Installation and Upgrade Verification⚓︎

The minimal mandatory set an MNO runs after installing an xCore, or after upgrading any platform component, before the deployment is handed over or returned to service. It is sized to be completed by one test engineer in one to two days with two or three provisioned devices, and it doubles as the exit criteria for the evaluation phase of onboarding.

The set contains 19 tests with a planned duration of about 7 h 10 min. Each test is reproduced in full below so that this page can be executed on its own; the same procedures are published in the acceptance test catalog.

Entry criteria⚓︎

• The deployment (xCore, and xRouter and xControl where they are part of the change) is installed or upgraded and reported healthy by the installer.
• At least two Mobile Assets are provisioned in xControl on a System of the Site under test, with SIMs in devices available to the tester.
• A signalling capture point and, for throughput tests, an iperf3 or OpenSpeedTest server on the enterprise network are available.

Execution order⚓︎

Results sheet⚓︎

Record one row per test. A blank template with the same columns is available as results-template.csv.

Exit criteria⚓︎

• Every test in the set has a result recorded in the results sheet.
• Every result is Pass, or a Deviation is recorded, agreed with Expeto and referenced from the sheet.

Procedures⚓︎

EXP-INS-001 — Platform readiness after installation⚓︎

Objective. Every workload of a newly installed xCore is running at the release version, no container is restarting, every network function reports healthy, and the Site is registered with xControl at that version.

Preconditions

• Platform
  • The xCore is installed per the installation guide and the installer reports success.
  • You know the release version that was installed and the Kubernetes namespace of the xCore.
• Tooling and access
  • Read access to the cluster with kubectl.
  • Access to the CLI.
  • Log in to xControl with an account that can view the Mobile Asset under test.

Procedure

Pass criteria

• Every pod is ready, and no pod restarts during the fifteen minutes that follow the installer's completion.
• Every Expeto image tag and the chart version equal the release version, and third-party images match the release notes.
• Every network function reports healthy.
• The Site is online in xControl with the release's agent version.

Deployment notes

• Kubernetes-operator managed core: The core is described by a Site resource rather than a Helm release. Replace the helm list step with kubectl get site <name> -n <namespace> -o jsonpath='{.status.conditions[?(@.type=="Ready")].status}' and expect True, and check that {.status.observedGeneration} equals {.metadata.generation}. The CLI sidecar is named agent-cli, and read node lists the SMF only; check the other network functions through their pod status.

Evidence collected: Kubernetes pod and node status; CLI output; xControl screenshot.

EXP-INS-002 — Management path and subscriber synchronization⚓︎

Objective. The xCore agent holds an outbound connection to xControl, the Site reports online, and the subscriber data held by the xCore matches what xControl has provisioned for it.

Preconditions

• Mobile Asset
  • At least one Mobile Asset is provisioned on a System of the Site.
• Tooling and access
  • Log in to xControl with an account that holds the ADMIN role.
  • Access to the CLI.
  • A signalling capture on the xCore's egress interface, filtered to TCP port 443 (capture point 6).
• Procedures executed first
  • EXP-INS-001 — Platform readiness after installation

Procedure

Pass criteria

• The agent connection is outbound only.
• The Site is online within five minutes of an agent restart.
• The full synchronization check reports zero discrepancies and the record counts match.

Evidence collected: 3GPP signalling capture (pcap); CLI output; xControl screenshot.

EXP-INS-003 — Radio access node connection⚓︎

Objective. The customer's eNodeB or gNodeB establishes its control-plane association with the xCore, the xCore accepts the radio's PLMN and tracking area, and xControl shows the Private Radio as connected.

Preconditions

• Platform
  • The radio is configured with the xCore's MME or AMF address, the PLMN and the tracking area code agreed for the Site, and is powered off.
  • A Private Radio with the identifier <PLMN>-<Cell ID> of the radio exists on the Site in xControl with status Enabled.
• Tooling and access
  • Log in to xControl with an account that holds the ADMIN role.
  • A signalling capture on the xCore interface facing the radio (capture point 1).
  • Access to the CLI.
• Procedures executed first
  • EXP-INS-001 — Platform readiness after installation

Procedure

Pass criteria

• The setup exchange completes with a Response, not a Failure, and the served PLMN and tracking area are the agreed ones.
• The Private Radio shows Connected within two minutes of the radio reporting on air.

