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Abstract
Ethernet is the underlying technology for the Trigger and Data Acquisition (TDAQ)
system that will be used in the ATLAS experiment at CERN. The TDAQ will employ a large
high-speed Ethernet network, comprising several hundred nodes. Ethernet switches will handle
all the data transfers, their performance being essential for the success of the experiment. We
designed and implemented a system called the GETB (Gigabit Ethernet Testbed), which can
be used to assess the performance of network devices. This report introduces the architecture
and the implementation of the GETB platform, as well as its applications. The main project,
the GETB Network Tester, will be presented in-depth. The features of the system will be
described and sample results will be presented.