TesLA Alliance Frequently Asked Questions

On August 26th, the TesLA alliance was formed IP network testing industry leaders. Below are some commonly asked questions about TesLA (Test Lab Automation). For more information on the alliance and its members, please go to www.teslaalliance.org/tesla_members/.

Q: What is TesLA?

Q: Why was TesLA formed?

Q: Why should I be interested in the TesLA framework?

Q: What does the TesLA framework include?

Q: What are the benefits to adopting TesLA as an automation platform?

Q: Who are the members of TesLA?

Q: Where can I get more information about TesLA?

Q: How do I contact TesLA?

TesLA is an alliance of IP network test vendors dedicated to the common goal of building a unified automation framework that can be used by NEMS, service providers, enterprises, and government agencies to standardize their automation processes. The TesLA Alliance provides an open, multivendor automation framework that allows alliance members to offer integrated solutions to their customers. The alliance members build and market compatible solutions enabling seamless interoperation between their respective solutions in customer environments. TesLA aims to provide customers much needed tools to raise productivity, improve ROI, and accelerate time to market.

In response to customer demands, the IP networking industry is experiencing a technological revolution in the development of products and services. The convergence of communication services onto IP networks extends from routing and switching to content aware security, deep packet inspection, voice, video, and complex application networking functions. As device complexity increases and product life cycles shorten, customers are focusing on improving business processes, increasing operational efficiency and ensuring higher quality. These mandates for improved productivity and reduced costs require an IP network test lab to use test solutions from a variety of vendors in order to optimize their lab usage. These dynamics are influencing the test industry to develop improved test methodologies and to use standardized test automation frameworks.

The TesLA open automation framework ensures interoperability among members' products, making it easy for customers to improve efficiency and productivity. TesLA's unified automation framework also promotes the use of efficient, standardized test methodologies that help improve test coverage and product quality in the face of the rapid product release cycles.

The TesLA framework is comprised of technologies contributed by its members that are designed to interoperate and to create a foundation upon which integrated test products may be built. The different areas of technologies that comprise the framework include:

• Lab Management - a fundamental physical layer building block necessary to deliver truly unattended test automation and maximize lab equipment utilization.
• Script Authoring - a test definition methodology that allows different DUT and test automation devices to be commanded and configured from a single scripting interface. This obviates the need for highly skilled programmers with detailed knowledgeable of each proprietary programming API.
• Device Configuration - a standardized methodology that allows devices under test to be configured and monitored within a scripted test in a simple easy to use interface.
• Packaged Content - the standardized test configurations produced by industry's leading testing experts to facilitate and accelerate time to test and increase quality.

• Maximize ROI - TesLA's unifying framework increases the utilization of CAPEX investments, both for devices under test and test equipment. The open architecture promotes a reduction in OPEX expenses for automation by reducing the effort required to integrate and maintain the different testing solutions provided by the members.
• Minimize time to market - TesLA framework provides a seamless integration of members' products, allowing products to be tested faster and with high repeatability. Less time spent getting the test automation tools to cooperate means more time for testing and quicker time to market. The suite of testing solutions offered by TesLA members form a complete test automation solution that offers true unattended test execution, making the test lab more productive and freeing up the test engineers to develop new tests for future automation.
• Increased quality and customer satisfaction - Through more robust testing with the TesLA framework, companies will deliver better products with fewer defects - reducing product support costs and increasing customer satisfaction.

The founding TesLA members are APCON™, Codenomicon™, Fanfare™, Ixia™, Mu Dynamics™, QualiSystems™ and Shunra™. Additional members will be joining the alliance. For a complete list of current members, go to www.teslaalliance.org/tesla_members/.

You can learn more about TesLA at www.teslaalliance.org. You can find the current list of members, information regarding the alliance, and links to the members' web sites there.

You can contact TesLA by sending an email to: contact_us@teslaalliance.org.