Evidence collected: 3GPP signalling capture (pcap); xControl screenshot; CLI output.
References: 3GPP TS 36.413 §8.7.3 (S1 Setup); 3GPP TS 38.413 §8.7.3 (NG Setup).

EXP-INS-004 — Monitoring path⚓︎

Objective. The new Site's metrics reach xView with the Site's labels, its scrape targets are up, and no critical alert is firing for it.

Preconditions

• Tooling and access
  • Access to the xView Prometheus query interface and Grafana.
• Procedures executed first
  • EXP-INS-001 — Platform readiness after installation

Procedure

Pass criteria

• Every scrape target of the Site is up within ten minutes of the install completing.
• The Site's series carry its Customer and Site labels.
• No critical alert is firing for the Site.

Evidence collected: xControl screenshot.

EXP-PRV-001 — Provision a Mobile Asset⚓︎

Objective. A Mobile Asset created in xControl, through the portal or the API, is written to the subscriber database of the Site within a bounded time, is reported consistent by the synchronization check, and can attach.

Preconditions

• Platform
  • The Site has a System with a System Profile, and a Keyset mapped to the Site.
• Mobile Asset
  • A SIM whose IMSI is not yet provisioned, with its key material available for the Keyset in use.
• Device
  • The UE is powered off or in airplane mode.
  • The UE has the APN of its System Profile configured.
• Tooling and access
  • Log in to xControl with an account that holds the ADMIN role.
  • An API token for the Customer, for the API variant.
  • Access to the CLI.
• Procedures executed first
  • EXP-SES-001 — UE-initiated attach

Procedure

Pass criteria

• The subscriber record is present on the Site within 120 seconds of creation.
• The synchronization check reports no discrepancy for the IMSI.
• The UE attaches and passes traffic.

Evidence collected: xControl screenshot; CLI output; xControl session event log.

EXP-SES-001 — UE-initiated attach⚓︎

Objective. A UE initiates an attach request to the network and is authenticated. After authentication the network obtains the UE's subscription data from the subscriber database and, based on the default APN and PDN/PDU context in that data, creates the default session. The UE is then attached to the network and passes data.

Preconditions

• Mobile Asset
  • The UE's Mobile Asset is provisioned in xControl on the System under test, with state Active and status Provisioned or Disconnected.
• Device
  • The UE is powered off or in airplane mode.
  • The UE has the APN of its System Profile configured.
  • The UE has a web browser or a terminal application that can send ICMP echo requests (ping).
• Tooling and access
  • Log in to xControl with an account that can view the Mobile Asset under test.
  • Start a 3GPP signalling capture (pcap) with your preferred tool on the interfaces the procedure exercises.

Procedure

Expected signalling

Capture points: S1-MME / N2 (point 1), S11 / N4 (point 3), S6a / N8 (point 4).

Pass criteria

• The UE obtains a data connection and passes traffic without manual intervention.
• The IP address shown in xControl is inside the address range of the Mobile Asset's System.
• The capture contains the complete sequence and no reject or failure message.

Evidence collected: 3GPP signalling capture (pcap); xControl session event log; UE connectivity check.
References: 3GPP TS 23.401 §5.3.2.1 (E-UTRAN Initial Attach); 3GPP TS 24.301 §5.5.1.2 (Attach procedure for EPS services); 3GPP TS 23.502 §4.2.2.2.2 (General Registration); 3GPP TS 23.502 §4.3.2.2.1 (UE Requested PDU Session Establishment).

EXP-SES-002 — UE-initiated detach⚓︎

Objective. The UE initiates a detach procedure and the network releases the session, the user-plane resources and the UE context, and xControl records the end of the session.

Preconditions

• Tooling and access
  • Log in to xControl with an account that holds the ADMIN role.
  • Start a 3GPP signalling capture (pcap) with your preferred tool on the interfaces the procedure exercises.
• Procedures executed first
  • EXP-SES-001 — UE-initiated attach

Procedure

Expected signalling

Capture points: S1-MME / N2 (point 1), S11 / N4 (point 3).

