MDL Examples

General Discussion
Quick Start
Test Missions
Radio Access Networks
Test Article Networks
User Stories

1. General Discussion

This appendix describes the collection of examples that have been released with the MDL schema. For cases where there are multiple examples for a concept the recommended approach has been tagged [Recommended]. In the sections that follow, each example listed in the table of contents is described using a table that provides the following information:

MDL File: Link to the example MDL file. The example MDL files are schema-valid, and they have been updated to the most recent version of the MDL schema.
Date Introduced: Date the example was first released.
Created with Schema: Version of the MDL schema that the example was initially created with.
References: Reference material that may provide additional context or detail for the example. This is currently limited to Standards references and MDSWG change proposals; however, additional references, such as the ARINC 429 standard, could be added.
Related Examples: Links to examples included in this appendix that build off of the current example.
Description: Summary of the example. This information was taken from the material used to generate the example. For some examples, a great deal of source material was available, while for others the source material was sparse. The descriptions may also include notes and search terms to point out key elements and concepts in the MDL file.

Along with the table, pictures or diagrams may also be provided to help the reader better visualize the example MDL file. It should be noted that the diagrams provided were valid when the example was released, and every effort has been made to keep them updated to the current version of the MDL schema.

Various conventions have been used throughout the examples. For example, TBD has been used as a placeholder when information is not known or the element is not a critical part of the example. It should also be noted that the value of "ID" attributes do not have meaning; however, they must be unique within an MDL instance document. Finally, XML comments in the example MDL files have not been widely used, but some examples do contain comments for key elements.

MDL File	TC-4.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-4 Test Cases TC-4
Related Examples
Description	The figure below shows the information needed for defining the test mission: (Required) Define at least one test mission to include descriptive information for the test such as the name and a description of the test mission. (Optional) A reference to a network is not technically required, but it is included for completeness Define at least one network (a test mission should reference a network) with a name, description and network type (in this case a test article network) Also for completeness, we include a measurement domain with a PCM data stream and 1553 Bus data stream This is the minimal useful information to understand the basics of a test mission.

MDL File	TC-76.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-76 Test Cases TC-76
Related Examples
Description	The figure below extends the basic definition of a test mission to include details of the test article network Define a network node that contains the DAU and signal conditioning card. The DAU is associated with the network node via the TmNSManageableApp and the DAU module. The DAU module is further defined as A module with a single input port (for connecting to the signal conditioning card A signal conditioning card with an input port (connecting to the thermocouple) and an output port (connecting to the DAU) Define a thermocouple linked to the temperature measurement (this linkage is not part of the MDL) with an output port that connects to the input port of the DAU In addition, a single measurement (engine temperature) is added that is conditioned by the signal conditioning card. This provides a simple end-to-end example of acquiring and conditioning a single measurement. The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	TC-2a.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-2 Test Cases TC-2a
Related Examples
Description	The figure below extends the basic instrumentation network to add a second test article network (identical to the first) and a ground station network. The purpose of this is to show how within a single MDL file, multiple networks can share the same measurement name since the measurement IDs are unique within an MDL file. There is no need to create the same measurement for each network. The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	TC-1a.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-1 Test Cases TC-1a
Related Examples
Description	The figure below extends the basic instrumentation network to add another temperature measurement (cabin temperature) and two pressure measurements (left tire pressure and right tire pressure). To support these additional measurements, another thermocouple and two pressure sensors are added, each with an output port that connects to a signal conditioning card. The original signal conditioning card for conditioning the engine temperature measurement only had one input port and one output port. We modified this card to have two input ports and two output ports. We added a similar signal conditioning card (two input ports and two output ports) for conditioning the pressure measurements. The outputs of the sensors are connected to the appropriate input of the signal conditioning cards and the outputs of the signal conditioning cards are connected to the DAUs. The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	TC-7.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-11 Test Cases TC-7
Related Examples
Description	The figure below extends the basic definition of a test mission to the definition of a PCM frame using constructs from the TMATS schema; specifically the PCMFormatAttributesType. For more details, refer to the TMATS documentation. The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	TC-1b.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-1 Test Cases TC-1b
Related Examples
Description	The figure below extends the instrumentation network example and defining a PCM frame example to store the measurements in the PCM frame. The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	TC-1c.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-1 Test Cases TC-1c
Related Examples
Description	The figure below extends the instrumentation network example to store the PCM data in a single MDL message. The definition of the package points to the PCM frame where the measurements were placed. The DAU app contains a data source and points to the message. The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	TC-1d.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-1 Test Cases TC-1d
Related Examples
Description	The figure below extends the instrumentation network example to add networking. A network port is added to the DAU. Also shown are the details of the message and package structure for placing the four measurements into an MDL message. The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	TC-1e.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-1 Test Cases TC-1e
Related Examples
Description	The figure below extends the basic messaging example to add a switch. A four-port switch is added to the test article network and the DAU is connected to the switch. The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	TC-58.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-58 Test Cases TC-58
Related Examples
Description	The figure below extends the networking example to add a radio to the test article network. A network node with a radio and network port is adeded to the test article network and the radio is connected to the switch. The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	TestMissionFramework.xml
Date Introduced	November 2010
Created with Schema	v0.8.1
References	Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-000-Baseline
Related Examples
Description	This is a standalone MDL Instance Document that provides some of the baseline elements that may be used to build more complex MDL Instance Documents. TestMissions List of individual test scenarios (several can be in the same instance document) Units MeasurementDomains Measurements Packages Messages DataStreams (Busses) DataOperations (transformations of data at various stages) NetworkDomains The infrastructure (nodes and network shape) DSCPTable (DiffServe Code Point) Quality of Service (QoS) parameters

