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3121-1463 - Negative Testing using LoadCore

LoadCore's impairment capability enables realistic negative testing scenarios for 5G control plane protocols by simulating a mix of legitimate and malformed traffic. This feature allows users to manipulate message content and create complex negative test scenarios, which are essential for validating network resiliency before deployment. Keysight's solution supports various control plane protocols and includes predefined templates for creating impairment profiles, ensuring thorough testing of core network elements.

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4 views

3121-1463 - Negative Testing using LoadCore

LoadCore's impairment capability enables realistic negative testing scenarios for 5G control plane protocols by simulating a mix of legitimate and malformed traffic. This feature allows users to manipulate message content and create complex negative test scenarios, which are essential for validating network resiliency before deployment. Keysight's solution supports various control plane protocols and includes predefined templates for creating impairment profiles, ensuring thorough testing of core network elements.

Uploaded by

darwin.bejar.oblitas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Negative Testing using LoadCore

LoadCore’s impairment capability can help you create


realistic testing scenarios for 5G control plane protocols
Problem: How to simulate a realistic environment which contains a mix
of traffic types, including illegitimate or malformed packets?
5G is positioned to change the world in multiple ways, it is expected to form the
foundation of tomorrow's digital economy. To achieve these ambitious objectives, an
important role is played by the network resiliency, an aspect equally important for both
public and private networks. In real life, a 5G Network Function can receive traffic from
multiple sources, either as a standard compliant or something that is wrongly sent,
malformed or intentionally looking for vulnerabilities. Simulating this mix of control plane
traffic is challenging as the test tool should offer full flexibility for manipulating an entire
message or only a specific Information Element inside the packet at a certain moment
within any control plane procedure.

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Why is it important to address negative testing scenarios?
In a producer-consumer architecture, the main tests are usually related to the
service type that is offered, rates and capacity. But what will happen in case the Highlights:
node representing the producer receives a request for a UE that was not registered
• Ability to modify on
to the network or a request which contains wrong information inside, or the
the fly message
communication is dropped in the middle? In a good implementation the Network
content on any
Function should provide a negative answer, return an error code, but in many cases
Control Plane
the reality is different: the network elements will not answer, will reset or crash,
interface (N1/N2,
collapsing the entire network or just simply providing service to the consumer that
N4, SBI) or to
was not supposed to get it. Dreadful consequences…
manipulate entire
All these scenarios are happening in real life and is crucial to validate them before messages
deploying the real network where things are much hardly and costly to control and fix.
• Allows in-depth
configuration of
impaired message
using python hooks

• SCAS test suite for


5G Security testing

Figure 1. PCF isolation topology offered by LoadCore

Solution: Negative Testing Using LoadCore’s Impairment Capability


Keysight's 5G LoadCore™ test solution addresses critical validation requirements for improved reliability
and performance of 5G emerging architectures. Among full set of functionalities for testing the complete
5G topology, from a single node to the entire core, the impairment feature allows users to validate the
control plane protocols, by changing or adding IE elements inside a message or completely the entire
message. In thy way negative scenarios can be created, like:

1. wrong credentials, incorrect authentication responses, incomplete messages missing IEs or IEs with
altered content, different message structure simulating mismatch between 3GPP supported version

2. dropping, duplicating, or injecting an entire message.

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The impairment capability can be used with all control plane protocols used in 4G and 5G core networks:
SCTP, PFCP/GTPv2 or HTTP2 for both inbound and outbound messages.

Figure 2. gNB-simulation with Impairment applied on N1/N2 interface

How the Impairment works


The impairment capability is implemented at Test Agent level, using python scripting to create
appropriate hooks. Based on granular control of procedures, the messages are identified based on
specific criteria and they are reworked according to the test definition. Once the message is changed to
have the desired type or content, it is placed back on control plane interface toward the Device Under
Test. Same type of actions can be done on the receiving path, for the messages transmitted by the DUT.

Figure 3. View of original and modified NAS message

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How to use the Impairment functionality
Creating impairment profiles can be done starting from predefined templates available on Keysight’s
download page. First it must be decided what will be impaired: which interface, which procedure or
which message inside the procedure (entire message or specific IE inside the packet). Based on the
choice a specific detection rule is created (e.g. packets coming from a predefined IP address or having
a specific header). Then the user defines the content that will be added/replaced when the rule is
matched. The newly created hook will represent the impairment profile and will be loaded in LoadCore
application using the web UI or via RestApi commands.

Figure 4. Multiple Impairment profiles can be defined

Figure 5. Impairment specific statistics

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A Complete Core Network Validation MUST Include Negative Scenarios
Core networks elements should be well tested before being deployed in production networks. A crash or
reset of a node that received a wrong message can create big loses for service providers. They are
difficult to find and reproduce, therefore a complete QA cycle should include negative tests. Trying to
provide more secure network architectures, 3GPP defined a set of specification for each 5G node covering
these kinds of scenarios. The SCAS (5G Security Assurance Specifications) tests can be easily
implemented using LoadCore’s impairment capability (e.g. change the RES value during authentication or
intercepting the response message and analyze it for a specific format or content). For customers looking
into acquiring a fully-fledged solution, Keysight offers the entire SCAS test capability as prepackaged test
libraries, including automation framework (OpenTAP) with embedded Pass/Fail criteria.

Conclusion
Part of Keysight’s portfolio for testing wireless networks, LoadCore is a very powerful instrument for
complete 5G core validation, starting from single node to the entire core network, or from a small-scale
functional test to the maximum capacity validation. The Impairment feature will give you the option to
create complex negative test scenario, tests which are mandatory for a good and stable 5G core
network function while running in production networks.

Learn more at: www.keysight.com


For more information on Keysight Technologies’ products, applications or services,
please contact your local Keysight office. The complete list is available at:
www.keysight.com/find/contactus

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This information is subject to change without notice. © Keysight Technologies, 2021, Published in USA, November 30, 2021, 3121-1463.EN

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