Aviz details FTAS 2.2 enhancements for testing SONiC network operating system

Aviz has released version 2.2 of its Fabric Test Automation Suite (FTAS), a Virtual Machine (VM) comprising a comprehensive set of test cases designed to assess the deployment readiness of SONiC Network Operating System (OS) (NOS). The update introduces new capabilities that aid technical teams in verifying SONiC’s network functions and operational procedures prior to deployment.

Research Overview

FTAS is developed to continuously validate core SONiC functionalities, incorporating customer feedback and updates from recent SONiC releases. Its primary purpose is to facilitate testing across various networking scenarios including scale, feature support, and operational robustness.

Key Findings

The 2.2 update includes additional test cases reflecting recent customer deployment requirements, focusing on day-2 network operations using Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). It now covers node and link drain and restore functions via route maps, prefix lists, and AS path prepend, which correspond to operational procedures for controlled traffic management.

Further enhancements provide testing of dual-stack scalability, encompassing prefix, host, and longest prefix match (LPM) routes at different scale limits. The suite also verifies BGP Graceful Restart capabilities under multiple failure scenarios, and examines device behavior under diverse Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) and route scalability combinations.

Technical Breakdown

The FTAS 2.2 release introduces initial testing support for the Dynamic Port Breakout feature in SONiC, enabling port breakout mode changes without hardware profile modifications or device reboots. Existing resilience tests have been expanded to function without requiring port-channel configurations, as requested from user feedback.

Enhanced diagnostic support includes automated collection of technical support dumps and syslogs for all devices under test upon any test case failure, enabling detailed post-mortem analysis. Additionally, the system captures Digital Optical Monitoring (DOM) data when port activation issues arise, aiding in the identification of elusive hardware problems during test executions.

Operational Impact

These updates are designed to improve troubleshooting efficiency and broaden test coverage to better mimic real-world network operations. By incorporating these new test scenarios, the suite facilitates more comprehensive validation of SONiC Network Optimization Suite (NOS), assisting operational teams in identifying potential issues prior to production deployment.

The automatic gathering of diagnostic data streamlines fault analysis workflows, reducing reliance on manual data collection and potentially shortening remediation times for complex failures.

Leadership Perspective

Aviz has emphasized ongoing engagement with users to refine FTAS, integrating user suggestions to enhance usability, coverage, and debugging functions. The 2.2 release reflects this iterative development approach focused on aligning the tool with operational realities and customer needs.

The organization indicates continued plans to expand FTAS capabilities in upcoming releases, emphasizing their commitment to supporting SONiC NOS deployments through evolving testing coverage.

This Blog Signals brief presents a fact-based summary of the vendor blog, outlining the FTAS 2.2 release and its implications for enterprise technical teams deploying SONiC NOS environments.