Overview
ISO/IEC 9314-13:1998 defines the Conformance Test Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (CT‑PICS) Proforma for the Fibre Distributed Data Interface (FDDI). This part of the ISO/IEC 9314 family provides the standardized PICS questionnaire that vendors complete to declare which mandatory and optional FDDI features their Implementation Under Test (IUT) supports. The completed PICS is used by conformance test facilities to select appropriate test cases and to help determine interoperability readiness.
Key Topics
- PICS Proforma structure: Identification of the implementation, support (Y/N) markings for features, and parameter fields (ranges, defaults, units) that vendors must complete.
- Scope by sublayer: Separate PICS proformas are provided for the main FDDI components:
- PMD (Physical Medium Dependent) - optical interface parameters (e.g., center wavelength, average power, rise/fall times).
- PHY (Physical Layer Protocol) - data encoding, framing, clocking and symbol-level behavior.
- MAC (Media Access Control) - access methods, addressing, framing, and MAC state machines.
- SMT (Station Management) - station control, configuration, fault recovery and management services.
- Conformance process: Vendor completes PICS, delivers it with the IUT to a conformance test facility; the PICS guides test selection and scope.
- Test support context: The PICS is linked to Abstract Test Suites (ATS) for PMD, PHY, MAC and SMT. Notably:
- PMD ATS involves physical measurements (optical power, wavelength, jitter).
- PHY ATS specifies tests in terms of FDDI code symbols.
- MAC and SMT ATS are expressed using TTCN (Tree and Tabular Combined Notation) where appropriate.
Applications
- Product vendors and developers use ISO/IEC 9314-13 to declare implemented FDDI features and to prepare for formal conformance testing.
- Conformance test labs rely on the proforma to select and prioritize test cases for FDDI PMD/PHY/MAC/SMT verification.
- Procurement and integrators use completed PICS documents to compare devices, assess interoperability risk, and verify claimed capabilities.
- Network architects and maintainers use PICS data to understand device behavior at physical, link and management layers when integrating FDDI-based systems.
Related Standards
ISO/IEC 9314‑13 is essential for any organization engaged in FDDI device development, testing, certification or procurement that needs a standardized, auditable statement of implemented protocol capabilities.