1. Introduction

XOA CLI is a command-line interface for managing Xena Networks test equipment and automating network testing tasks. The XOA CLI is part of the Xena OpenAutomation, which provides a framework for automating network testing tasks using Xena test equipment.

Any client platform can be used to establish a TCP/IP connection and send and receive CLI commands as lines of text. Typical client platforms include Tcl, Perl, Python, BASH, Ruby, Java, and VBA. All Xena chassis support multiple concurrent scripting sessions, enabling different users to work on the same Xena chassis simultaneously.

To start a scripting session simply open a TCP/IP connection to the Xena chassis using TCP port 22611, on the same IP address as when using the Managers. You can then send lines of ASCII text to the chassis (in the XOA CLI command syntax format), terminated by CR/LF, and receive lines of ASCII text in response (also in the XOA CLI command syntax format).

You can either open the scripting connection from a console tool such as Telnet, or from the XenaScriptClient application, or the built-in script client bundled with the ValkyrieManager. Then you can interact with the Xena chassis using the XOA CLI command syntax format.

Overall, the XOA CLI is a valuable tool for network engineers and developers who need a flexible and powerful way to manage Xena test equipment and automate network testing tasks. With its simple syntax and comprehensive command set, the XOA CLI can help users streamline their testing workflows and improve the accuracy and reliability of their test results.

Advantages

  • Versatile

    • Can be used with ANY scripting and program language

    • Can run in ANY operating system

    • No need to install drivers or proprietary programs

    • Re-use your existing automation framework

  • Fast

    • Extremely low communication overhead

    • Very simple and efficient protocol

  • Simple

    • Purely text based

    • No binary modules

    • Easy to learn

    • Well documented

    • Easy to debug

    • Reuse existing port configurations

1.1. Ways to Control Xena Testers

Xena test equipment can be controlled in different ways:

  1. icon_1 In a point-and-click interactive style using ValkyrieManager and VulcanManager.

  2. icon_2 In a command-line-interface style using Xena OpenAutomation CLI.

  3. icon_3 In an object-oriented programming style using Xena OpenAutomation Python API.

Note

Using XOA Python API for test automation development is out of the scope of this document. You can go to Xena OpenAutomation Python API Documentation to know more about it.

As an alternative to using the ValkyrieManager, you can interact with the testers using XOA CLI commands. This also allows the tester to be controlled from an scripting environment, and be part of a larger automation environment.

1.2. CLI to Chassis

The XOA CLI allows users to interact with Xena test equipment from the command line, using a set of commands and parameters that can be used to automate a variety of testing tasks. The XOA CLI is designed to be user-friendly and easy to use, with a simple syntax and intuitive command structure.

Some of the tasks that can be performed with the XOA CLI include configuring test equipment, creating and executing test scenarios, generating traffic, and performing detailed analysis of network performance and behavior. The XOA CLI can also be used to automate repetitive tasks, reducing the time and effort required to perform complex network testing tasks.

XOA CLI covers most of the functionalities of ValkyrieManager

Note

Please keep this in mind even though most of the examples use the ValkyrieManager for illustration.