Patent Application
20070255869
Some peripheral devices, such as a mouse or keyboard, can be connected to a computer via a wired connection, e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) connection. To ensure that a computing device will function appropriately with a peripheral, the computing device and the peripheral are subjected to testing, e.g., by a manufacturer or developer of the computing device or the peripheral device. Adequately testing a device and peripheral can prevent costly support calls and customer dissatisfaction. To ensure that the devices will function appropriately under a variety of anticipated usage conditions, it may be necessary to test a number of different scenarios.
As one example, the computing device and peripheral may be tested to ensure that they function appropriately when the peripheral is connected or disconnected from the computing device. To test such a scenario, a person may manually plug the peripheral device into the computing device and manually unplug the peripheral device from the computing device. The ability of the computing device to recognize and function appropriately with the peripheral device in response to the plugging/unplugging may be observed.
As another example, a computing device may be tested to ensure that it functions appropriately with several different peripheral devices. To test such a scenario, a person may manually plug a first peripheral device into the computing device. The computing device may be tested with the first peripheral device, and the person may manually unplug the first peripheral device. Next, the person may manually plug in a second peripheral device, and the computing device may be tested with the second peripheral device. Several peripheral devices may be manually plugged/unplugged and tested with the computing device.
The Applicants have appreciated that it may be desirable to automatically re-configure connection paths to facilitate testing of computing devices with peripheral devices. In accordance with the invention, one or more peripheral devices can be connected to a computing device via a configurable switching device that enables automatically re-configuring connections between one or more computing devices and one or more peripheral devices. Automatic re-configuring of connection paths may eliminate the need for manually plugging/unplugging devices during testing. For example, the switching device may selectively connect and disconnect connections between the computing device and the peripheral devices. The switching device may be configurable via software, firmware, or a combination thereof, enabling controlling the timing of connecting/disconnecting a connection.
The switching device may enable selectively connecting one or more peripheral devices to a computing device coupled to the switching device. Using software and/or firmware to re-configure the switching device, several different peripheral devices may be tested with the computing device simultaneously and/or in sequence. For example, a first peripheral may be connected to the computing device, the computing device may be tested, and then the first peripheral may be disconnected. After the first peripheral has been disconnected, a second peripheral device may be connected, and the computing device may be tested with the second device. The connecting and disconnecting of the peripherals may be performed through automatic re-configuration of the switching device, without the need for manually plugging or unplugging of connections during the test. As one example, the switching device may be controlled by a control device that is programmed to connect and disconnect connections at various times in accordance with a testing schedule.
The switching device may enable connecting a peripheral device to one or more computing devices. For example, a peripheral device may be tested to ensure that it functions appropriately with a variety of different types of computers or other types of computing devices.
One embodiment of the invention relates to a method of evaluating a computing device. The computing device is coupled to a switching device. The switching device is coupled to a first peripheral device and a second peripheral device. The method includes configuring the switching device to couple the first peripheral device to the computing device via the switching device. The method also includes evaluating a response of the computing device to coupling the first peripheral device to the computing device. The method also includes automatically re-configuring the switching device to couple the second peripheral device to the computing device via the switching device. The method further includes evaluating a response of the computing device to coupling the second peripheral device to the computing device.
Another embodiment of the invention relates to a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions encoded thereon that, when executed, perform acts of a method of evaluating a computing device. The computing device is coupled to a switching device. The switching device is coupled to a first peripheral device and a second peripheral device. The method includes configuring the switching device to couple the first peripheral device to the computing device via the switching device. The method also includes evaluating a response of the computing device to coupling the first peripheral device to the computing device. The method also includes automatically re-configuring the switching device to couple the second peripheral device to the computing device via the switching device. The switching device is automatically re-configured in response to receiving a test command. The method further includes evaluating a response of the computing device to coupling the second peripheral device to the computing device.
A further embodiment of the invention relates to a system for evaluating at least one peripheral device. The system includes a computing device coupled to a switching device. The switching device is coupled to a first peripheral device and a second peripheral device. The system is configured to couple the first peripheral device to the computing device via the switching device. The system is also configured to evaluate a response of the first peripheral device to coupling the first peripheral device to the computing device. The system is also configured to automatically re-configure the switching device to couple the second peripheral device to the computing device via the switching device. The system is further configured to evaluate a response of the second peripheral device to coupling the second peripheral device to the computing device.
