Verification of a wireless protocol implementation

• US 9,883,412 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2016
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Chandra, Ranveer, Shi, Jinghao, Sarmast, Sam M., Champion, Mark A., Lahiri, Shuvendu K.
• Primary Examiner(s): TALUKDER, MD K
• Application Number:
  US14/987,655
• Publication Number:
  US 20170195903A1
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 455 6711, 455 69, 4551151
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/02 Protocol performance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/06 Testing, supervising or monitoring using simulated traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports

Abstract

The description relates to wireless protocol verification. One example can obtain information relating to a wireless protocol and receive information relating to wireless communications associated with a wireless device. The example can compare the wireless communications with the wireless protocol and generate a verification report that conveys whether the wireless communications comply with the wireless protocol.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a processing device; and

a memory having instructions which, when executed by the processing device, configure the processing device to;

provide usage scenarios for a wireless device that includes a wireless implementation of a wireless protocol;

influence a wireless condition in a wireless testing environment that includes the wireless device;

wirelessly obtain different potential packet traces by observing the wireless device when performing the usage scenarios;

process the different potential packet traces using different state transitions through a state machine and assign different probabilities to the different state transitions;

based at least on the different probabilities, select a particular state transition through the state machine to a particular state, the particular state being associated with a corresponding aspect defined in the wireless protocol;

determine whether observed behavior of the wireless device complies with the corresponding aspect defined in the wireless protocol; and

output a report that conveys whether the observed behavior of the wireless device complies with the corresponding aspect defined in the wireless protocol.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing device, configure the processing device to:

influence the wireless condition using an attenuator, an interferer, or a packet jammer.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing device, configure the processing device to:

influence the wireless condition by causing the wireless implementation on the wireless device to exercise various assertions in the state machine, the various assertions relating to various aspects of the wireless protocol.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing device, configure the processing device to:

include, in the report, a number of times the wireless implementation exercises the various assertions and another number of times that the wireless implementation violates the various assertions.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing device, configure the processing device to:

generate the usage scenarios.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a packet sniffer, an oscillator, or a spectrum analyzer configured to observe the wireless device when performing the usage scenarios.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a packet siffer, an oscillator, and a spectrum analyzer configured to observe the wireless device when performing the usage scenarios.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing deviceprocessor, configure the processing device processor to:

select the particular state transition based at least on the particular state transition having a maximum likelihood relative to other state transitions for other potential packet traces.

9. A method comprising:

receiving information relating to wireless communications associated with a wireless device;

identifying different potential packet traces represented by the information relating to the wireless communications;

processing the different potential packet traces by assigning different probabilities to different state transitions between different states of a state machine, the different potential packet traces being represented by different paths through the different states of the state machine;

inputting the information relating to the wireless communications to a state machine having associated assertions for a wireless protocol, individual assertions being associated with specific state transitions in the state machine;

based at least on the different probabilities, selecting a particular state transition through the state machine, based at least on a probability associated with the particular state transition, the particular state transition leading to a particular state associated with a particular aspect defined in a wireless protocol assertion;

determining whether the wireless communications comply with the particular aspect defined in the wireless protocol;

generating a wireless verification report that conveys whether the wireless communications comply with the particular aspect defined in the wireless protocol; and

outputting the wireless verification report.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

identifying, in the wireless verification report, instances when certain assertions associated with other states are violated and other instances where other assertions associated with the other states are exercised and followed.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the information comprises wireless signals.

12. The method of claim 9, performed by a device other than the wireless device that performed the wireless communications.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the particular state transition passes through three or more states.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the particular aspect relates to a packet rate transmitted by the wireless device.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

tracking multiple possible scenarios of the state machine and using subsequent wireless communications to prune individual scenarios.

16. A device, comprising:

communication circuitry configured to receive signals relating to wireless communications associated with a wireless device; and

a processing device configured to;

identify different potential packet traces represented by the signals relating to the wireless communications;

process the different potential packet traces by assigning different probabilities to different state transitions between different states of a state machine, the different potential packet traces being represented by different paths through the different states of the state machine;

based at least on the different probabilities, select a particular state transition through the state machine, the particular state transition leading to a particular state associated with a particular assertion associated with a wireless protocol;

determine whether the wireless communications comply with the particular assertion associated with the wireless protocol; and

output a report that conveys whether the wireless communications comply with the particular assertion associated with the wireless protocol.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the communication circuitry comprises wireless communication circuitry and wherein the wireless communication circuitry is manifest as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

18. The device of claim 16, wherein the state machine defines a first state transition representing a successful communication and a second state transition representing an unsuccessful communication.

19. The device of claim 16, wherein the processing device is further configured to:

relate the different state transitions in the state machine to corresponding assertions that indicate compliance with the wireless protocol.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein the processing device is further configured to:

determine, using the state machine, whether the wireless device exercised individual assertions associated with;

packet rate changes defined by the wireless protocol, noise burst handling defined by the wireless protocol, packet retries defined by the wireless protocol, and include, in the report, indications of whether the wireless device exercised the individual assertions.