Azure Local - Network Switch Device Validation

April 23, 2025 ยท View on GitHub

Background

This tool is intended to be used as a device testing tool for Azure Local. For more information on the requirements, please see: Physical network requirements for Azure Local

How to use the tool

  • Prepare a host which has at least two NICs which connect to switch device under test (DUT)
  • Download SwitchValidationTool.zip from Release page and store them in a folder on the host
  • The tool will scan all active interfaces on the host but only generate report of LLDP enabled interface.
  • Review the sample test data to have better understand the input and output.
  • The validation tool will collect network traffic and decode packages to validate protocol value required.
  • Upload results under the "Issues" tab in GitHub

Logic Diagram

flowchart TB

A[Execute Tool] -->|Scan Select Interface| B([Collect and Analyst .pcap file])
C --> |False| E[Review switch configuration]
E --> |Review input variables and test again | A
B --> C{Matches requirements?}
C --> |True| D(Upload result via Issues)

Platform Support

Windows

Tested: Windows 11, Windows Server 2019 Untested: Other Windows versions

Linux

Tested: Ubuntu Linux 20.04 Untested: Other Linux versions

Preparation

The following shows the reference lab setup that can be modified accordingly based on needs. The tool can work with virtual interfaces but prefer physical interfaces for testing if possible, which close to the real production senario. Reference Lab Setup

Configure Network Switch

Please check the sample switch configuration for reference.

Notice:
  • LLDP must be enabled.
  • A minimum of 10 VLANs must be configured.

Get Started

Run On Windows

Download Tool Files

Windows folder includes

  • SwitchValidationTool.exe

Get Test Host Interface Index

The index of interface which connected to switch is required for Windows OS users, so please check and validate the ifIndex number for your own test host which will be used for the tool execution.

PS C:\> Get-NetAdapter
Name                      InterfaceDescription            ifIndex Status                   
----                      --------------------            ------- ------                               
Ethernet 1                Ethernet Adapter                10        Up

Please check Get-NetAdapter for more detail.

Execution and Troubleshooting

Tool must be run with Administrator/Sudo privilege

PS C:\SwitchValidationTool\windows> .\SwitchValidationTool.exe  -h
Usage of C:\SwitchValidationTool\windows\SwitchValidationTool.exe:
  -InterfaceIndex int
        [Windows Only - Get-NetAdapter] index of interface connects with network device to be validated (default 15)
  -InterfaceName string
        [Linux Only - ifconfig] name of interface connects with network device to be validated (default "eth0")
  -allVlanIDs string
        vlan list string separate with comma. Minimum 10 vlans required. (default "710,711,712,713,714,715,716,717,718,719,720")
  -etsBWbyPG string
        bandwidth for PGID in ETS configuration (default "0:48,1:0,2:0,3:50,4:0,5:2,6:0,7:0")
  -etsMaxClass int
        maximum number of traffic classes in ETS configuration (default 8)
  -mtu int
        mtu value configured on the switch interface (default 9214)
  -nativeVlanID int
        native vlan id (default 710)
  -pfcMaxClass int
        maximum PFC enabled traffic classes in PFC configuration (default 8)
  -pfcPriorityEnabled string
        PFC for priority in PFC configuration (default "0:0,1:0,2:0,3:1,4:0,5:0,6:0,7:0")

PS C:\SwitchValidationTool\windows> .\SwitchValidationTool.exe  -InterfaceIndex 10
2023/05/18 15:31:46 ## Interface Name Ethernet 1 is selected, start collecting packages[Maximum 90s or 300 packages]: ##
2023/05/18 15:31:46
2023/05/18 15:31:47 Collecting Network Packages from Interface Ethernet 1: [1 / 300 (Max)]
2023/05/18 15:31:47 Collecting Network Packages from Interface Ethernet 1: [2 / 300 (Max)]
2023/05/18 15:31:47 Collecting Network Packages from Interface Ethernet 1: [3 / 300 (Max)]
...
2023/05/18 15:31:51 Collecting Network Packages from Interface Ethernet 1: [300 / 300 (Max)]
2023/05/18 15:31:51 ./Ethernet 1.pcap founded.
---------------------
Report Files have been generated.

Run On Linux

Download Tool Files

Linux folder includes

  • SwitchValidationTool

Execution and Troubleshooting

Tool must be run with Administrator/Sudo privilege

/SwitchValidationTool/linux $ ./SwitchValidationTool -h
Usage of ./SwitchValidationTool:
  -InterfaceIndex int
        [Windows Only - Get-NetAdapter] index of interface connects with network device to be validated (default 15)
  -InterfaceName string
        [Linux Only - ifconfig] name of interface connects with network device to be validated (default "eth0")
  -allVlanIDs string
        vlan list string separate with comma. Minimum 10 vlans required. (default "710,711,712,713,714,715,716,717,718,719,720")
  -etsBWbyPG string
        bandwidth for PGID in ETS configuration (default "0:48,1:0,2:0,3:50,4:0,5:2,6:0,7:0")
  -etsMaxClass int
        maximum number of traffic classes in ETS configuration (default 8)
  -mtu int
        mtu value configured on the switch interface (default 9214)
  -nativeVlanID int
        native vlan id (default 710)
  -pfcMaxClass int
        maximum PFC enabled traffic classes in PFC configuration (default 8)
  -pfcPriorityEnabled string
        PFC for priority in PFC configuration (default "0:0,1:0,2:0,3:1,4:0,5:0,6:0,7:0")