The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:
The Applicants have appreciated that prior methods of testing the ability of a computing device and peripheral device to function together may be time consuming and cumbersome due to the need for a lot of human interaction during a test, e.g., manually plugging and unplugging peripheral devices. Manually plugging and unplugging of peripheral devices may be particularly cumbersome if there are a large number of different peripheral devices, computing devices and/or device configurations that need to be tested. As one example, a computing device may need to be tested with multiple different types of peripheral devices. As another example, a peripheral device may need to be tested with multiple different types of computing devices. Testing a large number of computing devices, peripherals and/or device configurations may require a large test matrix, which may be cumbersome and time consuming if devices need to be plugged and unplugged manually. Furthermore, excessive physically cycling by manually plugging and unplugging a connection may cause damage to a connector, thereby causing a testing delay.
In accordance with the invention, a configurable switching device is provided that enables automatically testing a computing device with multiple peripheral devices. The configurable switching device may be automatically re-configured to change which peripheral is connected to the computing device. Embodiments of the invention may enable testing a large number of different peripheral devices, computing devices and/or device configurations without a lot of human interaction or manually plugging/unplugging devices during the test.
Computing device 104 may any suitable device capable of communicating with a peripheral device. Computing device 104 may be, for example, a computer, a server, a television, a video game console or any other suitable device, as the invention is not limited in this respect.
Computing device 104 may be coupled to one or more peripherals, such as keyboard 106 and mouse 108, via switching device 102. Keyboard 106 and mouse 108 have been illustrated in
Wired bus 112 may be any wired bus suitable for communications between computing device 104 and a peripheral device, such as a USB, FireWire (IEEE Standard 1394), Ethernet, Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMIA), Secure Digital Input/Output (SDIO) or Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) bus. In some embodiments wired bus 112 may be a hot-pluggable bus, for example, capable of supporting plug-and-play operation. However, any suitable type of wired bus may be used, as the invention is not limited in this respect.
Switching device 102 may be coupled to computing device 104, keyboard 106 and mouse 108 via a wired bus 112. Switching device 102 may selectively connect and disconnect a peripheral device to computing device 102. Switching device 102 may include switches which may connect and/or disconnect one or more conductive lines of wired bus 112. Switching device 102 may include any suitable type and number of switches. Switching device 102 may connect and disconnect connections in response to commands from control device 110.
Control device 110 may be a server or any other suitable type of computing device capable of sending control commands to switching device 102. Control device 110 may be a programmable device capable of executing computer-readable instructions for performing a test of computing and peripheral devices. Control device 110 may send commands to switching device 102 to control turning on and off switches in switching device 102, thereby connecting and disconnecting computing device 104 to one or more peripherals. The control commands may be sent from control device 110 to switching device 102 in any suitable way, such as over a wireless connection or wired connection, e.g., USB connection. However, device 110 need not necessarily be a separate device from switching device 102, as both control device 110 and switching device 102 could be implemented in the same device, as the invention is not limited in this respect.
Control connections 122 may be any suitable connections, such as wired or wireless connections. The control connection 122 between computing device 104 and control device 110 may be the same type of control connection as the control connection 122 between control device 110 and switching device 102, or the two control connections may be different. For example, the control connection 122 between computing device 104 and control device 110 may be an Ethernet connection, and the control connection 122 between control device 110 and switching device 102 may be a USB connection. In some embodiments, a control connection 122 need not be present between computing device 104 and control device 110. For example, computing device 104 could be a dumb terminal, and the execution of the test cases could be controlled by control device 110.
Aspects of the invention can be implemented by software running on a computing device, e.g., computing device 104, and/or by software running on control device 110. Software running on computing device 104 may control running a test case for various configurations of peripherals to be tested with computing device 104. One example of a test scenario is a manufacturer of computing device 104, who wishes to ensure that computing device 104 will function appropriately using various numbers of peripheral devices, types of peripheral devices, and combinations of peripheral devices. Computing device 104 may have a large list of test scenarios that need to be tested. For example, a first test may include determining the response of computing device 104 when mouse 108 is connected to it. A second test may include determining the response of computing device 104 when keyboard 106 is connected to it. A third test may include testing with both mouse 108 and keyboard 106 connected to computing device 104. Further tests may include evaluating the peripheral devices when they are connected to computing device 104 via one or more hubs, testing for different types of keyboards and mice, testing of keyboards and mice when other devices are connected to computing device 104, etc. A large variety of tests may be run with peripherals arranged in different combinations of “device trees,” e.g., different connection path topologies.
