Protocol software component and test apparatus

• US 8,683,269 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2011
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Jackson, Timothy Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): BUTLER, SARAI E
• Application Number:
  US13/088,143
• Publication Number:
  US 20120266024A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 Days
• Field of Search: 714/38.1, 714/38.14, 714/25, 714/47.14, 714/48, 714/4.1, 709/200, 709/207, 713/2
• US Class Current: 714/38.14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/577 Assessing vulnerabilities and evaluating computer system security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1433 Vulnerability analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]

Abstract

A particular system includes a processor and a network interface configured to send and receive messages via a network using an asynchronous computer communication protocol. The system may include two or more buffers, such as an ingress buffer and an egress buffer. The system may include a memory accessible to the processor. The memory may include first node instructions that are executable by the processor to implement one or more functions of a first node. The memory may also include one or more script callbacks. The script callbacks may be executable by the processor to at least one of provide: the first content to a test script to be modified before the first content is provided to the first node instructions from the ingress buffer, and provide the second content to the test script to be modified before the outgoing message is provided to the egress buffer.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor;

a network interface operably coupled to the processor and configured to send and receive messages via a network using an asynchronous computer communication protocol;

two or more buffers, including an ingress buffer to store first content corresponding to a received message and an egress buffer to store second content corresponding an outgoing message;

a memory accessible to the processor, the memory including

first node instructions that are executable by the processor to implement one or more functions of a first node; and

one or more script callbacks that are executable by the processor to at least one of;

provide the first content to a test script to be modified before the first content is provided to the first node instructions from the ingress buffer; and

provide the second content to the test script to be modified before the outgoing message is provided to the egress buffer.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more script callbacks is executable by the processor to introduce a timing delay before the first content is provided to the first node instructions.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more script callbacks is executable by the processor to introduce a timing delay before the outgoing message is sent.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more script callbacks is executable by the processor to modify session state information of the first node, the session state information indicating a session state of the asynchronous computer communication protocol.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the session state information of the first node includes one or more of a standby state, an init state, an active state, an inactive state, and a warning state.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more script callbacks is executable by the processor to modify session options of the first node, the session options indicating options to be used to send and receive the messages using the asynchronous computer communication protocol.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the session options include one or more of a timeout interval, a blocksize, and a transfer size.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the asynchronous computer communication protocol includes trivial file transfer protocol.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further includes instructions executable by the processor to generate a communication log that includes an output of the first node instructions and one or more messages received from a second node.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the network includes an onboard communications network of a vehicle.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to:

provide first data related to asynchronous computer communications to a test script;

receive modified first data from the test script, wherein the first data is modified by the test script to generate the modified first data;

generate a first message based on the modified first data;

send the first message to a second computer system using an asynchronous computer communications protocol;

receive a second message from the second computer system using the asynchronous computer communications protocol; and

store content of the first message and the second message to enable a determination of an effect of communicating the modified first data to the second computer system using the asynchronous computer communications protocol.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the instructions are further executable by the computer system to receive the first data via a third message using the asynchronous computer communications protocol before providing the first data to the test script.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the instructions are further executable by the computer system to receive the first data via a fourth message using the asynchronous computer communications protocol and to delay sending for a predetermined time period a fifth message sent in response to the fourth message.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the instructions are further configured to:

provide second data to the test script before the first data is provided to the test script; and

receive unmodified second data from the test script when the second data is provided to the test script before a threshold of the test script is satisfied.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the threshold includes one of a time threshold and a count of a number of instances for which data is provided to the test script.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the asynchronous computer communications protocol is trivial file transfer protocol.

17. A computer-executable method, comprising:

receiving a first message at a first node from a second node via a network using an asynchronous computer communications protocol;

providing first content of the first message to a first script callback, wherein the first script callback is configured to generate second content by enabling a first test script to at least one of modify the first content and delay generating the second content for a first predetermined time period;

providing the second content to first node instructions configured to respond to the first message from the second node by generating third content;

providing the third content to a second script callback, wherein the second script callback is configured to generate fourth content by enabling a second test script to at least one of modify the third content and delay generating the fourth content for a second predetermined time period; and

sending the fourth content to the second node via the network in a second message.

18. The computer-executable method of claim 17, wherein the first test script generates the second content in response to determining that a threshold of the first test script is satisfied.

19. The computer-executable method of claim 17, further comprising:

providing a first set of one or more protocol parameters to a third script callback, wherein the third script callback is configured to enable a third test script to generate a second set of one or more protocol parameters; and

providing the second set of one or more protocol parameters to the first node instructions.

20. The computer-executable method of claim 19, wherein the first set of one or more protocol parameters includes at least one of a protocol state and one or more protocol options.