Total Phase's CEO, Gil Ben-Dov, sat down with EE Journal's Amelia Dalton to discuss USB Type-C's impact on today's electronics market and the emerging need for cable testing.

Amelia Dalton: Oh, hey, it's you. Welcome to Amelia's Weekly Fish Fry, brought to you by EEJournal.com. I'm Amelia Dalton, and my friends, have you ever had that feeling like you're not in Kansas anymore? That things aren't quite what they seem? And a pair of ruby slippers is ne'er to be seen? Well, we're starting off this week with a little hot-off-the-extreme-physics-presses news you may have missed.

So, what if everything around us, the universe itself, is a hologram? Sure, the idea that we're actually living in a holographic universe has been around since "The Matrix." I mean, the 1990s. But now, a group of researchers from the UK, Canada and Italy, claim that they have substantial proof that our 3D reality is really only contained on a 2D surface. Okay, let's keep rolling with this movie analogy, shall we? Think of it like a 3D film, maybe even starring Keanu Reeves. Mm-hmm? With those funny little glasses we see the objects, actors and their sunglasses all the time, having height, width and, crucially, depth. And actually, in reality, it all originates from a flat 2D screen. A key difference though, in our 3D universe versus those movies, or really, this even extends to recent advances in VR, is that we can actually touch objects and the projection is real from our perspective. Okay. That real thing, that's a whole other run through a rabbit hole we don't have time for today.

Okay. So, what exactly is this substantial proof? Well, it all comes down to recent advances in telescopes and sensing equipment, which has allowed scientists to detect a vast amount of data hidden in the cosmic microwave background of the universe. This cosmic background is a kind of afterglow of the Big Bang, a kind of a white noise that was left over from the moment the universe was created. So, building on this cosmic afterglow white noise information, this multinational team were able to draw comparisons between features in the data and quantum field theory. They found that some of the simplest quantum field theories could explain nearly all cosmological observations of the early universe. This team goes on to contend that Einstein's theory of general relatively explains most almost everything at large scale. But when it comes down to the origins and mechanics at quantum level, well, it starts to break down. This group of researches believes that the concept of a holographic universe has the potential to reconcile Einstein's theory of gravity and quantum theory.

A member of this team, Niayesh Afshordi, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Waterloo, wrapped up this research in a rather interesting way. He said, "Holography is like Rosetta Stone. Translating between known theories of quantum fields without gravity, and the uncharted territory of quantum gravity itself." Wow. If you love this stuff as much as I do, I would strongly encourage you to click the link below the player on this week's Fish Frying page on eejournal.com for more information. Now, even if we are all in the Matrix, we're still gonna need to de-bug and test our designs. Some things are just unavoidable. My guest this week is Gil Ben-Dov, CEO of Total Phase. Gil and I are discussing USB Type-C, the unique testing challenges that this upstart technology sends our way and more. Check it out.

Hi, Gil. Thank you so much for joining me.

Gil Ben-Dov: Thanks for having me, Amelia.

Amelia Dalton: So, first off, for my audience that may not know, what is Total Phase all about?

Gil Ben-Dov: Sure. Total Phase is a test and measurement company. Traditionally, we sell to engineers and we provide tools that help them design and de-bug embedded systems. And recently, we've taken that to the next level. There are some new products on the market, USB Type-C cables that kind of cross the border. They're no longer just simple cables that conduct data or power from point A to point B, they actually have embedded messages and play an active role in your embedded system. So, we've taken a look at taking our traditional embedded system strength and moving it into that new space.

Amelia Dalton: All right. Let's talk about USB Type-C. Now, it seems like testing USB Type-C, and especially its cabling, would be a lot harder than previous USB versions. Do you think this is true, and what are the specific challenges we're looking at here?

Gil Ben-Dov: First, it is absolutely true. So, USB cables prior to Type-C maxed out at data rate of 5 gigabits per second. Now, it's 10 gigabits per second. And while it doesn't sound like it's a huge change, doubling that data rate does make it incredibly more complex to go ahead and pass signals along. It really means that the quality of the cable is more important than ever. Old USB, that is the Type-A that we've become accustomed to over the last many years, could handle anywhere from 500 to 900, and the newest specs were 1.5 amps of power, but always at 5 volts. So, never more than 4 and a half watts of power. Now, all of a sudden, you can go 20 volts and 5 amps. That's 100 watts of power. And 100 watts of power is a lot, 20 times what it used to be, and that means there's more opportunity for, if there is a mistake, a really big problem can happen.

Then, when you combine high-speed data and power on the same cable, and a lot of switching and reassignment of pins and things like that necessary to make the whole protocol work, it becomes a much more complicated thing than ever before. So, there really is no peer for saying, how did they test before? It used to be, if the cable worked, great, if it didn't work it wasn't gonna hurt you. Now, if the cable works, great. If the cable doesn't work it can actually damage your computer, your test equipment, even cause a fire as we can thank Samsung for pointing out. A small battery can cause a lot of damage.

Amelia Dalton: So, you guys just announced the advanced cable tester. So, what does this buy me as an engineer? What are the benefits that this tester provides that other solutions do not?

Gil Ben-Dov: Sure. So, probably first and foremost, what this tester offers, it's the only tester that's ever been created that tests the full capabilities of a USB Type-C cable. So, in the old days, it didn't really have to be tested as thoroughly because if there was a mistake there was no penalty, as it were. The cable doesn't work, it's not gonna hurt anything, because you're not gonna start a fire or damage a system from 5 volts, and that's the end of it. Now, all of a sudden, you have to test it.

