Test sequence generation for controller verification and test with high coverage

Abstract

Verification and test are critical phases in the development of any hardware or software system. This article focuses on black box testing of the control part of hardware and software systems. Black box testing involves specification, test generation, and fault coverage. Finite state machines (FSMs) are commonly used for specifying controllers. FSMs may have shortcomings in modeling complex systems. With the introduction of X-machines, complex systems can be modeled at higher levels of abstraction. An X-machine can be converted into an FSM while preserving the level of abstraction. The fault coverage of a test sequence for an FSM specification provides a confidence level. We propose a fault coverage metric for an FSM specification based on the transition fault model, and using this metric, we derive the coverage of a test sequence. The article also presents a method which generates short test sequences that meet a specific coverage level and then extends this metric to determine the coverage of a test sequence for an FSM driven by an FSM network. We applied our FSM verification technique to a real-life FSM, namely, the fibre channel arbitrated loop port state machine, used in the field of storage area networks. © 2006 ACM. © 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.