Richardson, TX – ASSET® InterTech’s (www.asset-intertech.com) ScanWorks® platform for embedded instrumentation is the first in the industry to support both signal integrity design validation and circuit board test for the new Intel® Xeon® processor 5500 series, codenamed Nehalem, as well as the 5520 chipset. Xeon 5500 series processors will be deployed in systems using Intel’s QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) platform architecture.
To validate Intel Xeon processor 5500 series-based designs, the ScanWorks platform employs Intel’s Interconnect Built In Self Test (IBIST) embedded instrumentation technology, which is being placed in that company’s next-generation processors and chipsets. The embedded IBIST instrumentation is employed by ScanWorks to perform margining and bit error rate testing (BERT) on high-speed buses like QPI and PCIe. The same ScanWorks platform with its processor-controlled test capabilities can also test Nehalem-based circuit boards. ScanWorks is able to take control of an Intel Xeon processor 5500 series CPU and assert structural and functional tests and diagnostics on other devices and buses on the circuit board, including the 5520 chipset. ScanWorks’ validation and test capabilities improve the quality of the system and accelerate a new product’s time-to-market.
“The non-intrusive nature of ScanWorks and the fact that it is much less expensive because it’s software-driven are big advantages over older technologies that require physical access and involve large capital investments for hardware systems, fixtures and other costly accessories,” said Tim Caffee, ASSET’s vice president of I/O instrumentation. “The new QPI-based platforms which will incorporate the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series of CPUs are ultra-fast and require new test strategies. These factors and others are changing the way the industry does validation and test, and ScanWorks is leading the way.”
ScanWorks® – The Embedded Instrumentation Platform
ASSET, through its ScanWorks platform, is applying the experience it has gained from two decades as a leading supplier of boundary-scan test tools to the development of open embedded instrumentation tools. The boundary-scan infrastructure that is embedded into chips and circuit boards is one of several technologies that can form the basis for an embedded instrumentation toolset. In recent years, ASSET has significantly enhanced its ScanWorks® platform with embedded instrumentation capabilities such as CPU-emulation functional test, signal integrity analysis utilizing embedded Intel® IBIST (Interconnect Built In Self Test) technology and others.
With its advanced automation, data acquisition and data analysis features, ScanWorks will continue as a leading platform for structural boundary-scan test. It has become the boundary-scan system of choice for practically all major communication and defense/avionics suppliers, including Cisco, Ericsson, Motorola, Alcatel-Lucent, Tellabs, Huawei, Raytheon, Rockwell, Lockheed Martin, BAE, ITT, Northrop Grumman, GE Aviation and others. In addition, ScanWorks’ adoption by companies like Microsoft for its Xbox 360 video game console and Delphi for its automotive electronics demonstrates that ScanWorks will continue its leadership as boundary scan proliferates in computers, set-top boxes, consumer electronics, industrial controls, automotive and other industries.
About ASSET InterTech
ASSET InterTech is a supplier of open tools for embedded instrumentation to engineers doing design validation, test and debug. The ScanWorks platform provides automation, access and analysis tools in one environment. Users can quickly and easily validate and test semiconductors, circuit boards or entire systems during every phase of a product’s life, including design, manufacturing/repair and field maintenance. In addition, chips can be programmed in-system after they have been soldered to a circuit board. ASSET’s MicroMaster product line employs CPU emulation technology to perform extensive functional test and diagnostic routines on circuit boards and chips, and to program logic and memory devices in-system at high CPU speeds. ASSET InterTech is located outside of Dallas, TX, at 2201 North Central Expressway, Suite 105, Richardson, TX 75080.
For product information, call 888-694-6250, fax 972-437-2826, e-mail ai-info@asset-intertech.com or visit www.asset-intertech.com.
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