/SwitchValidationTool/linux $ sudo ./SwitchValidationTool -InterfaceName eth1
2023/05/18 22:42:33 ## Interface Name eth1 is selected, start collecting packages[Maximum 90s or 300 packages]: ## 

2023/02/22 19:41:53 Collecting Network Packages from Interface : [1 / 300 (Max)]
2023/02/22 19:41:53 Collecting Network Packages from Interface : [2 / 300 (Max)]
2023/02/22 19:41:53 Collecting Network Packages from Interface : [3 / 300 (Max)]
2023/02/22 19:41:53 Collecting Network Packages from Interface : [4 / 300 (Max)]
...
2023/02/22 19:41:56 Collecting Network Packages from Interface : [300 / 300 (Max)]
2023/02/22 19:41:56 ./eth1.pcap founded.
---------------------
Report Files have been generated.

Notes

  • To avoid endless running, the tool has preset maximum timeout condition, and will stop collecting whenever hit first.

    • 90 seconds
    • 300 network packets

  • Please double check the interface connection and configuration if no network packet being collected.

What should I do after finishing the validation?

After the tool execution successfully, there will be four files:

  • PDF File
  • YAML File
  • Log File
  • PACP file

Please group them, navigate to "Issues" and submit "Tool upload result" for the Microsoft team to review.

Common Questions

Error "Could't load wpcap.dll" when run the tool.

The tool is written by Go and using gopacket which requires libpcap pre-installed. The tool will automatically install libpcap based on OS, so Internet is required for the host.

For Linux: Run sudo apt install libpcap-dev

For Windows, here are options:

  • Option 1: Install Npcap, which includes libpcap.
  • Option 2: Install Wireshark, which includes Npcap.
Note: libpcap only need to be installed once, and can be uninstalled after the validation.

Why there are two interface variables, one for windows and one for linux?

The tool is written by Golang, and using gopacket, but the network adapter/interface id/name is difference between Linux and Windows, so has to modified to fit the gopacket.

Example

Linux
# Get interface name in Linux
$ ifconfig
eth0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 10.0.0.4  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 10.0.0.255
        inet6 fe80::20d:3aff:fe6e:8d11  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether 00:0d:3a:6e:8d:11  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 2370443  bytes 3200488398 (3.2 GB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 407306  bytes 404678996 (404.6 MB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0
# Sample code to use pcap in Linux
handle, err := pcap.OpenLive("eth0", 1600, true, pcap.BlockForever)
Windows
# Get interface name in Windows
> Get-NetAdapter | Select-Object InterfaceAlias,InterfaceIndex,InterfaceGuid

InterfaceAlias InterfaceIndex InterfaceGuid
-------------- -------------- -------------
Ethernet 1                  3 {89A8C9DB-D0A4-4E79-8D7D-2FB8A578A221}
# Sample code to use pcap in Windows
# "\Device\NPF_" has to be insert with InterfaceGuid
handle, err := pcap.OpenLive("\Device\NPF_{89A8C9DB-D0A4-4E79-8D7D-2FB8A578A221}", 1600, true, pcap.BlockForever)

How can I know if the tool run successfully or not?

The tool will print log with collecting process when it successfully run.

2023/05/18 22:42:33 ## Interface Name eth1 is selected, start collecting packages[Maximum 90s or 300 packages]: ## 

2023/02/22 19:41:53 Collecting Network Packages from Interface : [1 / 300 (Max)]
2023/02/22 19:41:53 Collecting Network Packages from Interface : [2 / 300 (Max)]
...
2023/02/22 19:41:56 Collecting Network Packages from Interface : [300 / 300 (Max)]
2023/02/22 19:41:56 ./eth1.pcap founded.
---------------------
Report Files have been generated.

What should I do if the tool not collecting network packages?

The tool is using open source pcap library, which is same tcpdump or Wireshark using, so please try to use tcpdump or Wireshark to validate if the selected interface does have certail network traffic being colected, like LLDP or BGP.

  • If no packages detected, it proves the lab setup issue, please double check the lab connections.
  • If has packages detected, it could be a potential bug of this validation tool, so please file an issue, so we can track on it.

How can I verify if the tool capture the LLDP package?

The tool is using open source pcap library, which is same tcpdump or Wireshark using, and a pcap file will be saved in the tool folder after testing. The pcap file be opened by Wireshark, and you can filter LLDP to check if being collected or not.

Host not able to run the tool or alert security scan required

Current version is still beta version, so hasn't signed, so that cause the alert, but it will be passed if running with administrator level.

Contributing

This project welcomes contributions and suggestions. Most contributions require you to agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you have the right to, and actually do, grant us the rights to use your contribution. For details, visit https://cla.microsoft.com.

When you submit a pull request, a CLA-bot will automatically determine whether you need to provide a CLA and decorate the PR appropriately (e.g., label, comment). Simply follow the instructions provided by the bot. You will only need to do this once across all repos using our CLA.

This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact opencode@microsoft.com with any additional questions or comments.