Question from the Customer:

We have the Beagle 5000 v2 Protocol Analyzer - Standard Edition and we have used it for triggering for USB 3.0 traffic.  For example, we have set  it up with the  trigger to capture an ACK (acknowledgement) packet,  but we don't see how to set it up to trigger on NRDY (not ready).  Is that possible with the standard edition, or do we need get an upgrade for Complex Triggering?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! You can definitely set up complex triggers with the Beagle 5000 V2 analyzer, and it is very easy to do that with the Data Center Software. Here are the steps:

1. At the Menu Bar (at the top), select Analyzer and then select Device Settings.
2. When the Device Settings dialog opens, select the USB tab and then click the Addition Settings button.
   

   Figure 1: Select Device Settings

3. In the Additional Settings dialog that opens up, select the USB 3.0 Matching tab, click the Complex button and make sure the Enabled box is checked.
4. Click New Match Action and from the drop menu select DS Data Match (DS is downstream, and US is upstream).
   

   Figure 2: Select the Downstream Data Match

5. In the DS Data Match Configuration dialog, for Packet Type select Header Packet. The dialog now shows you the options that you can use for a complex match.  Here, you can enter the desired binary pattern by replacing the X characters with "1" or "0". To make it easier, you can select Type options that will enter the important data patterns for you.
6. Click Type and select Transaction Packet from the drop menu. The dialog box becomes more detailed, as shown.
7. Click SubType and select NRDY from the drop menu.
8. If desired, you can further specialize the pattern for your trigger by replacing "X" with "1" or "0".
   

   Figure 3: Set Up the Complex Match to Trigger

As you can see, you can trigger on many different events. The Beagle USB 5000 analyzer is very flexible tool built for many different testing conditions.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual
• Data Center Software User Manual
• USB Background

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our protocol analyzers or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

What to use:

The Promira  Serial Platform, together with the SPI Active Level 1 and SPI Active Level 2 Applications make an excellent tool for programming low voltage Dual SPI Flash devices. You can use the Promira platform with the Control Center Serial Software, and see how easy it is to provide up to 200 mA at the selected voltage level, and program and verify your target SPI device.

Figure 1: Promira Platform with SPI Flash Demo Board	Figure 2: Control Center Serial Software

Reap the benefits of  the Promira platform and the SPI Active - Level 2 Application:

• Program EEPROM, Flash, or other SPI memory, in Single or Dual I/O mode
• Up to 200 mA of power to embedded project, at voltage levels from 0.9 V - 3.45 V
• SPI Master speed up to 40 MHz
• SPI Slave speeds up to 20 MHz
• 1 default response plus 8 unique slave responses of up to 256 bytes/response
• Single slave response of up to 256 bytes
• Use up to 12 GPIOs
• Up to 3 Slave Selects (configurable, shared with GPIO)
• Software configurable Slave Select (SS) polarity in master mode

Note: To use the SPI Active - Level 2 Application, the SPI Active - Level 1 Application must also be installed.

The Control Center Serial Software is an easy to use GUI that allows you to easily interface with your slave device, It includes the ability to program in batch mode, which makes running repetitive commands significantly easier.  The batch scripts can be saved as XML files that you can use as-is or modify as needed.

Following is a summary of how to set up and then program your SPI Dual Flash device:

Set up the tools:

1. Connect the Promira platform to the Control Center Serial Software on your lab computer
2. Connect the Promira platform to the target device
3. Configure the Promira platform for Multi I/O SPI
4. Configure the desired voltage level for powering the target device
5. Configure the desired bitrate
6. Configure the Promira platform for Dual SPI Mode
7. Initialize the target device and read the device ID

Figure 3 below shows an example of this configuration in the Transaction Log:

Figure 3: Configure Promira for Dual SPI Mode

Write, Read, and Verify

1. Initialize the target device and erase the data sector
2. Write data to the device
3. Read and verify the data from the device

Figure 4 below shows the results in the Transaction Log:

Figure 4: Transaction log from Reading and Writing  Dual SPI Flash Device

Want to learn more? For a complete set of instructions, refer to our knowledge base article Programming a Dual SPI Flash Using the Promira Serial Platform and the Control Center Serial Software. The example in the article uses the Flash SOIC-16 Socket Board - 10/34. Don’t worry if you don’t have the same board, you can easily modify the setup for your environment.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Promira Serial Platform User Manual
• Control Center Serial Software User Manual
• Programming a Dual SPI Flash Using the Promira Serial Platform and the Control Center Serial Software
• Flash Socket Board - 10/34 User Manual

If you have questions about our Promira Serial Platform or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

We need to analyze the USB communication between a smartphone and a prototype board equipped with a custom embedded USB chip. We'll be testing the USB link over various periods, from 5 minutes to 24 hours, maybe longer. The tests will be run at USB full speed. What we need is to:

• Be able to save a record of the USB communication for at least 24 hours.
• Evaluate the quality of the USB signals over the entire capture session.

Which USB Protocol Analyzer do you recommend for this project?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! Assuming that your smartphone and board are using high-speed USB (480Mbps) connections, we recommend using either the Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer or the Beagle USB 480 Power Analyzer  – Standard or Ultimate Editions. To save vast amounts of data over long periods, we also recommend using the Beagle API Software, vs the Data Center Software along with our analyzers.

