Customer Solutions

A Tool for Testing a Message-based Command and Control System

Author(s):

Pietro Gentile, Space Software Italia Spa

Industry:

Government/Defense

Product:

LabVIEW

The Challenge:

Creating a tool to support command and control system test activities that engineers can use to simulate inputs and display outputs while saving time and money.

The Solution:

Using LabVIEW to control the start-up of the process on the target computer, execute test procedures automatically, and display, save, and print test reports.

Two Types of Testing

Space Software Italia develops onboard and ground software, as well as naval command and control systems.We needed to implement a command and control system for small combat units of the Italian Navy, and also develop a tool to support our test system.We were challenged by the complexity of the system because of the fact that it should both:

• Test a single component

• Test the integrated command and control system

Total Control of Tests, Data Analysis

Our system, Nuove Unità Minori di Combattimento della Marina Militare Italiana- Sistema di Comando e Controllo (NUMC-SCC), developed in C++ language, runs on a realtime platform (CETIA PowerEngine VMPC4e) with LynxOS. The test tool, developed in LabVIEW graphical development environment, runs on Windows NT platform (VERIS Personal Computer, equipped with a 333-MHz Pentium Celeron) and connects to the target computer and a HP LaserJet 4050 Series PS printer via Ethernet LAN. NUMC-SCC comprises many different Computer Software Configuration Items (CSCIs), variously dedicated to navigation, tracking, identification, weapon assignment, mission data recording, and process status monitoring.

Through the UDP communication protocols, these components exchange messages with operators from the console and on-board subsystems (radars, sensors, weapons, navigations). The CSCIs also access information stored in a tactical database, including configuration files with parameters that can vary depending on mission features, to log files defined for debugging purposes.

The test tools support this system by performing:

• Test data and test procedure editing -- handles test data messages and sorted sequences of test data (test procedures), which are both stored into a database

• Test procedure execution -- performs test environment set-up and execution of message sequence

• Test session results handling -- archives inputs and outputs into files in ASCII format, which engineers can retrieve for printing and analysis.

The test tool accesses:

• Test procedure data -- access relational database, including messages, test procedure, and a message-test procedure association table

• Test configuration files -- provides test environment configuration file (in ASCII format)

• Test tactical DB files -- tactical database population data (in ASCII format)

• Test procedure results -- test session result (files in ASCII format)

• Test reports -- test session results formatted for print-out

The test tool also accesses the tactical database and the CSCI configuration files in read-write mode, and the CSCI log files in read-only mode.The test tool presents a main page, so the operator can select a function from data preparation, to test procedure selection and execution, to test session results retrieval.With the test tool’s ActiveX Client functions, users can perform message generation and maintenance in a Microsoft Access database. Furthermore, the system defines ad-hoc messages for test environment set-up operations. Added value comes from the ability to run Microsoft Access directly from LabVIEW, so we can access the contents of the database for editing.

We solved technical challenges related to this phase using ActiveX Client and UDP function LabVIEW libraries. Preliminaries transfer the libraries tactical database population and CSCI configuration data files from the test PC to the target. The ActiveX FTP class of Reflection, an off-the-shelf product used in the project, executes this task. Activation processes corresponding to the stubs and CSCI on the target node are possible through execution of a Telnet session, via SystemExec function of LabVIEW.

The UPD library functions of LabVIEW handle activation and control of the configurable UDP connections. Through ActiveX Client functions, we pinpointed messages for the target from the Access database. Based on information included in the header, a dispatcher addresses a single message towards the UDP communication port with the stub simulating the message source, such as another CSCI, a subsystem, or the operator. The stub forwards the message to the CSCI. The CSCI forwards the answer back to the test tool, which deformats and displays its contents.

Through the test messages sent to the stubs via UDP, we can introduce run-time variations to the test scenario such as modification of tactical database contents, changes into periodic, and one-shot data sent to the unit under test. We can also transfer the contents of a CSCI log file from the target via ActiveX FTP of Reflection. This is useful for postprocessing analysis activities.We replaced the stubs with the real CSCIs, with minimum re-configuration of the test tool, which gives us a virtual environment very close to the actual one.We retrieve formatted ASCII through the report generation function. With the time-tag function, users can verify performance of the CSCI. Log file contents give us useful information about problems during the analysis phase.

A Complex Procedure Simplified

Because of the complexity of the verified conditions, we have some inherent difficulty in validating test results. These problems are common with a text-based system. Using LabVIEW we achieved a high level of product quality, reduced costs, ease of documentation, and error prevention.

 

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