#212109
March 2012
Commissioned by
ALAXALA Networks Corp.

ALAXALA Switch Interoperability Evaluation with Cisco Catalyst
ALAXALA AX6600S, AX3640S and AX1240S with Cisco Catalyst 3750-X and 6509-E

THE BOTTOM LINEEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
IT managers who deploy a variety of switching devices in their networks needassurances of interoperability of these switches in order to maintain a functional
network. In a world of ever-evolving standards and tight budgets, network
managers evaluating new equipment need to know that the switches theypurchase are interoperable with their current infrastructure. It is important toknow which devices can interoperate with an existing Cisco LAN switch
infrastructure.
ALAXALA commissioned Tolly to evaluate three of its enterprise-class LAN
switches for Layer 2 / Layer 3 interoperability with the Cisco Catalyst 3750-X and
6509-E switches. The evaluation found that the ALAXALA AX6604S,
AX3640S-24T2XW and AX1240S-24T2C (Layer 2 only) switches all achieve a
broad spectrum of L2/L3 interoperability including support for 10GbE LAN PHY
interfaces, 802.1p/Q VLAN tags, link aggregation, Multiple Spanning Tree, PIMSparse/Dense Mode Multicast, OSPF, BGP4 protocols and more.

The ALAXALA AX6604S, AX3640S-24T2XW andAX1240S-24T2C switches:

1 Earned 15 certifications for Layer 2 and Layer 3 advanced
LAN functions

2 Demonstrated consistent stability in mixed
environments

3 Achieved broad Layer 2 and Layer 3 interoperability with
the Cisco Catalyst 3750-X and 6509-E

with other devices tested when
4 Interoperated
supporting 10GbE LAN PHY interface, 802.1p/Q VLAN
tags, link aggregation, Multiple Spanning Tree, PIMSparse/Dense Mode Multicast, OSPF, BGP4 protocols and
more

ALAXALA AX6604S Layer 2/ Layer 3 Interoperability Features/ Functions
with Cisco Catalyst 3750-X and 6509-E
F t /F ti
Feature/Function
Auto-negotiation
VLAN Tag Propagation
Link Aggregation (802.3ad)
RSTP
MSTP
10 GbE PHY
Jumbo Frame Support
RIPv2
RIPng
OSPFv2
OSPFv3
BGP4PIM-DM
PIM-SM
PIM-SSM

ALAXALA AX6604S Interoperability With
Cisco Catalyst 3750-X
Cisco Catalyst 6509-E
















Table 1

Source: Tolly, February 2012

© 2012 Tolly Enterprises, LLC







Cisco line card does not support this feature









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ALAXALA AX6604S, AX3640S and AX1240S#212109

Background

Test Results

Tolly engineers subjected the ALAXALA
AX6604S, AX3640S-24T2X W andAX1240S-24T2C to over a dozen tests inseveral functional areas in conjunction with
the Cisco Catalyst 3750-X and 6509-E
switches, including support for autonegotiation, 802.1p/Q, VLAN tag
propagation, 10GbE LAN PHY support,
802.3ad LACP support, Rapid Spanning
Tree Protocol support, RIPv2, RIPng,
OSPFv2, OSPFv3, BGP4, PIM-DM, PIM-SMand PIM-SSM.

Layer 2 Functions

The ALAXALA AX3640S and AX6604S,
being access and carrier-class switches,
respectively, interoperated with both Cisco
switches in all Layer 2 and Layer 3 tests,
while the AX1240S, being a Layer 2 switch,
interoperated with both Cisco switches inthe Layer 2 scenarios. See Tables 1, 2 and 3
for details.

ALAXALA
Networks Corp.
AX6604S,
AX3640S-24T2XW,
AX1240S-24T2C

10/100/1000 Auto-Negotiation
Engineers tested the interoperability of the
ALAXALA switches with the Cisco Catalyst
3750-X and 6509-E switches. The ALAXALA
switches demonstrated full interoperability
with the Cisco switches in this category.
Devices earning this certification havedemonstrated the ability to establish thehighest available speed and duplex
settings.

Layer 2/3 Switch
Interoperability
Evaluation

TestedFebruary2012

802.1p/Q VLAN Tag Propagation

Link Aggregation Control Protocol(802.3ad)

The ALAXALA switches interoperated withboth Cisco Catalyst switches tested. Devices
e a r n i n g t h i s ce r t i f i c at i o n h ave
demonstrated the ability to maintain andrecognize 802.1p/Q tags.

