Service Validation for Switches

Service Validation for switches enables you to validate the readiness and availability of critical network services within wired environments.

Feature Overview

This feature supports service validation tests on switches and selected VLANs to verify the availability and performance of key network services such as DHCP, DNS, network reachability (ping), and path analysis (traceroute). Wired service validation operates at the VLAN level and performs service checks by simulating an internal client within a specified client VLAN. This approach validates end-to-end connectivity to upstream network services without requiring a physical endpoint, enabling efficient testing of service availability across the wired network.

When a service validation test is initiated, validation requests are sent to the selected switches, which perform a series of service checks, including DHCP, DNS, ping, and traceroute. After test execution is completed, the switches return the results for processing and display. The system waits for up to a maximum of 15 minutes for a response from each switch; if no response is received within this time frame, the test is marked as timed out. The results are then aggregated and displayed, providing a summarized overview and detailed per-switch outcomes to help identify service issues and isolate faults. Tests can be run on demand or scheduled at regular intervals (daily, weekly, or monthly), supporting both reactive troubleshooting and proactive network validation.

By supporting proactive validation during switch deployment, this feature helps ensure that critical services are functioning as expected before client onboarding. It also accelerates troubleshooting by isolating issues between the access layer and upstream network services, reducing the time required to identify root causes. In addition, it eliminates the need for physical client devices, simplifying testing and improving operational efficiency.

Requirements

The following conditions are necessary for utilizing this feature:
  • This feature is supported only with the Professional Tier license.
  • This feature is supported for RUCKUS ICX switches running FastIron release 10.0.10h07 or later.

Considerations

Consider the following when using this feature:

  • Service validation is supported only at the VLAN level. You can select only one VLAN at a time for running the test.
  • DHCP validation is not supported in scenarios where the switch operates as a relay agent for the tested VLAN.
  • If no response is received from a switch within 15 minutes after the test is triggered, the test is marked as timed out.
  • Test execution may be delayed if the switch is processing large configuration changes at the scheduled time.
  • The user interface prevents multiple service validation tests from being scheduled simultaneously on the same switch. If a test is already in progress, additional test requests to that switch will be rejected, the error message, "Another test in progress" error message is displayed in the detailed test results.
  • A stack of switches is treated as a single logical switch during service validation. Test execution and results are associated with a single switch identifier representing the active unit in the stack.
  • Service validation test results are retained for a period of one month, after which they are automatically purged.
  • If multiple DNS servers are returned by the DHCP server, only the first DNS server is used for DNS validation.
  • If DHCP does not provide DNS server information (DHCP Option 6), DNS name resolution is unavailable, causing DNS validation tests to fail.
  • If DHCP does not provide a default gateway (DHCP Option 3), the Service Validation client can communicate only within the local subnet. As a result, ping tests to destinations outside the local subnet may fail.
  • Service Validation in DHCP Server mode is not fully supported in all scenarios. Unsupported scenarios will be reported as Not Applicable (NA).
  • Changes such as adding a switch, rebooting a switch, reconnecting a switch after it becomes unreachable, creating a new venue, or updating the network configuration (for example, VLANs) may take up to 20 minutes to be reflected in Service Validation. During this period, the switch or updated configuration may already be visible in RUCKUS One but may not yet be available in Service Validation. As a result, the Run Now option may be disabled for service validation tests, or the switch may be displayed as 'Unknown' when creating a new service validation test.

Best Practices

Following are the recommended best practices regarding this feature:
  • Use VLAN-level service validation during switch deployment to verify service readiness before connecting end-user devices. This helps prevent post-deployment connectivity issues.
  • Schedule periodic validation tests (daily or weekly) for critical VLANs to proactively detect service degradation and ensure continuous network reliability.
  • When troubleshooting connectivity issues, run a service validation test on the affected VLAN to quickly determine whether the issue lies in the upstream network (for example, DHCP or DNS failure) or at the access layer.

Prerequisites

Before using this feature, ensure the following:
  • Ensure that the required VLANs and their associated port mappings are configured on all selected switches. Also, ensure that the switches are connected to RUCKUS One, network reachability is established, and the switches remain operational. No additional switch configuration is required to execute a service validation test once these prerequisites are met.
  • Verify that essential network services such as DHCP and DNS are reachable from the VLAN being tested.