What test tools are available for/with OpenSS7?

Description: OpenSS7 Frequently Asked Questions #18.

There are a number of tools built into the Linux NET4 code which will help you to test an OpenSS7 stack implementation. One of these is the PACKET_SOCKET which is also supported by the OpenSS7 stack. See `man 7 packet'. The procfs and sysctrl support of the OpenSS7 stack permits statistics to be used to assist in debugging the OpenSS7 stack and interfaces.

The popular tcpdump and wireshark packages can be used with SUA, M3UA, M2UA, M2PA and custom extensions to debug non-physical SS7 link interface drivers and debug the OpenSS7 L2 and L3 state machine implementations with or without a real interface.

Test programs are available in the package that can run Q.781 and Q.782 conformance tests against virtual SS7 links using the SUA, M3UA, M2UA and M2PA protocols. In fact, all network protocol test suites in OpenSS7 can be perform ferry-clip testing of a remote implementation over any network: see the manual pages for the specific test program.

The OpenSS7 SS7 Stack is, also, fully instrumented. It is possible to monitor messages and primitives at each boundary of the protocol stack. Also, conformance test suites are distributed with the stack that provides conformance verification on the stack components. As mentioned above, these test suites can be run remotely in a test harness.

The current OpenSS7 conformance and validation test suite contains over 5000 test cases and tests full compliance and conformance of everything from STREAMS itself all the way to testing application programming interfaces on libraries.

The Unexicon Linux distribution provides test and monitoring tools for use with testing SS7, SIGTRAN, SIP, H.323, MGCP and other protocols. These tools play nice with tcpdump and wireshark.