	Figure 1: Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer	Figure 2: Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer

When using any of our USB analyzers with the Data Center Software , the captured data is stored in the RAM of the analysis PC. Considering the extensive tests that you will be running, you may need to capture more data than the computer's RAM can support.  That being the case, we suggest using the Beagle API Software. The API allows you to write a custom program for running your test as well as store data in a hard drive or flash drive instead of the computer’s RAM.

Here is a summary of the non-intrusive Beagle USB analyzers that will work for your smartphone traffic project:

• The Beagle 480 Protocol Analyzer  is a non-intrusive monitor for high-speed, full-speed, and low-speed USB 2.0 (480 Mbps / 12 Mbps / 1.5 Mbps). The Beagle 480 analyzer has real-time USB class-level decoding with the Data Center software, two capture modes: real-time and delayed-download, high-speed USB chirp detection, robust automatic speed detection, hardware-based packet suppression, and digital inputs and outputs for synchronizing with external logic. The Beagle 480 analyzer can also detect suspend/resume events and unexpected signals. In addition, the Beagle 480 analyzer has a software circular buffer mode (a rolling 1 GB of space in the analysis PC’s RAM).
• The Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer – Ultimate Edition  has all of the capabilities of the Beagle 480 analyzer plus additional features including: real time current and voltage monitoring, enhanced USB 2.0 advanced triggering, and extra-large hardware buffer. The Beagle 480 power analyzer has a hardware circular buffer of 256 MB capacity plus a large hardware circular buffer.
  

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual
• Data Center Software User Manual
• API Documentation

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our protocol analyzers or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I have a project that involves integrating and testing devices on a CAN bus, and I'm looking at your Komodo CAN Solo and Komodo CAN Duo Interfaces. Which one would be best to use for executing read and write commands simultaneously from different threads? Also, what software package do you recommend using for this application?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! To simultaneously execute read and write commands, our Komodo CAN Duo Interface will work best for you. Read and write commands can be executed simultaneously from different threads, when you send the commands through two of the different virtual ports on the Komodo Duo interface. The Komodo CAN Solo Interface, on the other hand, has only one port and can only execute commands one at a time.

For other applications, with synchronization and a locking mechanism, threaded commands can also be executed from the same port (but not simultaneously).

	Figure 1: Komodo DUO CAN Interface

Following are the specifications about the Komodo CAN Duo  Interface:

• Transfer rate up to 1 Mbps
• Independent galvanic isolation
• 8 configurable GPIOs
• USB 2.0 full-speed, bus-powered
• Two independent customizable CAN channel, with the protection of independent galvanic isolation per CAN channel.

There are currently a few software packages available for use with either Komodo interface - Komodo GUI Software, Data Center Software, and Komodo API Software. For your application, we recommend using the API software.

• The Komodo Software API can be used to control the Komodo interface, and to customize a program for specific setup requirements. The Komodo API supports multiple OS (Windows, Linux, and Mac), multiple languages (C, Python, Visual Basic, and C#), and includes examples that can be used as-is or customized for your specific needs. You would need to use the API to simultaneously execute your read and write commands.
• The Komodo GUI Software provides full access to all Komodo interface functionality – there is no need to write custom software to control the Komodo interface, easily configure GPIO settings, use the Batch Mode to deliver specific CAN data packets, and more.
• The Data Center Software is a bus monitoring software that displays real-time captured CAN bus data, which can then be filtered. This software simplifies your work by eliminating the need to write custom software to control the Komodo interface, helps with data you analys, and offers multiple views, such as Block and Hierarchical.
  For more information about Komodo API, please refer to the section 5 of the Komodo CAN Interface User Manual. For details about threading, please refer to section 3.8.3 of the Komodo CAN Interface User Manual.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Komodo CAN Interface User Manual
• Komodo API Documentation
• Komodo GUI Software User Manual
• Data Center Software User Manual

We hope this answers your questions. If you have other questions about our CAN interfaces or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I have three Aardvark SPI/I2C Host Adapters that I have been using to control three SPI slave devices. I'm starting a design where I'll need to control more than thee SPI devices - what are my options? Can the Promira Serial Platform provide multiple SPI slave select (SS) signals? Also, similar to the Aardvark adapter, is there support for LabVIEW and Matlab?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your questions! The Promira Serial Platform is a robust and advanced serial device that we strongly recommend for your projects. With the SPI Active - Level 1 Application, the Promira platform supports one SS signal. Add the SPI Active - Level 2 Application, and you have three SS signals. Later this year, SPI Active - Level 3 Application will be available with support for up to eight SS signals, in addition to many other new features.

	Figure 1: Promira Serial Platform

SPI Active - Level 2 Application

Note: The SPI Active – Level 1 Application is a pre-requisite for using this application.

