Network Test System

• US 20150242294A1
• Filed: 12/03/2014
• Published: 08/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EXFO Incorporated (11172239 Canada, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EXFO Incorporated (11172239 Canada, Inc.)
• Inventors: NADEAU, Sylvain, LAPIERRE, Dominic, GIGUERE, Bruno, BUTEAU, Gilles
• Granted Patent: US 9,858,137 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/079 Root cause analysis, i.e. error or fault diagnosis in a hardware test environment G06F11/22; in a software test environment G06F11/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2294 by remote test
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements

Abstract

A test system and a related method, the system comprising a test processing agent and local test device(s). The test processing agent processes test measurements related to a network-under-test into test results. The test processing agent is decoupled from the network-under-test, e.g., by being reachable through a network communication link distinct from the network-under-test. The local test device comprises a firmware module and a network interface (NI) module. The firmware module depends on external instructions for initiating a test sequence on the network-under-test. The NI module comprises at least one physical port connectable to the network-under-test. The physical port is used for initiating the test sequence. The test processing agent receives the test measurements following the initiation of the test sequence by the local test device and allows access to the test results.

Claims

1. A test system for obtaining test results characterizing at least part of a network-under-test, the system comprising:

a local test device comprising;

a firmware module that depends on external instructions for initiating a test sequence on the network-under-test, the test sequence leading to the production of test measurements, wherein the firmware module cannot process the test measurements to provide the test results; and

a network interface (NI) module comprising at least one physical port connectable to the network-under-test, the at least one physical port being used for initiating the test sequence;

a test processing agent, decoupled from the network-under-test for;

receiving the test measurements following the initiation of the test sequence by the local test device;

processing the test measurements related to the network-under-test into the test results; and

allowing access to the test results.

2. The test system of claim 1, wherein the test processing agent runs on a virtualized computing system, the computing system comprising a plurality of processor modules.

3. The test system of claim 2, wherein the test processing agent comprises a cloud-based application having dynamically assigned computing resources to support a variable number of test devices.

4. The test system of claim 1, wherein the test processing agent has a network interface for connecting toward the network-under test for sending the external instructions to the local test device via the network-under-test.

5. The test system of claim 1, wherein the NI module comprises at least one local interface connectable to a local terminal temporarily co-located with the local test device, wherein the at least one local interface is operable to receive the external instructions from the local terminal.

6. The test system of claim 1, wherein the NI module comprises at least one Wide Area Network (WAN) interface to be connected towards the test processing agent, wherein the test processing agent is further for communicating with a local terminal, temporarily co-located with the local test device, through the WAN interface.

7. The test system of claim 5, wherein the test processing agent is operable to send the external instructions, toward the local test device, through the local terminal.

8. The test system of claim 5, wherein the firmware module is adapted to initiate the test sequence without the local terminal being connected to the local interface.

9. The test system of claim 1 further comprising at least one additional test device connected to the network-under-test and synchronized with the local test device, wherein the at least one additional test device is capable of operating either:

remote from the local test device;

or

co-located with the local test device.

10. The test system of claim 9, wherein the at least one additional test device and the local test device are synchronized with each other using, as a reference point, at least one of the test processing agents, a plurality of satellite signals, or a primary/grandmaster reference source.

11. The test system of claim 9, wherein the local test device and the at least one additional test device are arranged into at least one test group for the network-under-test.

12. The test system of claim 9, wherein the physical port of the local test device and a physical port of each of the at least one additional test device are being used as multiple ports of a single test instrument of the network-under-test.

13. The test system of claim 12, wherein the test processing agent is operable to initiate a test command over the single test instrument, the test command comprising the test sequence and at least one additional test sequence to be initiated by the at least one additional test device.

14. The test system of claim 13, wherein the test processing agent sends additional external instructions to the at least one additional test device for initiation of the at least one additional test sequence.

15. A method for obtaining test results for a network-under-test, the method comprising:

receiving, in a firmware module of a local test device connectable to the network-under-test via a physical port, external instructions for initiating a test sequence on the network-under-test, the test sequence leading to the production of test measurements, the firmware module cannot initiate the test sequence without the external instructions and cannot process the test measurements into the test results;

receiving, at a test processing agent decoupled from the network-under-test, the test measurements following the initiation of the test sequence by the local test device;

processing, at the test processing agent, the test measurements into the test results; and

allowing access to the test results at the test processing agent.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising executing the test processing agent as a cloud-based software application having dynamically assigned computing resources to support a variable number of test devices.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising sending, from the test processing agent, the external instructions to the local test device via the network-under-test.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the local test device comprises at least one local interface connected to a local terminal temporarily co-located with the local test device, the method further comprising receiving the external instructions from the local terminal over the local interface.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising communicating between the local test device and the test processing agent via the local terminal.

20. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

communicating between the local test device and the test processing agent through a Wide Area Network (WAN) interface; and

communicating between the local test device and a local terminal temporarily co-located with the local test device through the WAN interface.

21. The method of claim 18 further comprising sending at least a portion of the external instructions from the test processing agent to the local terminal before sending the external instructions from the local terminal to the local test device.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein at least one additional test device is connected to the network-under-test and synchronized with the local test device, the at least one additional test device being capable of operating either:

remote from the local test device;

or

co-located with the local test device.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising synchronizing the local test device and the at least one additional test device with each other using, as a reference point, at least one of the test processing agents, a plurality of satellite signals, or a primary/grandmaster reference source.

24. The method of claim 22 further comprising grouping the local test device and the at least one additional test device into at least one test group for the network-under-test.

25. The method of claim 22 further comprising using the physical port of the local test device and a physical port of each of the at least one additional test device as multiple ports of a single test instrument of the network-under-test.

26. The method of claim 25 further initiating a test command using the single test instrument from the test processing agent, the test command comprising the test sequence and at least one additional test sequence to be initiated by the at least one additional test device.

27. The method of claim 26 further comprising receiving, at each of the at least one additional test device, additional external instructions for initiating the at least one additional test sequence.