NetBeans Platform Control Application for Testing of Cellular Networks

I'm Stefano Chiappa and I'm from Milan (Italy). I work at Prisma Engineering (http://www.prisma-eng.com/) as Lead Software Engineer of the Simulator User Interface Team.

AirMosaic is an application on the NetBeans Platform for controling Prisma's UeSIM, which is a multi mobile simulator. The UeSIM is basically a server with some antennas able to connect to a base station and simulate a population of mobiles doing some basic or complex Test Procedures.

These procedures can be "real-world" applications such as HTTP, FTP, Mail, VOIP calls or protocol-dependent procedures such as attachment/detachment to the Core Network. Several mobile technologies are supported: LTE/UMTS/GSM. The images below are taken from LTE version.

Why VoIP calls are more popular than ever

The AirMosaic technology that is used within the Netbeans system is something that is generating a lot of buzz and helping companies get work done that they must surely have believed would take much longer than it has. 

One area that AirMosaic has come into play very rapidly is in the realm of VoIP calls. VoIP stands for "Voice over Internet Provider", and this refers to the way that many calls are received in the modern office environment these days. A few reasons why office managers prefer VoIP over other options is because: 

• Prices are lower - Generally speaking, the cost of VoIP calls are lower in total. You don't have to pay some of the additional costs that come with international calls or other types of calls when using a VoIP system. Instead, you receive a lower overall cost because the cost is usually a standard and flat rate. 

• VoIP meshes well with existing and emerging technology - VoIP works well with both existing technologies as well as those that are emerging on the scene at this time. Thus, office managers and anyone else who is involved in the phone purchasing process for an office will often find VoIP causes them the fewest headaches as far as combining it with what they already have or what is soon coming down the line. 

• Excellent call quality - It is hard to beat the call quality that you receive with a VoIP system. The calls are crisper, clearer, and provide the consistency that every office is looking for. You really can't go wrong with a VoIP system like this. 

In the first step a population of mobiles is created. It is possible to edit a huge amount of parameters related to the mobile device hardware and the user subscription related to the SIM. The following image shows the editing of this mobile database, which is performed inside a NetBeans editor and properties window (click to enlarge the images):



Once a Mobile population has been created, it is possible to create a scenario (navigator window) where is described what a single or group of mobiles will do. The available test procedures are collected and grouped inside a navigator window on the left bottom side, where you can see some of the available tests:



When the scenario has been created, it is possible run it through the UeSIM hardware. This is displayed in the next image:

On the upper left side of the image, AirMosaic displays, through some gears, the currently running test. We used a central editor window to display some counters of the running simulation. It is possible to choose the displayed counters by checking a node of the tree on the left side of the window. On the lower side of the application, there is an output window that displays the sequence of events happening during the simulation.

Once a scenario has been completed, the scenario window, on the application's top left, shows a green circle to indicate that the test has been completed successfully, as you can see in the next image:



Some plots can be drawn for each counter available. It is possible to put different counters on the same plot or on different plots. This is displayed in the next image:



At the end of a test, it is possible to generate a report, save it as a PDF, or send it by mail automatically, as shown in image below:




This is basically what the application does. Several features are still in development, of course!

AirMosaic Runs Simulations For Phone Testing Purposes

Did you know that it is important to test the phone systems within your office on a regular basis? 

You should do so not only because you need to make sure the phones are working so that customers can call in, but also to make sure there aren't any fraudsters trying to take advantage of a vulnerable phone system. Believe it or not, there are fraud cases in which the criminals will attack a phone system set up by a company for their own malicious purposes. 

Fraudulent calls can ring up huge expenses for companies that are difficult to repay. Obviously, this is not an ideal situation for anyone, and it is best to avoid such scenarios by testing the phones on a regular basis to make sure that there isn't anyone in the system who shouldn't be there. AirMosaic can run sweeping tests of phone systems to try to detect problems like this. 

What AirMosaic will do is run their sweeping tests to detect any anomalies within the system and alert you to what is going on. They will even let you know if there are phone calls within the system being placed by people who work for you that shouldn't be placed. 

It would be incredibly challenging to run all of these tests by yourself, and that is why so many are using AirMosaic instead. They see the value of adding a little extra security to their phone systems, and they realize that the only true way to do so is to run a program like this that can detect any problems. 

Data is Generated That Can be Scanned

Finally, AirMosaic produces a list of data on the phones that it has scanned which you can view on your own time. Look over every piece of information that the system found in order to figure out what is going on with the phones that it has identified as perhaps having a problem. 

AirMosaic is very good at narrowing down the list for you so you don't waste your time trying to go through all of this information on your own. Instead, you rely on AirMosaic to help you out, and then you simply review the data that it discovered in order to get a better idea of what may be happening within your system. 

By isolating the phones that appear to have a problem, the AirMosaic system makes it easier for you to see which specific phones you will look at and why they may be having some issues. 

Users sincerely appreciate this because it means that they can finally receive the data that they require to send in their team of IT experts to fix the problem. It takes a little bit of time and effort, but it is worth the trouble when you identify the problem and get people involved who can help.

Save your company from the risk of being vulnerable to attack over the phone system. Use AirMosaic to run some tests today.