In general:

• Single and Dual I/O support
• Use up to 12 GPIOs
• Provide up to 200 mA of power to target devices
• Signal voltage levels from 0.9- 3.3V, 3.45V and 5V
• Communicate via Ethernet or Ethernet over USB

In Master mode:

• Up to 3 Slave Selects (configurable, shared with GPIO)
• 1 default response plus 8 unique slave responses of up to 256 bytes/response
• Software configurable Slave Select (SS) polarity
• Speeds up to 40 MHz
• Single slave response of up to 256 bytes

In Slave mode:

• Speeds up to 20 MHz

SPI Active - Level 3 Application

The SPI Active - Level 3 Application is scheduled for release later this year. Here are the additional key features that will be provided:

Note: Both the SPI Active – Level 1 Application and SPI Active – Level 2 Application are pre-requisites for using SPI Active – Level 3 Application.

In general:

• Single, Dual, and Quad I/O support
• Use up to 16 GPIOs
• Provide up to 200 mA of power to target devices
• Signal voltage levels from 0.9- 3.3V, 3.45V and 5VCommunicate via Ethernet or Ethernet over USB

In Master mode:

• 8 Slave Select signals (configurable, shared with GPIO)
• 1 default response plus 32 unique slave responses of up to 64 MB total
• Software configurable Slave Select (SS) polarity
• Speeds up to 80 MHz

In Slave mode:

• Speeds up to 20 MHz

Promira LabVIEW drivers are available, as well as example programs that you can use as is or modify for your custom application. For more information and guidelines about using LabVIEW, please refer to our knowledge base articles.

	Figure 2: Promira LabVIEW Drivers

Although we do not provide MATLAB drivers, many customers have them  and we also offer some Knowledge Base articles on the topic such as “How To Use Total Phase Products With MATLAB”. This article provides guidelines about using the API Software to integrate Matlab with the Aardvark adapter. You can modify that information for the Promira platform. For details about Promira API Software, please refer to section 6 of the Promira Serial Platform User Manual.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Promira Serial Platform User Manual
• Promira API Documentation
• How To Use Total Phase Products With MATLAB
• Total Phase Knowledge Base

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our host adapters or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I just started using the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter with the Flash Center Software and it works really well. I have a question about the bit rate speed. I don't always need the default bit rate speed of 50,000 kHz. In fact, most of the time, 40,000 kHz works with the SPI memory devices I control and program. A few devices work at slower speeds, but not many.

Each time I turn on the Cheetah adapter, I have to change the bit rate from the default speed. Is there a way I can update the default bit rate so that I don't have to modify it each time?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! You can easily set the default bit rate of the Cheetah adapter with the Flash Center Software. There are two ways to do this – both are quite easy.

	Figure 1: Cheetah SPI Host Adapter	Figure 2: Flash Center Software Intuitive GUI

• You can use the Device Control Panel, and select the desired speed parameter from the bit rate dropdown menu. For speeds greater than 32 kHz, you can type in the desired speed, and Flash Center will remember the speed and part the next it is opened.

	Figure 3: Flash Center Software - Device Control Panel

• Alternatively, you can edit the XML file of the device that you are working with. This enables you to set the desired bit rate speed for each SPI device - you will not have to modify the bit rate speed after setting up the speed parameter in the SPI device's file.  For example, for 40,000 kHz, set the maxBit field in the selected XML file as follows:   <maxBit rate>40*1000</maxBit rate>.

In addition to setting the bit rate, the Flash Center Software, you can quickly erase, program and verify devices, use multiple host adapters in parallel, and view the activity in real time. Also, we provide an extensive XML library that is constantly updated, supporting more devices. This allows you to communicate with many SPI devices from several manufacturers - and because it's XML, you can easily adapt or create your own file for custom devices, or for devices that are not currently supported.

The information that you need to set up communication with devices that are not already in the XML library is easy to obtain. Most often, it is the basic information provided in the device specifications of the manufacturer's data sheet.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Cheetah SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• Flash Center Software User Manual

We hope this answers your questions. If you have other questions about our serial platforms, board accessories or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I saw your knowledge base article that describes how to program multiple images into SPI flash at a different offset, and I used it for the Aardvark I2CSPI Host Adapter: Programming a Single Sector of an SPI Flash Using the Cheetah Adapter and Flash Center. I followed the instructions in that article, but found the write times to be too long. In my case, the first image size is 500 kB. It took around 1-2 minutes to program the file into offset 0, sector 0.  The second image is only 4 kB, but it took five minutes to program it into offset 3F0000, sector 63 of the flash.

Is there a way to improve the speed? Can I directly tell the Flash Center Software which offset addresses for programming different sectors?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! The Flash Center Software provides advantages to quickly erase, program and verify I2C and SPI memory devices. However, the architecture of the Flash Center tool causes it to start at offset 0, which includes when you are programming a different sector within a device.  As shown in step 13 of that knowledge base article, you are filling the earlier sectors with 0xFF or all "ones" to not change the previously programmed values.

	Figure 1: Example of Programming Sectors Using the Flash Center Software

The Flash Center algorithm then writes the 0xFF values to the sectors 0 through 62 before writing to the 63rd sector. In effect, you are programming the whole device and programming the last sector can take as long as programming the entire image.

We do have more tools available, and they will make your work much faster. For your project, we recommend using the Aardvark Software API, which supports the C, C#, VB, .NET and Python programming languages. The API provides working examples that you may use as-is or modify to meet your specific needs. One example file provided, aaspi_eeprom.py, is specifically for programming an EEPROM.  You can easily adapt this program for your use in programming your flash device.

