Fibre channel testing for avionics applications

Fibre channel is being implemented as an avionics communication architecture for a variety of new military aircraft and upgrades to existing aircraft. The fibre channel standard defines various network topologies and multiple data protocols. Some of the topologies and protocols (ASM, 1553, RDMA) are suited for avionics applications, where the movement of data between devices must take place in a deterministic fashion and needs to be delivered very reliably. All aircraft flight hardware needs to be tested to be sure that it communicates information properly in the fibre channel network. The airframe manufacture needs to test the integrated network to verify that all flight hardware is communicating properly. Continuous maintenance testing is required to insure that all communication is deterministic and reliable. This paper provides an overview of a fibre channel avionics network and protocols being used for avionics. The paper also discusses a practical implementation of avionics level testing and testing challenges associated with these applications.