So, with the advanced cable tester, you can plug your cable in, and the very first thing we do is we check for shorts and grounds that are gonna go ahead and tell us if that cable is unsafe to operate. We've seen a few of those cases in the news over the last couple of months. There was a case back in March or April where an engineer from Google was buying cables on Amazon. And he actually destroyed his analysis equipment and his ChromeBook Pixel, because there was a wire that was crossed in the cable he bought on Amazon. No warning, it just happened and it was over. There was another case at the very end of August where ANCHOR cable had a recall. There was a blogger named Nathan K, I believe, that was able to demonstrate that this particular cable remembered the contract negotiation from the last device, so that if you had negotiated with, say, a laptop at 15 volts and then plugged that same cable into your phone, it would have fried your phone. So, it's really clear that it's impossible to catch these things off the production line alone, without some form of test afterwards. And that's really where we come in.

What you can do with this cable tester is you can plug in both ends of your Type-C cable, we'll make sure the cable's safe. Once we've verified the cable is safe, we'll then make sure that the resistance on the lines within that cable are within normal limits. That goes back to safety again, because if the resistance is too high, you could cause heat. Heat causes increased resistance and, in turn, increased resistance causes more heat and eventually could lead to that same short or fire that we're concerned about. Once we've done those two things, we then check the E-marker on the cable. It's one of those active components. The key here is, the cable has to broadcast what it's capable of doing. If it turns out the cable broadcasts that it's able to conduct 5 amps of power, but in reality it's only able to conduct 3 amps, we need to flag that because that could result in that same over-current condition that could cause a safety issue. And once we've done all those things together, we can now say, "This cable is fundamentally safe." Then, we check the actual operation of the cable for the purpose intended. So, we check all the other wiring. Is every wire routed to the right place, so that the cable will function correctly? Is the cable able to carry the data rate that the cable was specified to carry?

I'm on a trip right now, in Asia, and I've had the pleasure of going to the market a few times, and I bought four cables so far on this trip. And all four of the four cables I bought in Asia have been unable to meet a passing grade. And that's kind of alarming because, in their own way, each of those cables is dangerous and absolutely none of them is reliable.

Amelia Dalton: Wow. Okay, cool. That's pretty incredible if you think about it. Tell me a bit more about the other types of development and manufacturing tools that Total Phase offers.

Gil Ben-Dov: Sure. So, Total Phase has always been known for making embedded system design and de-bug tools. So, in the USB space, the one we're talking about right now, we make a line of products that are called Beagle. And Beagle products have good noses, which means they're able to sniff out bugs, and that's exactly what we do on USB. You put our device between a host and a device, and it'll go ahead and monitor all the traffic and it'll help you identify, where is miscommunication occurring?

So, on the USB side of the world, we've always been known as a company that develop really good high-speed sniffers. The rest of our business involves other protocols, like I Squared C, SPI and CAN. And what we've done there, in addition to having the powerful sniffing tools, we've also had tools that have been able to be active, that generate traffic and help you stimulate your embedded system to go ahead and respond. With a cable tester, we've kind of combined those both together. Once you plug that cable in, it's actually our cable tester that's gonna stimulate the cable to get it to tell, what does it broadcast itself as? And then, it's gonna be our sniffing side of the world that's gonna revive that signal, decode it and give it to you in a plain format. So, you can actually, in about 15 seconds, push a button and have a test report that says, "Here's everything you need to know about your cable." Is it suitable for my lab? Is it suitable to be sold? Etc.

Amelia Dalton: Excellent. All right, Gil. It's time for your off-the-cuff question. Now, I know you enjoy woodworking outside of Total Phase. What is a recent project you've worked on?

Gil Ben-Dov: Sure. So, absolutely, I love doing woodwork. I'm one of those guys who actually likes to get out and buy the rough lumber, then plane it down to the thickness I need and go from that point. And I think it all starts because, when it comes to work, I get to work with all these really cool companies that do great things, but on a personal basis I just get to help someone else. So, when it comes to home stuff, I like to do things that I can see myself. I think the coolest one I never did is, a friend of mine is having a baby and I actually built a cradle from rough-cut oak that I was able to purchase in the mountains. And it was really cool. When it was all put together, it was an old shaker design and it was put together with absolutely no metal at all. All tongue-and-groove joinery, to go ahead a provide a really sturdy heirloom-type cradle that can be passed down from generation to generation, while it looked pretty cool at the same time.

Amelia Dalton: Wow, Gil. That is super cool. I am thoroughly impressed. Well, I think that's all I have time for today. Thank you so much for joining me.

Gil Ben-Dov: And thanks for having me, I appreciate it.

Amelia Dalton: Hey, have you checkd out EEJournal on social media yet? Well, you should. You can find us at facebook.com/eejournal. If you're into Twitter, you can monitor our tweets at EEJournaltfm, and if LinkdIn is more your thing, sure, you can follow us on LinkdIn as well. And we have a YouTube channel. Keyword, EEJournal. Chock full of all kinds of techie videos and including our very popular Chalk Talk webcast series. And you can subscribe to our EEJournal YouTube channel, as well. Also, by clicking the links below the player on this week's Fish Frying page, you can grab our Fish Frying RRS feed or subscribe to Fish Fry via the iTunes store. And remember, if you want any further information about the stories covered in today's show, just head on over to eejournal.com and look for this week's Fish Frying page.

And thank you, everyone, for tuning in. If you know of any cool new technology, even if your company makes it, it's totally cool. Any fun EE conference coming up that I absolutely should attend, or even the best geeky hotspot in your city, shoot me a line at amelia@eejournal.com or post a comment on our forums on EEJournal. For the week of February 3rd, 2017, I'm Amelia Dalton and you've been fried.

