Cyclic test run mode

This test run mode is primarily provided to support long term unattended testing with SIE file data management features. However, it is applicable to a variety of other testing scenarios. Following are issues to be aware of when using this run mode.

  • This run mode does not provide for complete continuous acquisition and storage of test data. At least a few seconds will elapse between the test stop time and the next test start time. In some cases this elapsed time can be significantly more (e.g., tests with 1000 or more channels defined).
  • Once a test run is started, it will continue to cycle test starts and stops until the user defined limit on cycles is reached (if applicable), or until the user interactively stops a test run, which effectively ends the cyclic test. The cyclic test can then be restarted anew.
  • Tests restarted on power cycle interruptions or error resets do not decrement the counter for the number of cyclic runs remaining. However, if the user specified limit on error restarts is reached, the cyclic test will be ended. The user may want to increase this limit to the maximum of 10 error reset restarts for this reason.
  • If the option to automatically upload SIE files to an FTP server is enabled, this will increase the CPU load somewhat while the upload is in progress. It is recommended that the user experimentally verify that the FTP uploads do not come close to overloading the CPU before committing to a long term unattended test.
  • The default delay for starting the FTP upload after each test cycle stops is the minimum allowed value of 15 seconds. This delay is imposed to give the system a little time to recover from the high CPU consumption typically associated with starting test runs. This is probably adequate for most test scenarios. However, it is recommended that users experimentally evaluate this and increase the delay if deemed necessary.
  • If the FTP upload is interrupted for any reason (e.g., the FTP server connection is lost), this could result in one or more SIE files not being uploaded. It could also result in an SIE file being only partially uploaded. The system does not attempt to “catch up” by uploading such SIE files later. As such, the user is responsible for retrieving any missing or partial SIE files.
  • Note that emails alerts can be configured to assist the user in monitoring the status of the cycle test and FTP uploads (if applicable). However, it is recommended that users periodically connect to the unit to verify that the connection is still available at a minimum.