JP4686532B2 - Test equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention performs communication with a communication terminal in order to perform tests such as performance evaluation of communication terminals such as mobile phones and mobile terminals, and stores various information such as log information and measurement data during communication. The present invention relates to a test apparatus capable of

  For example, when a communication terminal such as a mobile phone or a mobile terminal is newly developed, it is necessary to test whether or not the developed communication terminal operates normally in an environment where it is actually used. When testing whether or not a communication terminal under development functions as designed, bring the communication terminal under development to the test site and use the communication protocol based on the specified communication standard to establish a connection between the base station and the communication terminal. In this communication, log information that mainly records the communication sequence exchanged between the base station and the communication terminal is acquired from the communication terminal, or communication between the communication terminal and the base station is performed. Log information was acquired from an air monitor (monitoring device) to be monitored and a field test was performed.

  Thereafter, a scenario for controlling a pseudo base station apparatus that simulates a base station based on log information acquired by a field test has been created. The pseudo base station apparatus loads and stores the created scenario in advance, communicates with the communication terminal based on the stored scenario, confirms the operation state of the communication terminal, and performs communication. We were testing device performance evaluation.

  As a scenario that is loaded and stored in the pseudo base station apparatus, a handwritten scenario that is uniquely created in accordance with a communication standard may be used.

  By the way, the above-described pseudo base station apparatus has a function of detecting log information of various types of communication information transmitted and received between the communication terminal and the pseudo base station apparatus and displaying the contents on a display. Thereby, a plurality of detailed time-series log information of the communication information is displayed, and the cause of the abnormality when the communication terminal does not operate normally can be investigated.

  However, in general, since there are a wide variety of test items for communication terminals, a large number of communication information is transmitted and received for testing between the communication terminal and the pseudo base station apparatus, and log information of the communication information is also huge. Become a number. However, the conventional pseudo base station apparatus only outputs and displays a huge amount of log information of communication information transmitted and received for the test in time series, and shows an abnormality when the communication terminal does not operate normally. It was difficult to identify log information easily, and it was difficult to find log information indicating this abnormality from a large amount of log information.

  Also, in the development stage of communication terminals, paying attention to specific communication information among a lot of communication information sent and received for testing between the communication terminal and the pseudo base station device, what kind of communication information is Is confirmed by log information. However, even in such a situation, the task of extracting the target log information from a large amount of output log information in a short time is troublesome for engineers who are used to the operation of the test apparatus. There was a problem of having.

  In order to solve the above problem, a pseudo base station apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 below has been proposed. The pseudo base station apparatus includes a pseudo base station unit that transmits / receives communication information to / from a terminal under test (communication terminal), a log information detection unit that sequentially detects log information of communication information, and a plurality of log information trace information As a trace information memory, a display for displaying a plurality of log information, extraction information specifying means for specifying extraction information included in at least a part of the log information, and log information having extraction information specified from the trace information Log information extraction means for extracting the log information, and filter marker display means for adding a filter marker to the log information extracted by the log information extraction means among the plurality of log information constituting the trace information displayed on the display It is prepared for.

That is, in the pseudo base station apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, if the extraction information included in the log information is designated in advance, the information is designated among a plurality of log information constituting the trace information displayed on the display device. The filter marker of the designated color is added to the log information including the extracted information. As a result, if the extraction information that one or more log information to be noticed has in common is designated, each noticeable log information is displayed on the display device with the filter marker of the designated color attached. Since it is displayed and output, necessary log information can be easily confirmed from a plurality of log information constituting the trace information displayed on the display.
JP 2006-174173 A

  The pseudo base station apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above adds a filter marker to log information including extraction information designated in advance among a plurality of pieces of log information constituting the trace information displayed on the display. However, it is enormous to store all the detailed log information during communication exchanged with the communication terminal, including the log information of the communication part with a lot of log information and the data transmission / reception part with the server etc. Storage capacity was indispensable.

