Test device and test method

Abstract

In a test device (10), an instruction unit (11a) instructs an agent (21) disposed in each user device (20) to transmit a test packet from a transmission source user device (20) to a destination user device (20). A determination unit (11b) determines the result of a communication test between the transmission source user device (20) and the destination user device (20) on the basis of whether or not the destination user device (20) has received the transmitted test packet.

Description

Testing equipment and testing method

[0001] The present invention relates to a testing device and a testing method.

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a technique for measuring communication delay, jitter, and packet loss between communication devices by applying test packets to any section in a network. For example, delay times within a core network are measured and their status is confirmed by controlling test packets using SR (Segment Routing) (see Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] Hiroki Mori and four others, "Proposal of a delay measurement system for measuring network delay time with high accuracy," IEICE Technical Report, 2020, NS2019-231(2020-03), pp.301-306

[0004] However, with conventional technologies, end-to-end network testing can be difficult. For example, with conventional technologies, end-to-end testing requires the installation of a test terminal at the customer's site. This requires the preparation of a dedicated test terminal, the preparation of a test interface on the customer's device, and the installation and operation of the test terminal at the customer's site.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has an object to make it possible to easily perform an end-to-end network test.

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the test device of the present invention is characterized by having an instruction unit that instructs an agent located in each user device to send a test packet from the source user device to a specified destination user device, and a judgment unit that judges the communication test result between the user devices depending on whether the transmitted test packet is received by the destination user device.

[0007] According to the present invention, it becomes possible to easily perform an end-to-end network test.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a test system including a test apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a general configuration of the test apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a test process. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the test process. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the test process. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the test process. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a test process procedure. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the test process. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a computer that executes a test program.

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In addition, in the description of the drawings, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0010] [Overview of Test System] Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a test system including a test device according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the test system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a test device (controller) 10 and a user device (customer device) 20.

[0011] The user device 20 is installed at a customer's site and is a router, switch, or the like that is the target of test processing, which will be described later. The user device 20 has a control unit realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), NP (Network Processor), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or the like, and an agent 21 that can be controlled by the test device (controller) 10 is set in advance prior to the test processing.

[0012] The agent 21 may be implemented in a dedicated device at the customer's site, as shown in FIG. 1( a), or may be implemented in a general-purpose device such as a white box, as shown in FIG. 1( b).

[0013] The test device 10 controls end-to-end testing between multiple user devices 20 through the agent 21 of each user device 20 using a test process described below. This eliminates the need to enter a customer's site for end-to-end network testing, including the access section and the customer's LAN / WAN, making it possible to reduce operational load.

[0014] [Configuration of Test Apparatus] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the test apparatus of this embodiment. FIGS. 3 to 6 are diagrams for explaining the test process. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the test apparatus 10 includes a control unit 11 implemented by a CPU, NP, FPGA, or the like, and functions as an instruction unit 11a, a determination unit 11b, and a monitoring unit 11c by executing a processing program stored in memory. These functional units may be implemented in different hardware. The control unit 11 may also include other functional units.

[0015] The test device 10 also includes a communication control unit (not shown) implemented by a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like, and communicates with the user device 20, other network devices, and the like via the communication control unit.

[0016] The test device 10 also includes a storage unit 12 implemented by a semiconductor memory device such as a RAM or flash memory. The storage unit 12 stores user device information 12a used in the test process described below, test results 12b collected in the test process, and the like. The user device information 12a includes information such as an IP address related to each user device 20 to be processed. The storage unit 12 may be configured to communicate with the control unit 11 via a communication control unit.

[0017] The instruction unit 11a instructs the agent 21 arranged in each user device 20 to start a communication test between the specified user devices 20. Specifically, the instruction unit 11a instructs the agent 21 arranged in each user device 20 to transmit a test packet from the source user device 20 to the destination user device 20. That is, the instruction unit 11a instructs the agent 21 of the source user device 20 to specify the destination user device 20 and transmit a specified test packet to the agent 21 of the destination user device 20. The format of the test packet is not particularly limited.

[0018] The determining unit 11b determines the result of the communication test between the sender and the destination user device 20 depending on whether the transmitted test packet is received by the destination user device 20. For example, when the agent 21 of the destination user device 20 receives a test packet, it returns the test packet to the test device 10. In this case, the determining unit 11b receives the test packet from the destination user device and determines that the communication test is OK. On the other hand, when the agent 21 of the destination user device 20 does not return a test packet within a predetermined time, the determining unit 11b determines that the communication test is NG.

[0019] When the agent 21 of the destination user device 20 receives the test packet, it may notify the test device 10 of the reception. In this case, the determining unit 11b determines that the communication test is OK if there is a notification of reception, and determines that the communication test is NG if there is no notification of reception of the test packet within a predetermined time.