For example, for your SPI flash memory, you could choose a specific offset directly in your code to start the write process to the flash device. This way, writing pages or sectors would be much faster than with the Flash Center Software - you can start the write cycle at any page within the device. For more information about API software, please refer to section 5 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI User Manual.

You can also look at a Promira Software API example, which we provide for our Promira Serial Platform, that programs the N25Q series of flash memory devices from Micron.  The Promira API is different from the Aardvark API - it is an applicable reference and provides useful guidelines. For details about Promira API, please refer to section 6 of the Promira Serial Platform User Manual.

	Figure 2: Promira Serial Platform

Question from the Customer:

I'm working on a project with a colleague who is in a different geographic location. He has collected data capture containing SPI traces from your Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer and shared a .tdc file with me. I don’t have the analyzer or any other Total Phase products – how can I open this capture file?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! You do not need a Total Phase product or even to purchase any software to view the file. Total Phase software are free to download from the website. In this case you can view the data capture file using the Data Center Software. The Data Center Software is a free bus monitoring software that captures and displays USB, I2C, SPI, and CAN bus data in true real time through the Beagle line of hardware protocol analyzers, as well as our Komodo line of CAN interfaces. It is the only protocol analysis software in the industry with true real-time performance and cross-platform support for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. Simply download the Data Center Software from our web site.

	Figure 1: Data Center Software

After you download and install the Data Center Software, you can open the .tdc file and view the captured SPI traces in great detail. The screen capture below displays an example of what the data looks like when you open the file.

	Figure 2: Data Center Software – Data Display

 

As you can see above in Figure 2, your view of the data would be identical to that of your colleague’s. You are able to use all primary features of Data Center, such as the search and filter functions.

You can take a “close-up” look at the SPI transactions, such as the bit-level timing. To look at bit-level timing, follow the steps below:

1. Click on the transaction of interest. In this example, row 28 was selected. (Figure 3)
2. From the menu bar at top, click View and then select Details.
3. The Details view appears in the lower left corner of the Data Center display. Click the Timing tab. (Figure 4)
   

   	Figure 3: View Details	Figure 4: Timing Details

    

4. In this example, the timing for 1-bit data shifting is shown in nanoseconds: Timing (ns). Fun Fact: You can calculate the clock frequency with the number you see in bit-level timing. The time to shift 1 data bit is shown as 1000 ns, which indicates the clock frequency is 1 MHz

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual
• Data Center Software User Manual
• SPI Background

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our protocol analyzers or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

 

 

Question from the Customer:

I’m using the Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer and I could use some advice. I am testing SPI devices, transmitting and receiving 14 bytes of data; each pair (MISO and MOSI) is exchanged during the single byte transfer. The data is bidirectional – I’m receiving data from the master and sending the master a byte of data during the same 8 clock cycles. I want to view the data specifically when MOSI = 0xEE AND MISO = 0x6D.  Can I trigger captures for that specific bit pattern?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! For the data condition that you want to view, we recommend using the Beagle analyzer and the Data Center Software. Together, they can filter the data you have defined.  The triggering feature that you are looking for is not available - but  with the Data Center Software, you can use the LiveFilter feature almost like a trigger to filter a specific data pattern to focus on the data that you need to see.  Simply apply the filter to focus on your event(s) of interest, and disable the filter to view the context of the event: see all the transactions that occurred before and after your event.

	Figure 1: Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer	Figure 2: Data Center Software

	Figure 3: Data Center Software - Filter Data

1. To set up the filter, click the LiveFilter tab. See Figure 3.
2. In the text fields, enter the data patterns that you want to filter. In this case, EE for MOSI Data and 6D for MISO Data.
3. To enable this pattern, click the checkmark  button.

There are many options for filtering and capturing data. For more information about filtering a capture, please refer to section 4.8 of the Data Center Software User Manual.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual
  
• Data Center User Manual
  

We hope this answers your questions. If you have other questions about our protocol analyzers or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com or submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

We have a product with a processor that is connected to a peripheral device via high-speed USB. The processor and the peripheral are on the same board and the USB lines are connected by copper traces. We want to monitor the USB traffic with our Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer. Because the USB signal lines between the processor and peripheral device are in copper, we cannot insert the Beagle analyzer in series - instead, we want to connect the Beagle by tapping into the USB signals in parallel. Is this possible? We're pretty sure we need some series resistors - but not sure what resistance value to use and how to make that connection. Can you help us with this?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! Yes, you can definitely use your Beagle USB 480 analyzer to monitor the traffic over copper traces.  Monitoring an embedded USB with a Beagle USB Protocol Analyzer is fairly simple, and we have an article addressing just that in our Knowledge Base.  Here's an overview of the article:

Set Up

To monitor the D+/D- signal path of a USB bus, you don't have to "break" those lines. The VBUS, GND, D+, and D- lines can be connected to either the Type A or Type B connector on the Beagle analyzer using "T" connections, as shown below.