Pass criteria

• xControl shows Disconnected within 30 seconds of the detach.
• The session record is closed with an end time.
• No session context remains for the IMSI on the session-management function.

Evidence collected: 3GPP signalling capture (pcap); xControl session event log; CLI output.
References: 3GPP TS 23.401 §5.3.8.2 (UE-initiated Detach procedure); 3GPP TS 23.502 §4.2.2.3.2 (UE-initiated Deregistration).

EXP-SES-004 — UE idle mode⚓︎

Objective. A connected UE that stops generating traffic has its radio connection released after the radio's inactivity timer expires. The UE enters the idle state (ECM-IDLE in 4G, CM-IDLE in 5G) while it stays registered and keeps its session and IP address.

Preconditions

• Device
  • The UE has a web browser or a terminal application that can send ICMP echo requests (ping).
  • A UE application that shows the radio connection state, or knowledge of the radio's inactivity timer.
• Tooling and access
  • Start a 3GPP signalling capture (pcap) with your preferred tool on the interfaces the procedure exercises.
  • Log in to xControl with an account that can view the Mobile Asset under test.
• Procedures executed first
  • EXP-SES-001 — UE-initiated attach

Procedure

Expected signalling

Capture points: S1-MME / N2 (point 1), S11 / N4 (point 3).

Pass criteria

• The radio connection is released within the radio's configured inactivity time and the UE stays registered.
• The session and IP address survive the idle transition.

Evidence collected: 3GPP signalling capture (pcap); CLI output.
References: 3GPP TS 23.401 §5.3.5 (S1 release procedure); 3GPP TS 23.502 §4.2.6 (AN release).

EXP-SES-005 — UE-triggered service request⚓︎

Objective. A registered UE in idle state generates new uplink traffic. The network re-establishes the radio connection and the user-plane path with a service request, without a new attach, and the UE keeps its IP address.

Preconditions

• Device
  • The UE has a web browser or a terminal application that can send ICMP echo requests (ping).
• Tooling and access
  • Start a 3GPP signalling capture (pcap) with your preferred tool on the interfaces the procedure exercises.
  • Log in to xControl with an account that holds the ADMIN role.
• Procedures executed first
  • EXP-SES-001 — UE-initiated attach
  • EXP-SES-004 — UE idle mode

Procedure

Expected signalling

Capture points: S1-MME / N2 (point 1), S11 / N4 (point 3).

Pass criteria

• Traffic resumes without a new attach or registration and with the same IP address.

Evidence collected: 3GPP signalling capture (pcap); xControl session event log.
References: 3GPP TS 23.401 §5.3.4.1 (UE triggered Service Request); 3GPP TS 23.502 §4.2.3.2 (UE Triggered Service Request).

EXP-SES-007 — Multiple UE attach⚓︎

Objective. Several UEs connect to the network at the same time, each obtains its own address and service, and xControl shows all of them connected.

Preconditions

• Mobile Asset
  • Several Mobile Assets are provisioned in xControl on the System under test, one per UE, each with state Active.
• Device
  • The UE is powered off or in airplane mode.
  • The UE has the APN of its System Profile configured.
  • The UE has a web browser or a terminal application that can send ICMP echo requests (ping).
• Tooling and access
  • Log in to xControl with an account that can view the Mobile Asset under test.
• Procedures executed first
  • EXP-SES-001 — UE-initiated attach

Procedure

Pass criteria

• Every UE is connected and passing traffic simultaneously, with no two UEs sharing an address.

Evidence collected: xControl Mobile Asset status; UE connectivity check.

EXP-PRV-002 — Deactivate a Mobile Asset⚓︎

Objective. A connected Mobile Asset is set to Inactive in xControl. The subscriber database cancels its location without requesting a re-attach, the network releases its session, and every new attach attempt is rejected while it stays inactive.

Preconditions

• Tooling and access
  • Log in to xControl with an account that holds the ADMIN role.
  • Start a 3GPP signalling capture (pcap) with your preferred tool on the interfaces the procedure exercises.
• Procedures executed first
  • EXP-SES-001 — UE-initiated attach

Procedure

Expected signalling

Capture points: S6a / N8 (point 4), S1-MME / N2 (point 1).