  On the other hand, it is conceivable to reduce the amount of data by selecting an item to be stored as log information, but it is difficult to predict the cause of the malfunction of the communication terminal in advance, and it is difficult to select the item. There was also a problem that necessary information was often not left in the log information.

  In addition, it is possible to reduce the data capacity by leaving detailed log information for only a part of the period and not recording for the other periods. There is a problem that it cannot be dealt with when verifying later whether or not.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a test apparatus capable of reducing the amount of information stored and leaving important information.

In order to achieve the above object, the test apparatus described in claim 1 of the present invention performs communication with the communication terminal 21 to be tested.
A control unit 12 for controlling a communication procedure;
A protocol stack 7 for controlling a layered communication protocol in the communication and extracting a communication sequence and communication contents as log information together with time information;
A log acquisition unit 8 for acquiring the log information extracted by the protocol stack;
A main storage unit 13 for storing the log information acquired by the log acquisition unit;
In the test apparatus 1 including the display unit 14 for displaying the log information stored in the main storage unit,
A temporary storage unit 9 for sequentially storing the log information acquired by the log acquisition unit for a predetermined period;
A setting unit 2 for setting a condition for selectively extracting a part of the log information from the temporary storage unit ;
A throughput calculation unit 11 that calculates the throughput of user data from the inter-layer information of the protocol stack ,
The control unit detects log information that meets the condition from the temporary storage unit based on the condition set by the setting unit, and at least one of the detected log information and before and after the log information is continuous. Log information is stored in the main storage unit, and when the log information stored in the temporary storage unit is user data continuous for a predetermined time, the throughput calculation unit calculates instead of the log information of this time the throughput information, characterized in Rukoto is stored in the main storage unit.

The test apparatus according to claim 2 is the test apparatus according to claim 1,
Log information having time information from a predetermined time before to a predetermined time after the time information of the log information that meets the condition is stored in the main storage unit 13.

The test apparatus according to claim 3 is the test apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The protocol stack 7 can detect an error in the communication,
When the error is detected, the control unit 12 detects log information having the latest time information when the error is detected as log information that satisfies the condition.

The test apparatus according to claim 4 is the test apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
When the control unit 12 extracts communication quality information from the communication content and falls below the communication quality set in advance by the setting unit 2, the control unit 12 detects log information of the communication quality information as log information that satisfies the condition. It is characterized by doing.

  According to the test apparatus of the present invention, since at least one of the log information before and after the log information that satisfies the preset condition is stored, the information storage amount can be reduced as compared with the conventional case and can be confirmed later. It is possible to leave details of important log information for a highly reliable period.

  Also, the throughput of user data is calculated from the inter-layer information of the protocol stack, and when the log information stored in the temporary storage unit is user data continuous for a predetermined time, the throughput information is stored instead of the log information. By doing so, it is possible to store user data that is a part of a call with a lot of log information and a part of data transmission / reception with a server or the like in the form of throughput information, and the storage capacity of log information related to the part of the call can be greatly reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a test apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen when setting conditions in the test apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a message setting by the test apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a display screen of the test apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of the temporary storage unit of the test apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another display screen example of the test apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of storing information from the temporary storage unit to the main storage unit of the test apparatus.

  The test apparatus 1 according to the present invention functions as a pseudo base station apparatus that takes the place of a real network. For example, the test apparatus 1 communicates with a communication terminal (test target) 21 such as a mobile phone or a mobile terminal. Tests such as performance evaluation are performed, and important information such as log information and measurement data during communication can be stored.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the test apparatus 1 of this example includes a setting unit 2, a scenario storage unit 3, a scenario execution unit 4, a time generation unit 5, a modem unit 6, a protocol stack 7, a log acquisition unit 8, a temporary acquisition unit, The storage unit 9, the measurement data acquisition unit 10, the throughput calculation unit 11, the control unit 12, the main storage unit 13, and the display unit 14 are roughly configured.

