Cisco Systems commissioned The Tolly Group to benchmark its 7513 router outfitted with the VIP Distributed Switching capabilities and the new Cisco Express Forwarding features of Cisco IOS. The versions tested were 11.1(13.3)CA for VIP Distributed Optimum Switching and 11.1(13.3)CC for VIP Distributed Cisco Express Forwarding. The test suites executed were similar to those run on the 7513 in a test of RSP-based switching. Results of those tests are found in The Tolly Group Document No. 7286. The current testing was conducted during August of 1997. Testing included packet over SONET and Fast Ethernet.

The Tolly Group determined aggregate throughput by sending streams of traffic through the Cisco 7513. Additional streams were added until the maximum throughput of the chassis was reached. Additionally, to approximate a more real-world routing scenario, The Tolly Group determined the Cisco 7513’s performance while forwarding IP packets addressed to varying Class C IP destination networks.