The proliferation of heterogeneous networks, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) networks, and edge networks, has increased the complexity of network operation and administration, driving the emergence of digital twin networks (DTNs) that create digital-physical network mappings. While DTNs enable performance analysis through emulation testbeds, current research focuses on network-level systems, neglecting equipment-level emulation of critical components like core switches and routers. To address this issue, we propose vFabric (short for virtual switch), a digital twin emulator for high-capacity core switching equipment. This solution implements virtual switching and network processor (NP) chip models through specialized processes, deployable on single or distributed servers via socket communication. The vFabric emulator can realize the accurate emulation for the core switching equipment with 720 ports and 100 Gbit/s per port on the largest scale. To our knowledge, this represents the first digital twin emulation framework specifically designed for large-capacity core switching equipment in communication networks. ![]()