  The setting unit 2 includes various keys (for example, key switches, cursor keys, function keys, arrow keys, numeric keys, soft keys, etc.) and switches, and various settings and instructions related to various tests of the communication terminal 21 and scenarios to be executed. A part of log information from the temporary storage unit 9 on the setting screen 15 selected and displayed on the display unit 14 (for example, the setting screen of “log acquisition event setting” shown in FIG. 2 or “Set Message” shown in FIG. 3). The condition setting etc. for selectively extracting are performed.

  Here, the condition setting is, for example, setting of items (NACK occurrence, CRC error, communication quality (CQI), etc.) for each category (PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, NAS), presence / absence of throughput display , Channel (CH) designation setting, log acquisition time setting (before event occurrence, after event occurrence), message content setting, and the like.

  Specifically, FIG. 2 shows that in the setting screen 15 of “log acquisition event setting”, PHY Layer Uplink is selected as a category, CRC error is selected as an item, Throughput display is selected, and log acquisition time is further selected. In this example, conditions are set by selecting 500 ms before the event occurrence and 1000 ms after the event occurrence.

  In FIG. 3, in the three setting windows 15a, 15b, and 15c of the setting screen 15 of “Set Message”, the message “RRC CONNECTION REQUEST” is selected in the upper setting window 15a, and the message “RRC CONNECTION REQUEST” is displayed in the middle setting window 15b. An example is shown in which an RRC CONNECTION SETUP message is selected, and a condition setting is performed by selecting the “RRC CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE” message in the lower setting window 15c.

  There are various messages that can be selected by setting the conditions on the setting screen 15 of the “Set Message”. For example, as the RRC message (RRC connection setting sequence message), the above-mentioned “RRC CONNECTION REQUEST” (radio resource control) is used. Connection request message), “RRC CONNECTION SETUP” (radio resource control connection setup message), “RRC CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE” (radio resource control connection setup completion message), and the like. In addition, as NAS messages (GMM (GPRS Mobility Management GPRS mobility management) attach sequence messages), “GMM: ATTACH REQUEST” (GPRS mobility management attach request message), “GMM: ATTACH ACCEPT” (GPRS mobility management attach Accept message), “GMM: ATTACH COMPLETE” (GPRS mobility management attach completion message), “GMM: ATTACH REJECT” (GPRS mobility management attach rejection message), and the like.

  In the example of FIG. 3, the message is illustrated as being individually selected in the three setting windows 15 a, 15 b, and 15 c, but the present invention is not limited to this. In addition to making it possible to select a message in the setting window, a list of selectable messages may be displayed to select an arbitrary message, or the message itself may be entered as a command and set.

  The scenario storage unit 3 stores a plurality of types of scenarios describing a sequence of protocol messages based on a communication protocol for performing various tests of the communication terminal 21.

  The scenario execution unit 4 reads the scenario selected and set by the setting unit 2 from the scenario storage unit 3 and outputs an instruction to the control unit 12 to execute the read scenario.

  The time generation unit 5 generates time information (time stamp) and inputs the generated time information to the protocol stack 7 and the control unit 12.

  The modulation / demodulation unit 6 performs transmission / reception of radio signals and modulation / demodulation with the communication terminal 21 to be tested under the control (control command) of the control unit 12. RF (Radio Frequency) for performing radio communication with the communication terminal 21. Unit 6a and a baseband unit 6b that generates a signal for wireless communication. Further, the modem unit 6 inputs S / N information by communication with the communication terminal 21 to the control unit 12.

  The protocol stack 7 includes a PHY (Physical Layer) 7a, a MAC (Media Access Control Layer) 7b, an RLC (Radio Link Control Layer) 7c, and a PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol Layer). : Communication protocol group consisting of a layer configuration of packet data convergence protocol layer (7d), RRC (Radio Resource Control Layer) 7e, and NAS (Non-Access Stratum Layer) 7f The protocol group from the upper layer to the lower layer operates in cooperation with each other and communicates with the communication terminal 21 by the control (control command) of the control unit 12 based on the instruction from the scenario execution unit 4.

