Testing needs for the life cycle of multi-vendor communication networks for manufacturing applications

The open communication in CIM systems is a great challenge for vendors, system houses and users. As communication products become available the need for providing test support will increase dramatically. This paper reports on the testing experience with CIM pilot systems in Europe. A computer integrated application system is composed of computers/end nodes, communication components (incl. hardware and software) and the application programs. Testing means have to be provided for these components. The necessary tests are deduced from the system components and the testing attributes (conformance, interoperability, performance, hardware fault detection and diagnosis) across the various phases of the system life cycle (detection of components, system integration and commissioning, normal daily operation and maintenance). Some of the off-line conformance tests for communication and operating systems are available today, further off-line conformance and interoperability tests for communicatio n components are under development, on-line performance tests for communication components and hardware fault detection and diagnosis are in the definition phase (in particular as part of network management systems) or the development is starting. There is still a lot to be done for providing a complete set of tests for the system life cycle. It is recommended to the users to start with small CIM pilot systems in order to educate themselves and to get operational experience. (IITB)