Performance-Comparison Testing of IPv4 and IPv6 Throughput and Latency on Key Cisco Router Platforms

As the next generation of network technology, IPv6 promises many advantages over its predecessor. It also presents many compatibility and functionality questions, including how legacy and new equipment will function when running the new protocol.

To verify functionality and spotlight any potential issues, the Government Systems Engineering (GSE) team recently executed tests to provide data on Cisco router platforms in a dual-stack IPv4 and IPv6 environment.

The purpose of this testing was to provide an IPv4 to IPv6 comparison for performance on a router "fresh out of the box" to give Cisco customers valuable information regarding IPv4 and IPv6 performance in a realistic network environment they can use to make reasonable, informed decisions on upcoming purchase cycles.

Throughput and latency measurements of various IPv4 and IPv6 traffic mixes were analyzed using the following Cisco routers:

• Cisco 1841 Integrated Services Router (ISR)
• Cisco 2811 ISR
• Cisco 3825 ISR
• Cisco 7206 Router
• Cisco 7301 Router
• Cisco 7606 Router

This white paper provides a high-level overview of their findings. The full results are available in a detailed analysis document, which your Cisco account manager would be happy to provide on request.