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Test scenario to assess Bluetooth Mesh’s capabilities

to support many-to-many communications and robust message delivery ensuring that the network performs effectively under various conditions.

  • Description: Testing Bluetooth Mesh’s ability to support many-to-many communications and ensure robust message delivery involves evaluating the network’s performance and reliability when multiple devices are involved.
  • Test Case: Many-to-Many Communications and Robust Message Delivery in Bluetooth Mesh
  • Objective: To verify that a Bluetooth Mesh network can handle many-to-many communications effectively and deliver messages reliably across multiple nodes.

Test Environment:

  • Devices: Multiple BLE devices configured as nodes in a Bluetooth Mesh network (e.g., 10-20 devices for scalability testing).
  • Software: Mesh network management tools or applications for provisioning, configuration, and message monitoring.

Test Steps:

1.Setup and Initialization:

  • Provision Nodes: Provision all devices into the Bluetooth Mesh network, ensuring they are properly added as nodes with unique addresses.
  • Configure Network: Set up network parameters, including addressing, group addresses, and publication/subscription configurations for the nodes.

2.Configure Many-to-Many Communication:

  • Define Groups: Create one or more groups of nodes that will be used for communication (e.g., a group address for a set of devices).
  • Publish/Subscribe Configuration: Configure some nodes to publish messages to a group address and others to subscribe to that group address.

3.Message Broadcasting:

  • Send Broadcast Messages: Initiate message broadcasting from the publisher nodes to the group address. Ensure that the messages are designed to be broadcasted to multiple subscribing nodes.
  • Monitor Delivery: Verify that all subscribed nodes receive the broadcast messages. Use tools to check if the messages are delivered successfully and whether any packets are lost.

4. Robustness Testing:

  • Test Interference: Introduce sources of interference (e.g., other wireless devices) and observe the impact on message delivery. Ensure that the mesh network can handle interference and still deliver messages reliably.
  • Stress Test Network: Increase the frequency and volume of messages sent to evaluate the network’s capacity to handle high traffic loads and maintain message delivery performance.

5.Message Integrity and Handling:

  • Check Message Integrity: Verify that the content of the messages received by subscribing nodes matches the messages sent by the publishing nodes, without corruption or data loss.
  • Handle Retransmissions: Test how the network handles retransmissions and acknowledgments. Ensure that messages are retransmitted if necessary and successfully received by all intended nodes.

6.Failure and Recovery Testing:

  • Simulate Node Failures: Disconnect one or more nodes from the network and observe how the remaining nodes handle message delivery. Verify that the network continues to function and deliver messages despite the failure.
  • Reintegrate Nodes: Reconnect the previously disconnected nodes and ensure that they are re-integrated into the mesh network and can resume normal communication.

7.Performance Metrics:

  • Measure Latency: Record the time taken for a message to travel from the publisher to all subscribing nodes.
  • Measure Throughput: Assess the overall throughput of the mesh network by measuring the number of messages delivered per unit of time.
  • Track Packet Loss: Monitor and document any packet loss or failed message deliveries.

Expected Results:

  • Successful Communication: All subscribed nodes should receive the broadcast messages from the publisher nodes.
  • Reliable Delivery: Messages should be delivered reliably, even in the presence of interference or high traffic conditions.
  • Data Integrity: The content of the received messages should match the sent messages without corruption.
  • Resilience: The network should handle node failures gracefully and recover effectively, maintaining overall communication reliability.

Reporting:

  • Document the results of the many-to-many communication tests, including message delivery success rates, performance metrics, and any issues encountered.
  • Include observations on network behavior under different conditions, such as interference or high traffic.
  • Provide recommendations based on the findings, such as any improvements needed for better performance or reliability in the mesh network.

None of the companies I worked for ever used this scenario. How many of us are using 10 devices at the same time? Humor aside, of course it is about the a different situation: user story I have not found yet. Event like scenario. Subscriptions per se are something you don’t see often but it is realistic tho.