## 1 Introduction  
Local and global computer networks are the basis of the communication infrastructure of modern society. Due to the growth of networks, the problem of choosing the optimal network equipment (routers, switches) is becoming more and more acute [1]. The central element of the information network is the router. The main purpose of which is to unite the subnetwork so that any computer can exchange packets with other computers in the network. The router can be implemented fully by a software approach (in this case, it is an operating system module installed on a general-purpose computer that operates as a server) or a hardware-software method (which is a specialized computing device, in which some functions are performed by non-standard equipment, and some of the software modules that work under the specialized operating system). The main advantages of software routers over hardware ones are flexibility, intelligence and simplicity of algorithms modification [2]. It is possible to implement the most non-standard network solutions on the basis of a software router. The majority of software routers operate under Linux. That allows providing high productivity and flexibility of a configuration at realization of routing, processing of the network traffic arriving on physical port of the router [3]. At present, specific and expensive hardware platforms offered by suppliers and vendors are used to solve the problems of high-speed routing. However, we propose a software router, which has a much lower cost and comparable computing power to multi-core general purpose platforms. It will allow achieving similar performance characteristics using purely software mechanisms. There will be additional features such as incomparably greater flexibility and almost unlimited possibilities to increase functionality, integrate all new services, as well as to carry out adaptation and fine-tuning (customization) to the specific tasks of each user. Today, all types of global IP traffic, communication performance, user numbers and the number of connected devices are predicted to grow significantly. These growth rates lead to an increase in the load on the network infrastructure, namely several types of traffic flows traverse the network equipment (switch and router), thus Quality of Service (QoS) testing is required. Network traffic generators help network administrators, developers and researchers to prepare, test and deploy technologies to ensure reliable and quality network infrastructure [4]. Traffic generators are classified into hardware or software based on different performance criteria. Hardware-based traffic generators (e.g., lxia IxChariot) typically achieve higher performance and accuracy than software-based tools, which depend on many factors (endpoint performance, operating system, etc.). On the other hand, hardware devices are usually commercial products, while software tools are usually open source or cost-effective tools developed by researchers [5]. Despite these arguments, software network traffic generators are widely used in corporate networks due to their flexibility, simplicity and cost effectiveness [6]. For this reason, the paper proposes its own software traffic generator, which, unlike the known ones, can estimate the average delay in servicing individual flows, current delays, loss and jitter of packets transmitted through the network infrastructure. The research will be carried out using this generator to compare the developed router with the Cisco 2801 hardware one. This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 describes the related research work of the satellite software-based router, network simulator, software traffic generators and the problems of model adequacy assessment of infocommunications system. Then, Section 3 introduces the performance analysis of the proposed software-based router using the designed network traffic generator.