Onboarding - Testing - 4

Define which tests are important for your business

Karen avatar
Written by Karen
Updated over a week ago

You can enable tests on all sensors or networks, or you can run different tests on different sensors. Hit change selection to select which network and group your test should run.

You can add tests for internal or external services. Internal tests target a service available on your local network, while external tests test a service external to your network. Tests can be configured using predefined or custom templates. 

Predefined templates are available for common services and limit the amount of configuration that can be done by users.  Custom templates allow users to create custom tests and configure them to your needs. Custom tests also have predefined templates for services like iPerf, TelNet, VoIP MOS, and Web Servers.

Here are definitions on some of the terms: 

Direction:  
Determines whether the sensor should upload or download from the iPerf3 server.

Protocol:  
Determines the type of protocol.

Port:  
Determines the port for testing.

Maximum Bandwidth:
Sets the limit for maximum bandwidth in Mbit/sec.    

Window size:
Sets the socket buffer size. For TCP, this the TCP window size. 

Test Duration:
Sets the duration of the test in seconds.

Parallel Streams:
Determines the number of simultaneous connections to make to the server.

Frequency:
Determines how often to execute the test. Setting a high frequency as well as a high test duration causes a lot of data to be sent and received over the course of a day.

Selecting the Download and UDP options with no bandwidth limit may cause false values.  Frequency only applies to tests that use more bandwidth like Dropbox, Youtube, Netflix, and Iperf.

iPerf3:
Is single-threaded and allows only one client to connect at a time. If multiple sensors are testing against the same iPerf3 server with high frequency, they may return incomplete test results.

iPerf2:
If you have tests running simultaneously between 2 or more sensors and the IPerf server, the measured Iperf throughput will be split between the sensors. 

To add a test, use the following steps:

  1. Click on the Settings Icon 

  2. Click on the Testing tab

  3. Click on the Test Configuration tab.

  4. Under Services, click on the + Add Test button.

  5. In the Add Test modal, you can configure the test as desired.

  6. Click on the Add button to save

Sensor Test Cycle

A sensor can test up to 4 networks - wired only, wireless only, or any mix-match of wired and wireless. When testing, the sensor will run the Core, Internal and External tests in a round-robin fashion as illustrated in the below image.  There are also throughput tests that can be enabled to run at configurable predefined intervals (not pictured).

Core Network Tests

Core network tests check the network environment, network services, and external connectivity. The tests include:

  • AP Scan – Examine the WIFI environment around d the sensor including SSIDs, BSSIDs, and RSI values.

  • SSID Check – Check whether the configured network SSIDs are available 

  • AP Association - Determine how long it takes to associate to an access point. 

  • External Connectivity – Connect to http://cdn.capenetworks.io/connectivity-check

  • DHCP – Test if the sensor is able to obtain a DHCP address

  • Primary DNS – Test if the primary nameserver is able to resolve cdn.capenetworks.io

  • Secondary DNS - Test if the secondary nameserver is able to resolve cdn.capenetworks.io

Note: Although the dashboard lists these tests as “every 5 minutes”, you cannot edit the frequency of these tests. They run for every test cycle which may be less frequently or more frequently than 5 minutes. 

Note: The Core tests depend on the sensor configuration. For example, the DHCP test will not run if the sensor has a static IP address configured. 

Configuring Tests for a Group or Network

You can configure internal or external tests to run on any combination of sensor groups and selected networks. 

Go to Settings -> Testing -> Test Configuration and select Change Selection

For more articles on testing please check out: https://help.capenetworks.com/en/collections/244230-testing

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