDN control plane, the cloned SDN controller configured to emulate the SDN controller of the SDN control plane. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processor is configured to receive the control plane state information of the SDN controller of the SDN control plane via the control plane switch. ### Claim 19 (depends on 9) The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to: generate, based a description of a test to be performed, a synthetic service request; and send the synthetic service request toward a cloned SDN controller configured to emulate the SDN controller of the SDN control plane. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to send the synthetic service request based on at least one of a steady-state response mode, an impulse response mode, or a probabilistic response mode. ### Claim 21 A method, comprising: receiving, by a processor from a control plane switch, a mirrored service request associated with a service request associated with a software defined network (SDN) comprising an SDN data plane and an SDN control plane; and sending, by the processor, the mirrored service request toward a cloned SDN controller configured to emulate an SDN controller of the SDN control plane. ### Claim 22 An apparatus, comprising: a processor and a memory communicatively connected to the processor, the processor configured to: receive a service request for a service associated with a software defined network (SDN) comprising an SDN controller and an SDN data plane; and send the service request toward the SDN controller of the SDN and toward a set of testing resources supporting a cloned SDN configured to emulate the SDN.