Network testing systems

• US 20050260982A1
• Filed: 06/30/2005
• Published: 11/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Actix Limited (Amdocs Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Actix Limited (Amdocs Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ko, Yiu Fai, Dobson, Robert W. A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,349,692 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/423
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/344 Out-of-band transfers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5022 by giving priorities, e.g. assigning classes of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5087 wherein the managed service relates to voice services management of VoIP services H04M7/0081
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/509 wherein the managed service relates to media content delivery, e.g. audio, video or TV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/02 Capturing of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/55 Testing of service level quality, e.g. simulating service usage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements

Abstract

A method of testing a digital mobile phone network such as a GPRS or 3 G network comprises creating test traffic using an unmodified test mobile phone coupled to a computer, and using the computer to measure a parameter associated with the network'"'"'s response to the test traffic. The measurements made by the computer are encoded into the test traffic to create a data stream within the mobile phone network comprising test traffic, measurements relating to the test traffic, and signalling relating to the test traffic, whereby this data stream can be captured at points within the network and analysed to investigate the functioning of the network dynamically as the network is exercised with the test traffic. Software and test equipment for performing the method are also described.

Claims

1. Mobile communications equipment for connecting to a mobile communications device for testing a digital mobile phone network, said mobile communications equipment comprising:

a mobile communications device driver having a traffic input for driving traffic to said mobile communications device and a traffic output for outputting a traffic received from said mobile communications device;

a test traffic supply to supply test traffic;

a traffic parameter measurer configured to receive an input from said device driver traffic output and to provide traffic parameter measurement data representing a measured traffic parameter; and

a combiner configured to create a test traffic thread comprising said test traffic in which is embedded said traffic parameter measurement data such that said test traffic thread makes said embedded data available at an interface of said digital mobile phone network remote from said mobile communications device, said combiner being further configured to provide said test traffic thread to said traffic input of said device driver;

wherein, in operation, the equipment is adapted to output said test traffic thread comprising a combination of test traffic for testing said digital mobile phone network and traffic parameter measurement data to said mobile communications device, said traffic parameter measurement data representing a measured parameter of traffic received from said digital mobile phone network via said mobile communications device as a response to said test traffic.

2. Mobile communications equipment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said combiner comprises an interleaver for interleaving said measurement data with said test traffic.

3. Mobile communications equipment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said test traffic supply includes a data store to store said test traffic;

and further comprising;

a test sequence controller configured to control said combiner and to control provision of said stored test traffic from said test traffic supply and of said measurement data from said measurer to said combiner, to control a test sequence of traffic provided to said traffic input of said mobile communications device driver.

4. Mobile communications equipment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said device driver includes a voice device driver, said test traffic supply includes a data store to store digitised audio data, and said test traffic comprises audio test traffic, and wherein said traffic parameter measurer further comprises an encoder configured to encode said measurement data as audio tones and to provide said encoded measurement data to said combiner for combining with said audio data from said data store;

whereby said combined traffic output comprises audio data.

5. Mobile communications equipment as claimed in claim 4 further comprising an autocaller to control said mobile communications equipment to automatically initiate outgoing calls using the digital mobile phone network.

6. Mobile communications equipment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said device driver includes a data device driver and said test traffic comprises packetised data traffic.

7. Mobile communications equipment as claimed in claim 6 wherein said test traffic supply and said traffic parameter measurer each have a data packetiser for supplying packetised data to said device driver;

and further comprising;

a test sequence controller configured to control said traffic supply packetiser and said parameter measurer packetiser to control a test sequence of traffic provided to said device driver.

8. Mobile communications equipment as claimed in claim 6 wherein said measured traffic parameter is selected from a group comprising data rate, bit error ratio, and data delay parameters.

9. Mobile communications equipment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said device driver is suitable for driving an unmodified consumer mobile communications device, to simulate a subscriber to said digital mobile phone network.

10. Mobile communications equipment as claimed in claim 1 comprising a processor and an instruction store storing instructions for controlling the processor to provide said mobile communications device driver, said test traffic supply, said traffic parameter measurer, and said combiner.

11. A combination of the mobile communications equipment of claim 1 and said mobile communications device.

12. Computer readable program code to, when running, implement the functions of the mobile communications equipment of claim 1 on a computer system.

13. A carrier medium carrying the computer readable program code of claim 12.

14. A carrier medium carrying computer readable code for controlling a computer coupled to a mobile communications device to test a digital mobile phone network, the code comprising computer code for:

a mobile communications device driver having a traffic input for driving traffic to said mobile communications device and a traffic output for outputting a traffic received from said mobile communications device;

a test traffic supply to supply test traffic;

a traffic parameter measurer configured to receive an input from said device driver traffic output and to provide traffic parameter measurement data representing a measured traffic parameter; and

a combiner configured to create a test traffic thread comprising said test traffic in which is embedded said traffic parameter measurement data such that said test traffic thread makes said embedded data available at an interface of said digital mobile phone network remote from said mobile communication devices, said combiner being further configured to provide said test traffic thread to said traffic input of said device driver;

wherein the computer is adapted to output said test traffic thread comprising a combination of test traffic for testing said digital mobile phone network and traffic parameter measurement data to said mobile communications device, said traffic parameter measurement data representing a measured parameter of traffic received from said digital mobile phone network via said mobile communication device;

as a response to said test traffic.

