SIMULATION OR TEST SYSTEM, AND ASSOCIATED METHOD

• US 20110010156A1
• Filed: 06/23/2010
• Published: 01/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS NV)
• Original Assignee: Airbus Operations (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS NV)
• Inventors: CALLUAUD, Jean-Marie, CANDIA, Fabrice, HOUTEKIER, Alain
• Granted Patent: US 8,620,639 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/13
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4013 Management of data rate on the bus systems modifying transmission characteristics according to link quality H04L1/0001
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/145 involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network

Abstract

This invention relates to a simulation or test system (1′) for a network architecture of computers (10-15) and active equipment items (20-25), in particular on board an aircraft, and a corresponding method.

The system comprises a simulation unit (100) comprising models (M_i) simulating at least one part of the said computers (10-15).

Moreover, each computer or simulation model is able to communicate on a real network (2) through a corresponding active equipment item (20-25) to which the said computer, simulated if need be, is directly connected in the network, and the simulation unit (100) may acquire a message (MESS) sent out by a computer or a simulation model on the network, and transmit the acquired message to simulation models (M_i) that are recipients thereof.

According to the invention, the simulation unit (100) acquires the said message at the corresponding active equipment item (20-25) to which the sending computer or simulation model is directly connected.

Claims

1. Simulation or test system (1′

) for a network architecture of computers (10-15) and active equipment items (20-25), comprising;

a simulation unit (100) comprising models (M_i) simulating at least one part of the said computers (10-15), each computer or simulation model being able to communicate on a real network (2) through an active equipment item (20-25) known as corresponding active equipment item, to which the said computer, simulated if need be, is directly connected in the network topology,

simulation unit (100) being equipped to acquire a message (MESS) sent out by a computer or a simulation model on the network, and to transmit the message so acquired to simulation models (M₁) that are recipients thereof,

simulation unit (100) is equipped to acquire the said message at the corresponding active equipment item (20-25) to which the sending computer or simulation model is directly connected.

2. System (1′

) according to claim 1, in which the said simulation unit (100) is equipped to transmit, on the real network (2), the messages (MESS) sent out by simulation models (M_i) at the corresponding active equipment items (20-25) to which the simulated computers are directly connected.

3. System (1′

) according to claim 1 or 2, in which the said simulation unit (100) acquires the said message (MESS) on a surveillance port (Y) of the said corresponding active equipment item (20-25).

4. System (1′

) according to one of claims 1 to 3, in which the said simulation unit (100) monitors the state (E_i) of the equipment items (20-25) of the real network (2) and transmits the message (MESS) to the said recipient simulation models (M_i) according to the topology of the said network (2) and the state (E_i) of the active equipment items along a transmission path (VL) of the said message.

5. System (1′

) according to the preceding claim, in which the said simulation unit (100) is equipped to acquire at least one state indicator (E_i) sent out by each of the said active equipment items (20-25) of the said network (2), and to generate an availability indicator (E_10-11-VL3) of the said transmission path according to the said acquired state indicators.

6. System (1′

) according to the preceding claim, in which the said availability indicator (E_10-11-VL3) is the result of a logic equation predefined with the aid of a configuration file representative of the topology of the said network architecture.

7. System (1′

) according to the preceding claim, in which the logic equations are broken down and calculated by the said simulation models (M_i).

8. System (1′

) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the said simulation unit is equipped to acquire, at the said corresponding active equipment items, all the messages originating from computers or simulation models directly connected thereto.

9. System (1′

) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the said active equipment items (20-25) of the network (2) are redundant and the use of the said retrieved message (MESS) by a recipient simulation model (M_i) is dependent on the simultaneous failure of an active equipment item (20-25) and its redundancy (20′

-25′

).

10. Simulation or test method for a network architecture of computers (10-15) and active equipment items (20-25) implementing a simulation unit (100) comprising models simulating at least one part of the said computers,

each computer or simulation model communicating on a real network (2) through an active equipment item (20-25), known as corresponding active equipment item, to which the said computer, simulated if need be, is directly connected in the network topography,

the method comprising the acquisition, by the simulation unit (100), of a message (MESS) sent out by a computer or a simulation model on the network, and the transmission of the said acquired message to simulation models (M_i) that are recipients thereof.

the said acquisition of the message is carried out at the corresponding active equipment item (20-25) to which the sending computer or simulation model is directly connected.