Teledyne LeCroy Debuts Ethernet Decode Software
March 7, 2013. Teledyne LeCroy Corp. has announced an Ethernet decode software option and Manchester and NRZ (non-return-to-zero) configurable protocol decoders for its oscilloscopes.
The Ethernet decode software option is compatible with LeCroy's range of oscilloscopes featuring bandwidths from 200 MHz to 65 GHz. With the software, users can easily decode 100BASE-T and 10BASE-T Ethernet signals to examine each frame within a given packet, assuring precompliance with IEEE standards. The Ethernet decode software also aids in debugging issues that are not easily solved with a protocol analyzer, such as interoperability issues, uncertain error causes, and physical-layer issues.
With more embedded designs incorporating Ethernet functionality, engineers need fast, reliable tools for debugging these intra-system communication links. The Ethernet decode software quickly processes physical-layer waveform captures to display a color-coded overlay with easy-to-understand details on the stream’s data-link layer. Decoded link-layer information expands or contracts as the user adjusts the oscilloscope’s time base or zooms in on the waveform, displaying more data with close-in views or less when looking at the big picture.
Search capabilities allow users to search the acquired waveform in a myriad of ways. For example, users can search for frame types, source/destination addresses, data strings, and other attributes. A user can locate source or destination addresses from one frame and search the waveform for other packets with matching addresses. Locating errors is easy since the search tool provides a list of the most common error conditions such as missed start of frame, missed terminate frame and more. Decoded data is conveniently displayed in an interactive table. Clicking on any line in the table opens a zoomed view of that instance in the waveform.
Ethernet decode software for Teledyne LeCroy oscilloscopes is priced at $1,250.
Manchester and NRZ Protocol Decoders
The company also announced Manchester and NRZ (non-return-to-zero) configurable protocol decoders for its range of oscilloscope platforms. The decoders enable users to specify a broad range of physical layer characteristics for Manchester- or NRZ-encoded signals. The decoders define the grouping of bits into words, and words into frames, which makes short work of analysis for custom and/or proprietary protocols based on those generic encoding schemes. Decoded information is then shown in a color-coded overlay directly on top of the physical layer waveform.
Many of today’s data-communication protocols are built on Manchester or NRZ encoding. Protocols like this range from specialized buses such as Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) for control of building lighting and the Peripheral Sensor Interface 5 (PSI5) used to connect sensors to controllers in automotive applications, to proprietary, custom buses used for non-standardized applications. In all of these cases, basic Manchester and NRZ schemes are modified to create the more complex, specialized protocols. Designers around the globe are developing and debugging systems with these protocols and looking for bus analysis tools to simplify the process.
Teledyne LeCroy’s Manchester and NRZ protocol decoders aid in the process of designing and debugging such custom protocols by providing broad flexibility in terms of physical layer characteristics, protocol word and frame structure as well as other parameters. Users may specify bit rates from 10 bits/s to 10 Gbits/s. Idle states, sync bits, header and footer information can all be configured to decode custom preambles or CRC details. Decoding is highly flexible: data mode can be in bits or words; viewing in hex, ASCII, or decimal; and bit order may be either LSB or MSB. Decoded information is displayed with a color-coded overlay which expands or contracts as the user adjusts the oscilloscope timebase or zooms in on the waveform for more details.
Search capabilities allow users to quickly search long captures of decoded Manchester and NRZ waveforms for specific bus details such as data, sync or interframe gap. Decoded data is conveniently displayed in an interactive table. Clicking on any line in the table opens a zoomed view of that instance in the waveform.
Teledyne LeCroy’s Manchester and NRZ protocol decode software options are both priced at $1,450.