Debugging Ethernet, SATA, and PCIe for IoT Devices

Figure 1: A generic IoT block diagram
shows serial-data links in blue

In our ongoing review of debugging serial-data standards for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, let's now turn to three more popular protocols: Ethernet, SATA, and PCIe. Ethernet is found in computer networking applications, while the Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) connects host bus adapters to mass-storage devices. The Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI Express or PCIe) handles communication between root complexes (motherboards) and expansion-card interfaces.

Follow The Bouncing Signal

Figure 1: Trend plotting is a handy tool
for discerning frequency-hopping
patterns

Signal jamming, noise generation/interference, signal interception, and other malicious RF-related activities have long been part and parcel of the electronic warfare arena. One countermeasure that is widely deployed is frequency hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS) transmission, or rapid and pseudo-random jumps of the carrier frequency in an effort to confound would-be jammers. FHSS transmission poses test and measurement challenges that we'll outline below.