JPS6218072B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] When the present invention executes a load test, etc. of a host computer of an online system using a test device, data (telegrams) normally exchanged between a terminal device and the host computer are sent to a center in advance. By storing the data in a file and using the stored message as test data for the test equipment, it is possible to eliminate the need for manual test data creation and improve test accuracy.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a test data creation method used in a test device that tests a host computer of an online system in which a terminal device and a communication control device are connected via a line.

In recent years, there has been an increasing trend in the use of online systems in which information is exchanged between terminal devices located at various locations and host computers using communication lines. Therefore, the problem is how to efficiently conduct fault investigation and load testing of an online system that includes a host computer (including its peripheral devices) and terminal equipment. There is a need for a test data creation method that can create data that is close to actual usage conditions without the need for testing.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a method for testing a host computer in a conventional online system.

In this figure, 1 is a terminal device, 2 is a communication line,
3 represents a communication control device, 4 represents a host computer (including peripheral devices), and 5 represents a test device. In an online system in which this terminal device 1 and a host computer 4 including a communication control device 3 on the center side are connected via a communication line 2, when a load test of the host computer is performed using an actual line, multiple terminal devices are used. Tests were conducted by assigning a person to each location and repeatedly inputting the data that would normally be handled, but the input operations were extremely complicated and the test accuracy was also reduced due to operational errors. From the economic point of view of labor saving, currently terminal equipment 1
Normally, a test is performed by placing a test device 5 on the center side that generates a data signal, that is, a pseudo signal similar to that when the machine is operated.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in tests conducted after the system is completed, load tests on the host computer, and tests performed when something is modified after operation, the data that generates the pseudo signals of the test equipment is created entirely by hand. Since the test requires a large amount of data, it not only takes a huge amount of man-hours to create the data, but also the quality of the data becomes an issue, making the test results unreliable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, it is an object of the present invention to provide a test data creation method that can create highly reliable test data without requiring human labor.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a file for storing messages exchanged with a terminal device in a communication control device on the center side, when testing equipment on the center side of an online system using a test device. An extraction circuit for specifying a message to be stored is provided, and a test data creation method is adopted in which the extracted message stored in the file is used as test data for the test device.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Note that the same parts as in FIG. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 1, 6 is a line control section, 7 is a storage circuit, 8 is a processing section, 9 is an extraction circuit, and 10 is a file. Normal input data from the terminal device 1 to the line control unit 6 is created by manually operating the device during actual operation. This input data is input to the processing unit 8 via the line control unit 6, where the message (upstream message) is edited.
The upstream message is selectively stored in a file 10 via an extraction circuit 9. The memory circuit 7 stores instructions for regulating the operation of the communication control device 3, and the processing section 8 controls the operations in accordance with the instructions. The upstream message is processed by the host computer 4, and the result is edited into a downstream message by the processing unit 8 and sent to the terminal device 1, and this downstream message is also selected via the extraction circuit 9 in the same way as the upstream message. The message is then uploaded to the file 10 and stored separately from the message. Note that whether the extraction circuit 9 can selectively store the message in the file 10 is determined under the control of the processing unit 8.

In this way, the upstream message from the terminal device 1 and the downstream message from the communication control device, which are raw data (actual data) during actual operation, are stored in the file 10. When the testing device 5 performs a system change to increase the capacity of the center side and a load test of the host computer, the upstream and downstream messages of the file 10 are used as the test data. That is, in such a test, the test device 5 first reads out a pair of uplink and downlink messages from the file 10 and stores them in an internal memory (not shown) of the device for testing. Next, the uplink message is read from the internal memory and inputted to the line control section 6 via the signal cable as test data. The input test uplink message is processed by the processing unit 8 and the host computer 4 in the same manner as described above, and as a result, a corresponding test downlink message is created. This test downstream message is sent back to the test device 5 from the line control unit 6 via the signal cable.

The test device 5 then compares the test downlink message from the line control section 6 with the test downlink message previously read out from the file 10 and stored in the internal memory using a data comparison section (not shown). Based on this comparison result, it is possible to accurately determine whether the operation of the communication control device and the host computer is correct or incorrect. For example, in the case of a comparison match, it means that the same downlink message as the previously processed downlink message was reproduced, and that the connection between the communication control device, host computer, and peripheral devices after the system change was correct. However, if the comparison does not match, it means that a different downlink message has been output than before, indicating that an error has occurred in the connection or the like. In addition, the time from when an upstream message is sent to when a downstream message is returned can be measured, and the amount of load on the host computer can be detected based on the length of that time.

In this way, the uplink and downlink telegrams of actual data can be used to test the center-side equipment of the online system.

(7) Effects of the Invention As explained above in detail, the test data creation method of the present invention allows test data to be created without the need for human intervention, and can use actual operational data itself as the data, resulting in high reliability. This has a great effect in that high-quality tests can be conducted.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a test data creation method according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a conventional test method for a communication control device. In FIG. 1, 1 is a terminal device, 2 is a line, and 3 is a terminal device.
4 is a communication control device, 4 is a host computer, 5 is a test device, 6 is a line control section, 7 is a storage circuit, 8 is a processing section, 9 is an extraction circuit, and 10 is a file.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an online system in which a terminal device 1 and a communication control device 3 on the center side are connected via a line 2, the center side device is tested by a test device 5, wherein the communication control device 3, a file 10 that stores messages exchanged with the terminal device 1 and an extraction circuit 9 that specifies the messages to be stored in the file;
A test data creation method, characterized in that the extracted message stored in the file 10 is used as test data for the test device 5.