Test software running on computing device 104 may be programmed with the various test configurations to be run. A tester may choose the test configurations to be run in a variety of different ways. In one implementation, a graphical user interface on computing device 104 allows a user to choose the types of tests that are to be run. For example, a tester may select which types of peripherals are to be tested, which combinations of peripheral devices are to be tested, which number of hubs will be placed between the peripherals and the computing device 104, etc. In another implementation, the test software could load a test file that includes data about which test configurations are to be run. The software may be extensible to enable a user to add new test parameters. Software running on the computing device 104 may be able to detect the failure of a test, e.g., due to timeout or crash of the system. If computing device 104 crashes, information may be saved to a debug file prior to shutdown of the computing device so that the reason for the crash can be determined. Control device 110 may determine that the computing device has crashed based on the amount of time since the last communication with the computing device, or based on receiving a debug file from the computing device. Software running on a computing device may perform other functions relating to the testing. For example, in response to determining that a particular configuration is to be tested, the software may cause the computing device to enter a particular test state, e.g., a particular power consumption mode. Software running on the computing device may perform functions of evaluating the performance of the computing device and/or the peripheral device in response to a test. It should be appreciated that any of the functions described above could be performed by software and/or firmware running on a different device, e.g., control device 110, instead of or in addition to software running on computing device 104.
Test software running on control device 110 may arbitrate the test in response to receiving requests from a computing device 104. For example, computing device 104 may request control device 110 to connect both mouse 108 and keyboard 106 to computing device 104. Once control device 110 receives this request, software on control device 110 may review the request and determine whether to make the requested connection. If a request is made for a connection to a device that is not connected to a switching device, control device may send a message to computing device 104 indicating to a tester that the requested device should be connected to a switching device. Control device 110 may keep a list of which peripheral devices are available, and which devices are unavailable, e.g., because they are being tested with a different computing device. Control device 110 may maintain a queue of requested test cases, and may execute the test cases based on which devices are available, the order in which the requests were received, the priority of the test requests, or any other suitable criteria. In some implementations, override of the queue may be allowed for a high priority test that needs to be run. When control device 110 determines that one or more test cases are to be run, control device 110 may send commands to one or more switching devices to make the requested connections.
In one aspect of the invention, information about a peripheral device may be gathered prior to running a test. For example, a new peripheral device may be profiled by software running on a computing device or a peripheral device. The profiling may be performed automatically, or in response to user input. Any suitable parameters about the peripheral device may be determined. For example, various parameters that may be determined include hardware ID, device speed, transfer type, transfer direction, transfer packet size, power requirements, remote wake capability, selective suspend capability, interface association descriptor support, MS OS descriptor support, isochronous transfer type, USB hub chipset, 1394 repeater chipset, etc. The information about the peripheral device may be saved by a computing device and/or a control device. Such information may be useful in a variety of circumstances. In one example, a customer may report a problem that a computer is experiencing when connected to a particular combination of peripheral devices. A tester may not have the exact same devices available for testing the troublesome configuration. However, the test system may have profiled peripheral devices that are similar to the devices used by the customer. The system may identify similar devices, and run a test configuration similar to the customer's configuration to re-produce the problem. Reproducing the problematic configuration using peripheral devices with similar profiles may facilitate determining the cause of the problem.
In some embodiments, a user-interface may be presented to illustrate to a user the progress of the testing. The user-interface could visually present to a user a representation of the test setup, showing connections that are currently made between computing devices and peripheral devices. Presenting a user-interface may enable a person to visualize the state of the testing. Any suitable visual presentation may be made, for example, by a monitor associated with a computing device and/or control device 110.
Computing device 104 may be tested with a first peripheral device, e.g., keyboard 106. To test the devices, the computing device 104 and the peripheral devices are coupled, e.g., via a wired connection. In step S202, the switching device may 102 be configured, via software and/or firmware, to couple the first peripheral device to the computing device via switching device 102. For example, switching device 102 may be configured by commands from control device 110 to couple keyboard 106 to computing device 104. Test software running on control device 210, or any other suitable device, may control sending the commands to switching device 102, e.g., in accordance with a programmed testing schedule. To couple the peripheral device and the computing device 104, one or more switches of switching device 102 may be turned on to provide a conductive path between the peripheral device and computing device 104 via switching device 102.
