Software Makes Protocol Analyzer Act Like A Logic Analyzer
Software really is the test instrument. Lecroy's BitTracer, which runs on the PETracer Gen2 Summit PCI Express Protocol Analyzer, provides a physical-layer view of PCI Express traffic that's similar to what a logic analyzer might display. But it also
Software really is the test instrument. Lecroy's BitTracer, which
runs on the PETracer Gen2 Summit PCI Express Protocol Analyzer, provides a physical-layer view of PCI Express
traffic that's similar to what a logic analyzer might display. But it also provides this
capability on a protocol analyzer. Designers can view the bit stream traffic before
it's decoded into high-level packets to better understand what signal integrity
issues may be causing data corruption.
Most PCI Express designs
typically require a logic analyzer
and a protocol analyzer to work
together to solve tough troubleshooting and debug issues.
This often involves attaching
and disconnecting the logic
analyzer multiple times, which
can be a real pain. The BitTracer
software eliminates this problem with one piece of equipment that can display the logic
analyzer states listings yet still
show the packet information.
The BitTracer software displays all bits in the bit stream
for each individual PCI
Express lane (see the figure). These bits are shown just as they appear
in the multi-striped bit stream. A separate window in the display shows the
high-level packet generated from the presented bits. Both window displays correlate as users examine the bit stream
clearly showing the nature of any corrupted packets. The BitTracer software
also includes traffic summary and
search features.