Over the last 2 to 3 decades, technology has become more and more a part of our daily lives, to the point where it has taken over our lives. Take a moment, stop reading this post and look around you. What do you notice? Do you see tech, gadgets, computers, video monitoring? Notice how our lives are surrounded by gadgets and tech appliances. The PC at your desk, the cell phone next to your bed, the Wifi router, shoot your thermostat – all these are examples of how technology has transformed every aspect of our lives. Some for the good and others may not be so good. In this post we are going to look at some of the latest feats in technology and analyze their positive and negative impact on our lives.

Smartphone Revolution

It was just over a decade ago, when cell phones were primarily used for calling and sending texts. However today, the uses of cell phones run the gamut. Phones do everything from taking high-resolution pictures to watching pixel-perfect videos, browsing the internet to playing graphic-intensive games to monitoring your movements. It’s astonishing at how this small device can handle demanding tasks in addition to fulfilling basic communication needs.

The advent of smartphones has simplified our lives immensely. People now connect with their loved ones more frequently and easily through video calls and instant messaging services. Tasks, like creating slides, reading emails, and creating documents don’t require a PC anymore. In a nutshell, smartphone and apps have changed the way we work, communicate and play. In addition, the booming expansion of e-commerce and internet-based companies is directly proportional to the rapid proliferation of smartphones.

While the smartphone revolution has made our lives easy, it has also made us lazy. Today, the whole world is at our fingertips, and thus we don’t have to work or move around like we did previously to get things done. Our sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activities can be partly attributed to the over-dependence on smartphones. This is especially true for the younger generation, who are constantly glued to their cell phones. In the modern era, cell phone addiction is having a negative impact on our lives. Care needs to be taken to deal with this issue in an effective way.

Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

The advancements made by the scientific and engineering community has turned Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics from science fiction to reality. Though we don’t have human-like robots like those depicted in movies, intelligent machines are now a part of our daily lives. Think about advanced drones that are capable of surveillance, tracking, and offensive measures- aren’t such machines highly-intelligent robots? What about automated assembly lines in industrial plants that can handle the manufacturing and packaging of goods on its own? Sophisticated machines that are capable of working with minimal human intervention are sophisticated robots too. Driverless cars are yet another example of AI and robotics. With tech giants like Google, Tesla, and BMW involved in the production of driverless cars, it looks like we are going to see self-driving cars sooner than any of us expected..

While the concept of Robotics and AI sounds exciting, it is not without its flaws. Many people believe that implementation of robotics and AI will lead to mass layoffs and unemployment. We have already seen how factory workers lost their jobs when automated assembly lines were introduced. Now, with driverless cars, intelligent chatbots, and more knocking at the door, it may turn out that drivers and customer support agents are going to have a hard time keeping their jobs.

Future of Technology

With each passing day, technology is growing by leaps and bounds. And despite concerns about unemployment and over-dependence, proper use of technology holds a bright future for us. So, how can technology shape up the future in a better way? Let’s take a look!

Clean Energy

Excessive consumption of fossil fuels has led our planet to the brink of catastrophic consequences. However, technology is helping us deal with this problem by developing clean energy. Development in the field of solar power technology has drastically reduced the cost of solar cells. Generation of electricity through wind turbines has also gained a lot of momentum in the recent years. So, in the near future, technology can help us do away with dependance on fossil fuels and embrace clean and green energy solutions.

Virtual Reality (VR)

Remember Pokemon Go? Well, that was one of the earliest examples of virtual reality going mainstream. Tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Nokia are spending a huge amount of money to make VR experience better for the customers. However, VR is not just about immersive multimedia experience. With time and further developments, VR can be used for communication through holograms, for interacting with 3-D objects and other useful and educational purposes.

Education for all

A considerable number of the global population doesn’t have access to quality education. With the help of the internet, anyone on this planet can have access to not only basic education but also advanced topics. Reputed educational institutions from different countries are already recording lectures and publishing those materials on the Internet for everyone to watch and learn. With better internet connectivity and smartphones, “education for all” won’t be a pipedream anymore.

Flying cars

This sounds straight out of a movie, but flying cars might soon be mainstream. Amazon has already started delivering goods with the help of its drone fleet, and Google is working on building its own powerful drones.
A couple of start-ups are also working on building flying cars. A flying car in all intents and purposes is a drone that is capable of carrying people. There are already a handful of flying vehicle proto-types: Terrafugia has TF-X; Pal-V has the Pal-V1; Indigenous Peoples’ Technology and Education Center (I-TEC) has the Maverick LSA “Flying Car”; and lastly AeroMobil s.r.o. has the AeroMobil 3.0.
These are just a few of the amazing technologies that we will have in the coming years. The future is unpredictable and the possibilities are limitless. What’s next? Teleporting? Anything is possible!

Looking at what tools you can use for your technical advancements? 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 Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter and I heard that batch scripting is supported. Can you show me examples of how to do this?  I’ll be working with I2C devices.

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! The Control Center Serial Software supports XML-based batch scripts, which you can use with the Aardvark I2C/SPI Adapter. With this feature, you can create, run, and save custom batch scripts to automate your tasks.  The scripting language supports I2C, SPI, and GPIO functions.

We have a video that shows you how easy batching is. The Control Center Software used in this video happens to be an older version but it works the same in the current version of Control Center Serial Software.