MDL File	RadioAccessNetwork.xml
Date Introduced	December 2015
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	Standard Chapter 22 - Internet Based Protocol Suite Chapter 27 - RF Network Access Layer Chapter 28 - RF Network Management Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-012-Network-Toplogy MDSWG-CP-013-Communication-Link-Model MDSWG-CP-014-Test-Description MDSWG-CP-027-Serivce-Types-and-Quality-of-Service
Related Examples
Description	The Radio Access Network (RAN) example MDL file is modeled after the figure below depicting three Ground Radios (GR) and a single Test Article Radio (TAR) and is a working example. The example MDL file defines the TestMissions, NetworkDomains, RANConfigs, and DSCPTable. The test mission defines the Mission Service Level Profiles (MSLP), the RadioLinks, and the AssetAssociations as required for the test. MSLPs are defined for each link to handle Quality of Service (QoS) IP routing across the RF link and the links are defined for radio to radio wireless RF communication. In this example file, the link definitions reference TmNSManageableApps and radio groups for the wireless source and destination link addresses respectively. The AssetAssociations section links the TmNSManageableApps defined in the NetworkDomains section that follows to the TestMission. The NetworkDomains sections defines the required number of wired networks needed to support the TmNS Radios. In this example file, we have defined four networks; RAN1_Network, RAN2_Network, RAN3_Network, and TestArticle1_Network. There is one network for each radio. Each component is defined as a NetworkNode which provides high level descriptive information along with a TmNSManageableApp section and an InternalStructure section. It is within the TmNSManageableApp section that more detailed information such as the RoleID of the component and the component's specific configuration parameters are found. For example, a Radio will define its RF address and any RF Groups that it will subscribe to along with referencing the appropriate RANs configuration structure here. The InternalStructure section provides networking information in addition to other identifying information. The RANConfigs section provides RF transmission specific configuration parameters as well as radio groups available to be subscribed to by the radios defined as network nodes. The DSCPTable section defines the DSCP values associated with each class of traffic for traffic routing purposes.

MDL File	TestArticleNetwork.xml
Date Introduced	December 2015
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	Standard Chapter 22 - Internet Based Protocol Suite Chapter 24 - Message Formats Chapter 26 - TmNS Data Transfer Protocols Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-002-Measurements-Requirements MDSWG-CP-005-PCM-Stream-Format MDSWG-CP-007-Package-Description MDSWG-CP-015-Test-Article MDSWG-CP-040-Rationale-for-Package-Structure-and-Mapping
Related Examples
Description	The Test Article (TA) Network example MDL file is modeled after the figure below depicting three Data Acquisition Units (DAU), three Recorders, two Network Switches, and a Ground Test Article Manager GTAM) and is a working example. The example MDL file defines the Units, MeasurementDomains, NetworkDomains, and DSCPTable. The Units section defines the derived units used within this file. The MeasurementDomain defines the analog and bus Measurements, Package descriptions, MessageDefinitions, DataStreams, and DataOperations required for this test. Measurements have been defined for transducers such as thermocouples and accelerometers, and for busses such as ARINC 429. Along with the Measurements, DataOperations have been defined to describe the conversions from Instrumentation Units (IU) to Engineering Units (EU). Packages have been defined for TmNS Data Messages (TDM) and for PCM. The Message definitions include multicast address information and references to the packages that will be sent. DataStreams have been defined for both ARINC 429 and PCM. The NetworksDomain section defines a single TA Network named Test Article Network. This network contains all of the components in the TA Network. Each component is defined as a NetworkNode which provides high level descriptive information along with a TmNSManageableApp section and an InternalStructure section. It is within the TmNSManageableApp section that more detailed information such as the RoleID of the component and the component's specific configuration parameters are found. For example, a DAU references the message definitions that it will publish. The DAU's InternalStructure lists the modules that comprise the hardware configuration of the DAU. NOTE: PortMappings, describing the Network Switch connections, have not been defined for this example. Refer to the Network Topology for an example showing Network Switch connections. The DSCPTable section defines the DSCP values associated with each class of traffic for traffic routing purposes.

