Background

Our LANforge InterOp solution is used to support real clients for testing access points. InterOp gives the ease of handling real clients with complete automation and detailed, customizable test reporting.

We have support for various kinds of real clients:

-      Android clients.
-      iOS clients.
-      Windows Machines.
-      Linux Machines.
-      MacOS Machines.

Network Topology:

Hands-Free iPhone Control:

In order to provide a hands-free solution for iOS testing, LANforge controls each iPhone via a Bluetooth connection. USB Bluetooth adapters plugged into the LANforge act as Bluetooth keyboard devices. An adapter connects with the iPhone and then sends it keystroke packets. These keystrokes are interpreted by the iPhone as actions, and it's possible to perform system functions, navigate the UI, send text, etc.

Before getting started:

Hardware Requirements:

• a Bluetooth 5.0 adapter (Edimax BT-8500 is known to work).

• an iOS device running iOS 16 or later.

• a USB cable for the iPhone device -- USB-A to Lightning/USB-C.

• a LANforge system with at least two free USB ports.

LANforge Machine Installs/Config

1. Simply open a terminal on your LANforge machine (CTRL + ALT + T ) and run:
   sudo bash /home/lanforge/ios_install_tools.bash

iOS Device Initial Setup

2. If using a new iPhone, ensure that the initial Apple setup is complete and that the device is logged into an Apple account. It's fine to log multiple devices into the same Apple account.

3. Visit the following link: iOS Interop App Install.

4. Download TestFlight, Open TestFlight, and install the LANforge Interop App. Be sure to disable Automatic Updates.

5. Open the LANforge App, select the 'Network' tab, and enable Location access.

6. Open the Settings App on the iPhone.

   1. Disable Keyboard Autocapitalization and Autocorrection

   

   2. Set Display Auto-Lock to Never

   

   3. Disable Safari Suggestions in Search.

   

Connecting the iPhone to LANforge

7. Connect the iPhone via its USB port (Lightning or USB-C) to one of the USB-A slots on the LANforge. (as per the testbed topology)

8. On the iPhone screen, when prompted about trusting the computer, select 'Trust'.

9. Open the LANforge GUI window. The Interop tab should appear now. Click on the tab to see your phone detected as an InterOp device.

Connecting Bluetooth USB Adapter

10. Open a terminal on the LANforge machine (CTRL + ALT + T ). And run:
    dmesg -w

11. Plug your USB Bluetooth dongle into one of the USB ports on the LANforge.

12. The terminal window should show dmesg output acknowledging the new USB device.
    

13. The string 'usb 1-2.1.4' indicates that '2-1-4' is the USB-path of the adapter. Write this down.

14. On your LANforge machine, select the iPhone in the Interop tab and tap the button labeled Batch-Modify.

15. In the Batch-Modify window, enter the Bluetooth Controller’s USB path (found from dmesg earlier). And click Apply to start the Bluetooth control process.

Setting up iOS Device Keyboard Control

16. On the iPhone, open the Bluetooth settings page and enable Bluetooth.

17. Keep watch on the iPhone's Bluetooth settings page and a connection prompt should appear. Select ‘Pair’ to pair the phone with your Bluetooth adapter.

18. On the iPhone, open the Keyboard Accessibility settings and enable 'Full Keyboard Access'.

19. Back in the LANForge Batch-Modify window, tap the Set BT Keybinds button. Allow 5-10 minutes for this command to run and do not interfere with the process by touching the screen or power-cycling the phone. Once this command is finished, the phone will return to the home screen and appear idle again.

Starting the LANforge App

20. Set the values needed to connect the iPhone to LANforge: LANforge Manager IP and Resource ID (must be a Resource ID that's not in use). And if you wish to automatically connect the phone to a WiFi network, then enter the SSID and password. Click Apply when done populating fields. The app will restart and attempt to connect using the configured values.

21. Wait for roughly a minute, and if this is your first time connecting the device to LANforge, you will need to accept the following authorization prompt. If you do not see this prompt appear, ensure that your configuration values are correct and that the device is connected to the correct network.

22. Open the Resource Mgr tab and the iPhone should appear under the requested resource ID.

23. Back in the Port Mgr tab, we can see the iPhone's ports, IP address, and MAC address.

24. Your iPhone should now be ready for use with LANforge testing.

Known Limitations:

1. Screen Mirroring iOS devices onto LANforge systems is not yet supported.

2. Automated installation and removal of the iOS Interop app through the Interop tab's Batch-Modify window is not yet supported.