Archive News Story
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Algorithm Analysis Package helps debug serial bus design.
May 7, 2004 - Suited for use with oscilloscopes, E2688A serial data analysis package translates analog waveforms, consisting of hundreds of data points, into 2-digit 8B/10B symbol codes. It provides analysis techniques that help save time in debugging, characterizing, and validating high-speed serial bus designs. Software includes software clock recovery and real-time-eye mask testing features that help streamline cycle of acquiring, testing, and identifying failures.
Archive Press Release
(Products mentioned in this Archive Press Release may or may not be available from the manufacturer.)
Release date: May 5, 2004
Agilent Technologies' Industry-First 8B/10B Analysis Package for Oscilloscopes Speeds Debug, Characterization, Validation of High-Speed Serial Bus Designs
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 5, 2004 -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today introduced the industry's first serial data analysis (SDA) package for its Infiniium 54850 Series oscilloscopes that translates analog waveforms, consisting of hundreds of data points, into simple, two-digit 8B/10B symbol codes. 8B/10B is an algorithm that encodes data for transmission over high-speed serial buses, including PCI Express, Serial ATA and Fibre Channel. The Agilent E2688A SDA package provides advanced analysis techniques for 8B/10B that help engineers save days of time in debugging, characterizing and validating new high-speed serial bus designs for the computer, communications and semiconductor industries.
The optional Agilent N5393A PCI Express pre-compliance test package for the SDA allows designers to perform rigorous tests on their products to determine if they will comply with PCI Express standards. The package includes pass/fail results, detailed HTML reporting features and archived screen shots for each test, including failure highlighting.
"Agilent has been tracking the high-speed serial bus trend that is fundamentally changing the nature of today's fastest electronic designs," said Ron Nersesian, vice president and general manager of Agilent's Design Validation Division. "Waveform analysis is becoming more complex, particularly with the increased use of high-speed standards such as Fibre Channel. Agilent is the first to offer a solution for analyzing 8B/10B codes, the latest in our growing line of application software for oscilloscopes. We have received rave reviews from engineers beta-testing the new SDA and PCI Express pre-compliance test packages."
Traditionally, oscilloscopes allow engineers to view various types of waveforms, manually scroll through waveform records to visually identify an event of interest, or trigger the capture of a waveform by specifying basic waveform parameters such as signal edges and pulse widths. While these waveform analysis techniques continue to represent the fundamental use model of an oscilloscope, they are inefficient for analyzing waveforms from 8B/10B encoded Fibre Channel, which are too complex to be analyzed visually. Using the SDA package, engineers now can superimpose the 8B/10B codes on their waveforms, search waveforms for a given series of codes, or trigger the oscilloscope until the specified series of codes are found. These analysis techniques help engineers immediately identify problems that used to take a great deal of effort to solve.
The SDA includes software clock recovery and real-time-eye mask testing features that help streamline the cycle of acquiring, testing and identifying failures. Based on the recovered system clock, a serial data stream can be folded into a composite eye diagram, tested against a standard mask and then unfolded to show the location of any mask test failures. The 8B/10B decode capabilities then can be used to see which activity led to the failure.
The Serial Data Analysis and optional PCI Express pre-compliance test packages are available now at the following prices:
Model Description Price
E2688A Serial Data Analysis Package $7,995
N5393A PCI Express Pre-Compliance Test Package $1,995
About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a global technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 28,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $6.1 billion in fiscal year 2003. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.Company Information: Name: Agilent Technologies, Inc. Address: 1601 California Ave. City: Palo Alto State: CA ZIP: 94304 Country: USA Phone: 650-752-5000 http://www.agilent.com/
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