	Figure 1: Connect a Beagle USB Protocol Analyzer to an Embedded USB

Question from the Customer:

We are considering using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter for development. We will be using it as an I2C slave device -- we have some questions:

1. Can the Aardvark adapter accept the I2C signal driven from the I2C client driver of an embedded device on a development board running Linux? What is the hardware connection from the development board to the Aardvark adapter?
2. What is the I2C address of the Aardvark adapter?
3. Would a Level Shifter Board be needed when using the Aardvark adapter as a slave?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your questions! Here is the information for you and your colleagues:

1. As an I2C slave, the Aardvark can be connected to any I2C master that follows the I2C standard; connecting to an embedded development board running Linux should be no problem. For additional information about I2C standards, please refer to the Total Phase knowledge base article I2C Background as well as www.dmoz.org. For information about the Aardvark adapter pinouts and connectors, please refer to section 2.1 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual.
   

   	Figure 1: Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter

1. The Aardvark I2C slave address can be assigned to any 7-bit I2C slave address that follows the I2C standard using any of our software tools: Control Center Serial Software, Flash Center Software, or Aardvark Software API. If you are using multiple Aardvark adapters as slave, you may find it useful to obtain the unique ID of the Aardvark adapter; you can do this through the  Aardvark Software API command aa_unique_id for the serial number of the Aardvark adapter. This can be useful should you run a project that uses multiple Aardvark adapters, and you need to identify the data sources. For details about API, please refer to section 5 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host.
2. The Aardvark adapter logic level is 3.3V. The Level Shifter Board is beneficial when interfacing with other logic levels from 1.2V to 3.3V. For more information please refer to this article that explains interfacing the level shifter board with the Aardvark adapter:  Programing I2C EEPROM Using Aardvark Adapter, Level Shifter Board and Control Center.
   For built-in level shifter capability, as well as greater speed, providing power to the target device, Ethernet connectivity and  many other advanced features, we recommend the Promira Serial Platform  with the I2C Active - Level 1 Application. The Promira platform features will continue to advance, as we are continuously developing and providing more advanced Active-Level applications for I2C as well as SPI protocols.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter Quick Start Guide
• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• Control Center Serial Software User Manual
• Flash  Center Software User Manual
• Aardvark API Documentation
• Level Shifter Board User Manual
• Promira Serial Platform User Manual
• I2C Background

We hope this answers your questions. If you have other questions about our host adapters or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I am using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter in SPI mode and I’ve set up a MISO message in the Control Center Software. The transaction log shows that MISO data has been written on the bus.

Looking at the SPI traffic out of the Aardvark on an oscilloscope I noticed that the slave select (SS) line idles low. This differs from the behavior of the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter. With the Aardvark adapter, in the case of an active low chip select, the chip select returns to the high state after the data is sent.

	Figure 1: SPI Signals Viewed on an Oscilloscope

What can I do to avoid SS from idling in the low state? My concern about this - if there are any glitches on the click line, will data get shifted into the slave device!

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! The Cheetah SPI Host Adapter, which functions exclusively as a high-speed SPI master, has different signaling characteristics than that of the Aardvark adapter.  The Aardvark adapter is meant to be a general purpose device that can function as either master or slave for both SPI and I2C bus protocols.  When the Aardvark adapter is used as an SPI Master, the slave select line (SS) is actively driven low. The MOSI and SCK lines are driven as appropriate for the SPI mode. After each transmission is complete, these lines are returned to the high impedance state. This feature allows the Aardvark adapter, following a transaction as a master SPI device, to be reconnected in another SPI environment as a slave.

To ensure signal integrity, we recommend adding 10 K OHM pull-up resistors on the SS, MOSI and SCLK signals on the SPI slave target device that is connected to the Aardvark adapter. Using pull-up resistors will prevent voltage fluctuations when the Aardvark adapter stops driving the signal. For additional information, please refer to section 2.4.3  of the Aardvark I2C SPI Host Adapter Manual.

	Figure 2: SPI Timing Characteristics

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
  

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our host adapters or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I have an Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter and have been successfully using the Control Center Serial Software for programming I2C memory devices. I am wondering if I can use the Aardvark adapter for a heavier workload, such as a scripting - sending multiple pre-defined commands one after the other. Is something along those lines possible with your software?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for yours question! You can write/read I2C/SPI data with the Aardvark adapter using Control Center Serial Software, Flash Center Software, and Aardvark Software API. Each software tool provides the ability to customize scripts as needed.

Looking at what you described, there are two options: you can use the batch mode in the Control Center software or the Aardvark Software API.  The batch mode allows you to write an xml script to perform repetitive tasks serially.  If you have a need for more complex actions such as looping or want to integrate a custom GUI, then the Aardvark API Software will work best for you. It provides the most flexibility and control of the options above.

The Aardvark Software API, can be used for creating customized programs to support the requirements of your setups. Example programs are provided with the API, which may be used as is or edited and customized for your specific requirements. The Aardvark API supports multiple operating systems and program languages, as well as synchronous and asynchronous queuing for complex programs.

For more information, please refer to section 5 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual.

