High throughput bgp links using gentoo + stipped kernel

Sun May 19 07:21:16 UTC 2013

Hello Nick,

On 18.05.2013, at 18:39, Nick Khamis <symack at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello Everyone,
> 
> We are running:
> 
> Gentoo Server on Dual Core Intel Xeon 3060, 2 Gb Ram
> Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82571EB Gigabit Ethernet
> Controller (rev 06)
> Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82573E Gigabit Ethernet
> Controller (rev 03)
> 
> 2 bgp links from different providers using quagga, iptables etc....
> 
> We are transmitting an average of 700Mbps with packet sizes upwards of
> 900-1000 bytes when the traffic graph begins to flatten. We also start
> experiencing some crashes at that point, and not have been able to
> pinpoint that either.
> 
> I was hoping to get some feedback on what else we can strip from the
> kernel. If you have a similar setup for a stable platform the .config
> would be great!
> 
> Also, what are your thoughts on migrating to OpenBSD and bgpd, not
> sure if there would be a performance increase, but the security would
> be even more stronger?
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Nick

You might be maxing out your server's PCI bus throughput, so it might be a better idea if you can get Ethernet NICs that are sitting at least on PCIe x8 slots.

Leaving that aside, I take it you've configured some sort of CPU/PCI affinity?

As for migration to another OS, I find FreeBSD better as a matter of network performance. The last time I checked OpenBSD was either lacking or was in the early stages of multiple cores support.