Test and Diagnostic Tools

Abstract

WirelessHART conformance testing requires test specifications and test tools. The test tools include the Wi-HTest tool, the Wi-Analys tool, and a post process suite for analyzing the packets captured by the Wi-Analys tool. The post processing utilities also summarize test results and generate the final compliance report. The Wi-Analys tool is a passive packet sniffer that captures all WirelessHART messages for analysis; The Wi-HTest tool provides a combination of network management, gateway, access point, script execution, and communications. The Wi-HTest tool joins the device under test then supports test script execution by allowing the test to introduce perturbations. The Network communications are captured by the Wi-Analys tool and sent to the post-processor for evaluation. Combined the number of wired and wireless tests totals over 200. These tests cover hundreds of different testing scenarios and thousands of different failure points. Each test script entails an execution of the Wi-HTest tool. To better manage the overall test process, special messages intended for the Wi-Analys tool are emitted as part of the Wi-HTest scripts.