Network Test Automation

Reasons to Advance from Manual to Automated Network Test

5G is quickly becoming more prominent in networks, providing better performance and coverage for consumers. This, in turn, creates new challenges for network operators including the need to achieve new frequencies, add new features, add new equipment, and continually improve performance. Networks are becoming more software centric, requiring verification of features before deployment causing engineers to be busier than ever qualifying new updates and changes.

Increasing costs of network test development is one of the greatest concerns for network operations. The growth of network devices, software, and features has outpaced network developers’ capabilities, making manually testing a network nearly impossible. However, many engineers are still busy getting involved hands-on which takes a lot of time, involves high costs, and can lead to several problems. Manually executed repetitive tasks often result in configuration errors and inconsistencies, and often require additional troubleshooting and testing. The attempt to expand network changes at scale, in a non-automated way, can be very problematic causing network downtime and additional time required to troubleshoot can be detrimental. These combined drawbacks result in higher operational costs.

Many organizations are working to automate their network test to improve quality and improve their network services. Quickly evolving network capabilities and technology have caused an increased need for efficiency and speed of software development which results in the demand for network automation test to ensure that network test, with additional improvements, progresses faster and without errors.

Keysight’s Automation Solution

Many network service providers are currently using manual tests that limits their lab testing cycle, requiring extended time for preparation, execution, and results analysis. Manual testing also has a higher error rate than an automated solution, and a very low reusability rate. Manual testing can impact business goals with slower test development and delivery, inconsistent quality, and higher costs.

Network automation, using both instruments and software, automates configuration, management, testing, deployment, and operation of physical and virtual devices within a network. Common network tasks and function are automated, controlled, and managed to improve network service availability. Data centers, service providers, and enterprises benefit from improved efficiency, reduced human errors, and lower operating expenses by incorporating network automation.

Keysight’s network test automation solution enables quick design, integration of instruments and software, and includes business policy and industry standards requirements. Keysight’s testing tools and test-case libraries can be integrated into any automation framework, or custom frameworks can be defined to accommodate unique requirements.

Test Automation

If your goal is to add to or improve the automation framework you currently have, with integration of multiple vendors products and tools, Keysight’s Test Automation is the best choice. Test Automation provides automated test cases that can be integrated into complex existing automation frameworks improving their efficiency, quality and providing a more complete solution. An advantage of Keysight’s Test Automation solution is the ability for users to schedule and execute a test without first being familiar with the tools.

For a service provider example with multi-vendor automation framework, Keysight’s testing solution was integrated with the existing frameworks using REST API. Keysight’s solution provides new automation capabilities including scheduling, execution, and data collection for further analysis and test results validation.

Automation Framework

If you do not have a current automated network test and want to quickly be able to automatically run and analyze test cases, your best choice is Keysight’s Automation Framework. Automation Framework provides a complete solution with automated test cases, a user interface, and results data analysis.

For example, a service provider, that did not have an automation framework, requested help to build and validate automated test cases using instruments they currently used in the test lab. This service provider wanted fast, effective test ability to keep up with their fast-paced network rollout schedules.

Keysight created and validated test cases and then used REST API and Python for scheduling and execution. Post process of test results were managed by an additionally developed data manipulation tool that pushed data to the customers data storage site for further analysis.