We also have a couple knowledge base articles that you may found useful – they provide realistic examples with detailed steps:

• Programming I2C EEPROM using Aardvark Adapter and Control Center Batch Mode
• Performing random reads with an I2C slave
  

For details about the batching language, please refer to Batch Instruction Commands in the Control Center Serial Software User Manual.  Additionally, example XML batch scripts are available in the download directory of the Control Center Serial Software.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• Control Center Serial Software User Manual
• Programming I2C EEPROM using Aardvark Adapter and Control Center Batch Mode
• Performing random reads with an I2C slave
  

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.

For ages, engineering has turned imagination and fantasy into something that is tangible and useful. For instance, consider the invention of the wheel as one of the oldest examples of how engineering has transformed our lives. Since the dawn of the industrial age, the importance and influence of Engineering has grown at a blazing speed.

The modern world we live in wouldn’t have been possible without the marvels of engineering - microprocessors, high-speed motors, cellular networks, power grids, automated assembly lines and many others. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to claim that without engineering, our society would have ossified in no time.

Today, the application of engineering spans the spectrum from deep sea exploration to space travel and beyond. In the modern era, it would be extremely difficult to find an avenue where engineering hasn’t left its footprint. From construction to aeronautics, medicine to environment, and even the chair you are sitting in, engineering is everywhere!

Influence of Engineering Across Various Sectors

Let’s take a look at how engineering has contributed to various sectors:

1. Construction

Without Civil engineers, the Hoover Dam, the Burj Khalifa or the Chenab Bridge would have been a distant reality. Engineering has contributed immensely towards the development of infrastructure that is crucial to the sustenance of our civilization. Proper knowledge of civil engineering has not only enabled us to build bridges, dams, tunnels, expressways but also figure out a way to effectively handle traffic congestions, disasters, and other unfavorable circumstances.

2. Medicine

When we talk about the progress in medical science, the image of a biologist or a highly-qualified doctor comes to our mind. But, you will be surprised to know that engineering and medical science goes hand in hand with each other to improve the quality of healthcare. From MRI machines to X-rays and pacemakers to Glucose Level Monitors - engineering has contributed more to medical science than we can fathom.

3. Energy

Have you ever wondered about the technology that powers small household appliances to humongous machines in factories? Of course, it’s the electric current that is conducted by high-tension wires from power stations. But, how are the grids designed? Or, how do you ensure that high-voltage current doesn’t damage your gadgets? Well, you have electric engineers to thank for that. Electrical engineering is helping us generate a massive amount of energy by designing and developing power grids, transformers, commutators, etc. Over the last decade, power generation through sustainable means such as solar and wind energy have been made possible due to the advancements in electrical and other engineering and technology.

4. Environment

Development and deployment of systems that provide drinking water, that is safe for human consumption is one of the major contributions of environmental engineering. Moreover, we also need a mechanism that can reduce pollution and clean up contaminated water bodies, land, and sustain our crops and livestock. Thankfully, the pioneers in environmental engineering are tackling these issues by coming up with new and innovative solutions to minimize pollution making our industrial processes environment-friendly.

Apart from these areas, Engineering has a wide range of applications in automotive, food processing, manufacturing, electronics, avionics, biotechnology, and software industries.

How Engineering is solving complex problems

The basic tenet of engineering has always been about solving complex issues and making our lives simple, safe, happy and productive. If we look through the pages of history, we can see how engineering has solved complex problems. Be it transportation, manufacturing, or even winning wars, engineering has always played a pivotal role in our ventures.

Even today, engineering is helping us create devices, machines, and software that can solve some of our most complex problems. For example, robotics and embedded engineers have already developed robots that can detect and disarm explosive charges. Robots have already been developed to help in the case of fires and disasters to evacuate trapped victims. These systems are being put through rigorous testing and undergoing continuous improvement before they can be deployed on a large scale.

Climate change is a looming disaster; it could be quite disastrous for the human race if left unchecked. Fortunately, engineers and scientists are working together to develop green technologies, low-cost nuclear reactors, and means to harness solar power. These innovations will focus on curbing the amount of pollution humans spill into our ecosystem.

How Engineering Education has Evolved over the Years

As Engineering has evolved over the years, engineering education has also become more specialized. These days, colleges offer multiple streams or engineering such as electronics, electrical, mechanical, automotive, aeronautic, telecommunications, chemical, biotechnology, etc. Mechanical engineering is considered to be an evergreen branch because almost every industry requires engineering graduates from the mechanical specialty. Other than that, the future is looking increasingly bright for software, IT and telecommunications engineering graduates as these fields are closely related to the internet and networking. That being said engineering is all about problem-solving and transforming dreams into reality. So, as long as our desire to build new things doesn’t come to a halt, the importance of Engineering will keep soaring high.

Question from the Customer:

I’m using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter to test an I2C Flash Device. Normally the low-current pull-up resistors built into the Aardvark adapter work just fine with my SPI and I2C chips, but this time it interferes with the I2C device I’m working on. Is there a way to disable the pull-ups on the SDA and SCL lines?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! The pull-up resistors can be disabled using the Control Center Serial Software or the Aardvark Software API. Here are the details:

• The pull-up resistors can be configured (disabled) with the Control Center Serial Software, which has a GUI to easily view and analyze data, as well as save data logs.  XML scripts can be used with this software tool. Functional XML scripts are available, which can be used as is or modified. You can also write up your own XML scripts.
• Aardvark Software API can also be used to configure the pull-up resistors. The commands are listed and described in the API Documentation section of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual. Functional API examples are available, which can be used as is or modified. You can also write up your own API scripts.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• Control Center Software User Manual
• Aardvark API Documentation

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.

What Are the Most Important Features About USB Standard-A and Micro-B Cables? And Type-C too?

