Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bbn!uwmcsd1!ig!agate!ucbvax!windsor.CRAY.COM!hrp
From: hrp@windsor.CRAY.COM (Hal Peterson)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: DCA Protocol Lab Test Tools
Message-ID: <8802111932.AA02849@windsor.cray.com>
Date: 11 Feb 88 19:32:13 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 26

Bob,

You are correct and I was being too flip with my wording: the tests
are indeed quickly RUN.  What I meant to say is that it takes a long
time TO BE ABLE TO RUN the tests, because of the time necessary to
develop a ``remote driver'' program to run on the machine under test.
[The remote driver sits on top of the protocol under test and responds
to commands and data from the central test site, opening and closing
connections, echoing data, and so forth.]  Our experience indicates
that anyone who wants to run these tests should allocate several
people and several months to the task.  On a machine for which remote
drivers are available, that time would be shortened to a couple of
weeks for one person.

We've been at this for a year and a half now and we have yet to run
all of the tests.  This has happened for a number of reasons:  some
are unique to Cray, some are political, and some are a result of
working with a system in progress, whose specifications have been
changing while we work.  I am still convinced that our time is being
well spent, that this is a worthy effort, and that users of the
production version of the test suite will have a much easier time of
it than we have.

--
Hal Peterson / Cray Research / 1440 Northland Dr. / Mendota Hts, MN  55120
hrp%hall.CRAY.COM@umn-rei-uc.ARPA	ihnp4!cray!hrp	    (612) 681-3145