  Further, each layer (layer) constituting the protocol stack 7 will be described. The PHY 7a modulates and further demodulates data transmitted / received to / from the communication terminal 21 so that it can pass through the radio section. Also, multiplexing, channel coding, spreading, and the like are performed to transmit and receive information. The MAC 7b performs control for efficiently using radio resources and performs data conversion between the upper layer of the RLC 7c, PDCP 7d, RRC 7e, and NAS 7f and the lower layer of the PHY 7a. The RLC 7c performs control such as flow control, error data processing, and data retransmission between the test apparatus 1 and the communication terminal 21. The PDCP 7d performs concealment, correctness confirmation, order alignment, header compression, and the like. The RRC 7e performs setting of a radio bearer, notification of system information and call information from the network to the communication terminal 21, and the like. The NAS 7f performs layer 3 message communication such as call control (CC), mobility management (MM), GPRS mobility management (GMM), and session management (SM).

  In the protocol stack 7, the layers operate in a coordinated manner to control transmission / reception of information using a protocol according to a communication method, and extract a communication sequence and communication contents as log information. In addition, the protocol stack 7 also detects error information in communication, and inputs this error information to the control unit 12.

  A PD (Terminal Equipment) 16 is connected to the PDCP 7d. The TE 16 is composed of a data terminal device such as a server or a video phone terminal, and is connected to the communication terminal 21 for communication.

  The log acquisition unit 8 acquires log information extracted between the layers of the protocol stack 7 during communication between the test apparatus 1 and the communication terminal 21.

  The temporary storage unit 9 stores the log information acquired by the log acquisition unit 8 for a certain period, discards the log information after a certain period, and constantly stores new log information.

  The measurement data acquisition unit 10 acquires inter-layer information exchanged between the layers of the protocol stack 7 as measurement data.

  The throughput calculation unit 11 calculates the transmission throughput of user data per unit time for each layer based on the information between layers of the protocol stack 7, and inputs the calculated throughput information between each layer to the control unit 12. ing.

  The transmission throughput is the amount of data per unit time between layers of data transmitted from the communication terminal 21 and confirmed to be received from the communication terminal 21.

  The control unit 12 receives setting information from the setting unit 2 and an instruction from the scenario execution unit 4, and controls the modem unit 6 and the protocol stack 7 by a control command based on the setting information and the instruction. The control unit 12 also sets various information to the main storage unit 13 based on the conditions set by the setting unit 2, the S / N information from the modem unit 6, the error information from the protocol stack 7, the communication sequence, and the communication content. (Log information and throughput information) storage operation is controlled.

  Specifically, the control unit 12 receives the S / N information from the modulation / demodulation unit 6, the error information from the protocol stack 7, the communication sequence, and the communication content, and the log that satisfies the conditions set in advance by the setting unit 2. An information detection unit 12 a that detects information from log information stored in the temporary storage unit 9 is provided. The main storage unit 13 stores the log information that meets the conditions detected by the information detection unit 12a and the log information before and after the log information that meets the conditions.

  Further, when error information is input from the protocol stack 7 on condition that an error state is detected, the control unit 12 stores the latest log information of the error information and the log information before and after the error information in the main storage unit 13. I am letting.

  Further, the control unit 12 extracts the communication quality information (CQI) included in the communication contents of the protocol stack 7, and uses the log information of the communication quality information that is lower than the communication quality preset by the setting unit 2 as a condition. Log information and log information before and after the log information are stored in the main storage unit 13.

  When the control unit 12 determines that the log information stored in the temporary storage unit 9 is user data continuous for a predetermined time, the control unit 12 stores the throughput information calculated by the throughput calculation unit 11 instead of the log information in the main storage. Stored in the unit 13.

  The main storage unit 13 stores log information and throughput information that meet the setting conditions under the control of the control unit 12 including the detection result of the information detection unit 12a.