For the vendor, the seller, and the consumer, everyone agrees – performance and safety are the most important features of any cable. With advancing technology and market demand, increasing number of devices are shipping with USB Type-C connectors and cables. The importance here is that USB Type-C cables carry more data and more power than previous generations of USB cables.

Whether you are working with USB cables or not, most likely you will soon have a personal device that has a Type-C connector. Most consumer electronics, including mobile phones, laptops, and tablets, are moving to using Type-C cables. According to the 2015 IHS Consumer Electronics Intelligence Service forecast, over 2 billion devices will support USB Type-C by 2019, which means we can expect at least a minimum of that number of cables. Be a smart consumer and make sure your cables are safe.

Be a responsible provider and only offer cables that meet the standards for safety and performance. For the benefit of developers, as well as suppliers and consumers, Total Phase engineers have been working feverishly to deliver the Standard-A and Micro-B Adapters for the Advanced Cable Tester.

What kind of results can you expect with our Advanced Cable Tester? Here’s a library of test results from our engineering team. If you want a bigger view, click here.

Please note, each test result is based on a single cable tested by Total Phase – they do not represent the entire manufactured lot.

For more information about the Advanced Cable Tester – how easy it is to use and the details you can analyze with it - take a look at our video.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Advanced Cable Tester User Manual
• Advanced Cable Tester Quick Start Guide
• Promira Serial Platform System User Manual
• Advanced Cable Tester - Level 1 Application
• Advanced Cable Tester - Level 2 Application

Have any questions? 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 a new product that uses a Cypress GX3 USB to Gigabit Ethernet and a Microwire EEPROM. The setup looks like this:

Can the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter program this EEPROM? DI and DO on the EEPROM are connected together (like a half-duplex SPI) - is that a problem?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question!  The Microwire protocol is similar to SPI; the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter can easily interface with a Microwire device. Regarding the signals, the main difference is the labeling of the IO pins - the signals are compatible.  Don't worry if you experience a variation with the resistor value, that can be addressed with the following suggestion:

IO Pins

If the Aardvark adapter is the SPI master interfacing with a slave Microwire device, connect the pins as follows:

If the Aardvark adapter is an SPI slave  interfacing with the master Microwire device, connect the pins as follows:

Maximum Current
Looking at the circuit, we strongly recommend increasing the value of the series resistor between DO and DI. The maximum current rating of the Aardvark adapter is 10mA. The current design would reach or exceed that threshold.

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 one Komodo CAN Duo Interface. How do I use it to monitor two independent CAN buses?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question!  This is easy to do with the Komodo CAN Duo Interface.  You can use two instances of the Komodo GUI Software or the Data Center Software (or one of each) with channel A and channel B of the Komodo CAN Duo Interface to monitor two CAN buses separately. (The Komodo CAN Solo Interface provides only one channel.)

The Komodo CAN Duo Interface has two independent, customizable CAN channels as well as eight configurable GPIOs. The Komodo CAN Duo interface also has two virtual USB ports (via a single physical USB port). These virtual USB ports make it possible to communicate and monitor via two software instances, and thus two independent CAN buses.

Here’s a preview of how:

With the Data Center Software, you can select the bus to be monitored in the Device Settings as shown below.

With the Komodo GUI, you can select bus in the Connect window as shown below.

For more information, please refer to the section CAN Device Settings of the Data Center User manual and to the section Connect a Komodo Port of the Komodo GUI User Manual. Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Komodo CAN Interface User Manual
• 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’m using the Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer to troubleshoot an embedded device. What’s the best way to capture the signals?  The device is embedded in a system with a complicated cable setup. To avoid signal degradation, my thought is tapping off the D+/D- lines:

1. Soldering wires to the D+/D- lines of my device cable
2. Put a USB Type-A or USB Type-B connector on the end
3. Plug that end into the analyzer

Do you think that would work, or is there a better solution?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! It sounds like you’re on the right path – we have some recommendations to make sure it works for you.

The capture side of the Beagle USB 480 analyzer acts as a USB pass-through. The VBUS, GND, D+, and D- lines can be connected to either the Type-A or Type-B connectors on the Beagle analyzer using T-connections as shown below.

Exactly how you connect to your device depends how the signals can be accessed. Most likely, you will need to cut open a USB cable. To maintain signal integrity, we recommend adding 20-40 Ohm series resistors to D+ and D- between the target system and the Beagle analyzer.  We also recommend keeping the cable as short as possible to maximize the signal.

Here’s a summary on connecting to the signal lines:

• If the signal lines are easily accessible through a header or test pads, then connecting to it is straightforward.
• If the signals are not easily accessible, the wires may need to be soldered directly to IC pins or copper on the PCB. If you need to do this, please be very careful and note that Total Phase cannot be held responsible if equipment is damaged.

For more information, such as whether or not you need to access the VBUS and additional information about signal integrity, please refer to our knowledge base article Monitoring an embedded USB with a Beagle USB Protocol Analyzer.

We hope this answers your question. Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual
• Data Center Protocol Analyzer Software
• Monitoring an embedded USB with a Beagle USB Protocol Analyzer

If you have questions about our 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.

A Host Bus Adapter (HBA) is a circuit board or integrated circuit adapter that provides physical connectivity between a host system (computer or server) and networks and storage devices. Apart from the physical connectivity, an HBA also performs input/output (I/O) processing. With an HBA, the host computer’s microprocessor doesn’t have to perform data storage and retrieval operations, resulting in a performance boost.

So, what kind of components can be connected with the help of an HBA? Well, you can connect Serial ATA (SATA) devices, Fiber Channels and SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) too. In addition, the component that connects IDE, USB, Ethernet are often referred to as HBAs or simply Host Adapters.

