IxNetwork - How to use the port matrix

Summary: When loading a configuration file via the IxNetwork library in Testshell Studio, the input parameters which must be defined are the IxNetwork configuration file name, the port matrix, and the location for saving configuration files. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the usage of the port matrix.

Load Configuration Step:

Selecting ports in IxNetwork:

When creating a configuration in IxNetwork, the first step is to add physical ports and assign a name to those ports. In the example below it can be seen that ports 1 and 2 of card 2 in the IxNetwork chassis are selected and given names "Ethernet - 001" and "Ethernet - 002" respectively. The physical state of the port will be red as seen below in the event of a physical disconnection or green if the link is physically up on the port.

Selecting Ports in TestShell Studio: 

A matrix of ports should be defined in TestShell Studio and applied to the load configuration step. The matrix can be defined as follows:

a. An empty matrix in case the user would like TestShell Studio to choose the ports as defined in the IxNetwork configuration file.

b. An explicit definition of the desired ports from within the IxNetwork configuration file or other ports on the chassis.

The port matrix should specify the name of the port, followed by the location definition in the format Chassis IP/Card/Port.

In the example below, the port matrix is defined to match the ports as specified in the IxNetwork configuration file above.

In the example below, the port matrix is defined to load the existing configuration which was designed around the names "Ethernet - 001" and "Ethernet - 002" and applies that configuration to ports 3 and 4 as opposed to 1 and 2.

In the screenshot below we can see the new ports reflected in IxNetwork after loading the configuration from Studio and applying the ports to 3 and 4 as opposed to 1 and 2.

It is important to note that the names used in the port matrix must match exactly the names defined in the IxNetwork configuration file.  If the names do not match, the load configuration step will result in an error as seen in the below example when a name is chosen which does not correspond to the Ixnetwork configuration file.