The Fieldbus Foundation released the H1 Conformance Test Kit (H1 CTK) 3.0, providing enhanced capabilities for developing and testing of FOUNDATION fieldbus H1 (31.25 kbit/s) device communication stacks. The kit has been updated to support a current hardware platform and operating systems and expanded test case functionality.
The H1 CTK is a complete testing solution for fieldbus device developers to ensure their H1 communication stack conforms to the Fieldbus Foundation’s test requirements. The fieldbus communication stack is the messaging component of a field device. Specifically, the stack is composed of the data link layer, the fieldbus access sub-layer, the fieldbus message specification, and system/network management agents.
All stack conformance testing is performed by the Fraunhofer IOSB, a nonprofit testing agency located in Karlsruhe, Germany, as a prerequisite for official registration.
The tool is designed for troubleshooting and debugging a range of fieldbus instrumentation and will verify the correct communication behavior of an H1 device as defined in the FOUNDATION fieldbus specifications. The latest version of the H1 conformance test kit, H1 CTK 3.0, includes a platform upgrade with support for current hardware such as PCI and PCMCIA NI-FBUS cards. The kit has also undergone a test engine code update to 32 bit. In addition, its enhanced user interface provides support for Windows XP/Vista operating systems.
The H1 stack conformance test consists of a suite of both automated and manual test procedures. The automated test procedures validate both Fieldbus Message Specification (FMS) and System Management (SM) messaging. The test system validates that the messages for the different services are both formed and decoded correctly by the stack-under-test (SUT). Other testing procedures validate the data structures present in the device’s Object Dictionary (OD) are conformant to the current FOUNDATION specifications. Additional tests examine the distribution and synchronization of the application time clock. Finally, those stacks classified as a Link Master undergo special testing to validate Link Active Scheduler (LAS) functionality
The H1 CTK 3.0 is available now to companies signing a new license agreement, and to current license holders wishing to obtain the updated kit at a special discounted price.
For more information, visit www.fieldbus.org and click on Development Resources under the FOUNDATION™ Technology tab or e-mail [email protected].