You have heard about the NIC, right? It’s the same card that allows your personal computer to connect to a LAN. Even though a Network Interface Card (NIC) does fit the definition of an HBA, it is not often called an HBA and more commonly referred to as a NIC.

Apart from the physical connectivity, is there any other benefit of using a Host Bus Adapter Card? The answer to this question is pretty straightforward. The HBA card handles all the communication with the connected devices such as SATA or SSCI or any other HBA compatible device. So, the computer doesn’t have to use its internal resources for communicating with the devices, thereby improving the performance of the host computer system.

SCSI Adapters

Now that you have a grasp on what the HBA do, let us discuss the SCSI Host Bus Adapters, also known as SCSI adapter.

From its name, we can already infer that SCSI adapters are used to connect SCSI devices to a host computer. It’s worth mentioning that SCSI adapters allow the host system to boot from the connected SCSI devices. Also, the end user can also configure the connected SCSI device with the help of a driver that is installed in the host computer’s OS. When you connect a number of SCSI devices through the adapter, the SCSI adapter starts issuing commands to the connected devices.

Uses of HBA

Let us take a look at some of the most important uses of an HBA card.

• Provide a physical connection between a host computer and compatible devices/network.
• Perform Input/Output processing.
• Transfer data between the connected devices and the host computer.
• Free up resources of the host computer by conducting the data storage and retrieval operations on its own.

Role of HBA card in the Embedded Systems development industry

Host Adapters play a very important role in the embedded systems development industry. With the help of Host Bus Adapters, you can seamlessly connect your computer to embedded systems environments and develop, program or debug.

For instance, the Aardvark™ I2C/SPI Host Adapter allows you to interface with your embedded environment through I2C or SPI protocols as a master or a slave.

Programmers who are looking for fast programming can also use Host Adapters to seamlessly develop their applications. The Cheetah™ SPI Host Adapter is one such high-speed adapter with the ability to communicate over SPI at 40+ MHz.

For CAN bus based developmental tasks, embedded engineers use the Komodo™ CAN Duo Interface to inject data on the Bus.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Aardvark™ I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• Cheetah SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• Komodo™ CAN Interface User Manual

Protocol analyzers are indispensable tools for an embedded systems engineer. They allow engineers to gain insight into USB, I2C, SPI, CAN, etc., data that travels over the communication channel or bus. Some devices capture this information and then display it post capture, while others display the data in real-time as its transmitting. So, it’s easy to understand why protocol analyzers are so important in the world of embedded design, development and debugging processes.

Uses of protocol analyzers

Protocol analyzers work by capturing the data across an the communication bus in embedded systems. With the help of protocol analyzers, engineers and developers can design, debug and test their designs through the entire development life-cycle of a hardware product.

A protocol analyzer is intended for use with specific serial or parallel bus architecture. Quite often, these devices are also known as bus analyzers or network analyzers. They can also be used for analyzing network traffic on LAN, PAN, and even wireless networks.

With the help of protocol analyzers, you can monitor bus data continuously and decode it. The captured data can then be interpreted to generate actionable reports and display useful information to the embedded engineer.

What does a protocol analyzer look like?

Protocol analyzers come in the form of dedicated hardware that can be connected to an embedded device. However, to interpret the data captured by the hardware, you need a user interface that displays the bus data in a human-readable form. So, in a nutshell, a protocol analyzer is a combination of dedicated hardware and software working in tandem with each other. Working together, the hardware captures the data, and the software displays the captured data.

But not all interfaces are the same. Some only display the data capture, while others allow you to search, define filters, identify patterns and decode, in real-time.

Let’s look at some of the most common network protocols that are in use today.

Types of Network Protocols

USB Protocol

USB protocol is by far the most common communication protocol in the consumer market today. Anyone with a computer, cell phone or tablet has used USB protocol knowingly or unknowingly in the form of Flash drives, data cards, USB cables, chargers, etc.

USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. As the name suggests, USB protocol is used to transmit data serially with one bit after another. USB is essentially a polled bus where all the data transmissions are initiated by the host.

CAN Protocol

The CAN (Computer Area Network) Protocol is used to facilitate communication between microcontrollers and associated devices in an embedded environment. It is particularly helpful in scenarios where a host computer is not present.

I2C Protocol

I2C protocol has been around for over four decades, and even today, it enjoys a considerable amount of popularity. I2C, which is also known as I2C OR IIC stands for Inter-Integrated Circuit. You can use I2C to establish short distance communication within two ICs located on the same circuit board.

I2C protocol’s major unique selling proposition lies in its simple design, adaptable features, superior chip addressing and a robust error handling mechanism. However, I2C is also marred with drawbacks such as slow transfer rates and the amount of real estate it takes on the circuit board.

SPI protocol

Similar to I2C, SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) is also used for short distance communication in embedded systems. It is a serial communication protocol that operates in full duplex mode with the help of master-slave architecture. You can connect multiple slave devices through SPI protocol. However, keep in mind that, SPI supports a single master device only.

eSPI Protocol

The eSPI (Enhanced Serial Peripheral Interface) bus was developed by Intel which is essentially an SPI bus with a fewer number of pins. The working voltage of the eSPI bus has also been set at a low 1.8V to support the newer manufacturing processes.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• I2C vs SPI Protocol Analyzers: Differences and Similarities
• SPI vs. UART: Similarities and Differences
• Advantages and Limitations of I2C Communication

Since their inception in 1961, embedded systems have completely revolutionized the way we live, work and communicate. You may not have realized it but you’re actually surrounded by embedded systems. The printer for your computer, the Wi-Fi router providing Internet access, your MP3 player, DSLR camera, refrigerator, microwave oven, even the equipment that measures your blood pressure at the doctor’s office. In fact, embedded systems today, have a ubiquitous presence in our lives. Look around you carefully and you’ll find at least a hundred embedded devices in your home itself.

