Ensuring Interoperability for the Internet of Things: Experience with CoAP Protocol Testing

摘要

Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) je specijalizirani prijenosni protokol, dizajniran za realizaciju međuoperabilnosti uz ograničene mrežame i čvorove za primjene poput pametne energije, automatizacije u zgradarstvu itd. Kao važan i sveprisutan protokol za Internet stvari CoAP bi mogao biti implementiran kod velikog broja pametnih uređaja kako bi se ostvarile kooperativne usluge. Zbog toga je od velike važnosti postići visoku razinu međuoperabilnosti CoAP implementacija. U tom kontekstu, CoAP Pluqtest - prvo formalno testiranje CoAP međuoperabilnosti je održano u Parizu u ožujku 2012. kako bi se motivirali prodavači da provjere međuoperabilnost svoje opreme. Testiranje je bilo uspješno zahvaljujući našem doprinosu koji uključuje metodu i alate za testiranje. U ovom radu prikazana je metoda i procedura testiranja za CoAP Pluqtest. Kako bi se proveli testovi odabran je skup ciljeva koji se odnose na najvažnija svojstva CoAP protokola i oni su korišteni za mjerenje međuoperabilnosti CoAP implementacija. Proces verifikacije je automatiziran implementacijom alata za provjeru testa koji se temelji na tehnici pasivnog testiranja. Korištenjem alata za testiranje uspješno su testirani brojni uređaji.%Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) is a specialized web transfer protocol, designed for realizing inter-operation with constrained networks and nodes for machine to machine applications like smart energy, building automation, etc. As an important ubiquitous application protocol for the future Internet of Things, CoAP will be potentially implemented by a wide range of smart devices to achieve cooperative services. Therefore, a high level of interoperability of CoAP implementations is crucial. In this context, CoAP Plugtest - the first formal CoAP interoperability testing event was held in Paris, March 2012 to motivate vendors to verify the interoperability of their equipments. The event turned to be successful due to our contribution, including the test method and tool. This paper presents the testing method and procedure for the CoAP Plugtest event. To carry out the tests, a set of test objectives concerning the most important properties of CoAP have been selected and used to measure the interoperability of CoAP implementations. The process of verification has been automated by implementing a test validation tool based on the technique of passive testing. By using the test tool, a number of devices were successfully tested.