Abstract

Nortel Networks commissioned The Tolly Group to benchmark the performance characteristics of each L2TP Network Server (LNS) under test, while handling up to 2,000 active L2TP tunnels in a Fast Ethernet environment. Switches and routers configured as LNSs are commonly used to establish secure tunnels across the Internet, enabling remote users to access internal resources at a central office. The Tolly Group examined the zero-packet-loss (+/-2%) Fast Ethernet-to-Fast Ethernet L2TP throughput of Nortel's Continuity Extranet Switch 4000 (CES 4000) versus the Cisco 7206 router. The test configuration emulated VPN solutions that are also referred to as LAN-to-LAN or branch-to-headquarters VPN solutions. All tests used a single L2TP session per tunnel.