A615A DPC

ARINC 615A Data Loading Protocol Checker

The Data Loading Protocol Checker (DPC) allows testing and validating the communication to a target implementing the Data Loading Standard ARINC 615A.

ARINC 615A allows a Data Loader to

• find LRUs on the network that respond to ARINC 615A FIND broadcasts (FIND Operation)
• query LRUs about their software configuration(Information Operation)
• upload files to the LRU from a data loader (Upload Operation)
• download files from the LRU to a data loader (Download Operation)

The Data Loading Protocol Checker (DPC) allows testing and validating the correct implementation of the ARINC 615A protocol in an LRU. The goal in the specification and design of the DPC was to provide a simple and easy-to-use test tool for validating an LRU‘s compliance with the ARINC 615A protocol before testing against

• Onboard Data Loading Function (ODLF)
• Off-Airplane Load Tool (OALT)
• Shop loading tools

The DPC employs standard Ethernet for ARINC 615A communication with a target, but can also be used in combination with TechSAT’s Netgate/NIM software (bi-directional gateway Ethernet – AFDX®) and an AFDX®/ARINC 664 hardware device to communicate according to the ARINC 615A protocol over AFDX®.

The DPC’s purpose is to test the proper exchange of protocol files according to ARINC 615A from and to a target computer.

The DPC performs a well-defined, fixed set of test cases for testing the ARINC 615A protocol. The DPC does not read or write any ARINC 665 media files, neither from/to transport media, nor from/to mass-storage devices.

Functionality

The user interface of the DPC is basic. It provides the following functions:

• edit the overall DPC configuration and save it
• select testing the FIND Operation protocol
• select testing the Information Operation protocol
• select testing the Upload Operation protocol
• select testing the Operator Defined Download Operation protocol
• select testing the Media Defined Download Operationprotocol

DPC Configuration

The DPC user interface allows the user to configure DPC
operational parameters, including the following:

Networking:

• IP address
• sub network mask

FIND:

• use sub-network-relevant broadcast or full broadcast
• use configuration file for fixed targets, instead of FIND, for testing with targets that do not respond to find, or for simulating onboard dataloading without FIND
• FIND receive and transmit port
• FIND acceptance time

TFTP:

• Server port number
• Port ranges for ephemeral server ports
• Port ranges used for client read and write requests
• block size