Certification Approach
Certification program ensure that equipment interoperates without going through extensive and costly independent testing, but different interpretations of the standards or varied implementations of the specifications may lead to a lack of interoperability when equipment vendors strive to develop products that comply with the standard, however to militate against such unforeseen incompatibility issues, the WiMAX certification program is designed to address these issues by fostering cooperation among vendors through plugfests, where they can informally verify interoperability, and through the official testing process. A robust set of test cases has been developed to ensure that the certification program meets the stringent requirements of network operators. The overall process is inevitably complex and requires substantial effort and a collaborative approach from the vendors involved, but the rewards are substantial.
Equipment is subjected to four main stages of test before they can be WiMax certified:
1) Equipment submission: At this preliminary stage, a vendor selects a certification profile and optional modules, and participates in plugfest and self-testing.
2) Conformance test: At the certification lab the submitted equipment is tested for protocol compliance (MAC layer) and radio compliance (PHY layer)
3) Interoperability test: Equipment that passed the second test is subjected to the interoperability test with products from other vendors in same profile.
4) Certification issuance: This is the last stage of the certification process, where the wimax forum announces certification, issue certificate and test report to vendor.
The wimax forum certification process is centered on conformance and interoperability tests, vendors need to pass all the tests to gain certification, if the equipment fails any test, the certification will have to be started from the first test again.
It should be noted that vendors claiming their equipment is “WiMAX-like,” WiMAX-compliant,” etc., are not WiMAX Forum Certified, which means that their equipment is not independently certified to be interoperable with other vendors’ equipment. Only WiMAX Forum Certified equipment is proven interoperable with other vendors’ equipment that is also WiMAX Forum Certified.
Equipment is subjected to four main stages of test before they can be WiMax certified:
1) Equipment submission: At this preliminary stage, a vendor selects a certification profile and optional modules, and participates in plugfest and self-testing.
2) Conformance test: At the certification lab the submitted equipment is tested for protocol compliance (MAC layer) and radio compliance (PHY layer)
3) Interoperability test: Equipment that passed the second test is subjected to the interoperability test with products from other vendors in same profile.
4) Certification issuance: This is the last stage of the certification process, where the wimax forum announces certification, issue certificate and test report to vendor.
The wimax forum certification process is centered on conformance and interoperability tests, vendors need to pass all the tests to gain certification, if the equipment fails any test, the certification will have to be started from the first test again.
It should be noted that vendors claiming their equipment is “WiMAX-like,” WiMAX-compliant,” etc., are not WiMAX Forum Certified, which means that their equipment is not independently certified to be interoperable with other vendors’ equipment. Only WiMAX Forum Certified equipment is proven interoperable with other vendors’ equipment that is also WiMAX Forum Certified.
posted by iddy @ 9:47 PM
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