The above examples clearly depict how embedded systems have found applications in almost every industry. From consumer electronics to medical systems and security to transportation embedded systems are everywhere.

We already know about the application of embedded technology in areas of consumer electronics, home automation, military technology, commercial areas, sports, etc. Today, we’ll look into some of the lesser-known industries where embedded systems play a very crucial role.

Transportation

When we think about transportation, the picture of powerful engines and automobile engineering comes to mind. It’s very common to overlook the contribution of embedded systems in automobiles and transportation industry as whole.

Let’s start with the GPS system, without which it is almost impossible to drive at your destination quickly these days. The GPS unit in cars, buses, trucks, etc. comes with a dedicated microcontroller along with other components, making the GPS unit is an embedded system.

What about the windshield wipers in your car? Well, they too are run on an embedded system.

The anti-lock braking system which works like a charm in slippery road conditions also depends on embedded technology.

Air bag control systems, which are triggered by accelerometers as a result of a collision are also controlled with embedded devices.

Fire Safety Systems

Designing fire safety systems for residential and commercial buildings that work flawlessly is a pretty daunting task and quite a large responsibility. It requires the proper and timely deployment of various sub-systems such as fire and smoke detection systems, alarm systems, smoke control systems, sprinklers and sometimes first responder alerts.

Fortunately, embedded systems development tools have allowed fire safety engineers to automate fire systems to a great extent. The fire and smoke detection devices are equipped with microcontrollers and sensors that trigger the alarms whenever they detect instances of fire and smoke. Similarly, other sub-systems like sprinklers and smoke control systems are also equipped with embedded technology.

These sub-systems come with dedicated embedded systems whose job is to accomplish just one or two tasks such as triggering the alarms or deploying the sprinklers.

Medical Applications

Modern healthcare and medical science owes a great deal to embedded technology. Without embedded systems, the diagnosis and treatment of ailments would be quite cumbersome. Think about the sophisticated machines like ECG, CT Scanners, MRI, etc. How do you think they work, so flawlessly, every time? It’s because they are programmed to do the same task each time with minimal human intervention. These machines have microcontrollers embedded that are programmed to perform a specific task, or two.

Apart from these machines, embedded technology is also powering smaller devices like Glucometers and electronic defibrillators. In the future, smaller devices like micro bots will be deployed to blood vessels in the human body through tiny surgical incisions. These bots will be programmed to address the medical condition/area of concern. Unsurprisingly, these devices too will be embedded devices.

With the convergence of AI, IoT and embedded systems in the near future, the applications of embedded devices in medical science is expected to soar.

Life Critical Systems

Life-Critical systems are those whose failure may lead to the loss of lives or result in injury, damage to machines/equipment and environmental hazard. Life-critical systems are found in almost every industry such as infrastructure, medicine, transport, healthcare, aviation, railways, space exploration, etc.

Since the primary purpose of life-critical systems are to operate as back-up systems and prevent damage when the primary system fails, life-critical systems are automatic in nature. These systems must operate independently without any human interaction or manual triggers. These devices most definitely make use of embedded technology. The system on chip SOCs on these life-critical systems are programmed to do a specific task with the help of embedded software.

Apart from these industries, embedded systems also play a big role in avionics, space exploration, communication, etc. These industries including the ones mentioned above can be isolated from public domain or insecure networks (e.g. internet) as they can operate independently. They operate based on the program that’s embedded in its SOCs or microcontroller, which is very difficult to modify. These devices are usually very secure and are immune to hacking.

Question from the Customer:

I’m an intern working on my first project, analyzing the controls and performance of a robotics arm (for manufacturing) – can you help me get started? I need to use your Aardvark I2C/Host Adapter in slave mode. I’ll also be using the Control Center Software – what do I need to do?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! Setting up the Aardavrk adapter in slave mode is easy.  Launch Control Center Software, and in the dialog select Adapter, select Connect, select Aardvark-Slave and then click OK.

We have an example for setting up and using the Aardvark adapter in Slave Mode on the I2C bus. This example uses two Aardvark adapters - one to function as a Slave and the other one to function as the Master. It also uses two instances of the Control Center Software, one for each Aardvark adapter.

For each Aardvark adapter, launch the Control Center Software and connect the Aardvark adapter to the computer via the USB bus.

Set up Slave Mode for the first adapter:

1. Click Adapter -> Connect → Select Aardvark-Slave -> Click OK.
2. In the I2C Control section, click Slave. This sets up the adapter as a Slave device.
3. Enter 100 in Bitrate rectangular, and click Set.
4. Enter 0x50 in Slave Address field.
5. Configure Max Tx Bytes to 3, Max Rx bytes to 3.
6. Enter 01 02 03 in the Message field. This is the response the Slave will deliver to the Master when requested.
7. Click Set Resp. - > click Enable.

Set up Master Mode for the second adapter:

1. Click Adapter -> Connect → Select Aardvark-Master -> Click OK. This sets up the adapter as the Master device.
2. Click Adapter → Enabled Target Power.
3. Click Adapter → Enabled I2C Pull-ups.
4. Use I2C Control section.
5. Click Master.
6. Enter 100 in Bitrate rectangular, and click Set.
7. Enter 0x50 in Slave Address field.
8. Disable 10 Bit Addr and No Stop.
9. Enter 3 in Number of Bytes field.
10. Enter 0A 0B 0C in the Message field.
11. Click Master Write and Master Read.

