Maxwell's Graphical User Interface (GUI) has been rewritten and now includes several new and enhanced features:

• 

  Scenarios - Maxwell, the intelligent network emulator, now incorporates a scenario file mechanism that allows users a way to save and restore complete or partial configuration on a single flow or multi-flow impairment.  Scenario description text, which is typically used to describe the nature of the scenario and any setup instructions, can include embedded figures or images as an aid to self-documentation.

  Over a dozen preset scenarios are included.  Examples include:

  • Trans-oceanic link emulation
  • Geosynchronous satellite link emulation
  • Low Earth orbit link emulation
  • TCP/IP test suite impairments
  • SIP test suite impairments
  • Intermittent congestion emulation

  Starting a scenario is as simple as double-clicking on its summary line.

  The mechanism for varying impairment values over time ("automation") has been generalized to allow arbitrary variations over time using simple pulse models, more complex equations, or totally arbitrary curves using line segments.  A graph of the function with time is now displayed that shows the progression of the varying value in real time, providing you immediate visual feedback.  It takes only a few moments to, for example, set packet loss to vary logarithmically with time (say to emulate a mobile device passing by a base station) or set delay using a square pulse (to emulate sudden congestion onset).

• Improved help - Immediately visible on-screen help is now included to guide you in using the more advanced features.  This often eliminates the need to search the documentation, yielding greater user comprehension and productivity.

• Improved dynamic control - The GUI now provides complete comprehensive dynamic control of the impairment engine.  There is now no need to use a shell command window even for unusual configuration changes.  Any impairment engine restarts (such as needed for the loading of scenarios that use plugins, changes in the number of flows, changes in the number of internal buffers, buffer lengths, MTU size, and so on) is completely transparent and immediate.

• More documentation - Maxwell's documentation has been heavily revised and updated, with the emphasis on the new GUI and how its operation relates to the Remote API commands. For "lights out" and command script controlled test runs, the documentation now stresses the use of the impairment engine shell commands for programmatic control from shell scripts.  The built-in shell commands ultimately provide greater flexibility than the previous runiptests or siptests.py shell commands.

• Toolset optimized - The older tools, maxwelld, stdigui.py, and runiptests/siptests.py, have been removed from the installation packages.  Customers who upgrade must now use stdiserver, maxgui.py, and the setplugin commands respectively in place of those older commands.  The nstdigui.py GUI is being retained for one more release cycle but is deprecated and customers who upgrade are urged to begin using the new GUI.