Abstract: One aspect of the instant application provides a system and method for generating internal traffic for a switch. During operation, the system configures a replication list comprising a plurality of replication entries, with a respective replication entry corresponding to a destination port on the switch. The system generates a seed packet to be replicated for each replication entry in the replication list, with a destination address of a respective replicated packet corresponding to a replication entry. All replicated packets are associated with a virtual local-area network (VLAN) reserved for the internal traffic. The system then forwards the replicated packets along with external packets received by the switch to corresponding destination ports on the switch.