Manual Continuity Tests - Nortel Meridian 1 General Maintenance Information

Page 58 of 72 Software maintenance tools

Manual continuity tests

553-3001-500 Standard 15.00
You can perform manual continuity tests on superloop network cards,
intelligent peripheral equipment, and Basic Rate Interface (BRI) equipment.
A continuity test generates a signaling pattern at one point, monitors its
progress, and checks for its detection at an end point. For example, when a
superloop network card sends a signal to a controller card, the continuity test
verifies the following:
• the superloop network card sent the signal
• the loop carried the signal to the controller card
• the controller card received the signal
In a point-to-point continuity test, a superloop network card or a controller
card can generate or detect the test pattern. In loopback tests, one card, a
superloop network card, a controller card, or a multi-purpose ISDN signaling
processor (MISP) card, is both the generator and the detector. Only idle
timeslots are tested in any of the continuity tests.
There are two types of loopback tests for BRI equipment. In one type of test,
the pattern generated by the MISP card loops back through the digital
subscriber loop (DSL) interface. In the other type of test, the pattern
generated by the MISP card loops back through an S/T-interface line card
(SILC) or a U-interface line card (UILC), depending on which is specified.
Both types of test are accessed as Test 9, but responses to the series of
prompts for Test 9 determine the loopback point.
Fifteen continuity tests can run simultaneously. When a test is completed, it
stops, the status is reported, and the other tests continue running. You can
check the status of any test at any time. When all the tests end, the number of
tests run and any failed tests are reported to the CPU. You can display the
results at any time during the procedure.
There are nine continuity test configurations. You can run each test by
entering a set of prompts outlined in the Background Signaling and Switching
Diagnostic (LD 45). Figure 12 on page 59 shows point-to-point
configurations. Figure 13 on page 60 shows loopback configurations.
January 2002