MDL File	RANConfigs.xml
Date Introduced	February 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	Standard Chapter 27 - RF Network Access Layer Chapter 28 - RF Network Management Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-013-Communication-Link-Model
Related Examples	Scheduling with Link Manager [Recommended] Scheduling without Link Manager
Description	This example depicts a single RANConfig that contains two Radio Groups. The RANConfig provides RF specific configuration parameters that are required for RF transmissions and receipts between multiple radios. Additionally, all radio groups available to be subscribed to by the radios are defined here.

MDL File	TC-60.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-60 Test Cases TC-60
Related Examples
Description	The figure below extends the test article radio example to add a recorder to the test article network. A network node with a recorder and network port is added to the test article network and the recorder is connected to the switch. The recorder application has a data sink, which points to the message. The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	TC-59.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-59 Test Cases TC-59
Related Examples
Description	The figure below extends the test article recorder example to add a ground station with a radio and switch. The ground station radio is connected to the switch and the networks are linked via a radio link defined in the test mission. The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	TC-61.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-61 Test Cases TC-61
Related Examples
Description	The figure below extends the ground station example to add a recorder to the ground station network. A network node with a recorder and network port is added to the ground station network and the recorder is connected to the switch. The recorder application has a data sink, which points to the message. The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	TC-68.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-68 US-70 Test Cases TC-68
Related Examples
Description	This figure below illustrates the basic properties for signal conditioning (attenuation, filtering, excitation, etc.). The signal conditioning properties are specified on the output ports of the signal conditioniung cards. The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	TC-1f.xml
Date Introduced	April 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	User Stories US-1 Test Cases TC-1f
Related Examples
Description	The figure below illustrates the basic information for measurement requirements (data length, sample rate, etc.). The extensions for this example are shown in bold.

MDL File	NetworkTopology.xml
Date Introduced	November 2010
Created with Schema	v0.8.1
References	Standard Chapter 22 - Internet Based Protocol Suite Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-012-Network-Toplogy
Related Examples
Description	This example includes multiple NetworkNodes and shows how PortMappings can be used to connect the NetworkNodes and form a network.

MDL File	PCMBackfill.xml
Date Introduced	May 2011
Created with Schema	v0.8.4
References	Standard Chapter 24 - Message Formats Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-005-PCM-Stream-Format MDSWG-CP-007-Package-Description
Related Examples
Description	This example includes a DAU (not pictured) that creates a PCM stream. The PCM stream is sent to two different boxes: SST transmitter and PCM gateway. The SST transmitter sends PCM to the ground station, while the PCM gateway packages the PCM frames into TmNS messages and transmits them on the network. The TmNS recorder on the TA records the TmNS messages containing the PCM frames. The ground station detects PCM dropouts of the SST link and requests the missing frames of the SST transmitted PCM stream from the recorder via the recorded TmNS messages from the PCM gateway. The key elements here are the decommutation of the SST PCM and being able to determine the MDID of the TmNS message that contains the SST transmitted PCM data that is recorded on the TA recorder, as well as package information, etc.

MDL File	DynamicScheduling.xml
Date Introduced	February 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	Standard Chapter 27 - RF Network Access Layer Chapter 28 - RF Network Management Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-012-Network-Toplogy MDSWG-CP-013-Communication-Link-Model
Related Examples	Mission Service Level Profiles [Recommended] Radio Associations [Recommended]
Description	This example depicts a Link Manager (LM) NetworkNode, a Ground Radio (GR) NetworkNode, and Test Article Radio (TAR) NetworkNode. The required RadioLinks for radio-to-radio RF communication are included as well. Radio NetworkNodes and RadioLinks in MDL are cross dependent so they must be defined together. The LM, GR, and TAR are defined as NetworkNodes. A NetworkNode provides generic high level descriptive information along with a more detailed information in the TmNSManageableApp element and an InternalStructure element. It is within the TmNSManageableApp element that information such as the RoleID of the component and the component's specific configuration parameters are found. For example, a Radio will define its RF address, any RF Groups that it will subscribe to, and its LinkAgent ListeningPort while an LM will reference the radios that it is to manage. Both radios and the LM will reference the appropriate RANConfig element. The InternalStructure element provides networking information in addition to other identifying information. Radios will additionally define routes here which require a reference ID to a specific RadioLink. There are two links defined to support bi-directional communication between the two radios. The link definitions reference TmNSManageableApps and RadioGroups for the wireless source and destination link addresses respectively. Any RadioGroup that is referenced as a destination address for a RadioLink must be referenced by at least one radio NetworkNode as a JoinRadioGroupRef otherwise the transmissions will not be received. Additional link configuration parameters are set for the specific links here as well. Radio NetworkNodes, LM NetworkNodes, and RadioLinks require either references to or references defined in RANConfigs and DSCPTable.

