System and method for boundary scan test of a wired or wireless network

• US 20030212941A1
• Filed: 05/13/2003
• Published: 11/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommWorks Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Kiyon, Inc.
• Inventors: Wang, Weilin, Gillies, Donald W., Nova, Michael P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,069,483 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/726
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/318533 using scanning techniques, e.g. LSSD, Boundary Scan, JTAG
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/122 by minimising distances, e.g. by selecting a route with minimum of number of hops
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing a boundary scan test of a wired or wireless network having a plurality of network nodes are presented. The system includes a test station communicatively coupled with the network. The test station creates a MAC layer scan test route sequence that includes each link in the network and is independent of the routing mechanism and protocol used for the network. The test station also creates a test agent that is configured to traverse each link in the scan test route sequence. The test agent is then deployed on the network and information about a link is reported back to the test station after the test agent examines the link. The scan test route sequence can be created by sending out a series of broadcast messages from one or more nodes in the network, sequentially applying a network tour to cover the entire network, or performing a depth first search on the entire network.

Claims

1. A method for testing a link in a network that communicatively couples a plurality of network devices, comprising:

establishing a MAC layer scan test route sequence that includes each link in a communication network;

creating a test agent configured to traverse each link in the scan test route sequence; and

deploying the test agent on the communication network, wherein the test agent examines a link in the scan test route sequence to determine information about the link.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing step comprises sending a series of broadcast messages from each of the plurality of network devices in the communication network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing step comprises sequential application of a network tour.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the network tour is a postman tour.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing step comprises performing a depth first search of the communication network.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the performing step comprises constructing a scan chain table at each network device in the communication network.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the performing step comprises generating a canonical addressing scheme based on hop count.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the test agent examines each link in the scan test route sequence to determine information about the communication network.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the test agent reports the link information to a test station.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a plurality of test agents; and

deploying each of the plurality of test agents on the communication network.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of test agents report link information to a single test station.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the test agent is an abstract data type configured for transmission in the data payload of one or more communication packets.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the test agent comprises a test type indicator that identifies the type of test to be performed on a link.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the test agent comprises source route information.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the test agent comprises intermediate link information results.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the test agent comprises a link attribute to be analyzed in connection with examining a link.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the link attribute is a link connectivity state.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the link attribute is a network device routing configuration.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the test agent comprises executable instructions to be performed in connection with examining a link.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the executable instructions modify the tests performed by the test agent when examining a link.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein the executable instructions are invoked at a subset of the plurality of network devices.

22. A system for testing a link in a network that communicatively couples a plurality of network devices, comprising:

a test station having a network communication means and a memory, the test station communicatively coupled with a plurality of network devices via a network;

a scan test route sequence comprising each link in the network;

a test agent configured to examine a link in the scan test route sequence to determine information about the link.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the communication means is a wireless transceiver.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent is created by the test station.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent is further configured to report the link information to a test station.

26. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent is further configured to examine each link in the scan test route sequence to determine information about the communication network.

27. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent is an abstract data type configured for transmission in the data payload of one or more communication packets.

28. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent comprises a test type indicator that identifies the type of test to be performed on a link.

29. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent comprises source route information.

30. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent comprises intermediate link information results.

31. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent comprises a link attribute to be analyzed in connection with examining a link.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the link attribute is a link connectivity state.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein the link attribute is a network device routing configuration.

34. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent comprises executable instructions to be performed in connection with examining a link.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the executable instructions modify the tests performed by the test agent when examining a link.

36. The system of claim 34, wherein the executable instructions are invoked at a subset of the plurality of network devices.