Reasons for the question

A number of UNI and NNI protocol recommendations have been developed in the area of ISDN, B-ISDN and furthermore there are new recommendations covering the interaction of the narrow-band and broadband world. Beside this, work for IMT-2000, IN and network management has also been advanced.

In the new study period additional recommendations for new enhanced basic and supplementary services, support of IP and enhancements of existing recommendations are expected.

Due to the maintenance work in the protocol groups it is also necessary to adapt the existing test recommendations to fulfil the new requirements. On the other hand tests are needed to cover the new areas of recommendation to support a fast introduction on the market.

The usage of standardized tests based on standardized testing methodologies like TTCN gives the vendors the tool for fast development and on the other hand the customers can easy verify and maintain their networks. Beside the verification of the implementation of a specific protocol by using conformance tests, standardized tests can also cover the area of interworking, end-to-end service testing and interconnection testing. Furthermore the creation of test recommendations gives ITU the possibility to improve the quality of standards because there is a fast feedback to the protocol experts.

Because of the wide field of protocols, which are covered by SG 11, the testing question has to handle a very voluminous task. Specific work (e.g. N-ISDN, B-ISDN) should be handled in separated tasks within this question. In that way this question can work as common platform for testing to give the experts the possibility to cooperate in convergent problems.

Question

What new recommendations and what enhancements to existing recommendations are required in order to:

a) increase the coverage of existing test recommendations;

b) amend and improve test recommendations;

c) develop test recommendations to new protocols and existing protocols not covered by tests up to now;

d) create test recommendations for interworking and end-to-end sceneries.

Task objectives

1) The maintenance, amendment and enhancement of existing test Recommendations in the Q.7xx, Q.27xx, Q.9xx and Q.29xx-series.

2) To develop new test recommendations for existing and new protocols and interworking for providing N-ISDN services and signalling protocols for IMT-2000, not covered yet by a test recommendations.

3) To develop test recommendations to check signalling performance requirements in the scope of Study Group 11.

4) To develop test recommendations for IP and IP-based applications.

Relationships

The tasks of this question are related to the specification of U-plane and C-plane protocols that support or use N-ISDN/B-ISDN. Recommendations in this area are related also to IP-family protocols.

The need to provide a set of tests will require very close cooperation with the individual protocol groups. Each protocol question will have a task handling the production of the Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS) in conjunction with the members of the testing question. Beside that each protocol question is expected to support the work done by the testing question by the provision of experts into the relevant work on testing.

This question is related to other organizations defining protocol test specifications e.g. for narrow-band and broadband ISDN and IP, especially to the work of e.g. ATMF, ETSI, 3GPPs which may be referenced to support and complete the independent output of the testing question.