FMS: SerialTek Panda iTAP Protocol Analyzer for Broadcom PEA Technology

SerialTek LLC introduced advancement in the PCIe test and analysis market with the the Panda iTAP analyzer.

The Panda appliance brings together SerialTek’s iTAP technology and BusXpert software with Broadcom’s PCIe Embedded Analyzer (PEA) technology to enable engineers to overcome the challenges of analyzing on-chip PCIe links. SerialTek staff demonstrated the Panda iTAP analyzer at FMS in Santa Clara, CA.

“With the increasing ubiquity of sophisticated, highly integrated systems employing switches and chip-to-chip interconnects, physical limitations to accessing PCIe traffic can prove challenging,” said Paul Mutschler, CEO, SerialTek. “With the easy access provided by the Panda iTAP analyzer, developers can quickly set up, capture, decode, and view PCIe trace data collected on-chip by Broadcom’s PEA technology.“

“The latest PCIe innovations in the SerialTek Kodiak system, combined with Broadcom PCIe PEX89000 switches with PCIe Embedded Analyzer and iTAP software, is helping to modernize the data center and PCIe ecosystem,” said Dan Roehrich, VP of IC development, data center solutions group, Broadcom. “The innovative, calibration-free Kodiak SI-Fi interposer enables customers to gather analyzer traces in sec. compared to hours with other analysis tools, which is critical in next-gen PCIe switching applications.“

Integrated Approach
SerialTek’s iTAP technology is a specialized “tap” framework conveniently integrated with SerialTek’s BusXpert software, the same web-enabled application used by the advanced, full-featured Kodiak Protocol Analysis System for PCIe 5.0 physical links. The Panda iTAP analyzer can capture the initial ordered set and packet sequences commonly missed during the locking period of interposer-based protocol analyzers. When used in conjunction with the Kodiak system, developers can transition between Kodiak’s deep traces and iTAP’s on-chip traces, from all instances of PEA stations / ports.

New PCIe Gen5 x4 SI-Fi Interposers Provide Advanced Capabilities and Convenience
In conjunction with the release of the Kodiak PCIe Gen5 x4 Analysis System, SerialTek has released the industry PCIe Gen5 x4 interposers, supporting 1×4 and 2×2 configurations.  Form factors include EDSFF (E1.S/E1.L/E3.S), U.2, U.3, M.2, MCIO, and Slim line devices. These interposers, with SerialTek’s SI-Fi technology, expand coverage to enable testing in critical areas, including the Link Training and Status State Machine (LTSSM), power management, hot plug, reset, and other cases where the physical lane characteristics may change.

Panda iTAP Highlights:

• Advanced BusXpert analysis software with collaborative web UI
• Can be used in conjunction with Kodiak PCIe 5.0 protocol analyzers with the same UI
• Captures TLPs, DLLPs, and Ordered Sets
• 288K capture buffers per station / port
• Synchronized multi-station capture
• Filtering capabilities:
  • Discard TLPs, DLLPs and Ordered Sets
  • Compression of repeating bytes
• Triggering capabilities:
  • Two-level triggering on input trace data
  • Input trigger can be pin-based or routed from internal signals
  • Output trigger can be routed to other trace buffer instances and to a chip output pin

Companion Kodiak Protocol Analyzer Features Advanced Processing Architecture
While on-chip analysis offers a complementary perspective, an analysis of physical links is required to gain deeper understanding of the protocol exchanges. With its calibration-free SI-Fi interposers, deep buffers and fully accelerated processing architecture, the Kodiak platform is the perfect companion to Broadcom PEA technology. Kodiak introduces major performance-oriented innovations made possible by an embedded architecture that breaks free from legacy data upload practices in favor of advanced, optimized embedded data processing, fully reimagined by SerialTek engineering to handle latest- and future-gen PCIe technologies. Interface responsiveness is markedly advanced, searches involving massive amounts of data are fast, and hardware filtering is flexible and powerful.

The Panda iTAP analyzer is available with shipments 6 weeks from order placement.