The Important Difference Between ProtoSync™ and CrossSync™ PHY

Figure 1: CrossSync PHY captures everything from
physical through protocol layers at once.

With the recent release of our new CrossSync™ PHY for PCI Express® product, some of you may be wondering how it’s any different than ProtoSync™ for PCIe®, which has been around for quite a few years.

ProtoSync is an option for Teledyne LeCroy oscilloscopes with bandwidths that support high-speed serial data analysis. We’ve released ProtoSync options for PCIe, USB, SAS/SATA and Fibre Channel. ProtoSync links the same Protocol Analysis Suite software that is used with our protocol analyzers to the oscilloscope application, so that you can see physical layer decodings in the familiar PETracer and BITracer views right next to the decoded analog waveform. 

CrossSync PHY differs from ProtoSync in the three, significant ways:

Some More PCIe 3.0 Test Examples (Part II)

Figure 1: This shows how a PeRT 3 state-machine log can be invaluable
in diagnosing timeouts in requests for presets

Continuing on from our last post, let's look at some more examples of common PCIe 3.0 test scenarios and how a well-equipped PCIe 3.0 testbench would approach them. Recall, if you will, that such a testbench would comprise a real-time digital oscilloscope of suitable bandwidth (such as Teledyne LeCroy's SDA830Zi-B oscilloscope), a protocol-enabled receiver tester (such as Teledyne LeCroy's PeRT 3 Phoenix System), and software that enables simultaneous, correlated views of the protocol and physical layers (such as Teledyne LeCroy's ProtoSync software).

Some PCIe 3.0 Test Examples (Part I)

Figure 1: Protocol and electrical views of
slow electrical response to a preset request

We took a tour of a typical PCIe 3.0 testbench setup in a recent post. Now, let's see that testbench in action with some application examples of some common bad behavior one might encounter from a PCIe 3.0 channel. These include: slow electrical response, slow protocol response, and so on.

A Tour of a PCIe 3.0 Test Setup

Figure 1: Test-equipment requirements for PCIe 3.0

Having examined the complex machinations of PCIe 3.0 dynamic link equalization in earlier posts (see the links below), now we will look at a typical test setup for design and debug and/or compliance testing. Then we will move on to some test examples showing some common problems that one might encounter.

The Periodic Table of Oscilloscope Tools: Analyze (Part I)

Figure 1: Analysis tools deepen
insight into waveform behavior
and relationships

The path from problem to solution via oscilloscope moves through a number of stages. Doing so involves capture of a signal, determining how it's to be viewed, taking measurements of various parameters, and possibly applying math functions to the waveform. All of these stages depend on the roster of tools that the oscilloscope brings to bear on the process. Teledyne LeCroy's Periodic Table of Oscilloscope Tools represents our view of the world of such tools.