Optimization problems from feature testing of communication protocols

In feature testing of communication protocols, we want to construct a minimal number of tests with a desirable fault coverage. We model the protocols by extended finite state machines and reduce the test generation process to optimization problems on graphs. We study efficient algorithms and their complexity. We report experimental results on real systems, including Personal HandyPhone System, a 5ESS based ISDN wireless system, and 5ESS Intelligent Network Application Protocol.

[1]  David S. Johnson,et al.  Approximation algorithms for combinatorial problems , 1973, STOC.

[2]  David S. Johnson,et al.  Computers and In stractability: A Guide to the Theory of NP-Completeness. W. H Freeman, San Fran , 1979 .

[3]  Sanjoy Paul,et al.  On the generation of minimal-length conformance tests for communication protocols , 1993, TNET.

[4]  Edward F. Moore,et al.  Gedanken-Experiments on Sequential Machines , 1956 .

[5]  David Lee,et al.  Online minimization of transition systems (extended abstract) , 1992, STOC '92.

[6]  Tsun S. Chow,et al.  Testing Software Design Modeled by Finite-State Machines , 1978, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering.

[7]  Guney Gonenc,et al.  A Method for the Design of Fault Detection Experiments , 1970, IEEE Transactions on Computers.

[8]  Rajeev Alur,et al.  Model-checking for real-time systems , 1990, [1990] Proceedings. Fifth Annual IEEE Symposium on Logic in Computer Science.

[9]  Jeanette P. Schmidt,et al.  The Spatial Complexity of Oblivious k-Probe Hash Functions , 2018, SIAM J. Comput..

[10]  Gerard J. Holzmann,et al.  Design and validation of protocols , 1990 .

[11]  F. Wagner.  VFSM executable specification , 1992, CompEuro 1992 Proceedings Computer Systems and Software Engineering.

[12]  Daniel M. Yellin,et al.  Finding Extremal Sets in Less than Quadratic Time , 1993, Inf. Process. Lett..

[13]  Ronald L. Rivest,et al.  Introduction to Algorithms , 1990 .

[14]  Deepinder P. Sidhu,et al.  Formal Methods for Protocol Testing: A Detailed Study , 1989, IEEE Trans. Software Eng..

[15]  Kwang-Ting Cheng,et al.  Automatic Functional Test Generation Using The Extended Finite State Machine Model , 1993, 30th ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference.

[16]  David Lee,et al.  An Efficient Algorithm for Minimizing Real-Time Transition Systems , 1997, Formal Methods Syst. Des..

[17]  F. C. Hennie.  Fault detecting experiments for sequential circuits , 1964, SWCT.

[18]  Samuel T. Chanson,et al.  A unified approach to protocol test sequence generation , 1993, IEEE INFOCOM '93 The Conference on Computer Communications, Proceedings.

[19]  David Lee,et al.  Testing Finite State Machines: Fault Detection , 1995, J. Comput. Syst. Sci..

[20]  Sanjoy Paul,et al.  Structural analysis of protocol specifications and generation of maximal fault coverage conformance test sequences , 1994, TNET.

[21]  Tadanori Mizuno,et al.  Strategic Testing Environment with Formal Description Techniques , 1991, IEEE Trans. Computers.

[22]  László Lovász,et al.  On the ratio of optimal integral and fractional covers , 1975, Discret. Math..

[23]  M. P. Vasilevskii.  Failure diagnosis of automata , 1973 .

[24]  David Lee,et al.  Conformance testing of protocols specified as communicating finite state machines-a guided random walk based approach , 1996, IEEE Trans. Commun..

[25]  Carsten Lund,et al.  On the hardness of approximating minimization problems , 1993, STOC.

[26]  Noga Alon,et al.  Color-coding , 1995, JACM.

[27]  B. Monien.  How to Find Long Paths Efficiently , 1985 .

[28]  Richard M. Karp,et al.  Reducibility among combinatorial problems" in complexity of computer computations , 1972 .

[29]  Ming T. Liu,et al.  Test path selection based on effective domains , 1994, Proceedings of ICNP - 1994 International Conference on Network Protocols.

[30]  Mihalis Yannakakis,et al.  Optimization, approximation, and complexity classes , 1991, STOC '88.

[31]  David Lee,et al.  Validation-Based Test Sequence Generation for Networks of Extended Finite State Machines , 1996, FORTE.

[32]  Rajeev Alur,et al.  Distinguishing tests for nondeterministic and probabilistic machines , 1995, STOC '95.

[33]  Krishan K. Sabnani,et al.  Formal methods for generating protocol conformance test sequences , 1990, Proc. IEEE.

[34]  Jeffrey D. Ullman,et al.  Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages and Computation , 1979 .

[35]  David Lee,et al.  Principles and methods of testing finite state machines-a survey , 1996, Proc. IEEE.

[36]  Ming T. Liu,et al.  Generating test cases for EFSM with given fault models , 1993, IEEE INFOCOM '93 The Conference on Computer Communications, Proceedings.

[37]  Carsten Lund,et al.  Proof verification and hardness of approximation problems , 1992, Proceedings., 33rd Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science.

[38]  David S. Johnson,et al.  Computers and Intractability: A Guide to the Theory of NP-Completeness , 1978 .

[39]  Krishan K. Sabnani,et al.  A Protocol Test Generation Procedure , 1988, Comput. Networks.

[40]  Ferhat Khendek,et al.  Test Selection Based on Finite State Models , 1991, IEEE Trans. Software Eng..

[41]  Alfred V. Aho,et al.  An optimization technique for protocol conformance test generation based on UIO sequences and rural Chinese postman tours , 1991, IEEE Trans. Commun..

[42]  Sanjoy Paul,et al.  Generating Conformance Test Sequences for Combined Control and Data Flow of Communication Protocols , 1992, PSTV.

[43]  Carsten Lund,et al.  Proof verification and the intractability of approximation problems , 1992, FOCS 1992.

[44]  Hasan Ural,et al.  On the Complexity of Generating Optimal Test Sequences , 1991, IEEE Trans. Software Eng..