[0020] 3 to 6 are diagrams for explaining the test process. As illustrated in Fig. 3, when a user device 20 is installed at a new location, a communication test can be easily performed as a line test when the line is opened. In the example shown in Fig. 3, when a user device 20 is installed at new location #3, an end-to-end communication test is performed between the user device 20 and location #1 as a line test.

[0021] 4, a communication test between the user devices 20 at each base point makes it easy to isolate the cause of a failure. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the communication test between base #1 and base #2 is NG, the communication test between base #1 and base #3 is OK, and the communication test between base #2 and base #3 is NG, so it can be seen that the failure is caused by base #2.

[0022] Returning to the description of FIG. 2, the instruction unit 11a may specify the timing of test packet transmission for each of the user devices 20 that are the destinations of multiple communication tests. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, in the case of a point-to-multipoint connection topology, the instruction unit 11a specifies the timing of test packet transmission for each of the destination user devices 20. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the transmission timings are specified for the agent 21 at site #1 in the following order: communication test with site #2, communication test with site #3, ..., communication test with site #n. This makes it possible to avoid overlapping test traffic and avoid the impact on the main signal caused by test traffic concentration and bandwidth congestion.

[0023] Returning to the explanation of Figure 2, the monitoring unit 11c monitors changes in delay time between each user device 20. This makes it possible to isolate the cause of the delay. For example, the test device 10 records the timing at which the instruction unit 11a instructs the agent 21 of the source user device 20 to send a test packet for a communication test, and the timing at which the determination unit 11b receives the test packet returned from the agent 21 of the destination user device 20, and stores the time between them as the normal delay time between the user devices 20.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 6, if the delay time increases, it can be estimated that the bandwidth usage in that section has increased. In the example shown in Fig. 6, the delay time between point #1 and point #2 and the delay time between point #2 and point #3 increased, while the delay time between point #1 and point #3 remained unchanged, so it can be estimated that the bandwidth usage at point #2 has increased.

[0025] [Test Processing] Next, the test processing performed by the test device 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the test processing. The flowchart in Fig. 7 starts, for example, when the user performs an operation input to instruct the start of the test.

[0026] First, the instruction unit 11a instructs the agent 21 arranged in each user device 20 to start a communication test between the user devices 20 at each base (step S1). Specifically, the instruction unit 11a instructs the agent 21 arranged in each user device 20 to transmit a test packet from the source user device 20 to the destination user device 20.

[0027] The determining unit 11b then determines the result of the communication test between the source and destination user equipment 20 based on whether the transmitted test packet is received by the destination user equipment 20 (step S2). For example, if the destination user equipment 20 returns a test packet, the determining unit 11b determines that the communication test is successful (step S2, Yes). In this case, the process proceeds to step S6.

[0028] On the other hand, if the agent 21 of the destination user device 20 does not return a test packet within a predetermined time, the determining unit 11b determines that the communication test is NG (step S2, No). In this case, if the communication test has not been performed in multiple sections (between bases) (step S3, No), the determining unit 11b outputs an alarm notifying that the communication test between the bases is NG (step S4), and ends the series of test processes.

[0029] On the other hand, if a communication test is being performed on multiple sections (between bases) (Step S3, Yes), the judgment unit 11b outputs an alarm notifying that the communication test between the bases has failed, and isolates the faulty section (Step S5), thereby completing the series of test processes.

[0030] In the process of step S6, the monitoring unit 11c monitors changes in the delay time between the user devices 20 at each base. If there is no change in the delay time (step S6, Yes), the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, if the delay time is increasing (step S6, No) and a communication test has not been performed in multiple sections (between bases) (step S7, No), the monitoring unit 11c notifies that the bandwidth usage between the bases is large (step S8), and ends the series of test processes.

[0031] On the other hand, if communication tests are being conducted on multiple sections (between bases) (Step S7, Yes), the monitoring unit 11c notifies that the bandwidth usage between the bases is high, and isolates the sections with high bandwidth usage (Step S9), thereby completing the series of test processes.

[0032] [Effect] As described above, in the test device 10 of this embodiment, the instruction unit 11a instructs the agent 21 arranged in each user device 20 to transmit a test packet from the source user device 20 to the destination user device 20. The determination unit 11b determines the result of the communication test between the user devices 20 depending on whether the destination user device 20 receives the transmitted test packet.

[0033] This enables the test device 10 to easily perform end-to-end network tests, including the access section and the customer's LAN / WAN, while minimizing operational work such as preparing a dedicated test terminal, preparing a test interface on the customer's device, entering the customer's site to install the test terminal, and checking its operation.

