TekExpress™ SATA Automated Compliance Test Software

TEKEXP • TEKEXPUP

Features & Benefits

• 100% SATA Gen1 and Gen2 Test Coverage for Hosts, Devices, and Cables
• 100% Automated – Single button - No User Intervention
• Significant Reduction in Testing Time through Automation
• Performs all SATA Interoperability Program Approved Transmitter, Receiver and Channel Measurements
• Single and Simple Windows XP User Interface for Multi-instrument Testing
• Repeatable and Accurate Results
• Automatic HTML Report and SATA-IO (MS Excel) Scorecard Generation
• Receiver Margin Testing
• Direct Synthesis and Device State Control Eliminates the Need for Multiple Sources
• Powered by NI TestStand™
• Seamlessly Integrate with High-level NI TestStand™ Automation Layer

Applications

• Device, Host, and Cable Compliance to SATA Gen1 and Gen2 Specification
• PHY/TSG/OOB Transmitter Compliance Measurements
• RX/TX Channel Compliance Measurements
• RSG Receiver Compliance Measurements
• RMT (Receiver Margin Testing)
• SI Cable Compliance Measurements
• Device and Host Validation
• Manufacturing Test

TekExpress™ Automated Compliance Test Software

TekExpress (TEKEXP) Automated Compliance Test Software is a Windows based application that runs on any Windows XP*¹ computer operating system including Tektronix Windows based instruments. TekExpress software ordered with SATA specific options provides a completely automated, simple, and efficient way to test SATA Gen1 and Gen2 Hosts, Devices, and Cables per the requirements of the SATA-IW (Serial ATA Interoperability Working Group) as defined in accepted Methods of Implementation (MOI).

100% SATA Gen1 and Gen2 Test Coverage

Compliance requirements for SATA Hosts and Devices include Transmitter Signaling Group (TSG), Physical Layer (PHY), Out of bound (OOB), Receiver Signaling Group (RSG), and Channel measurements (RX/TX). SATA Cable testing requires Signal Integrity (SI) cable tests. The TekExpress SATA software is an easy to use software package that automates 100% of the required SATA tests using the Tektronix multi-instrument test bench. The SATA test bench includes a real-time oscilloscope (DPO/DSA70000 or TDS6000C Series), a high performance signal generator (AWG7102), a sampling oscilloscope (DSA8200), a frame error analyzer, and an RF switch. While other manufacturers automate portions of the transmitter and receiver test requirements, the Tektronix high-speed serial test bench with TekExpress SATA software is the only solution that provides 100% test coverage for SATA, which is the most comprehensive compliance certification program in the electronics industry. The Tektronix SATA test bench is used at biannual workshops sponsored by SATA-IO for ‘Gold Suite’ testing. Required test procedures (MOI) can be found at http://www.sata-io.org/testing.asp. Now, using TekExpress SATA automated compliance test software, you can perform 100% of the tests performed in the ‘gold suite’ at SATA-IO plug fests in your own lab.

*¹ See host system requirements in Ordering Information section

100% Automated – Save Time and Resources

There’s no longer a need to be an expert on all the required instrument user interfaces. Remembering how to use the instrumentation is often time consuming and typically requires a senior engineer who monitors the SATA-IO test spec development. Even if you remember how to use all the instruments, it’s common for even the most experienced operator to forget steps in the procedure like calibration or setting up parameters correctly, like clock recovery, only to have to restart the test. The TekExpress software takes the human element out of the equation and yields accurate and repeatable measurements every time. No need to spend hours in the lab testing a single device or configuring a single test instrument. Simply press the Run button in the TekExpress software and turn your attention to other activities.

Simple to Setup, Test Execution, and Reporting

Setup and test execution is simple with the TekExpress software. The real-time oscilloscope, sampling oscilloscope, signal generator and frame error analyzer are all controlled through the TekExpress automation framework. The TekExpress software provides a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and provides an intuitive workflow through setup and testing.

Setting up the Bench

When setting up a test, nothing can be simpler than hooking up the test system by looking at a schematic. View the schematic of the selected test with a push of a button.

Instrument Bench Discovery

TekExpress software automatically (or on demand) scans and detects supported instruments connected in your test bench (both Visa supported and non-Visa supported instruments), whether they are connected through LAN, GPIB, or USB. A quick check of the Instrument Bench menu confirms all instruments are networked correctly.

One Button Testing

Once the test bench is setup and the DUT is properly connected, simply press the Run button to perform the selected test suite.

Basic and Expert User Interface

TekExpress software provides two levels of operation through its graphical user interface (GUI), advanced and basic. This allows the expert user to make and save changes on a test configuration and then hide these controls for repetitive testing by less experienced users. This provides flexibility in test configuration and at the same time insures configuration settings are not inadvertently changed.

