LeCroy debuts test platform for USB 3.0 development

LeCroy debuts test platform for USB 3.0 development
Santa Clara, Calif. — LeCroy Corp. has claimed the industry's first protocol analyzer exerciser system for USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed USB) with the launch of its Voyager validation system. Using custom front-end circuitry developed in conjunction with LeCroy's 5 Gbits/s PCI-Express platform, the Voyager analyzer provides simultaneous protocol capture of both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 signaling. Available with an integrated exerciser option, this sixth generation verification platform is LeCroy's complete solution for testing USB devices, systems and software.

The Voyager analyzer uses the de facto standard CATC Trace display to illustrate USB 3.0 protocol and includes many enhancements to accelerate testing of USB 3.0 links. Advanced triggering, hardware filtering, and Spec-View are all designed to help developers quickly understand and verify early USB 3.0 protocol behavior. The new Link Tracker view shows raw 10-bit or hex symbols from upstream and downstream links time aligned in a column format. Used for debugging SuperSpeed traffic, it provides precise timing context for analyzing link power management transitions.

An integrated traffic generation option capable of transmitting both USB 2.0 and 3.0 packets allows test teams to emulate host or device behaviors with low-level control of headers, payloads, link training and timing. In addition to error injection and compliance verification, the exerciser provides early adopters with a USB 3.0 link to start bring-up testing well before commercial hosts are available, LeCroy said.

The Voyager system features native 3.0 connectors that bifurcate USB 2.0 and 3.0 electrical signals to provide loss-less capture of traffic from both links simultaneously. It provides 4 GB of recording memory, both USB and Gbe links to the host PC, and support for external clock input.

Pricing: Ranges from $20,000 - $30,000.
Availability: Shipments begin in September 2008.
Product information: USB 3.0 Voyager protocol verification system

LeCroy, 1-800-4LeCroy (1-800-453-2769), www.lecroy.com