Pass criteria

• The session is released without any action on the UE, and the UE is not told to re-attach.
• Every reconnection attempt while the Mobile Asset is Inactive is rejected.

Evidence collected: xControl session event log; 3GPP signalling capture (pcap).
References: 3GPP TS 23.401 §5.3.8.4 (HSS-initiated Detach procedure); 3GPP TS 29.272 §5.2.2.2 (Cancel Location (CLR-Flags)).

EXP-PRV-005 — Unknown UE attach rejected⚓︎

Objective. A UE whose IMSI is not provisioned in xControl attempts to attach, and the network rejects the attempt.

Preconditions

• Mobile Asset
  • The UE's IMSI is not provisioned as a Mobile Asset in xControl.
• Device
  • The UE is powered off or in airplane mode.
• Tooling and access
  • Log in to xControl with an account that can view the Mobile Asset under test.
  • Start a 3GPP signalling capture (pcap) with your preferred tool on the interfaces the procedure exercises.

Procedure

Expected signalling

Capture points: S1-MME / N2 (point 1), S6a / N8 (point 4).

Pass criteria

• The UE obtains no service and no context or session is created for the IMSI.

Evidence collected: 3GPP signalling capture (pcap).
References: 3GPP TS 24.301 §5.5.1.2.5 (Attach not accepted by the network); 3GPP TS 24.501 §5.5.1.2.5 (Initial registration not accepted by the network).

EXP-POL-001 — Limit bandwidth (AMBR)⚓︎

Objective. When the Mobile Asset is moved to a System Profile with lower uplink and downlink bitrates (AMBR) in xControl, the subscriber database pushes the change into the live session: the bearer is modified without a detach, the UE keeps its address, and the measured upload and download throughput drops to the new limits.

Preconditions

• Device
  • The UE has a web browser application.
• Tooling and access
  • Log in to xControl with an account that holds the ADMIN role.
  • A tool that measures upload and download throughput from the UE against a server on the enterprise network, such as iperf3 or OpenSpeedTest.
  • Start a 3GPP signalling capture (pcap) with your preferred tool on the interfaces the procedure exercises.
• Procedures executed first
  • EXP-SES-001 — UE-initiated attach

Procedure

Expected signalling

Capture points: S6a / N8 (point 4), S11 / N4 (point 3), S1-MME / N2 (point 1).

Pass criteria

• The change takes effect with no detach and no new session; the UE keeps its address.
• The signalled AMBR values equal the bitrates configured in the APN Profile.
• Measured upload and download after the change do not exceed the new limits.

Postconditions

• Restore the original System Profile if later tests assume it.

Evidence collected: Speed test result; xControl session event log; 3GPP signalling capture (pcap).
References: 3GPP TS 23.401 §4.7.3 (Bearer level QoS parameters (APN-AMBR)); 3GPP TS 23.401 §5.3.9.2 (Insert Subscriber Data procedure); 3GPP TS 23.401 §5.4.2.1 (HSS Initiated Subscribed QoS Modification); 3GPP TS 23.501 §5.7.2.6 (Session-AMBR); 3GPP TS 23.502 §4.3.3.2 (UE or network requested PDU Session Modification).

EXP-POL-002 — Enterprise access through the public radio network⚓︎

Objective. A Mobile Asset attached through the mobile operator's public radio network is authenticated by Expeto Gateway (xRouter), reaches the enterprise private LAN through the customer-dedicated xCore, and passes upload and download traffic.

Preconditions

• Platform
  • An xCore in the public configuration is installed and operational.
  • An xRouter is installed, configured, and integrated with that xCore.
• Mobile Asset
  • The Mobile Asset is imported into xControl and authorized (state Active).
• Tooling and access
  • Log in to xControl with an account that can view the Mobile Asset under test.
  • A signalling capture at the xRouter (capture point 4) and on the secure link (capture point 5).

Procedure

Expected signalling

Capture points: S6a / N8 at xRouter (point 4), secure link (point 5).

Pass criteria

• The UE reaches the enterprise LAN and passes traffic in both directions.
• No signalling crosses the secure link; only user-plane traffic does.

Evidence collected: UE connectivity check; xControl Mobile Asset status; 3GPP signalling capture (pcap).

