About the Data Message Flow Window
Use the Data Message Flow window to create and edit message flows when you include Data Traffic in a test. The availability of parameters and options depends on the Data Protocol selected. A parameter may be disabled because it is not applicable to the selected protocol, or because the protocol will only accept one value. In the POP3 example shown below, for example, Underlying Protocol is disabled because POP3 only runs over TCP.
The window displays two main tabs: the General tab and the Sequencing tab.
Data Message Flow window components:
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The window is labeled with the message flow name.
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Use the protocol parameters to define the data protocol, the underlying protocol, and retry behavior.
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Use the message parameters to define the volume, rate, and either the packet size (Basic Data) or maximum message size (Advanced Data).
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Optional settings allow you to:
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Distribution Options apply distribution models that can vary the message rate and packet size.
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Billing Options define which packets are included in per-flow Data Record statistics.
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Security Options include Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) authentication in the DMF for IMS Security testing.
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Support for a maximum of 325 DMFs per test case or one single mainflow with 324 subflows or one Lite DMF with 325 Connections/5-Tuples.
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Embed up to 325 DMFs (subflows) in a main flow DMF and control subflow execution with flow controls (Advanced Data only).
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Use the Sequencing tab to design an Advanced Data message flow with a variety of control objects. You can manually define the message controls or you can populate your message flow by using one of the message flow wizards: import a message trace with the PDML to DMF Wizard or build the request and response messages for the message flow with the Protocol Wizard. ICMP, POP3, and SMTP protocols are currently supported in the Protocol Wizard.
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Ensure that the main DMF flow remains active while the subflows are active.
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Set the pane view to show all commands, commands that only apply to the client, or commands that only apply to the server with the explicitly View radio buttons.
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Use the command control buttons to add or remove the different types of flow controls.
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Set the size and initialize the values for the Paste Buffers that can be used to insert dynamic content in messages.
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Use the TLS tab to encrypt the segments of network connections above the Transport Layer.
| NOTE: The TLS tab is available only when Data protocol is https or cust and Underlying Layer is TLS. |
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Use the Timing Tab to provide Send Delays for Advanced DMFs and displays complete sequence of messages, which You may edit.
NOTES:
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Use the DMF control buttons to save the flow or close the window.
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When the test is running, you can open the DMF and manually pause the execution of all instances of the DMF with the Pause Traffic toggle button located at the bottom of the window. After pausing the DMF, you can resume execution by clicking Resume Traffic.
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Capture a snapshot of the window by pressing F9 to copy the snapshot to your clipboard. Save the snapshot with the Shift-F9 key combination.
NOTES: You may save the GUI settings as a Tcl file:
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Message Flow Controls
The Advanced Data feature gives you the ability to use flow controls to design the data packets that are sent during the test and order them in a sequence of steps. These steps can be executable commands that send messages from the MN (client) or the Network Host node (server). Additional controls are provided that you can use to repeat a group of commands, control subflow execution, or generate and handle events.
You can change the order of the flow controls by selecting the control's button and dragging the control up or down or by using the context menu. In the POP3 example above, step 2 is selected. You can also copy one command or the entire flow sequence to your clipboard and append the contents of your clipboard to the end of a sequence, insert the contents between steps, or replace the entire sequence. Right-click a step number to access the context menu for flow controls. Right-click in an empty portion of the sequence pane to copy the sequence, replace the sequence, or add to the sequence.
You can display the flow sequences of DMFs, including Commands, Sends, Waits, Subflow Starts, and transaction loops by clicking the Display Sequence button.