p4rt_packetin_gribi_interaction_test

P4RT-3.4: P4RT Packet-In Interaction with gRIBI

Summary

This test verifies that P4Runtime Packet-In rules (e.g., for LLDP, Traceroute) function correctly and are not disrupted by concurrent gRIBI AFT programming operations. The test ensures that packets matching the P4RT Packet-In rules are successfully punted to the controller, data plane traffic routed by gRIBI entries is not affected by the Packet-In process, and gNMI telemetry for interface counters and AFTs remains accurate.

Testbed type

• TESTBED_DUT_ATE_4LINKS

Procedure

Test environment setup

• Configure four interfaces on the DUT connected to ATE port 1 through ATE port 4.
  • ATE port 1 (port1) IPv4: 192.0.2.2/30, IPv6: 2001:db8:1::2/126, MAC: 02:00:00:00:00:01
  • DUT port 1 (Ethernet1/1) IPv4: 192.0.2.1/30, IPv6: 2001:db8:1::1/126, MAC: 00:1A:11:00:00:01
  • ATE port 2 (port2) IPv4: 192.0.2.6/30, IPv6: 2001:db8:2::2/126, MAC: 02:00:00:00:00:02
  • DUT port 2 (Ethernet1/2) IPv4: 192.0.2.5/30, IPv6: 2001:db8:2::1/126, MAC: 00:1A:11:00:00:02
  • ATE port 3 (port3) IPv4: 192.0.2.10/30, IPv6: 2001:db8:3::2/126, MAC: 02:00:00:00:00:03
  • DUT port 3 (Ethernet1/3) IPv4: 192.0.2.9/30, IPv6: 2001:db8:3::1/126, MAC: 00:1A:11:00:00:03
  • ATE port 4 (port4) IPv4: 192.0.2.14/30, IPv6: 2001:db8:4::2/126, MAC: 02:00:00:00:00:04
  • DUT port 4 (Ethernet1/4) IPv4: 192.0.2.13/30, IPv6: 2001:db8:4::1/126, MAC: 00:1A:11:00:00:04
• Bring up the interfaces and verify they are UP using telemetry /interfaces/interface/state/oper-status.
• Establish gRIBI and P4RT client connections to the DUT.

P4RT-3.4.1 - Baseline gRIBI Forwarding and P4RT Packet-In

• Step 1 - Program baseline gRIBI routes and P4RT rules

  • Program a gRIBI IPv4 route in network instance DEFAULT for destination prefix 198.51.100.0/24.
  • Program a gRIBI IPv6 route in network instance DEFAULT for destination prefix 2001:db8:100::/64.
  • Create Next-Hop (index 10) pointing to IP 192.0.2.6 (ATE port 2) and Next-Hop (index 11) pointing to IP 2001:db8:2::2 (ATE port 2).
  • Create Next-Hop Group (index 100) containing Next-Hop 10, and Next-Hop Group (index 101) containing Next-Hop 11.
  • Validate route installation using gNMI.Subscribe (ON_CHANGE) or gNMI.Get on paths:
    • /network-instances/network-instance[name=DEFAULT]/afts/ipv4-unicast/ipv4-entry[prefix=198.51.100.0/24]/state/prefix
    • /network-instances/network-instance[name=DEFAULT]/afts/ipv6-unicast/ipv6-entry[prefix=2001:db8:100::/64]/state/prefix
  • Program P4RT table entries with Action PuntToController to trap the following:
    • LLDP packets (Match: ether_type == 0x88CC).
    • IPv4 Traceroute packets (Match: ipv4_ttl == 1).
    • BGP packets (Match: ipv4_dst == 192.0.2.1, tcp_dst == 179).
    • OSPF packets (Match: ipv4_proto == 89).

• Step 2 - Send baseline P4RT Packet-In

  • Inject 50,000 LLDP packets (1514 bytes) from ATE port 1 at a constant rate (1000 packets per second).
  • Verify exactly 50,000 LLDP packets are punted to the P4RT controller as PacketIn messages with 0% drop and no corrupted headers.
  • Validate DUT ingress transmission using gNMI path /interfaces/interface[name=Ethernet1/1]/state/counters/in-pkts.