MDL File	StandaloneScheduling.xml
Date Introduced	February 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	Standard Chapter 27 - RF Network Access Layer Chapter 28 - RF Network Management Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-012-Network-Toplogy MDSWG-CP-013-Communication-Link-Model
Related Examples
Description	This example depicts a Ground Radio (GR) NetworkNode and Test Article Radio (TAR) NetworkNode. The required RadioLinks for radio-to-radio RF communication are included as well. Radio NetworkNodes and RadioLinks in MDL are cross dependent so they must be defined together. The GR and TAR are defined as NetworkNodes. A NetworkNode provides generic high level descriptive information along with a more detailed information in the TmNSManageableApp element and an InternalStructure element. It is within the TmNSManageableApp element that information such as the RoleID of the component and the component's specific configuration parameters are found. For example, a Radio will define its RF address, any RF Groups that it will subscribe to, and its LinkAgent ListeningPort. The InternalStructure element provides networking information in addition to other identifying information. Radios will additionally define routes here which require a reference ID to a specific RadioLink.

MDL File	MissionServiceLevelProfiles.xml
Date Introduced	February 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	Standard Chapter 22 - Internet Based Protocol Suite Chapter 27 - RF Network Access Layer Chapter 28 - RF Network Management Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-012-Network-Toplogy MDSWG-CP-013-Communication-Link-Model MDSWG-CP-027-Serivce-Types-and-Quality-of-Service
Related Examples	Radio Access Network (RAN)
Description	This example depicts a Link Manager (LM) NetworkNode, a Ground Radio (GR) NetworkNode, and Test Article Radio (TAR) NetworkNode. The required RadioLinks for radio-to-radio RF communication are included as well, and for each link a unique Mission Service Level Profile (MSLP) is defined. The LM, GR, TAR, and associated links were taken from the Scheduling example, which can be referenced for additional details related to those elements. At a high level, MSLPs are defined for each link to handle Quality of Service (QoS) IP routing across the RF links that are defined for radio to radio wireless RF communication. Each MSLP defines a specific set of rules for IP routing that are applied to the RadioLink that is referenced. MSLP require RadioLinks to be defined and therefore inherit any requirements of RadioLinks.

Table of Contents

MDL File	MissionQoS.xml
Date Introduced	October 2011
Created with Schema	v0.8.10
References	Standard Chapter 22 - Internet Based Protocol Suite Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-027-Serivce-Types-and-Quality-of-Service
Related Examples
Description	This example includes mission service level profiles for an example uplink minimal queue (<MissionSLP ID="TA_MissionSLP_3">) and an example downlink Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) flutter test (<MissionSLP ID="TA_MissionSLP_1">) and demonstrates how they are used by radio links. These profiles define the queueing disciplines and priorities for the radio links. Also shown are the radio links, network nodes, and DSCP table.

MDL File	RadioAssociations.xml
Date Introduced	February 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	Standard Chapter 27 - RF Network Access Layer Chapter 28 - RF Network Management Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-012-Network-Toplogy MDSWG-CP-013-Communication-Link-Model MDSWG-CP-014-Test-Description
Related Examples	Radio Access Network (RAN)
Description	This example depicts a Link Manager (LM) NetworkNode, a Ground Radio (GR) NetworkNode, and Test Article Radio (TAR) NetworkNode. The required RadioLinks for radio-to-radio RF communication are included and each radio is referenced in the RadioAssoc definition. The LM, GR, TAR, and associated links were taken from the Scheduling example which can be referenced for additional details related to those elements. The RadioAssoc definition is a more detailed association that falls within AssetAssociations. The purpose is to define which radios are being used in the test configuration by referencing the radio NetworkNodes using their TmNSManageableApp IDs. RadioAssoc require radio NetworkNodes to be defined and therefore inherit any requirements of radio NetworkNodes.