EXP-SEC-001 — UE-to-UE communication prevented⚓︎

Objective. The network blocks direct communication between two Mobile Assets served by the platform.

Preconditions

• Platform
  • An xCore is deployed and operational, and its Site shows as online in xControl.
  • The xCore is configured to prevent UE-to-UE communication (the default configuration).
  • The xCore has a System.
• Mobile Asset
  • Two Mobile Assets are provisioned on the System.
• Tooling and access
  • Log in to xControl with an account that can view the Mobile Asset under test.
• Procedures executed first
  • EXP-SES-007 — Multiple UE attach

Procedure

Pass criteria

• No packet from one UE reaches the other in either direction.

Evidence collected: ICMP result from the UE.

EXP-SEC-002 — UE-to-platform communication prevented⚓︎

Objective. The network blocks communication from a UE to the software components of the Expeto Platform: the xCore's own addresses, its monitoring endpoints and the cluster's node addresses.

Preconditions

• Platform
  • An xCore is deployed and operational, and its Site shows as online in xControl.
  • The xCore is configured to prevent UE-to-UE communication (the default configuration).
  • The xCore has a System on which the UE is provisioned.
• Tooling and access
  • Log in to xControl with an account that can view the Mobile Asset under test.
  • The node addresses of the cluster hosting the xCore (kubectl get nodes -o wide).
• Procedures executed first
  • EXP-SES-001 — UE-initiated attach

Procedure

Pass criteria

• No platform or node address answers the UE on any protocol tried.

Evidence collected: ICMP result from the UE.

EXP-REC-001 — Session record completeness⚓︎

Objective. The record of a completed session carries every field an MNO needs to account for it, and the values agree with the signalling capture of the same session.

Preconditions

• Tooling and access
  • Log in to xControl with an account that holds the ADMIN role.
  • An API token for the Customer.
• Procedures executed first
  • EXP-SES-001 — UE-initiated attach
  • EXP-SES-002 — UE-initiated detach

Procedure

Pass criteria

• Every field listed is present and consistent with the capture.
• Start and end times are within 5 seconds of the corresponding signalling messages.

Evidence collected: xControl screenshot; 3GPP signalling capture (pcap).
References: 3GPP TS 32.251 §5.2 (PS domain charging principles).

EXP-HA-001 — xCore user-plane node failure⚓︎

Objective. Expeto Edge (xCore) on a Kubernetes HA cluster continues to serve Mobile Assets when the node hosting the user-plane services (UPF / PGW-U) fails: the pods restart on the remaining nodes and the device regains service.

Preconditions

• Platform
  • An xCore is deployed on a Kubernetes HA cluster and operational.
  • You have identified the node (VM) hosting the user-plane pods (UPF / PGW-U).
  • Enough nodes remain available to host the user plane after the failure.
• Mobile Asset
  • One Mobile Asset is connected and passing data (execute the UE-initiated attach procedure first if it is not).
• Tooling and access
  • A tool that measures upload and download throughput from the UE against a server on the enterprise network, such as iperf3 or OpenSpeedTest.

Procedure

Pass criteria

• Every pod of the failed node is running on another node without manual intervention.
• The UE regains service and passes traffic after the failover.

Postconditions

• Record the measured service interruption in the results sheet.

Evidence collected: Kubernetes pod and node status; Speed test result; UE connectivity check.

EXP-HA-004 — xCore restart recovery⚓︎

Objective. A non-redundant Expeto Edge (xCore) recovers after every resource hosting it is power-cycled (turned off and back on), and devices regain service without manual intervention.

Preconditions

• Platform
  • An xCore is deployed and operational, and its Site shows as online in xControl.
• Mobile Asset
  • One Mobile Asset is connected and passing data (execute the UE-initiated attach procedure first if it is not).
• Tooling and access
  • A tool that measures upload and download throughput from the UE against a server on the enterprise network, such as iperf3 or OpenSpeedTest.

Procedure

Pass criteria

• Every service is running after the power cycle without manual intervention.
• The UE reconnects on its own and passes traffic.

Postconditions

• Record the time from power-on to the UE regaining service in the results sheet.

Evidence collected: Service status after recovery; UE connectivity check.