L2 app feature request

[andrew-lukin]

Please provide Ethernet (L2 layer only) traffic generation, which can be used within TSN nodes.

We intend to simulate Automotive TSN use cases as closely as possible to the real-world use cases. This includes the use or emulation of TSN Layer 2 Traffic, such as the IEEE1722 Audio Video Transport Protocol. For this specific feature request, we want to simulate TSN data streams using Ethernet Layer 2 traffic.

We simulate the TSN use cases in order to verify and validate TSN designs and switch/end-node configurations. Using layer 3 protocols such as UDP to simulate TSN data streams is fine for some use cases but not for all, especially when other switch configurations/rules would affect this traffic flow. The point is if we aim to verify and validate TSN switch/end-node behaviour regarding traffic flow, then the traffic being simulated should be very similar and, more importantly, treated the same in real-world cases and in simulation. Switch configurations/Rules that apply to Layer 3 don't always apply to Layer 2 traffic.

The currently available TsnDevice/TsnSwitch nodes use a socket-type connection for applications and can't pass bridging properly for layer 2 connections. But EtherTrafGen app, for instance, works without sockets but is incompatible with IApp interface and can't be used within TSN-enabled nodes.

We need to be able to configure the Ethernet Layer 2 header fields such as source and destination MAC addresses, 802.1Q header (VLAN ID, PCP), Ethertype. The payload could be arbitrary data. The size of the payload should still be configurable, although the payload data itself can be arbitrary data.
And still, that application should be able to playback traffic by using pcap/pcapng files as a source for data streams.