Protocol Analysis Solutions for Devices Using NVMe Storage

Agilent Technologies Inc. released three new solutions for advanced protocol analysis of devices using NVM Express (Non-Volatile Memory Express) storage technology.

The analysis tools, designed as options for use with Agilent’s U4301A PCIe protocol analyzer and U4305 PCIe exerciser, are the industry’s first such tools for fast development of next-generation storage devices using the PCIe standard.

                              U4301A

NVMe is a scalable host controller interface designed to address the needs of enterprise, data-center and client systems that use SSDs based on the PCIe standard. It promises to improve the performance of PCIe-based drives through an optimized register interface and command set. Industry experts believe this new standardized interface will become the benchmark for high-performance storage for many years to come.

"Our customers told us that because NVMe was such a new interface, they were having trouble finding ways to test and validate their designs that use it," said Don Schoenecker, product manager with Agilent’s oscilloscope and protocol division. "We immediately began creating this set of tools that enhance our PCIe-based analysis solutions to enable our customers to respond with new storage devices using NVMe."

Agilent’s PCIe digital test solution includes an integrated x1 through x16 protocol analyzer and exerciser for the PCIe 3.0 specification. The U4301A PCIe analyzer uses an equalization snoop probe to enable reliable data capture at 8GT/s, along with a range of tools, including LTSSM testing and a protocol test card, to validate PCIe designs.

Agilent’s transactional decoder allows the designer to select transactional queues and performance information from the analyzer’s NVMe transaction overview pane. This organizes the transactions by direction or by queue to follow the data flow across the interface with one-click control. Lists of physical-region pages contain all of the key information of the NVMe queues, allowing designers to review and validate the data flows over the PCIe connections.

Agilent’s performance-analysis package includes the real data throughput calculations, with response-time measurement of the PCIe data flow. It allows designers to measure and understand throughput performance, PCIe response times, and other operational measurements that provide the insight needed to optimize device performance.

Agilent’s NVMe emulator allows designers to test devices and create operational scripts that allow hardware and software developers to simulate a host root complex. The emulator can test all of the NVMe functions of a storage device, from queue management to the transmission of high-traffic loads, creating test scenarios that can validate device operation.