Developing Solutions, Inc. has begun the development life cycle for dsTest release 5.6, and their daily builds are available to all current customers with active support agreements. Customers can download these builds from the Developing Solutions secure support website.
Developing Solutions operates in a CI/CD/CT environment for all dsTest releases, and performs daily software builds and regression testing for the release under development. While release 5.6 remains in development customers may make feature requests which, if accepted, may be implemented in the current release or in a future release depending on the timing of the request. Customers are notified when features they requested have been released.
Network test solutions
All features available in previous releases are carried forward into future releases
All features available in previous releases are carried forward into future releases as is the continued support for and development of comprehensive 3G, 4G, and 5G core network test solutions. The previous release, dsTest 5.5, was finalised in January, 2021, and included the following 5GC Service-Based-Interfaces and procedures:
- Initial implementation of the N22 interface to test AMF and NSSF.
- Initial implementation of the N15 interface to test PCF and AMF.
- Support for HO using N14 per TS 29.518.
- Support for HO between N2 and S1.
- Support for N2 to N14 Inter-AMF HO.
- Support for Emergency Services fallback as per TS 23.502 section 4.13.4.2.
- Support for EPS fallback for IMS voice as per TS 23.502 section 4.13.6.1.
Core network testing
Release 5.6 will expand support for video clients to include DASH VOD and QUIC in addition to the currently supported HLS video client. They are adding support for the Ngmlc service on the GMLC and adding the 5G-EIR node emulator and service. Additionally, for 5G they’re adding location functions to our N2 implementation.
To simplify the process of automating dsTest, enhancements will be made to bundle several functions
To simplify the process of automating dsTest, enhancements will be made to bundle several functions within a test using the REST or XML/TCP API’s as well as expanding support for validation options. Developing Solutions’ growing collection of Control Plane and User Plane applications and core network testing solutions gives dsTest the ability to identify problems and potential bottlenecks in the lab before they show up in the network.
Software defined networks
One can easily scale an environment — simulating hundreds of millions of subscribers — to test network capacity, compliance, scalability, and redundancy. Additionally, features such as SmartEvents, SmartMessageElement, and inline protocol dictionaries give one maximum flexibility and control. dsTest is a high performance, high capacity software solution that runs on several distributions of Linux. It is designed to take advantage of the latest processor and virtualisation technology to assist carriers’ and vendors’ evolution toward network function virtualisation and software defined networks.
Carriers and vendors rely on dsTest for performance, compliance, and reliability validation of their networks. dsTest is also accompanied by the dsClient desktop application, which allows easy configuration and control of dsTest using a graphical user interface, and provides test monitoring and operational measurement reporting in chart or tabular form.
