[virtual-platform-users:55] Virtual Prototype enabled product conformance testing

[AchimNohl]

“Conformance testing or type testing is testing to determine whether
a product or system meets some specified standard that has been
developed for efficiency or interoperability.” [Wikipedia]

During conformance testing, a test-framework is executing a well
defined set of tests that aim to validate that the design under test
is meeting all requirements which are defined in the specification.
Typically the link between the DUT and the test-framework is
implemented in the test harness. The test-harness takes care that the
high-level test directives from the test framework are translated into
the required stimuli/feedback to/from the DUT. This makes the test
framework stable and re-usable with different revisions in the DUT
(e.g. from prototype to real device).

Virtual Prototypes VP do integrate well into state of the art test
frameworks. Essentially, Virtual Prototypes can provide the exact same
software interfaces to the test-framework that is running on a host
than a DUT hardware board or the final product would do. This is
achieved via so called virtualized I/O. The Virtual Prototype’s
interface peripherals such as UART, Ethernet, USB etc. can be hooked
up to real physical peripherals such as a serial port, an ethernet
cable or a USB port. However, Virtual Prototypes can be even smarter
than that allowing executing the DUT VP on the same host that the test-
framework executes. This has a lot of advantages such as allowing for
larger test throughput, allowing for continuous integration and test
(test-driven development) as testing is not limited through the
availability of physical hardware any longer. All in all, resulting in
a better quality assurance (QA) during development and testing.

Thus a VP UART would appear on a windows system as an additional COM
port (on Linux as an additional /dev/tty) that can be used by the test-
harness to create the link between the framework and the harness.
Summarizing, from a test integration standpoint the test harness for
hardware is 99% re-usable for the VP and ideally does not require and
additional bring up. Therefore, using VPs not only the hardware
dependent software development can start earlier, but also the test-
bring up, test development and testing. This removes this aspect of
the product development from the late risky phase after first hardware
becomes available.

However, VPs can complement test development and testing methods in a
significant way with regard to additionally enabled test capabilities
as well as synchronous test/DUT debugging. In follow ups on this post
I will start to introduce those aspects and give practical examples
that can be explored on our VP in the cloud.

Best regards,
Achim

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Virtual Platform-Users" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
virtual-platform-...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/virtual-platform-users?hl=en