15. A method of using a mobile communications device to facilitate testing of a digital mobile phone network, the method comprising:

controlling said mobile communications device to send test traffic over said digital mobile phone network;

receiving traffic from said digital mobile phone network using said mobile communications device;

measuring at least one parameter associated with said received traffic to provide traffic parameter measurement data; and

creating a test traffic thread comprising said test traffic in which is embedded said traffic parameter measurement data such that said test traffic thread makes said embedded data available at an interface of said digital mobile phone network remote from said mobile communications device to thereby facilitate testing of said digital mobile phone network.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15 further comprising:

providing test traffic data from a test traffic data supply;

coding said test traffic data for transmission over the digital mobile phone network;

coding said measurement data for transmission over the digital mobile phone network;

interleaving said coded test traffic and measurement data; and

providing said interleaved data to a mobile communications device driver for controlling said mobile communications device to send said interleaved data over said digital mobile phone network.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16 further comprising:

controlling said coding of said test traffic data, said coding of said measurement data and said interleaving using a state machine.

18. A method as claimed in claim 16 wherein said test traffic comprises audio test traffic and said coding comprises audio coding.

19. A method as claimed in claim 16 wherein said test traffic comprises packet data and said coding comprises packetizing said test traffic data and said measurement data.

20. Computer readable program code to, when running, implement the method of claim 15 on a computer.

21. A carrier medium carrying the computer readable program code of claim 20.

22. A carrier medium carrying computer readable code for testing the performance of a mobile communications system as perceived by a subscriber to the system using a subscriber mobile communications device, the computer readable code comprising code for running on a computer system coupled to said subscriber mobile communications device, said code being for controlling the computer system to:

code information relating to a test activity performed by said computer system, to provide coded information able to be identified within traffic of said system and extracted from said traffic;

create a test traffic thread comprising test traffic in which is embedded said coded information such that said test traffic thread makes said embedded information available at an interface of said mobile communications system remote from said subscriber mobile communications device; and

send said test traffic thread over said mobile communications system using said subscriber mobile communications device.

23. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 22 wherein said traffic comprises data traffic and said information is selected from a group comprising data throughput rate, data delay and subscriber mobile communications device position.

24. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 22 wherein said traffic comprises voice traffic, wherein said coding comprises encoding said information using audio tones, and wherein said information is selected from a group comprising voice quality information and subscriber mobile communications device position.

25. A carrier medium carrying computer readable code for analysing the performance of a mobile packet data communications system, the mobile packet data communications system including a plurality of base stations for radio communication with a plurality of mobile communications system devices, the system being logically divided into portions linked at interfaces at which measurements may be made;

the computer readable code comprising code to, when running, analyse data captured at a said interface, said code being configured to control a computer system to;

read data captured at a said interface;

extract from said read data a test traffic thread, said test traffic thread comprising test traffic in which is embedded coded information relating to a test activity performed by a said mobile device at a location remote from said interface, and extract from said read data associated mobile communications system operation information for one of said communications devices;

decode said coded information from said test traffic thread; and

output a linked combination of said decoded information and said mobile communications system operation information associated with said test traffic thread from which said information was decoded.

26. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 25 wherein said code is further configured to control said computer system to provide a graphical representation of said decoded information and said mobile communications system operation information associated with said traffic from which said information was decoded.

27. A method of testing the performance of a mobile communications system as perceived by a subscriber to the system using a subscriber mobile communications device, the mobile communications system including a plurality of base stations for radio communication with a plurality of mobile communications system devices, the system being logically divided into portions linked at interfaces at which measurements may be made;

the method comprising;

sending traffic over said mobile communications system using said subscriber mobile communications device, said traffic including test traffic and coded information, said coded information being coded to allow said information to be identified within said traffic and extracted from said traffic, said information comprising information relating to a test activity performed by said computer system;

capturing data at a said interface;

extracting from said captured data a test traffic thread comprising test traffic in which is embedded coded information relating to a test activity performed by a said mobile device at a location remote from said interface and associated mobile communications system operation information for one of said communications devices;

decoding said coded information from said test traffic thread; and

outputting a linked combination of said decoded information and said mobile communications system operation information associated with said test traffic thread from which said information was decoded.

28. A method as claimed in claim 27 wherein said outputting comprises outputting a graphical representation of said decoded information and said mobile communications system operation information associated with said traffic from which said information was decoded.