The amount of devices connecting to the global internet is growing on a daily basis. New products are constantly communicating with each other to provide a better user experience. Running shoes connect to a wireless network to upload speed and distance. Automated temperature and light controls communicate with a central system of a building to keep the cost of energy down. Virtual machines allow for several operating systems to run on the same piece of hardware, thus driving down maintenance costs.
IOL Blog Entries for December 2012
Remotely Testing iSCSI Targets
By - December 7, 2012
Test tool innovation is one of the major reasons for the success of the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Lab (UNH-IOL). Many consortia use some form of automation in their testing procedures, as intern Boo Strachan discussed in a previous blog post . In the Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI) consortium, automation has been heavily emphasized throughout the test plan and test tool development process. Automated testing scripts have been written to emulate the behavior of an iSCSI initiator and iSCSI target device. Detailed results from tests are automatically formatted and written to file to later be reviewed by lab technicians. As the iSCSI standard is updated, test plans and test tools are also subsequently updated and new features are added in order to keep testing simple, effective, and up to date. Many of the tools developed and maintained in house are used exclusively by student technicians who perform daily tests within their group. It is becoming increasingly common, however, for consortia to make these tools available to their members. In the last couple of years, the iSCSI consortium has developed a remote testing tool that allows members to test an iSCSI Target, at their location, between normal testing reservations. While the majority of testing happens within the walls of the UNH-IOL facility, the iSCSI consortium's IP-based remote test tool offers a unique opportunity to allow companies to perform our two most popular target test suites without ever having to leave the comfort of their own facility.