Lecture Notes in Computer Science 3472

488 George Din
hosts, of preparing and configuring the communication platform (i.e CORBA,
sockets etc), of controlling the data transport layer and managing the control
data between hosts.
The characteristic operations required for deploying tests are:
(1) Packaging of the test component code and its descriptors into a test suite
archive.
(2) Assignment of one or more potential target nodes (component homes) for
each test component to install on. Assignment of just the initial main test
component (MTC) to a selected target node.
(3) Code upload and installation of the code of each component on the assigned
target node(s).
(4) Start of the component’s execution environment and instantiation of the
main test component as the only initial component. All further component
instances are created dynamically by the TTCN-3 mechanisms (TTCN-3
control part).
(5) Connection configuration step where the connections between components
are realized.
(6) Dynamic creation and connection of further component instances during the
run-time of the test suite by the TTCN-3 control part.
The architecture of a platform designed to handle these aspects is presented
in Figure 1.6.
Test console
Test Control
and Execution
TM
CD TE CH
CH TE CD
Daemon Daemon
SA
Test Deployment
PA
Container
CORBA
Test Specification Session Management
SA
TM
PA
Container
Fig. 16.6. Architecture of a Distributed Test Deployment and Execution Platform
The Test Console is the control point of the platform; it provides support to
specify TTCN3 test cases, create test sessions, deploy test suites into containers
and control the test execution. The tests are deployed, configured and executed in
the context of a test session. The test session has the major role to coordinate the
distribution aspects (to compute the hosts of the components according to user
preferences, performance requirements, distribution algorithms etc). It collects
also the information which must stay persistent after termination of the test