VirtualBox

source: vbox/trunk/src/VBox/ValidationKit/docs/VBoxAudioValidationKitReadMe.txt

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1Audio Testing of VirtualBox
2===========================
3
4
5Overview / Goal
6---------------
7
8The goal is to create a flexible testing framework to test the
9VirtualBox audio stack.
10
11It should be runnable with an easy-to-use setup so that also regular users
12can perform tests on request, without having to install or set up additional
13dependencies.
14
15That framework must be runnable on all host/guest combinations together with all
16audio drivers ("backends") and device emulations being offered. This makes it a
17rather big testing matrix which therefore has to be processed in an automated
18fashion.
19
20Additionally it should be flexible enough to add more (custom) tests later on.
21
22
23Operation
24---------
25
26The framework consists of several components which try to make use as much of
27the existing audio stack code as possible. This allows the following
28operation modes:
29
30Standalone
31 Playing back / recording audio data (test tones / .WAV files) in a
32 standalone scenario, i.e. no VirtualBox / VMs required). This mode is using
33 VirtualBox' audio (mixing) stack and available backend drivers without the
34 need of VirtualBox being installed.
35
36Manual
37 Performing single / multiple tests manually on a local machine.
38 Requires a running and set up test VM.
39
40Automated
41 Performs single / multiple tests via the Validation Kit audio test
42 driver and can be triggered via the Validation Kit Test Manager.
43
44(Re-)validation of previously ran tests
45 This takes two test sets and runs the validation / analysis on them.
46
47Self testing mode
48 Performs standalone self tests to verify / debug the involved components.
49
50
51Components and Terminology
52--------------------------
53
54The following components are in charge for performing the audio tests
55(depends on the operation mode, see above):
56
57- VBoxAudioTest (also known as VKAT, "Validation Kit Audio Test"):
58 A binary which can perform the standalone audio tests mentioned above, as well
59 as acting as the guest and host service(s) when performing manual or automated
60 tests. It also includes the analysis / verification of audio test sets.
61 VKAT also is included in host installations and Guest Additions since
62 VirtualBox 7.0 to give customers and end users the opportunity to test and
63 verify the audio stack.
64
65 Additional features include:
66 * Automatic probing of audio backends ("--probe-backends")
67 * Manual playback of test tones ("play -t")
68 * Manual playback of .WAV files ("play <WAV-File>")
69 * Manual recording to .WAV files ("recording <WAV-File>")
70 * Manual device enumeration (sub command "enum")
71 * Manual (re-)verification of test sets (sub command "verify")
72 * Self-contained self tests (sub command "selftest")
73
74 See the syntax help ("--help") for more.
75
76- ATS ("Audio Testing Service"): Component which is being used by 1 and the
77 Validation Kit audio driver (backend) to communicate across guest and host
78 boundaries. Currently using a TCP/IP transport layer. Also works with VMs
79 which are configured with NAT networking ("reverse connection").
80
81- Validation Kit audio test driver (tdAudioTest.py): Used for integrating and
82 invoking VKAT for manual and automated tests via the Validation Kit framework
83 (Test Manager). Optional. The test driver can be found at [1]_.
84
85- Validation Kit audio driver (backend): A dedicated audio backend which
86 communicates with VKAT running on the same host to perform the actual audio
87 tests on a VirtualBox installation. This makes it possible to test the full
88 audio stack on a running VM without any additional / external tools.
89
90 On guest playback, data will be recorded, on guest recording, data will be
91 injected from the host into the audio stack.
92
93- Test sets contain
94 - a test manifest with all information required (vkat_manifest.ini)
95 - the generated / captured audio data (as raw PCM)
96
97 and are either packed as .tar.gz archives or consist of a dedicated directory
98 per test set.
99
100 There always must be at least two test sets - one from the host side and one
101 from the guest side - to perform a verification.
102
103 Each test set contains a test tag so that matching test sets can be
104 identified.
105
106The above components are also included in VirtualBox release builds and can be
107optionally enabled (disabled by default).
108
109.. [1] src/VBox/ValidationKit/tests/audio/tdAudioTest.py
110
111
112Setup instructions
113------------------
114
115- VM needs to be configured to have audio emulation and audio testing enabled
116 (via extra-data, set "VBoxInternal2/Audio/Debug/Enabled" to "true").
117- Audio input / output for the VM needs to be enabled (depending on the test).
118- Start VBoxAudioTest on the guest, for example:
119
120 VBoxAudioTest test --mode guest --tcp-connect-address 10.0.2.2
121
122 Note: VBoxAudioTest is included with the Guest Additions starting at
123 VirtualBox 7.0.
124 Note: Depending on the VM's networking configuration there might be further
125 steps necessary in order to be able to reach the host from the guest.
126 See the VirtualBox manual for more information.
127
128
129Performing a manual test
130------------------------
131
132- Follow "Setup instructions".
133- Start VBoxAudioTest on the host with selected test(s), for example:
134
135 VBoxAudioTest test --mode host
136
137 Note: VBoxAudioTest is included with the VirtualBox 7.0 host installers and
138 will be installed by default.
139
140- By default the test verification will be done automatically after running the
141 tests.
142
143
144Advanced: Performing manual verification
145----------------------------------------
146
147VBoxAudioTest can manually be used with the "verify" sub command in order to
148(re-)verify previously generated test sets. It then will return different exit
149codes based on the verification result.
150
151
152Advanced: Performing an automated test
153--------------------------------------
154
155- TxS (Test E[x]ecution Service) has to be up and running (part of the
156 Validation Kit) on the guest.
157- Invoke the tdAudioTest.py test driver, either manually or fully automated
158 via Test Manager.
159
160
161Internals: Workflow for a single test
162-------------------------------------
163
164When a single test is being executed on a running VM, the following (simplified)
165workflow applies:
166
167- VKAT on the host connects to VKAT running on the guest (via ATS, also can be a
168 remote machine in theory).
169- VKAT on the host connects to Validation Kit audio driver on the host
170 (via ATS, also can be a remote machine in theory).
171- For example, when doing playback tests, VKAT on the host ...
172 * ... tells the Validation Kit audio driver to start recording
173 guest playback.
174 * ... tells the VKAT on the guest to start playing back audio data.
175 * ... gathers all test data (generated from/by the guest and recorded from
176 the host) as separate test sets.
177 * ... starts verification / analysis of the test sets.
178
179
180Current status / limitations
181----------------------------
182
183- The following test types are currently implemented:
184 * Test tone (sine wave) playback from the guest
185 * Test tone (sine wave) recording by the guest (injected from the host)
186- Only the HDA device emulation has been verified so far.
187- Only the ALSA audio stack on Debian 10 has been verified so far.
188 Note: This is different from PulseAudio using the ALSA plugin!
189
190
191Troubleshooting
192---------------
193
194- Make sure that audio device emulation is enabled and can be used within the
195 guest. Also, audio input / output has to be enabled, depending on the tests.
196- Make sure that the guest's VBoxAudioTest's instance can reach the host via
197 the selected transport layer (TCP/IP by default).
198- Increase the hosts audio logging level
199 (via extra-data, set "VBoxInternal2/Audio/Debug/Level" to "5").
200- Increase VBoxAudioTest's verbosity level (add "-v", can be specified
201 multiple times).
202- Check if the VBox release log contains any warnings / errors with the
203 "ValKit:" prefix.
204
205
206:Status: $Id: VBoxAudioValidationKitReadMe.txt 106065 2024-09-16 21:42:41Z vboxsync $
207:Copyright: Copyright (C) 2021-2024 Oracle Corporation.
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