	Figure 1: Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter

Other software tools that are available for the Aardvark adapter include:

• The Control Center Serial Software, in addition to full access Aardvark adapter functionality via GUI, supports batch scripting with the Aardvark XML Batch Script Language. The batch instruction commands support I2C master, SPI master, and GPIO modes. However, the batch Instruction commands do not support the I2C or SPI slave modes. For details about batch scripting, please refer to section 5 of the Control Center Serial Software User Manual.
• The Flash Center Software provides the ability to quickly erase, program, and verify I2C and SPI based EEPROM and flash memory Chips. It has an extensible XML parts library with built-in support for EEPROMs and serial flash chips from major manufacturers. These XML scripts can be modified to work with unreleased prototypes and devices that are not yet supported.

Committed to providing intelligent, robust tools for aggressive test, development and analysis requirements, we have released two new applications for the Promira™ Serial Platform for the advanced high-speed SPI and I2C protocols: SPI Active - Level 3 and I2C Active – Level 2 Applications.

These applications instantly expand the Promira™ Serial Platform features: more powerful, faster, more configurable GPIO ports and enhanced functionalities. In just the first eight months since introducing the Promira platform, Total Phase has released five highly effective, feature rich applications delivering on our promise to make the Promira platform among the most robust and affordable tools available.

The concept for the Promira platform is to enable our customers to have exactly the tools they need when they need them – there’s no need to overbuy to get capabilities that are not immediately required. Customers can buy only what they need today and expand their capabilities with new, state-of-the-art functionality when new projects require more advanced capabilities.

Features of Promira Serial Platform Applications

Our engineers have designed each application to support the ever-increasing requirements of embedded device design and to work towards delivering the most advanced SPI and I2C protocol device to meet the needs of this growing market. Including the ability to download any application and immediately update your Promira platform as needed and in the field - you don't have to wait for shipment and delivery. With the user-friendly software tools and the easily customized Software API, you can interact with your devices and get the real-time information that you need when you need it.

Experience the Power of the Promira Serial Platform	The New Promira Platform Brings IoT One Step Closer

Here are the capabilities of our fourth and fifth generation applications:

SPI Active – Level 3 Application Features

• Protocols Supported: SPI Single, Dual and Quad I/O
• Master Clock Speed: 80 MHz
• Slave Clock Speed: 20 MHz
• Chip/Slave Select: 8
• Single slave response of up to 256 bytes, variable word length
• Software configurable Slave Select (SS) polarity in master mode
• Memory Programing: EEPROM, Flash, or other SPI memory
• UP to 16 GPIO ports
• Voltage Levels: 0.9-3.45, 5
• Target Power: 2 independent, 1 programmable (0.9-3.45 V), 1 switchable (3.3-5 V), 100 mA each
• Connection Types: High Speed USB, Ethernet 10/100

I2C Active – Level 2 Application Features

• Master Clock Speed: 3.4 MHz
• Slave Clock Speed: 3.4 MHz
• Slave Response: 8 responses +1, 256 bytes/unique response
• No inter-byte delays
• Memory Programming: EEPROM, or other I2C memory
• UP to 12 GPIO ports
• Voltage Levels: 0.9-3.45, 5
• Target Power: 2 independent, 1 programmable (0.9-3.45 V), 1 switchable (3.3-5 V), 100 mA each
• Connection Types: High Speed USB, Ethernet 10/100

The excitement around the Promira platform continues to build as we continue to develop and explore the addition of more protocols to the Promira Application library.

Note: Promira platform applications are offered in sequence - previous versions of a protocol application must be installed before using the most recent releases.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Promira Serial Platform Quick Start Guide
• Promira Serial Platform User Manual
• I2C Active – Level 2 Application
• SPI Active – Level 3 Application

If you have other questions about our Promira Serial Platform or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I am working on an IoT product development. In this project, there are several types of I2C slave sensors including accel, mag, gyro, etc. An algorithm will be running in our application based on this sensor data.  What I want to do - simulate the sensor data coming out of sensor to the controller by injecting the pre-collected sensor data via I2C bus.

My question - can I inject a large pool of emulated data via I2C bus to the master controller with the help of python scripts? I searched long and wide for I2C/SPI debuggers that support scripts and the only one I found is the Total Phase Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter. Will you please provide details about using API scripts – and how I can accomplish my goals?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! It sounds like you plan to use the Aardvark adapter as an I2C slave and emulate various sensors in your system. This is definitely possible with the Aardvark Software API and in Python (other programming languages and multiple operating systems are also supported).

	Figure 1: Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter

The Aardvark adapter has the ability to act as an I2C slave, using one I2C address at a time. The Aardvark adapter will respond with one message with a maximum of 64 bytes  when the master issues an I2C read command. You can customize the response message via the API before the master issues a read, and then the Aardvark adapter will respond with that message and automatically wrap if there is a request for more than the supplied response.

The Aardvark adapter will always start responding with the beginning of the set response. If you want the response message to change, you can change it by and set an entirely new message via the API. For details about the API, please refer to section 5 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual.

There may be some system latencies, mainly from the USB subsystem, which results in a “time cost” for each call to the API that gets or sets data on the Aardvark adapter. Set sufficient delays between I2C commands so that you can prepare the Aardvark adapter for the next request. For more information about I2C characteristics, please refer to section 2.3 of the Aardvark 2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual.

