Objective
Project ITACA aimed at identifying methodologies, procedures and tools, needed to define an IBCN Conformance Testing Environment and implement in the near future a corresponding conformance testing system able to handle the high data rates of IBC. Testing tools and equipment were not produced, but relevant requirements were specified. ITACA identified (formal) description techniques, suited to the specification of an IBCN Conformance Testing Service. Methodologies for automated test generation and running were also defined.
The following main objectives were identified:
. scope and harmonisation of an IBCN conformance testing service; identification of suitable IBCN testing scenarios
. identification of the IBC test tools; definition of their functional architecture, and specification of relevant basic technical requirements
. identification of the IBC test purposes at different abstraction levels; definition of the IBC test suite structure as grouping of test purposes
. identification and evaluation of suitable (IBC) test description techniques
. definition of methodologies for an automated approach to (IBC) test generation and run.
Project ITACA aimed at identifying methodologies procedures and tools, needed to define an integrated broadband communications network (IBCN) Conformance Testing Environment and implement in the near future a corresponding conformance testing system able to handle the high data rates of integrated broadband communications (IBC). Testing tools and equipment were not produced, but relevant requirements were specified. ITACA identified (formal) description techniques, suited to the specification of an IBCN Conformance Testing Service. Methodologies for automated test generation and running were also defined.
Achievements of the project were:
identification and evaluation of the state of the art of IBC protocol reference models (PRM), reference configurations (RC), protocol conformance testing (PCT) and (formal) description techniques ((F)DT);
definition of a suitable protocol conformance testing scenario for the IBC environment leading to the production of an overall technical analysis on the IBC PCT;
preliminary definition of guidelines to IBC test specification;
preliminary definition of guidelines to automation in test generation and test run.
Technical Approach
ITACA stems from the view that normative and/or prenormative activities in the domains of protocol conformance testing and IBCN design are developed in isolation, with almost no concern for applicability of existing testing methodologies to the IBC environment. In this regard, two significant topics may be considered:
. a vast majority of the presently-defined methodologies, procedures and tools have been developed for conformance testing of OSI protocols
. several reference models have been, and are still being, designed for modelling IBC; most of these define logical IBCN architectures which may depart significantly from OSI.
As a result, there is plainly a need to harmonise the domains in which both testing and IBC protocols are being developed. ITACA aimed at defining such an integrated approach, and at identifying how test generation and run can be performed automatically.
Key Issues
. Scope and applicability of IBC protocol conformance testing (PCT).
. Target of IBC PCT (ie identification of a consistent IBC environment, suitable for testing development purposes).
. IBC PCT scenarios, specification and automation of testing, test tools and facilities, procedures harmonisation.
. Consensus formation activity on IBC network and IBC PCT specification.
Achievements
. Identification and evaluation of the state of the art of IBC protocol reference models (PRMs), reference configurations (RCs), protocol conformance testing (PCT) and (formal) description techniques ((F)DTs).
. Definition of a suitable protocol conformance testing scenario for the IBC environment leading to the production of an overall technical analysis on the IBC PCT.
. Preliminary definition of guidelines to (IBC) test specification.
. Preliminary definition of guidelines to automation in test generation and test run.
. Active support of RACE consensus formation, notably through the distribution of the above results, extensive participation to the development of RACE common functional specifications and participation in workshops and seminars.
Expected Impact
ITACA's work was carried on in parallel and in cooperation with other RACE projects and European bodies (notably through project R1045, dealing with consensus management within RACE), that work on the IBCN architecture, relevant services/protocols and testing methodologies specification. The project aimed at providing functional choices causing no constraints on the expected IBCN evolution.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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