SimpleTester™ - Protocol Conformance Testers

Download a demo Quick Tour of SimpleTester here.

SNMP managers and agents can communicate with one another because they share a common understanding of the data being exchanged (MIBs) and use the same mechanism to exchange that data (SNMP protocol). Hence to ensure interoperability, an agent must be tested to check if its data matches the MIB definition, and if it adheres to the data exchange mechanisms (Get/GetNext/Set/GetBulk operations) specified in the SNMP protocol.

The SimpleTester™ is the industry leading SNMP test tool that automatically exercises SNMP v1, v2C, and v3 agents. All types of SNMP Agents (standalone, proxies, sub-agents) implementing one or more standard, experimental or private MIBs can be exhaustively tested, within minutes.

As the number of MIBs, MIB variables and instances supported by an SNMP agent grows, it can take weeks or even months to manually test each variable using tools like a typical MIB Browser. This is where the SimpleTester is most useful. The SimpleTester is an "SNMP Expert" program that will intelligently interpret MIB files, SNMP protocol specifications, and all the MIB objects supported by the agent. Using this knowledge, it automates the testing process to complete weeks worth of manual testing - in just minutes.

The SimpleTester contains syntax tests, semantic tests, performance tests, and other utilities.

The predefined syntax tests check for MIB and SNMP protocol compliance for any MIB by sending hundreds of different Get/GetNext/Set/GetBulk requests and analyzing the response for each and every MIB object supported by the agent. With each test result, reference is given to the RFC which specifies the behavior being tested.

The semantic tests include over 1100 tests to validate the semantics of popular MIBs like MIB-II, RMON and SNMPv3. These tests further ensure that the agent has implemented the behavior of each MIB object properly. For example, in MIB-II if 2000 octets are sent to the agent, its ifInOctets for the corresponding interface should atleast increment by that amount. The tests can be easily customized by making changes to configuration files. In addition, the source code of all the 1100+ tcl scripts is also available for perusal. The framework is also fully documented to allow users to easily add their own test suites.

The performance tests measure the agent's ability to handle a stream of requests, one after another, and its ability to handle a set of requests all at once. With these tests the SimpleTester is measuring response times and creates a report which indicates the shortest, the longest, and the average response time given the number of messages sent and received.

The test suite structure support is fully extensible. Users can develop and add their own semantic test suites using the test suite builder which has a very easy to use graphical user interface. The built-in Tcl interpretor has support for SNMP, Telnet and Serial I/O to allow users to define their own scripts that test other aspects of the device including its Command Line Interface (CLI). The SimpleTester includes a MIB Browser that graphically displays the object registration tree and allows the retrieval and setting of manageable objects. In addition to the user interface, the SimpleTester can also be run in an unattended mode by specifying the tests to be conducted in a command file. SimpleTester also includes support for Diffie-Hellman Key Change and Key Ignition. Ability to create random numbers and their corresponding keys is also available. This functionality is particularly useful within the Cable Modem industry implementing the DOCSIS 1.1 specifications.

Operation

Only a few simple steps are required to test an Agent. They are:

1. Use the built-in MIB compiler to load the MIBs supported by the Agent.
2. Use the built-in MIB walker to specify the variables to be tested.
3. Run any or all of the predefined tests to check for conformance with the MIB definitions and SNMP specifications. The detailed reports pinpoint problem areas.
4. Use the built-in Script Generator and RowStatus Tester to automatically create test scripts and the built-in Script Runner to run these scripts for load and regression testing.
5. Optionally use the built-in Semantics checker to additionaly check the implementation of popular MIBs.

Benefits

• Increased customer satisfaction.
• Reduced development, testing and support costs.
• Shorten "Time to Market".
• Improved quality and interoperability.
• Implementation errors detected before deployment.

Features

• Checks MIBs (v1 and v2 SMI) for Syntax Errors.
• Checks agent responses (and traps) for conformance with the associated MIBs.
• Checks agent for compliance with the SNMP protocol specification (SNMPv1, v2C and v3)
• Automatically tests each MIB variable for get, getnext, getbulk and set operations.
• Includes over 1100 semantic tests for popular MIBs like MIB-II, RMON and SNMPv3 with source code.
• Creates script files to be used for regression, load and "RowStatus" related testing.
• Provides detailed reports that pinpoint problems.
• Includes Tcl interpreter and SNMP, Telnet and Serial I/O Tcl commands for custom script development.
• Contains a simple MIB Browser that graphically displays the MIB structure.
• Includes support for Diffie-Hellman Key Change and Key Ignition.
• Supports functionality to include user defined test suites.
• Includes a test suite builder to ease the burden of creating and organizing user defined test suites.
• Supports both hardware andsoftware based licensing schemes.
• Simple, intuitive, easy to use interface that runs on a PC.

Test Suites Included:

• Complete Syntax Test Suites for Any MIB: Standard IETF MIBs, Experimental MIBs, or Proprietary MIBs.
• MIB-II Semantic Test Suite
• RMON Semantic Test Suite
• SNMPv3 Semantic Test Suite
• Diffie-Hellman Semantic Test Suite
• Performance Test Suite

Additional Test Suites Available:

• SAN Test Suite
• DOCSIS 1.1 Test Suites for CM and CMTS
• DOCSIS 2.0 Test Suites for CM and CMTS