For a more robust and flexible  solution, we suggest looking into the Promira Serial Platform. With the appropriate Active Level Application, in your case, the I2C Active - Level 1 Application, as well as the more advanced I2C Active – Level 2 Application, it can easily meet the demands of your project.  The Promira platform supports a wider range of speeds for I2C and SPI, and offers integrated level-shifting for working with sensors at lower voltages.  In addition, the Ethernet port slows for the control of the platform over long distances, which may be especially useful for testing sensors in remote areas.  The Promira Software API is also available for creating the necessary custom applications to test your project.

The following video provides some insight about how the Promira platform supports IoT development.

	Total Phase is Leading the Way to The Internet of Things

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter Quick Start Guide
• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• Aardvark API Documentation
• Promira Serial Platform Quick Start Guide
• Promira Serial Platform User Manual
• Promira API Documentation

We hope this answers your questions. If you have other questions about our host adapters or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I am new to USB and just purchased my first Beagle USB Protocol Analyzer. The product manual does a splendid job explaining how USB works and the Data Center Software User Manual illustrates how easy it is to start a capture.

What I am looking for is a simple, straightforward path to getting started - after I connect the Beagle USB 12 Protocol Analyzer to the software and start capturing the data, what do I do to wade through the data - analyze and debug? Do you have tutorials for the more novice users like myself to get started, and maybe a few other tutorials to help bring me up to a more advanced level?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! In addition to the user manuals, we have many resources for you to learn how to use the Beagle USB 12 Protocol Analyzer. For starters, we recommend the Beagle USB 12 Protocol Analyzer Quick Start Guide. It gives you a good jumpstart about using the Beagle analyzer with the Data Center Software: how to configure the Beagle analyzer for the desired speed, capture USB data, and then save or export the data for future analysis.

	Figure 1: Beagle USB 12 Protocol Analyzer Full/Low speed USB 2.0 Data Descriptor Parsing

For easy to follow demonstrations about using the data, we have two videos that may be useful to you. Both videos refer to using a Beagle 480 analyzer - they also apply to the Beagle 12 analyzer because the Data Center software is used for both devices.

USB Debugging using a Real-Time USB Bus Monitor Video	Using the Bus Tree Feature of the Data Center Software for USB Debugging and Analysis Video

 

• USB Debugging using a Real-Time USB Bus Monitor Video shows how to connect the Beagle analyzer, and examples of how real-time live data can be captured, viewed and filtered with the Data Center Software.
• Using the Bus Tree Feature of the Data Center Software for USB Debugging and Analysis Video shows how to filter data from selected devices, as well as the important descriptor information that you can pick up from the devices under test. For more information about the bus tree feature, please refer to section 5.4 of the Data Center Software User manual.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual
  
• Beagle USB 12 Protocol Analyzer Quick Start Guide
• Data Center Software User Manual
  
• USB Background
  

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our protocol analyzers or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Were you among the crowd of attendees at Colin O’Flynn’s presentation “USSSSB: Talking USB from Python" at ESC Silicon Valley? Jacob Beningo, CSDP, president/consultant for EDN Network, attended O’Flynn’s presentation and agrees, the Total Phase Beagle USB Protocol Analyzer is among the Most Useful Tools for USB Developers. Here's the excerpt from Jacob’s most recent article about the tools he finds most useful for USB debugging and development:

" Hardware Protocol Analyzers

A software protocol analyzer is a great tool provided that the PC is able to recognize the USB device. In an event where the USB clock is off and unable to enumerate, though, a software analyzer isn’t going to be very useful for debugging. Fortunately there is also a hardware protocol analyzer available to embedded developers working with USB. One example is the Total Phase Beagle USB protocol analyzer. The Beagle High Speed (Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer) version costs just a hair over $1000, which is well worth it given the amount of time a debug session could take without the right tools. The Beagle is a hardware protocol analyzer that monitors the bus traffic on the physical pins and is able to not only record but also decode USB traffic in real-time."

Figure 1:Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer	Figure 2: Beagle USB 480 Front Ports

• Independent; not affected by host computer
• Ability to debug embedded hosts
• Detection of:
  • Speed negotiation
  • Low-level bus events
  • Timing issues
  • Transmission errors
• Cross-platform support (GUI runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X)

The Total Phase Data Center Software, connected to the Beagle analyzer, gives you the ability to monitor, display, and filter data in real-time. The data can be parsed, filtered, and for high-speed devices, class-level decoding can be applied, all in real-time. For more complex trouble-shooting, triggers can be set on certain Beagle analyzer models, and digital I/Os can be configured to synchronize with external logic.

Do you have the right tools for the job? Total Phase offers a range of protocol analyzers - check our USB Analyzer Product Guide and see what we have to offer for low, full- and high-speeds, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

Did you know that with the Komodo CAN Duo Interface you can record activity on the bus and export the trace in a format that allows you to edit and make modifications? Once you've done that, you can replay the modified data to simulate changes to your system. I wanted to make sure you were aware of this unique feature of our CAN tool. This feature is specific to the Komodo CAN Duo Interface, as it is a two-channel device.