  The display unit 14 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display or the like. Under the control of the control unit 12, various settings and instructions regarding various tests of the communication terminal 21, a display for selecting a scenario to be executed, a display of the setting screen 15, and the like. Is going. Further, the display unit 14 displays various information (log information and throughput information) stored in the main storage unit 13 in a format as shown in FIG. 4, for example, under the control of the control unit 12.

  Next, the operation of the test apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the scenario execution unit 4 reads the scenario set by the setting unit 2 from the scenario storage unit 3, and when an instruction is input from the scenario execution unit 4 to the control unit 12 to execute the read scenario, The control unit 12 controls the modem unit 6 and the protocol stack 7 in order to perform communication based on the communication terminal 21.

  During communication with the communication terminal 21, S / N information is input from the modulation / demodulation unit 6 to the control unit 12, and error information, a communication sequence, and communication contents are input from the protocol stack 7.

  Then, when communication is performed between the test apparatus 1 and the communication terminal 21, an operation of storing log information in the temporary storage unit 9 illustrated in FIG. 5 is performed. That is, in this storage operation, the log acquisition unit 8 acquires log information from the protocol stack 7 (ST1). Next, the acquired log information is stored in the temporary storage unit 9 (ST2). Then, log information that is older than the latest log information by a predetermined period is deleted from the temporary storage unit 9 (ST3), and the process returns to ST1.

  Next, in the storage operation of various information (log information and throughput information) from the temporary storage unit 9 to the main storage unit 13 shown in FIG. 6, the temporary storage unit every time the latest log information is added to the temporary storage unit 9. 9 is monitored, and the log information is acquired from the temporary storage unit 9 (ST11), and it is determined whether or not the acquired log information is log information that satisfies the condition (ST12). When the control unit 12 determines that the acquired log information is the log information that satisfies the condition (ST12-Yes), the control unit 12 temporarily stores the log information after the predetermined period from the log information before the predetermined period continuous with the log information. The log information (including log information that meets the conditions) is acquired from the storage unit 9 and stored in the main storage unit 13 (ST13). On the other hand, when determining that the acquired log information is not the log information that meets the conditions (ST12-No), the control unit 12 determines whether the user data has continued for a predetermined period (ST14). When determining that the user data has continued for a predetermined period (ST14-Yes), the control unit 12 stores the throughput information calculated from the measurement data of the measurement data acquisition unit 10 in the main storage unit 13 (ST15). ).

  With the above operation, the main storage unit 13 sets the CRC error log information regarding the PHY Layer Uplink as log information based on the condition based on the log acquisition event setting illustrated in FIG. Log information before and after the log information (log information before and after an event (500 ms) and after an event (1000 ms) set on the setting screen shown in FIG. 2) and throughput information are stored. On the display screen of the display unit 14, as shown in FIG. 4, log information that meets the conditions ((A) in FIG. 4), and log information of 500 ms before and after this log information that is continuous to the log information. ((B) in FIG. 4) and throughput information ((C) in FIG. 4) are displayed.

  By the way, in the test apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, measurement data is acquired from the protocol stack 7, a transmission throughput of user data per unit time is calculated based on the acquired measurement data, and throughput information by this calculation is stored in the main memory. Although the measurement data acquisition unit 10 and the throughput calculation unit 11 are included in order to be stored in the unit 13, these configurations may be deleted.

  In this case, it is not necessary to set the presence / absence of the throughput display indicated by the alternate long and short dash line on the setting screen 15 of “log acquisition event setting” in FIG. In FIG. 6, the operation indicated by the alternate long and short dash line (ST14, ST15) becomes unnecessary, and the control unit 12 monitors the log information in the temporary storage unit 9 until log information that meets the conditions is detected. Then, on the display screen of the display unit 14, as shown in FIG. 7, log information that meets the conditions ((A) in FIG. 7) and log information before and after the log information, that is, FIG. 2. The log information ((B) in FIG. 7) of the time before and after the event set on the setting screen is displayed.

