Research,Design And Implementation Of Multi-Port Concurrent Testing Coordination&Management Protocol

The background of the work presented in the MSc dissertation is Network Testing with an emphasis on single router testing.Sichuan Network Communication Technology Key Laboratory(SC-Netcom Lab)has been involved in testing routers and introduced a multi-port concurrent test method called MPC-TTM(Multi-Port Concurrent Transverse Test Method).Currently,a Distributed Multi-port Concurrent Test System(DMC-TS)based on MPC-TTM is under development at SC-Netcom Lab.The DMC-TS is formed of two functional parts:multiple TPTs(Two-Port Testers),each of which tests and monitors a pair of ports of the router under test,and a Multi-Port Concurrent Test Controller(MPC-TC),which acts as the master tester to coordinate the test process of individual TPTs through network connections.To evaluate performance or conformity of a single router,an MPC-TC is directly connected to multiple TPTs via a local switch;while for testing or monitoring overall network performance via selected routers,they can be interconnected through any network facilities available.To enable concurrent testing in a controlled manner,there is a need for coordination between the MPC-TC and TPTs.This dissertation is dedicated to coordination issues in DMC-TS.With better understanding of network testing and experiences learnt from previous work relevant to MPCT-CMP,this dissertation provides a framework on coordination between MPC-TC and TPTs,a Multi-Port Concurrent Testing Coordination & Management Protocol(MPCT-CMP)suitable both for single router evaluation and for network performance testing via distributed multiple routers.In addition to one-to-one relationship as with traditional C/S application systems,where peer endtities communicate with each other,DMC-TS also needs to work in a one-to-multiple mode.For example,MPC-TC need to send "start" command to all TPTs at the beginning of test case or after synchronization,to ensure that all TPTs start to take specified action simultaneously.The work presented in this dissertation also includes an implementation of the MPCT-CMP and preliminary results of the implementation,which to some extent validate the design principle of the protocol and prove that it is operable.