Node Testing and Validation

1. Unit Testing

Target coverage: >80% for core modules

API endpoint validation: Verify all /radio/config, /pointing/az-el, /frame/config endpoints accept and validate input correctly
IPC message parsing: Test control bus and status bus message serialization/deserialization
Antenna control adapter: Mock hardware interfaces; verify az/el → weights conversion for phased-array, az/el → motor commands for motorized
Frame decoder: Test sync-word detection, frame extraction, CRC validation, FEC decoding
Timestamp handling: Validate GNSS time conversion, PPS integration
Error handling: Test boundary conditions (frequency out of range, motor limit violation, etc.)

System integration on development hardware:

FastAPI + subsystem communication: Verify control bus messages reach DSP, antenna, telemetry router
Data flow: RF input (via test signal generator) → DSP → frame detection → router output
Status feedback: Antenna control → encoder feedback → status bus → HTTP endpoint
Mode transitions: Switching between Manual, Fixed, Trajectory, GPS tracking modes
Frequency hold: Apply Doppler shift, verify AFC tuning convergence within 500 ms

Full stack validation with real or emulated RF:

Lock acquisition: Query /status from T+0 to confirm lock state progression (searching → carrier_lock → symbol_lock → frame_lock)
Frame decoding: Capture sample frames, verify selected-stream decode and parameter extraction
Multi-payload: Configured two different sync words, confirm each received and decoded correctly
Antenna pointing: Send pointing commands, verify actual beam position matches within accuracy spec (0.1° for phased, 0.5° for motorized)
Central integration: Forward telemetry to central server, verify timestamp preservation and binding rules

Related: Deployment checklist content is not yet migrated; use Node Index for the current operations and reliability document set.

Note: The former Node-Deployment-Checklist lived in original section 16 of the archived monolithic node architecture document.