Test Automation for Deterministic Communication Networks Using Chained Orthogonal Arrays

Altuntas M. E., Hokelek I., Demir M. S., Seker M., Savas P., Akpolat E. C., ...Daha Fazla

IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, 2025 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1109/tase.2025.3532672
  • Dergi Adı: IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Aerospace Database, Applied Science & Technology Source, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, Communication Abstracts, Compendex, Computer & Applied Sciences, INSPEC, Metadex, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: ARINC 664, avionics, deterministic network, orthogonal array, test generation
  • Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

ARINC 664 is one of the most popular Ethernet-based deterministic network (DTN) technologies for safety-critical avionics systems. A typical ARINC 664 network can support several thousands of Virtual Links (VLs), each of which has hundreds of thousands of combinations for its configuration. Orthogonal Arrays (OAs) method is a formalism to generate a test suite with a feasible size and a desired coverage of features for complex systems. Since the test space for DTN features is prohibitively large, a single application of OAs may inadvertently eliminate many combinations of two-way interactions. In this paper, we propose to develop a test automation system that uses multiple and consecutive applications of OAs to generate test configurations for DTN. The test factors representing DTN configuration parameters are divided into two groups, where the first group includes the number of VLs passing through each port while the second group includes the configuration parameters for VLs. Then, OAs are constructed sequentially for each group such that an output element of the first OA is used as one of the inputs for the second OA. We present a system architecture for a test automation system capable of verifying real-time network operations, where the outputs of the chained OAs are utilized to generate executable test scripts including DTN configurations and traffics. As a case study, a test automation system is successfully implemented for ARINC 664 switch.