• Step 3 - Send baseline data plane traffic

  • Send 50,000 IPv4 packets (1514 bytes) from ATE port 1 to destination IP 198.51.100.1 at 1000 pps.
  • Send 50,000 IPv6 packets (1514 bytes) from ATE port 1 to destination IP 2001:db8:100::1 at 1000 pps.
  • Verify 0% packet loss for both streams using OTG flow tracking to confirm baseline gRIBI forwarding is active.
  • Verify TTL is decremented by 1 and Source/Destination MAC addresses are rewritten correctly by the router.
  • Validate DUT egress transmission using gNMI path /interfaces/interface[name=Ethernet1/2]/state/counters/out-pkts.

P4RT-3.4.2 - Concurrent gRIBI and P4RT Packet-In operations

Note: This subtest must build sequentially upon the state, configuration, and sessions established in P4RT-3.4.1. Do not tear down sessions or reset the device between subtests.

• Step 1 - Start concurrent operations

  • Start continuous injection of LLDP (1514 bytes) and IPv4 Traceroute (TTL=1, 1514 bytes) packets from ATE port 1 at a constant rate (1000 packets per second) to be punted to the controller.
  • Simultaneously start gRIBI programming (Add, Delete, Replace) for 100,000 different IPv4 (198.51.x.y/32) and 100,000 IPv6 (2001:db8:x::y/128) routes.
  • Distribute these routes across multiple Next-Hop Groups utilizing ECMP across ATE port 3 and ATE port 4.
    • Next-Hops pointing to 192.0.2.10 (ATE port 3) and 192.0.2.14 (ATE port 4).
    • Next-Hops pointing to 2001:db8:3::2 (ATE port 3) and 2001:db8:4::2 (ATE port 4).

• Step 2 - Validation with pass/fail criteria

  • Rely on gNMI.Subscribe (ON_CHANGE) on AFT state paths to verify route installation without using arbitrary wait times. Ensure the exact count of 100,000 IPv4 and 100,000 IPv6 routes is reached.
  • Stop Packet-In injection and verify exact packet counts received by the controller match the sent counts (0% drop, no corrupted headers).
  • Verify gRIBI routing table updates continue to succeed under P4RT Packet-In load by verifying route installation via telemetry on AFT state.
  • Send test data plane traffic to the dynamically programmed 100,000 routes and verify successful forwarding (0% loss) out of ATE port 3 and ATE port 4 with correct TTL decrement and MAC rewrite.

P4RT-3.4.3 - Negative Scenarios under Concurrent Load

Note: This subtest must build sequentially upon the state established in P4RT-3.4.2 and run while the concurrent load is active.

• Step 1 - Invalid P4RT Table Entry

  • Attempt to insert an invalid P4RT Packet-In rule while concurrent gRIBI route programming is active.
  • Validation: Verify that the P4RT controller receives an appropriate error and the concurrent gRIBI operations continue uninterrupted.

• Step 2 - Port State Down

  • Administratively disable the ingress port (/interfaces/interface[name=Ethernet1/1]/config/enabled = false) via gNMI while concurrent Packet-In traffic and gRIBI programming is occurring.
  • Validation: Verify that Packet-In traffic from that port stops being punted to the controller, but gRIBI route programming for other healthy ports completes successfully.

• Step 3 - Session Disconnect

  • Drop the gRIBI session during active Packet-In traffic and verify P4RT operations are unaffected.
  • Drop the P4RT session during active gRIBI programming and verify gRIBI operations continue uninterrupted.

Canonical OC

{
  "network-instances": {
    "network-instance": [
      {
        "name": "DEFAULT",
        "config": {
          "name": "DEFAULT"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

OpenConfig Path and RPC Coverage

paths:
  /interfaces/interface/state/oper-status:
  /interfaces/interface/config/enabled:
  /interfaces/interface/state/counters/out-pkts:
  /interfaces/interface/state/counters/in-pkts:
  /network-instances/network-instance/afts/ipv4-unicast/ipv4-entry/state/prefix:
  /network-instances/network-instance/afts/ipv6-unicast/ipv6-entry/state/prefix:
  /network-instances/network-instance/afts/next-hops/next-hop/state/index:
  /network-instances/network-instance/afts/next-hops/next-hop/state/ip-address:
  /network-instances/network-instance/afts/next-hop-groups/next-hop-group/state/id:
  /network-instances/network-instance/config/name:

rpcs:
  gnmi:
    gNMI.Set:
    gNMI.Subscribe:
      on_change: true

Required DUT platform

• FFF