ON-LINE SYSTEM AUTOMATED TEST EQUIPMENT

THIS PROPOSAL DEFINES THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEM LEVEL AUTOMATION TEST EQUIPMENT (SLATE) FOR THE ON-LINE MAINTENANCE OF DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING SYSTEMS BASED ON LOCAL AREA NETWORKS (LANS). THE SLATE IS A STAND-ALONE SUBSYSTEM WHICH PROBES THE SYSTEM THROUGH A LAN. THE SLATE ASSISTS IN THE DETECTION AND ISOLATION OF FAULTS TO THE SUBSYSTEM LEVEL. FAULT DETECTION IS ACHIEVED THROUGH NON-INTRUSIVE PERFORMANCE MONITORING, SYSTEM MESSAGE FLOW ANALYSIS AND/OR PERIODIC INTERACTION WITH THE SUBSYSTEMS. FAULT ISOLATION CAPABILITIES BEGIN WITH A SET OF COMMANDS AVAILABLE TO THE USER FOR INTERACTING WITH OTHER SUBSYSTEMS ON THE NETWORK. THE COMMANDS CAN BE EXECUTED INDIVIDUALLY OR GROUPED TOGETHER AS COMMAND SEQUENCES. THE SLATE RECORDS THE PROCEDURE AND COMMAND SEQUENCES USED TO ISOLATE A FAULT AND ALLOWS THE USER TO REVIEW, EDIT AND SAVE THE PROCEDURE ON COMPLETION. ONCE A BASE OF THESE DIAGNOSTIC ROUTINES FOR A SYSTEM HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED, THE DETECTION OF A FAULT BY THE SLATE CAN BE MAPPED INTO THE APPROPRIATE SET OF DIAGNOSTIC ROUTINES FOR AUTOMATIC FAULT ISOLATION AND REPORTING. THE ACHIEVEMENTS SCHEDULED FOR THE PHASE I ACTIVITIES OF THIS PROJECT INCLUDE DEVELOPING THE COMMANDS NECESSARY TO TRANSMIT AND RECEIVE ON THE LAN AND DOCUMENTING THE FULL CAPABILITIES OF THE SLATE TO BE DEVELOPED IN PHASE II.