	Figure 1: Komodo CAN Duo Interface Channel

To use this feature, connect your Komodo CAN Duo Interface to your CAN system and to your analysis PC.  Launch both the Data Center Software and the Komodo GUI Software.  Connect to the device in both pieces of software.  Due to the dual channels on the Komodo interface, it is able to connect to both the Komodo GUI and Data Center Software simultaneously.

In the Data Center Software, start the capture. Next, in the Komodo GUI, configure the data that you want to send in Active CAN Mode. If you are using our CAN/I2C Activity Board, connect to the Activity Board mode and hit Play.

	Figure 2: Komodo GUI Interactive Panel

As data is sent across the CAN bus via the Komodo GUI, the Data Center Software is passively monitoring and capturing all of the CAN data.

Once you have collected the information that you want to replay, hit Stop in both pieces of software. In the Data Center Software, export the data to a Komodo GUI Batch File (.kba). This creates an editable file that you change modify and load into the Komodo GUI Software via Batch Mode to replay data on the system. This allows you to simulate changes on your system.

For more details and complete instructions, please refer to our knowledge base article Sending CAN Messages From Komodo Duo Interface Channel and Monitoring It With The Other Channel Using Komodo GUI and Data Center.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Komodo CAN Interface User Manual
• Data Center Software User Manual
• Komodo GUI Software User Manual
• CAN/I2C Activity Board User Manual

We hope this answers your questions. If you have other questions about our CAN interfaces or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I am using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter and I am trying to connect it to the SMBus compatible NL2020 Standard Smart Li Ion Battery Pack. Unfortunately, I’m not getting an acknowledgement from the battery after executing a read/write command.  Here are the details of my application:

• The address of the battery is 0x16.
• I have the Aardvark adapter’s SCL connected to the battery’s clock, and the SDA line to the battery’s data line, and ground to the battery’s negative terminal.

Can you tell me how to use the Aardvark adapter to communicate with my device? My understanding is that the Aardvark adapter is SMBus compatible.

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! The Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter is definitely compatible with the SMBus protocol, since SMBus is based on I2C. Without knowing the exact commands that are being sent and the instruction set of your NL2020 device, it would be difficult to pinpoint the exact issue. Your command may not be formatted correctly, and therefore unrecognized by the device. On the other hand, it’s possible that the Aardvark adapter is correctly sending data, but the device is not properly configured to respond to that data.

To get a better idea of what is happening on the bus, we highly recommend using our Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer, which supports SMBus decoding, to get more visibility and information.

	Figure 1: Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analzyer

The Beagle analyzer works as a passive tap onto your SMBus lines and displays all the bus traffic sent between the Aardvark adapter and your device in real-time.  It is a great tool to use to debug the communication between masters and slaves, and with the Data Center Software, it allows you to search and filter through the bus data in real-time. 

	Figure 2: Parsed SMbus Traffic as Seen in Data Center Software

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer Quick Start Guide
• Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer User Manual
• Data Center Software User Manual
• SMBus Decoding in Data Center Software
• Differences between I2C and SMBus
  
• SMBus Protocol

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our Host Adapters or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com or submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

We are considering the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter for development - using it as an I2C slave device and have some questions:

1. Can the Aardvark adapter accept the I2C signal driven from the I2C client driver of an embedded device on a development board running Linux? What is the hardware connection from the development board to the Aardvark adapter?
2. What is the I2C address of the Aardvark adapter?
3. Would a Level Shifter Board be needed when using the Aardvark adapter as a slave?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your questions! Following is the information for you and your colleagues are looking for:

1. As an I2C slave, the Aardvark can be connected to any I2C master that follows the I2C standard; connecting to an embedded development board running Linux should be no problem. For additional information about I2C standards, please refer to the Total Phase knowledge base article I2C Background as well as www.dmoz.org. For information about the Aardvark adapter pinouts and connectors, please refer to section 2.1 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual.
   

   	Figure 1: Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter

2. The Aardvark I2C slave address can be assigned to any 7-bit I2C slave address that follows the I2C standard using any of our software tools: Control Center Serial Software, Flash Center Software, or Aardvark Software API.
3. If you are using multiple Aardvark adapters as slaves, you may find it useful to obtain the unique ID of the Aardvark adapter; you can do this through the  Aardvark Software API command aa_unique_id for the serial number of the Aardvark adapter. This can be useful should you run a project that uses multiple Aardvark adapters, and you need to identify the data sources. For details about API, please refer to section 5 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual. The Aardvark adapter logic level is 3.3V. The Level Shifter Board is beneficial when interfacing with other logic levels from 1.2V to 3.3V. For more information please refer to this article that explains interfacing the level shifter board with the Aardvark adapter:  Programing I2C EEPROM Using Aardvark Adapter, Level Shifter Board and Control Center.
4. For built-in level shifter capability, as well as greater speed, providing power to the target device, Ethernet connectivity and many other advanced features, we recommend the Promira Serial Platform with the I2C Active - Level 1 Application. The Promira platform features will continue to advance, as we are committed to continuously developing and providing more advanced Active-Level applications for I2C as well as SPI protocols.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter Quick Start Guide
• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• Control Center Serial Software User Manual
• Flash  Center Software User Manual
• Aardvark API Documentation
• Level Shifter Board User Manual
• Promira Serial Platform User Manual
• I2C Background