This test verifies a devices’ ability to trunk
ports across multiple switches using LACP.
For this test, all ALAXALA switches achieved
interoperability with both Cisco Catalyst
switches under test.

ALAXALA AX3640S-24T2XW Layer 2/Layer 3 Interoperability Features/Functions
with Cisco Catalyst 3750-X and 6509-E

F
Feature/Function/FiAuto-negotiation
VLAN Tag Propagation
Link Aggregation (802.3ad)
RSTP
MSTP
10 GbE PHY
Jumbo Frame Support
RIPv2
RIPng
OSPFv2
OSPFv3BGP4PIM-SM
PIM-SSM

ALAXALA AX3640S-24T2XW Interoperability With
Cisco Catalyst 3750-X
Cisco Catalyst 6509-E















Source: Tolly, February 2012

© 2012 Tolly Enterprises, LLC







Cisco line card does not support this feature







Table 2

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ALAXALA AX6604S, AX3640S and AX1240S#212109

Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol(RSTP)(802.1w)

without blocking the entire traffic
traversing the port.

ALAXALA AX6604S and AX3640S-24T2XW
with the Cisco Catalyst 3750-X and 6509-E.

Devices earning this certification
demonstrated the ability to detect a failureof the Layer 2 Spanning Tree via the Rapid
Spanning Tree protocol and attempted toestablish a new Layer 2 “tree”.

10GbE LAN PHY

RIPv2

This test verifies that the ALAXALA switches
under test have the ability to transmit data
between 10-Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. In
this test, the two supporting ALAXALA
switches successfully interoperated withboth Cisco Catalyst switches under test.

This test verifies that the switches exchange
IPv4 routing table information via RIPv2
protocols all ALAXALA switches with L3
capabilities interoperated with both Cisco
Catalyst switches under test.

In networks where multiple data paths
exist, this approach provides a quicker reestablishment of traffic paths anddramatically reduces user downtime whencompared with the recovery mechanism of
traditional 802.1D Spanning Tree bridges/
switches.
For this test, the ALAXALA switchesdemonstrated interoperability with both
Cisco Catalyst switches under test.

Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol(MSTP) (802.1s)
This test verifies that the ALAXALA switches
under test implement multiple Spanning
Tree instances on a switch port toselectively allow or block multiple VLANs,

RIPng

Jumbo Frames Support

This test verifies that the ALAXALA
switches under test exchanged IPv6
routing table information via RIPng
protocol. All of the ALAXALA switches
under test interoperated with both Cisco
Catalyst switches under test.

This test could not be attempted with the
Cisco Catalyst 6509-E because the supplied
Cisco 6509-E line card does not support
jumbo frames. All ALAXALA switchesinteroperated with the Cisco Catalyst 3750-X.
Devices earning this certification havedemonstrated the ability to transmit jumbo
frames (9K bytes) across all possible vendor
combinations under test.

OSPFv2
Tolly engineers verified that the all
ALAXALA switches under test exchanged
routing table information via OSPFv2 with
the Cisco Catalyst switches under test.

Layer 3 Functions

OSPFv3

The following interoperability tests apply
only to the Layer 3 switches under test, theThis certification verifies that the switches
under test can exchange IPV6 routing table

ALAXALA AX1240S-24T2C Layer 2 Interoperability Features/Functions
with Cisco Catalyst 3750-X and 6509-E
Feature/Function

ALAXALA AX1240S-24T22C Interoperability With
Cisco Catalyst 3750-X

Cisco Catalyst 6509-E

Auto-negotiation



VLAN Tag Propagation



Link Aggregation (802.3ad)





RSTP





MSTP





Jumbo Frame Support

Cisco line card does not support this feature

Source: Tolly, February 2012

© 2012 Tolly Enterprises, LLC

Table 3Tolly.com

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ALAXALA AX6604S, AX3640S and AX1240S#212109

ALAXALA Product Speciﬁcations(Vendor-provided speciﬁcations. Not veriﬁed by Tolly)
ALAXALA AX6600S Series: AX6604S
Port Count
Full line rate performance

32 Ports 10GBASER (XFP)
96 Ports 1000BASEX (SFP)
96 Ports 1000BASET
192Gbps (2 Control and Switching Units (CSU))

ALAXALA AX3600S Series: AX3640S-24T2X
XWPort Count

2 Ports 10GBASER(XFP)+ 4 Ports 1000BASEX(SFP)/1000BASET 1 + 20 Ports 1000BASET

Full line rate performance

88Gbps

ALAXALA AX1200S Series: AX1240S-24T2C
C
Port Count

2 Ports 1000BASEX(SFP)/1000BASET 1 + 24 Ports 10/100BASET

Full line rate performance

8.8Gbps

Software Features
Layer 2 Functions

Port VLAN/TagVLAN, STP/RSTP/PVST+/MSTP, Ring, BPDU filter, root guard, loop guard
IGMPv2/v3 snooping, MLDv1/v2 snooping