MDL File	AssetAssociations.xml
Date Introduced	October 2011
Created with Schema	v0.8.10
References	Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-014-Test-Description
Related Examples
Description	This example shows how to create SST associations. SST physical associations are shown as red lines and SST logical associations are shown as green lines in the figure below. Also shown are logical radio associations. SST Physical Associations Each Auto Tracking Antenna has an associated Antenna Control Unit (ACU) ACU is physically connected to antenna via a cable (i.e., a physical association) Each ACU has an associated SST Receiver used for tracking SST Receiver output is physically connected to ACU via a cable (i.e., a physical association) For tracking purposes, the ACU is calibrated to the SST Receiver Each Auto Tracking Antenna is associated with one or more SST Receivers Antenna output(s) are physically connected to one or more SST receivers via a cable (and possibly via a patch panel) All of these devices are also physically associated with an Antenna Site SST Logical Associations SST Transmitter and SST Receivers are logically associated with a single SST frequency SST Transmitter 1 and Receiver 1 are associated with channel 30 (1800MHz) via SSTAssoc SSTA1 SST Transmitter 2 and Receiver 2 are associated with channel 31 (1850MHz) via SSTAssoc SSTA2 Logical associations assists SST Manager with executing "change SST Freq from X to Z" Antennas, ACUs, SST Receivers, and SST Transmitters are also logically associated with a single mission (i.e., mission SST assets)

MDL File	AnalogMeasurementsAndTransducers.xml
Date Introduced	February 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-002-Measurements-Requirements
Related Examples	Packaging Analog Measurements [Recommended]
Description	This example covers the use of analog measurements and transducers, from creating the measurements and their data operations for Counts to EU conversions, through the devices used to capture the measurements, and how they are attached to the DAUs.

MDL File	MeasurementsAndDataOperations.xml
Date Introduced	November 2010
Created with Schema	v0.8.1
References	Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-002-Measurements-Requirements
Related Examples	Packaging Measurements
Description	This example includes a measurement (<Measurement ID="GearVibMeas">) and demonstrates how it is mapped from a transducer (<Device ID="GearVibTransducer">) port to a DAU (<NetworkNode ID="Dau1">) port. Also shown is the data operation (<DataOperation ID="GearVibCountsToGsConversion">) that represents the conversion from Counts to Volts.

MDL File	BandpassMeasurement.xml
Date Introduced	February 2013
Created with Schema	v0.8.14
References	Standard Chapter 26 - TmNS Data Transfer Protocols
Related Examples
Description	This examples shows how to create a measurement with Bandpass analog properties.

MDL File	DataStreamForFormattingPCM.xml
Date Introduced	February 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-005-PCM-Stream-Format MDSWG-CP-024-Serial-Bit-Stream-Package
Related Examples	Packaging Selected PCM Frames from DataStream [Recommended] Packaging All PCM Frames from DataStream [Recommended]
Description	This example shows how to use a DataStream for PCM output. The DataStream contains a PCMDataLink element that uses TMATS to describe the PCM format.

MDL File	DataStreamForSelectingARINC429BusMessages.xml
Date Introduced	February 2016
Created with Schema	v0.8.19
References	Standard Chapter 24 - Message Formats Chapter 26 - TmNS Data Transfer Protocols Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-001-Bus-Catalog MDSWG-CP-016-Avionics-Busses
Related Examples	Packaging Selected ARINC 429 Bus Messages from DataStream [Recommended]
Description	This example shows how to use a DataStream to capture selected ARINC 429 bus messages and extract the data field from the message using measurements.

MDL File	DataStreamForARINC429AllBusCapture.xml
Date Introduced	May 2014
Created with Schema	v0.8.17
References	Standard Chapter 24 - Message Formats Chapter 26 - TmNS Data Transfer Protocols Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-001-Bus-Catalog MDSWG-CP-016-Avionics-Busses
Related Examples	Packaging ARINC 429 All Bus Capture DataStream [Recommended]
Description	This example shows how to use a DataStream to capture all ARINC 429 bus messages. The five measurements defined will be reused for each captured bus message.

MDL File	DataStreamForSelectingMILSTD1553BusMessages.xml
Date Introduced	May 2011
Created with Schema	v0.8.3
References	Standard Chapter 24 - Message Formats Chapter 26 - TmNS Data Transfer Protocols Change Proposal MDSWG-CP-001-Bus-Catalog MDSWG-CP-016-Avionics-Busses
Related Examples
Description	This example shows how to use a DataStream to capture selected MIL-STD-1553 bus messages.