Interoperability Testing Overview
Interoperability Testing is the testing of the interaction between two or more devices or systems where they interconnect. Interoperability testing of NG9-1-1 components is currently performed in various "plug tests", such as the Industry Collaboration Events (ICE) conducted each year by NENA. The results of these tests are not disclosed, in order to encourage vendors to work together to solve problems.
But there are cases where a vendor or a 9-1-1 authority may wish to perform interoperability testing with their preferred vendor partners and produce a report on the results that can be shared. Such testing can be both time consuming and expensive. They may wish to do this on their own schedule. But there are currently no pre-defined, repeatable tests that can be executed on an as-needed basis and reported consistently.
An objective of the NG9-1-1 Interoperability Testing Program is to make interoperability testing between two or more vendors much more affordable and repeatable. To accomplish this, the test suite is being designed using some ideas published by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in ETSI EG 202 810.
The diagram below is a simplified visual representation of the idea. A more complete (and also complex) diagram can be found in the above-referenced ETSI Guide.
The interoperability test system adds the ability to test multiple Devices Under Test (DUTs) operating together as a System Under Test (SUT). Theoretically, the number of DUTs could be extended, allowing the test system to be extended to include an entire set of Next Generation Core Services (NGCS) and support automated end-to-end testing.
There are currently no criteria defined for testing interoperability of NG9-1-1 solutions. But because the project is expected to test both interoperability and end-to-end call flows, the Texas A&M team took each of the end-to-end call flows and defined the individual steps, so that the result could be used to establish interoperability requirements. The following document summarizes the current status of that work.