Layer 3 Functions 2

IPv4/IPv6 Unicast (Static, RIPv2, RIPng, OSPF, OSPFv3, BGP4, BGP4+)
IPv4/IPv6 Multicast (PIMSM, PIMSSM, IGMPv2/v3, MLDv1/v2)

Security
Reliability/ Operability Improvement
QoS
Management
Power Savings
Redundancy 3

IEEE802.1X/MAC/WEB authentication, filtering
Link aggregation, Jumbo frame, Storm control, UDLD, L2 loop detection, GSRP 2, VRRP 2
Flow detection, Marking, Mapping, Shaping, Priority control, Discarding control
SNMP, MIBII, RMON, syslog, lldp, telnet, ftp, Port mirroring
Static/Dynamic power saving
Control and Switching Unit (CSU), Power Supply

For more information contact:
ALAXALA Networks Corporation
URL: http://www.alaxala.com
Shinkawasaki Mitsui Bldg. West Tower, 890 Kashimada,
Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa, Japan, 212-0058

1. Mutually Exclusive
2. Not Supported on AX1240S
3. Supported on AX6604S

Source: ALAXALA Networks Corp., February 2012

© 2012 Tolly Enterprises, LLC

Table 4Tolly.com

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ALAXALA AX6604S, AX3640S and AX1240S#212109

OSPFv2 Test Bed Topology
Ixia OptIxia XM2

22.22.3.2
22.22.3.1

15.15.3.2

15.15.3.1

20.1.3.22

20.1.3.15
ALAXALA SUT:
router ospf 1
area 1 stubredistribute connected
network 15.15.3.0 0.0.0.255 area 1
network 20.1.3.0 0.0.0.255 area 0

LegendCisco SUT:15.15.3.x
11.11.3.x Network
22.22.3.x Network
Common Network

Layer 2 Aggregation Switch

router ospf 1
log-adjacency-changes
network 20.1.3.0 0.0.0.255 area 0
network 22.22.3.0 0.0.0.255 area 1

Source: Tolly, February 2012

information via the OSPFv3 protocol. All
ALAXALA switches were able to exchange
this information with both Cisco Catalyst
switches under test.

BGP4

Figure 1

Multicasting services using the PIM-DM
protocol.
This verifies a devices’ ability to host andjoin IP multicast groups via PIM-DM in a
multivendor network.

Devices earning this certification
demonstrated the ability to share routing
information via the BGP4 with anotherswitch. All ALAXALA switches under test
were able to share this information withboth Cisco Catalyst switches under test.

For this test, the AX6604S demonstrated
interoperability using PIM-DM with both
Cisco Catalyst switches under test.

IP Multicasting- PIM Dense Mode
(PIM-DM)

Devices earning this certification
demonstrated the ability to provide IP
Multicasting services using the PIM-SM
protocol. This verifies a devices ability to
update the multicast routing table and to

Devices earning this certification
demonstrated the ability to provide IP© 2012 Tolly Enterprises, LLC

IP Multicasting-PIM Sparse Mode
(PIM-SM)

Tolly.com

The test methodology used for thisreport relies upon test procedures,
metrics and documentation practices as
defined in Common Test Plan #1088:
LAN Switch Interoperability.
To learn more about Tolly Common Test
Plans, please visit:www.commontestplan.org

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ALAXALA AX6604S, AX3640S and AX1240S

the deliver multicast packets to theappropriate multiple destinations via PIMSM in a multivendor network. For this test
all ALAXALA switches under test were able
to demonstrate interoperability using PIMSM with both Cisco Catalyst switches undertest.

IP Multicasting- PIM Source
Speciﬁc Multicast (PIM-SSM)
This certification verifies that the devices
under test can support IP Multicast using
PIM Source Specific Multicast (PIM-SSM).
For this test all ALAXALA switchesdemonstrated interoperability using PIMSSM with both Cisco Catalyst switches
under test.