[0034] Here, FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the test process. Conventionally, the test within the SR network illustrated in FIG. 8(a) or the router-to-router test illustrated in FIG. 8(b) cannot test the access section. Furthermore, the router-to-router test using a dedicated terminal arrangement illustrated in FIG. 8(c) can test the access section, but requires a dedicated terminal for testing, which requires operational work. In contrast, the test process of this embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8(d) makes it possible to test the access section without the need for a dedicated terminal. Therefore, there is no need to enter the customer's site, which makes it possible to reduce operational work.

[0035] The instruction unit 11a also specifies the timing of test packet transmission for each of the multiple user devices 20 that are the destinations of the communication tests, thereby preventing overlapping of test traffic and preventing the main signal from being affected by bandwidth congestion caused by concentrated test traffic.

[0036] The monitor 11c also monitors changes in delay time between the user devices, which enables the test device 10 to estimate an increase in bandwidth usage.

[0037] [Program] A program written in a computer-executable language may be created to execute the processes executed by the test device 10 according to the above embodiment. In one embodiment, the test device 10 can be implemented by installing a test program that executes the above test process as package software or online software on a desired computer. For example, by executing the test program on an information processing device, the information processing device can function as the test device 10. The information processing device referred to here includes desktop and notebook personal computers. Other examples of information processing devices include mobile communication terminals such as smartphones, mobile phones, and PHS (Personal Handyphone Systems), as well as slate terminals such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). The functions of the test device 10 may also be implemented on a cloud server.

[0038] 9 is a diagram showing an example of a computer that executes a test program. The computer 1000 includes, for example, a memory 1010, a CPU 1020, a hard disk drive interface 1030, a disk drive interface 1040, a serial port interface 1050, a video adapter 1060, and a network interface 1070. These components are connected by a bus 1080.

[0039] The memory 1010 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1011 and a RAM 1012. The ROM 1011 stores a boot program such as a BIOS (Basic Input Output System). The hard disk drive interface 1030 is connected to a hard disk drive 1031. The disk drive interface 1040 is connected to a disk drive 1041. A removable storage medium such as a magnetic disk or optical disk is inserted into the disk drive 1041. The serial port interface 1050 is connected to a mouse 1051 and a keyboard 1052, for example. The video adapter 1060 is connected to a display 1061, for example.

[0040] Here, the hard disk drive 1031 stores, for example, an OS (Operating System) 1091, an application program 1092, a program module 1093, and program data 1094. The various pieces of information described in the above embodiments are stored in the hard disk drive 1031 or the memory 1010, for example.

[0041] The test program is stored in the hard disk drive 1031 as, for example, a program module 1093 in which instructions to be executed by the computer 1000 are written. Specifically, the program module 1093 in which each process executed by the test apparatus 10 described in the above embodiment is written is stored in the hard disk drive 1031.

[0042] Furthermore, data used for information processing by the test program is stored as program data 1094, for example, in the hard disk drive 1031. Then, the CPU 1020 reads the program module 1093 and the program data 1094 stored in the hard disk drive 1031 into the RAM 1012 as necessary, and executes each of the above-described procedures.

[0043] The program module 1093 and program data 1094 related to the test program are not limited to being stored in the hard disk drive 1031, and may be stored in, for example, a removable storage medium and read by the CPU 1020 via the disk drive 1041. Alternatively, the program module 1093 and program data 1094 related to the test program may be stored in another computer connected via a network such as a LAN or a WAN (Wide Area Network), and read by the CPU 1020 via the network interface 1070.

[0044] Although the present invention has been described above as an embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the description and drawings that form part of the disclosure of the present invention. In other words, other embodiments, examples, and operational techniques that can be made by those skilled in the art based on the present invention are all included in the scope of the present invention.

[0045] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Test device (controller) 11 Control unit 11a Instruction unit 11b Determination unit 11c Monitoring unit 12 Storage unit 20 User device 21 Agent

Claims

1. A test device characterized by having: an instruction unit that instructs an agent located in each user device to send a test packet from the source user device to a specified destination user device; and a judgment unit that judges the results of a communication test between the user devices based on whether the transmitted test packet is received by the destination user device.

2. The test device according to claim 1, wherein the instruction section specifies the timing of transmitting the test packet for each of the plurality of destination user devices.

3. The test device according to claim 1, further comprising a monitoring unit for monitoring changes in delay time between each user device.

4. A test method executed by a test device, comprising: an instruction step of instructing an agent located in each user device to send a test packet from the source user device to a specified destination user device; and a determination step of determining the results of a communication test between the user devices depending on whether the transmitted test packet is received by the destination user device.

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