Avionics engineers and embedded computing systems developers face a number of challenges today, Wiedemeier explains. “There is a need for faster I/O; systems of the past are not quite as useful [as they have been in the past],” he says. Developers face myriad challenges, such as interoperability issues between devices and vendors, driver behavior problems, flow control and bus utilization issues, and protocol errors.
“Analysis tools can help,” Wiedemeier enthuses. The company’s Summit T28 Protocol Analyzer, for example, can:
· record, decode, and analyze the traffic between a Root Complex and Endpoint,
· discern which component is causing undesirable system behavior,
· measure the performance of a system, and
· discover the root cause of poor performance.
Professionals at Teledyne LeCroy, described as the test arm of Teledyne, work with various standards bodies, including VITA.
In summary, Wiedemeier says, “PCI Express is becoming more prevalent as the transport protocol in embedded systems development. A protocol analyzer can provide valuable information for diagnosing PCI Express device problems and indicating where bottlenecks in I/O exist.”