  As described above, according to the test apparatus 1 of this example, at least one of the log information before and after the log information that satisfies the preset condition is stored in the main storage unit 13, so that the information storage amount is larger than the conventional amount. And the details of important log information for a period that is likely to be confirmed later can be left.

  Further, when the throughput of user data is calculated from the inter-layer information of the protocol stack 7 and the log information stored in the temporary storage unit 9 is user data continuous for a predetermined time, the throughput information is replaced with the log information. If stored, user data that is a part of a call having a lot of log information and a part of data transmission / reception with a server or the like can be stored in the form of throughput information, and the storage capacity of log information related to the part of the call can be greatly reduced. In addition, since the throughput information is displayed in a portion other than the log information on the display unit 14, it is possible to confirm whether or not communication is normally performed by viewing the display.

  By the way, in the above-described embodiment, log information that meets the conditions and log information (which may include throughput information) from a predetermined time before and after a predetermined time continuous to the log information are stored in the main storage unit 13. Although described as what is stored, the main storage unit 13 may be configured to store log information that meets the conditions and at least one log information before and after the log information.

  Further, the throughput calculation unit 11 can also pass the ACK and NACK count values for transmission to the control unit 12 as measurement data acquired by the measurement data acquisition unit 10 from the protocol stack 7.

It is a block block diagram of the test apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting screen at the time of setting conditions with the testing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting screen at the time of setting a message with the test apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display screen of the test apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the temporary memory part of the test apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the information storage to the main memory | storage part from the temporary memory part of the test apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of a display screen of the test apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Test apparatus 2 Setting part 3 Scenario memory | storage part 4 Scenario execution part 5 Time generation part 6 Modulation / demodulation part 6a RF part 6b Baseband part 7 Protocol stack 7a PHY
7b MAC
7c RLC
7d PDCP
7e RRC
7f NAS
8 Log acquisition unit 9 Temporary storage unit 10 Measurement data acquisition unit 11 Throughput calculation unit 12 Control unit 12a Information detection unit 13 Main storage unit 14 Display unit 15 Setting screens 15a to 15c Setting window 16 TE
21 Communication terminal

Claims (4)

In order to communicate with the communication terminal (21) to be tested,
A control unit (12) for controlling a communication procedure;
A protocol stack (7) for controlling a hierarchical communication protocol in the communication, and extracting a communication sequence and communication contents as log information together with time information;
A log acquisition unit (8) for acquiring the log information extracted by the protocol stack;
A main storage unit (13) for storing the log information acquired by the log acquisition unit;
In a test apparatus (1) comprising a display unit (14) for displaying the log information stored in the main storage unit,
A temporary storage unit (9) for sequentially storing the log information acquired by the log acquisition unit for a predetermined period;
A setting unit (2) for setting a condition for selectively extracting a part of the log information from the temporary storage unit ;
A throughput calculation unit (11) for calculating the throughput of user data from the inter-layer information of the protocol stack ,
The control unit detects log information that meets the condition from the temporary storage unit based on the condition set by the setting unit, and at least one of the detected log information and before and after the log information is continuous. Log information is stored in the main storage unit, and when the log information stored in the temporary storage unit is user data continuous for a predetermined time, the throughput calculation unit calculates instead of the log information of this time test apparatus the throughput information, characterized in Rukoto is stored in the main storage unit. The log information having time information from a predetermined time before to a predetermined time after the time information of the log information that satisfies the condition is stored in the main storage unit (13). Testing equipment. The protocol stack (7) can detect an error in the communication,
The control unit (12), when the error is detected, detects log information having the latest time information when the error is detected as log information that meets the condition. Or the test apparatus of 2. When the control unit (12) extracts communication quality information from the communication content and falls below the communication quality preset by the setting unit (2), the log information of the communication quality information is in the condition It detects as log information, The test device in any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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