In step S204, a response of the computing device 104 may be evaluated, in response to coupling the first peripheral device to the computing device 104. For example, software running on computing device 104 may assess the ability of computing device 104 and keyboard 106 to communicate via wired bus 112. Any suitable type of evaluation may be made, e.g., using any suitable type of test. For example, software running on computing device 104, or any other suitable device, may record the actions taken by the operating system on computing device 104 when switching device 102 establishes a connection between computing device 104 and keyboard 106. As another example, the ability of computing device 104 to recognize keyboard 106 may be evaluated. Keyboard 106 may be capable of plug-and-play operation, and the ability of computing device 104 to support plug-and-play operation with keyboard 106 may be evaluated. As a further example, multiple different kinds of tests could be run. A test matrix of test data may be recorded based on the performance of computing device 104 and/or keyboard 106 during the testing. The computing device, the peripheral device, e.g., keyboard 106, or both devices may be evaluated in step S204.
Computing device 104 may be tested with a second peripheral device, e.g., mouse 108. To test the devices, the computing device 104 and the second peripheral device are coupled, e.g., via a wired connection. In step S206, switching device 102 may be automatically re-configured, via software and/or firmware, to couple the second peripheral device to the computing device 104. Step S206 may be performed automatically by control device 110 and/or switching device 102 without human intervention, e.g., without unplugging keyboard 106 or plugging in mouse 108. For example, switching device 102 may be automatically re-configured in response to receiving control commands sent from control device 110. Test software running on control device 210, or any other suitable device, may control sending the commands to switching device 102. The first peripheral device, e.g., keyboard 106, may be decoupled from computing device 104, prior to connecting a different peripheral device, and the second peripheral device, e.g., mouse 108, may be coupled to the computing device 104. However, the first peripheral device need not be decoupled from computing device 104 prior to coupling the second peripheral device to computing device 104. For example, both the first and second peripherals could be coupled to computing device 104 at the same time, e.g., via different ports of computing device 104.
In some embodiments, switching device 102 may be controlled to connect all the conductors associated with a wired bus at the same time. However, in some embodiments, some of the conductors may be connected prior to other conductors. For example, switching device 102 may connect the power conductors of a connection, e.g., a USB connection, prior to connecting the data pins for the connection. Connecting the power pins first may ensure that the peripheral device receives power prior to any exchange of data via the connection.
In step S208, a response of the computing device to coupling the second peripheral device to the computing device may be evaluated. For example, software running on computing device 104 may assess the ability of computing device 104 and mouse 108 to communicate via wired bus 112. Any suitable type of evaluation may be made, e.g., using any suitable type of test. For example, software running on computing device 104, or any other suitable device, may record the actions taken by the operating system on computing device 104 when switching device 102 establishes a connection between computing device 104 and mouse 108. As another example, the ability of computing device 104 to recognize mouse 108 may be evaluated. Mouse 108 may be capable of plug-and-play operation, and the ability of computing device 104 to support plug-and-play operation with mouse 108 may be evaluated. As a further example, multiple different kinds of tests could be run. A test matrix of test data may be recorded based on the performance of computing device 104 and/or mouse 108 during the testing. The computing device, the peripheral device, e.g., mouse 108, or both devices may be evaluated in step S208.
In another embodiment, a peripheral device may be tested while coupled to different ports of computing device 104. As one example, a peripheral may first be coupled to a first port of computing device 104, and the response of the computing device and/or the peripheral device communicating via the first port may be evaluated. Switching device 102 may be automatically re-configured to couple the peripheral to a second port of computing device 104, and the response of the computing device and/or the peripheral device communicating via the second port may be evaluated. Testing the peripheral device with more than one port of computing device 104 may enable evaluating the ability of computing device 104 to function with the peripheral through different ports. If more than one port of computing device 104 is to be coupled to switching device 102, a separate wired bus 112 may be connected to each port of computing device 104 that is to be used.
