Methods and apparatus for wireless network load generator clustering

• US 20050201293A1
• Filed: 12/22/2004
• Published: 09/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Keysight Technologies Singapore Sales Pte Ltd (Keysight Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Communication Machinery Corp. (Keysight Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Miller, Douglas M., Balmy, Ken, Bechdol, Jeff A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,558,565 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/241
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/24 Testing correct operation

Abstract

Methods and hardware for combining multiple, independent, wireless station (or user) emulating, load generators into a cluster, which is a group of independent wireless network load emulators working together to provide arbitrarily large, coordinated 802.11 user communities. A single command, control, and reporting mechanism establishes connections to the load generator nodes making up the cluster, distributes work to the nodes, and collects statistical data from the nodes. Alternate routing simplifies the routing of commands, control requests, and requests for statistical results when only a single load generator node is addressed.

Claims

1. A scalable system for testing a wireless communication system, the testing system comprising:

a cluster of independent, wireless, load generator nodes which operate as a single entity and which can be added to and removed from the cluster;

each of the load generator nodes having the capability of emulating and controlling one or more virtual wireless stations.

2. The combination of a scalable testing system as defined in claim 1;

and

a wireless connection between each emulated virtual station and a wireless system under test.

3. The combination of a scalable testing system as defined in claim 1 and a computer for managing and coordinating the operation of multiple load generator nodes.

4. The combination of a scalable testing system as defined in claim 1;

a command and control connection to each node; and

a command and control management system for managing the command and control connections.

5. A combination as defined in claim 4;

and

a work management and distribution system for distributing to load generator nodes in the cluster via the command and control management system a request for work by the load generator nodes.

6. The combination of:

a scalable testing system as defined in claim 1;

a reporting connection to each node; and

a reporting connection management system for managing the reporting connections.

7. A method for testing a wireless communication system which comprises the steps of:

providing a cluster of independent, wireless, load generator nodes which operate as a single system and which are each capable of emulating up to n virtual wireless stations;

instantiating the process with a list of addresses corresponding to the load generator nodes; and

establishing and maintaining a wireless command and control connection and a reporting connection to each load generator in the node list.

8. A method as defined in claim 7 which comprises the step of providing a work management and request distribution system to distribute work requests to the load generator nodes via the wireless command and management connections and to forward statistics via wireless reporting connections.

9. A method as defined in claim 7 which includes the step of bypassing the work management and request distribution system and forwarding directly to a particular load generator node through its wireless command and management connection work requests addressed specifically to that node and statistics collected from the node.

10. A method as defined in claim 7 which includes the step of establishing and maintaining wireless connections between the emulated user and the wireless system under test.