Test Setup &Methodology
Tolly Group engineers tested three
ALAXALA switch models: the AX6604S,
AX3640S-24T2XW and AX1240S-24T2C.
Additional details on the ALAXALA
switches tested can be found in Table 4. Fulldetails on the methodology used can belocated in the Tolly Common Test Plan
#1088: LAN Switch Interoperability v1.01
on The Tolly Group’s Web site at
www.tolly.com.
The test bed utilized an Ixia Optixia XM2
traffic generator running IxOS 6.10 GA
Patch1, using IxNetwork 6.0 as the source
application.
For interoperability tests, Tolly engineersconnected the ALAXALA AX6604S,
AX3640S-24T2XW and AX1240S-24T2C
switches in turn to both the Cisco Systems
Catalyst 3750-X and Cisco Systems Catalyst
6509-E, respectively.

© 2012 Tolly Enterprises, LLC#212109

The Cisco Catalyst 3750-X was configured
with 24x GbE ports, with an additional four
10GbE ports. The Cisco Catalyst 6509-E wasconfigured with one 48-port GbE line card,and one 4-port 10GbE line card, in addition
to two route processing modules. Bothswitches were running IOS Software
version 12.2.
The ALAXALA AX1240S, running version
2.3.B, was configured with 24 Fast Ethernet
ports and two SFP/RJ45 GbE ports. The
AX3640S was configured with 24 GbE ports
and two 10GbE ports, running OS-L3A-A
version 11.6. The AX6604S Chassis was
equipped with two, 24-port GbE modules
and two, 4-port 10GbE modules, inaddition to two Control and Switching
Units, running OS-S version 11.5.
Each switch was configured in port-pairs
for a given feature to ease testing efforts.
For example, gigabit ports 3 and 4 on eachswitch were configured with two MSTP
instances, allowing VLANs 10 & 20, withindividual port-priorities and cost assigned
for both vendors. When connected,
engineers were able to verify that MSTP
was negotiating properly from eachconsole. Engineers then generated two
streams of 10,000 pps on each VLAN, failed
one of the links, and verified that the VLAN
failed over to the active link, using theframe loss to calculate failover time.
For the Layer 3 portion of the testing, one
port on each switch was connected to the
XM2 traffic generator, configured with an IP
address, and a second port was connected
to a common network with all otherswitches. With each routing protocol,
engineers verified that traffic could be
passed from one Ixia port to another andproper routing tables existed on all
switches. See Figure 1 for details on the
OSPFv2 Interoperability test environment.

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ALAXALA AX6604S, AX3640S and AX1240S

Test Equipment Summary

About Tolly…

The Tolly Group companies have beendelivering worldclass IT services formore than 20 years. Tolly is a leading
global provider of thirdparty validation
services for vendors of IT products,
components and services.
You can reach the company by email atsales@tolly.com, or by telephone at +1
561.391.5610.
Visit Tolly on the Internet at:
http://www.tolly.com#212109

The Tolly Group gratefully acknowledges the providersof test equipment/software used in this project.

VendorProduct

Web

Ixia

Optixia XM2, IxOS 6.10 GA Patch 1
Interfaces: 32x 1Gbps
Card Type: 2 x LSM1000 XMV16-01

http://www.ixiacom.com

The Siemon
Company

Cat 6A Patch Cables
LC - Multi-mode Fiber Optic Patch
Cableshttp://siemon.com

Terms of Usage
This document is provided, freeofcharge, to help you understand whether a given product, technology or service merits additional investigation
for your particular needs. Any decision to purchase a product must be based on your own assessment of suitability based on your needs. The
document should never be used as a substitute for advice from a qualified IT or business professional. This evaluation was focused on
illustrating specific features and/or performance of the product(s) and was conducted under controlled, laboratory conditions. Certain tests may
have been tailored to reflect performance under ideal conditions; performance may vary under realworld conditions. Users should run tests
based on their own realworld scenarios to validate performance for their own networks.
Reasonable efforts were made to ensure the accuracy of the data contained herein but errors and/or oversights can occur. The test/audit
documented herein may also rely on various test tools the accuracy of which is beyond our control. Furthermore, the document relies on certain
representations by the sponsor that are beyond our control to verify. Among these is that the software/hardware tested is production or
production track and is, or will be, available in equivalent or better form to commercial customers. Accordingly, this document is provided "asis", and Tolly Enterprises, LLC (Tolly) gives no warranty, representation or undertaking, whether express or implied, and accepts no legal
responsibility, whether direct or indirect, for the accuracy, completeness, usefulness or suitability of any information contained herein. By
reviewing this document, you agree that your use of any information contained herein is at your own risk, and you accept all risks andresponsibility for losses, damages, costs and other consequences resulting directly or indirectly from any information or material available on it.
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