In one implementation, switching device 102 may be configured to couple keyboard 108 to computing device 304. The response of computing device 304 and/or keyboard 108 may be evaluated. Switching device 102 may be automatically reconfigured, via software and/or firmware, to decouple keyboard 108 from computing device 304, and to couple keyboard 108 to computing device 305. The response of computing device 305 and/or keyboard 108 may be evaluated. Any suitable type of evaluation may be performed, including the types of evaluation described above or any other suitable type of evaluation.
In this embodiment, multiple switching devices, including at least two of switching devices 402-405, may be used to couple a peripheral device to a computing device. Multiple switching devices may be used because a single switching device may be limited as to the number of connections it can support because of electromagnetic interference considerations. Using multiple levels of switching devices may enable testing a large number of computing devices with a large number of peripheral devices. A first level may include switching devices 402 and 403, and a second level may include switching devices 404 and 405. In one example, computing device 404 may be coupled to digital camera 416 via switching devices 402 and 405. Any of the computing devices 404-406 may be coupled to any of the peripheral devices through a suitable combination of switching devices 402-405. Control device 110 or any other suitable device may control switching devices 402-405 via any suitable control connection, although this control connection has not been illustrated in
Control device 110 may control the testing of computing devices and/or peripheral devices in any suitable way. In some embodiments, the testing may be performed at least partially through software running on a computing device. For example, software running on a computing device may control the test, and commands may be sent to the switching device via control device 110, which may be a server configured to communicate with one or more computing devices. In some embodiments, test may be controlled in an intelligent manner based on the availability of computing devices and/or peripheral devices. As discussed above, software may determine the availability of devices, e.g., whether or not a device is currently being tested, and then determine which tests can be run to maximize the usage of the available connections and devices, and thus reduce the time required to complete all of the tests.
Control device 110 may control the testing when one or more peripheral devices are connected to a computing device through one or more hubs, e.g., hub 414. Hub 414 may be a single or multi-TT USB hub, for example. As one example, computing device 406 may be tested with keyboard 106, however, keyboard 106 may be coupled to computing device 406 via hub 414. A connection route may proceed from computing device 406 through switching device 403, switching device 405, hub 414, switching device 403, and switching device 404 to keyboard 106, for example. It should be appreciated that any suitable connection topologies can be tested. For example, multiple layers of hubs may be used, and multiple devices may be connected to each of the hubs. Embodiments of the invention enabling scaling the number and configuration of switching devices and peripheral devices to the test configurations that are desired to be run.
Four test scenarios will now be described as examples of tests that embodiments of the invention may be capable of performing. These test scenarios are described merely by way of illustration, as the invention is not limited as to any particular type of testing. As described below client software may be the software running on a computing device, and the server software may be the software running on a control device.
1) Unplug/plug of device while computing device is in a low power state.
2) Connect a tree of devices to a single TT USB hub, and connect that hub to a particular USB host controller
3) Connect multiple levels of multi-TT USB hubs, with a mix of devices at each level of hub depth
4) Connect a device through as many 1394 repeaters as possible and validate that it still functions
Particular implementation details of computer systems that may execute aspects of the invention will now be described. These implementation details are provided by way of example only, and the invention is not limited to any particular implementation.
With reference to
Device 500 may include at least some form of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by device 500. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. For example, device 500 may also include additional storage (removable and/or non-removable) including, but not limited to, magnetic or optical disks or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated in
Device 500 may also contain communications connection(s) 512 that allow the device to communicate with other devices. Communications connection(s) 512 is an example of communication media. Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein includes both storage media and communication media.
Device 500 may also have input device(s) 514 such as keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc. Output device(s) 516 such as a display, speakers, printer, etc. may also be included. All these devices are well know in the art and need not be discussed at length here.
It should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to executing on any particular system or group of systems. For example, embodiments of the invention may run on one device or on a combination of devices. Also, it should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to any particular architecture, network, or communication protocol.
Having now described some embodiments of the invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing is merely illustrative and not limiting, having been presented by way of example only. Numerous modifications and other embodiments are within the scope of one of ordinary skill in the art and are contemplated as falling within the scope of the invention. The foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only. In particular, although many of the examples presented herein involve specific combinations of method acts or system elements, it should be understood that those acts and those elements may be combined in other ways to accomplish the same objectives. Acts, elements and features discussed only in connection with one embodiment are not intended to be excluded from a similar role in other embodiments.
Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.
