For users to be able to compare performance of different switches, it is important to have a common set of metrics. Examples of several such metrics and their measurements are presented in this paper. These measurements and metrics have impacted standardization efforts in this area. The key distinguishing feature of our effort is its emphasis on frame-level metrics (rather than cell-level metrics of the past). In particular, in this paper, we present definitions, methodologies, and measured results for frame latency, throughput, and maximum frame burst size (MFBS).

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