Basic Operation

Expert Operation

Online Help and Show MOI

Online Help is available through the Help menu and direct access to the approved SATA MOI (Method of Implementation) through the Show MOI button. The SATA-IO approved MOIs document step by step how the test is being performed by the TekExpress software. This allows users to understand the theory behind the measurements and better understand test results.

Pass/Fail Report and SATA Scorecard

The Report tab provides an HTML view of test results along with Pass/Fail status. Once testing is complete, a SATA-IO compliant scorecard (MS Excel format) is generated. This is the scorecard that is submitted to SATA-IO for official compliance certification by test houses and at SATA compliance workshops. If your scorecard has a 100% passing score, your device can then be considered physical layer conformant.

TSG/PHY/OOB Automation

For transmitter testing (TSG/PHY/OOB) TekExpress (Opt. SATA-TSG) performs all the tests required by the specification. SATA transmitter compliance measurements involve a multitude of complex measurements, including a unique vertical amplitude measurement algorithm that takes twelve pages of the specification to describe. In the past, RT-Eye™ Serial Data Compliance and Analysis software with Opt. SST was used for some measurements, TDSJIT3 for others, and some were not fully automated. TekExpress SATA software automates the JIT3 and other measurements through a single user interface, it also simplifies the solution by removing the need for RT-Eye Opt. SST.

Direct Synthesis and Device State Control in a Single Instrument

The AWG7102 Arbitrary Waveform Generator with Opt. 01 (64M waveform length) and Opt. 06 (20GS/s interleaving) is a key component of the TekExpress Serial ATA Compliance Solution. It provides state control for the device or host under test as well as direct synthesis of the waveform patterns (impaired and unimpaired) needed for testing.

In SATA, state control is required to initiate a BIST-L (Build-In Self Test – Loopback) sequence to the device under test from its receiver port. This is used for all measurement test suites: transmitter, receiver, and channel. Other solutions attempt to initiate the BIST-L with an off-the-shelf host system or a digital generator and then try to apply the appropriate pattern for testing. This often requires the user to disconnect the BIST-L source from the device and then re-connect to a second source causing many devices to fall out of BIST-L mode. This leads to frequent rework and wasted time.

For signal impairment, alternative solutions require a multitude of sources to create the proper signal impairment (jitter and amplitude loss) for receiver testing. These include a pattern generator, a noise source, and a sinusoidal jitter source. This configuration is difficult to setup and even more difficult to duplicate reliably at different sites. With the AWG7102, the signal impairment is synthesized digitally with a single setup file so it can be reproduced reliably. Further, it can also transition seamlessly from BIST-L initiation to a digitally impaired signal, a unique capability of a high-speed arbitrary waveform generator.

Receiver Margin Testing

While the SATA RSG (Receive Signaling Group) test is a Pass/Fail test on whether the receiver can tolerate a laboratory grade impaired framed composite test signal, designers will want to know ‘how much margin do I have?’ TekExpress SATA software provides both a Pass/Fail RSG test and receiver margin testing (RMT). When the RMT test is selected, Jitter is synthesized at different frequencies and amplitudes increasingly until errors are detected on the frame error analyzer. A jitter tolerance curve is then created that shows where the device fails. This information is useful in validating the design of the receiver.

Powered by NI TestStand™

The TekExpress automated compliance software uses NI (National Instruments) TestStand to manage and execute its test sequences. A Windows user interface is provided in the TekExpress software for simple and complete operation of compliance measurements. However, if your validation and debug needs go beyond the features offered by the TekExpress software, a full version of NI TestStand can be used to develop higher-level automation sequence to control the TekExpress software.

NI TestStand is the de facto industry standard test management environment for automating test and validation systems. NI TestStand is used to develop, manage and execute test sequences, to integrate test modules written in any test programming language through an open and flexible architecture. Customers who own NI TestStand and purchase the TekExpress software will be able to write scripts using NI TestStand that call the TekExpress software with a limited command set. The limited command set allows the NI TestStand user to recall and save TekExpress software setups, start execution, query current execution status and receive measurement results.

For device validation, it’s often desirable to make multiple runs of a single device using different operating conditions such as temperature and power supply voltages. This is sometimes referred to as ‘four corners testing,’ (testing to low-high temperature and low-high supply voltages). For four corners testing, NI TestStand supports drivers for a wide range of temperature chambers and power supplies. NI TestStand can be used to control the temperature chamber and then call the TekExpress software for a compliance test using the limited command set. For adjusting power supply voltages, the power supply control sequence file within the TekExpress software can be modified using a standard NI TestStand sequence file. Thus, if your company already uses TestStand for automation, your test engineers can incorporate commands to run the TekExpress compliance software directly into their test sequences.