CallGen
CallGen (4.1.0T) is a Cisco IOS-based bulk call generation tool implemented through extensions to the
regular Cisco IOS image, which provides commands and utilities used to simulate originating and
terminating calls on routers and access servers. CallGen uses the concept of channels to generate calls.
Each channel represents a single caller; only one call can occur at a time on a channel. Using
configuration parameters, the type of calls placed on the channel and whether the channel is an
originating or terminating channel is defined. Each channel has a specific call type, such as voice, data,
or fax. For the Cisco BCS Verified Designs testing, all 23 channels were used on a simulated ISDN
connection for the testing of both incoming and outgoing calls along with Cisco’s SimClient.
SimClient
SimClient (6.2.3) is a PC-based bulk IP phone simulation tool, optimized for load-testing Cisco
CallManagers. With SimClient calls can be simulated as a large number of phones. Calls can be made
between SimClient phones, to physical phones, or in this case CallGen directory numbers (DNs).
SimClient also provides streaming support through Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) which was used
to provide accurate testing of voice calls on the network. The Cisco BCS Verified Designs testing
incorporated both CallGen and SimClient to test the Integrated Services Router under call load using
Busy Hour Call Completions (BHCC) as the test metric.
Chariot
For the Cisco BCS Verified Designs testing regarding data traffic, NetIQ’s Chariot (4.3) was used to test
advanced enterprise Internet services from a user perspective, simulating real application traffic and
evaluating testing results with users in mind. Chariot simulates network traffic by simulating user
interactions and by emulating a large set of common application transaction profiles. In the course of
profiling the Integrated Services Router, the standard ESE mix of data was used: 60% TCP and 40% UDP
user traffic that comprised a variety of HTTP, FTP, DNS, and SMTPs.