We have more information available 24/7 – check out our video and our knowledge base articles.

We hope this answers your question. Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• Control Center Serial Software User Manual
• Total Phase Videos
• Total Phase Knowledge Base

If you have questions about our 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 a project with data streaming blocks of 10 32-bit words. From what I can tell using the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter, I can only send 8-bit words 40 times. How can I change the Cheetah adapter set up to meet my requirements?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question!  The Cheetah adapter is constrained to only 8-bit word lengths.  To meet your requirements, we recommend the Promira Serial Platform as it can easily be configured to communicate with specified word lengths, including 32-bit words.

Here are two Promira Software API commands that support your process:

• ps_queue_spi_write_word  sets the word size and write a stream of the same word to the downstream SPI slave device.
• ps_spi_bitrate set the bitrate

For details about this software, refer to Promira API documentation. To get the best use of the Promira platform, there are three levels of SPI applications to upload to the Promira platform: SPI Active - Level 1 Application, SPI Active - Level 2 Application and SPI Active - Level 3 Application. Note: except for Level 1, the installation of each level of SPI Active must be preceded by the installation of the previous level.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Promira Serial Platform User Manual
• Promira API Documentation

Are you looking for some gift ideas for the tech enthusiast in your life? These gadgets (using embedded technology) will please even the techiest of techies. There is something cool for just about every embedded device lover on this list!

Drone - this year’s hottest gift.

Enjoy the World's Smallest Camera Drone and possibly the most affordable one too. This pocket-sized quadcopter includes LEDs for remote-controlled nighttime flight, and a 2 GB MicroSD card to store and transfer photos. ~$30

This mini UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) is essentially a mini robot. It includes some seriously smart technology including remote guidance and a video camera. It’s a mini robot/airplace - how much more embedded can you get?

Everyone loves music - shower speaker

Everyone always sounds better in the shower; sing along to your favorite jams with this waterproof Bluetooth Shower Speaker. A suction cup attaches it directly to the wall, giving you easy control over your smartphone's music. ~$20

Size matters and in this case bluetooth does too. Just by the mere fact that this is a bluetooth devices makes it an embedded technology.

MOSKITO Bike Speedometer/SmartWatch

This kickstarter device is a speedometer that doubles as a smartwatch. is a new speedometer that doubles as a smartwatch. It includes six bidirectional motors, and is able to provide notifications of calls, texts and emails when connected to a smartphone.

The main feature, though, is the speedometer. When the watch transitions to speedometer mode, the second hand displays the speed of travel in metric or imperial, the minute hand displays distance traveled, and the date dial notes the average speed. The hour hand still notes the time.  ~$30

Speedometer, calculating average speed, and connecting to your smartphone. This device is a complex embedded time piece, I mean speedometer.

Bluetooth Beanie/Headband

For the active person in your life... Wearable headsets have taken a new form – in the shape of a hat. There is a fusion of fashion and technology available in a beanie or headband that includes Bluetooth technology to connect to your smart device. These are quite affordable and stylish too. ~$35

Embedded? Bluetooth – need I say more.

Bluetooth Headphone Necklace

Talk on the phone much? Like accessories? Always misplacing headphones. As the ol’ proverb states, "Necessity is the mother of invention".  Buy the women in your life a practical and stylish set of headphones for her mobile device. Another Bluetooth technology, you can find just about any style and color – search for “Bluetooth headphones necklace” on Amazon. You won’t be disappointed.  $>30

Have a little more money to spend…

 Wilson X

This is a great gift for the athletes in your life. The Wilson X products, which currently include a connected Basketball and Football, are among the world’s first smart balls. The Wilson X Football tracks your throw speed, distance, spin rate and spiral efficiency. The Wilson X Basketball tracks shooting and performance stats including shots taken, shots made, two-pointers, three-pointers and free throws. Undetectable smart sensors tracks your play connecting via Bluetooth to the Wilson® X app on your iOS or Android device. It’s like having your own personal statistician. ~$200

How much more embedded can you get, a ball, that captures your stats and syncs with your smart device.

So, what are you waiting for? Check out these embedded gadgets and make your loved ones’ days better, happier, and smarter!

Features like interoperability and simple connectivity have led to the widespread use of USB protocol in embedded systems of almost all types. Despite the advantages, USB protocol in itself is quite complex. Quite naturally, detecting and isolating the source of a problem within the system might be a daunting task for an embedded systems engineer. Fortunately, a multitude of debugging tools are available that can offer valuable insight into the USB traffic.

Today we are going to look at some of the most common debugging tools such as Protocol Analyzers, Oscilloscopes and BERT Testers and how they differ from each other in usage and application.

Oscilloscopes – Oscilloscopes are pretty useful in debugging systems particularly for electrical issues, but the data is captured at a very low level. They are great for a quick diagnostic as the visual data generated by oscilloscopes can shed light on some of the most crucial parameters such as jitter, noise, and signal to noise ratio (SNR).

In the early stages of development, system designers use oscilloscopes to look for an event of particular interest, decode the entire burst of serial data, etc. Besides, by using eye diagrams generated by oscilloscopes, the process of debugging can be made much less onerous. One can quickly find out if there are any signal integrity issues in their prototypes by using oscilloscopes but beyond that, they aren’t suitable for analyzing high-level data.

BERT Testers – BERT Testers are used to test the synchronous serial data over a channel in a system. Whenever data flows through a system, there is a possibility that some of the bits in the data might be corrupted at the destination. This is usually known as a bit error. Bit Errors can occur due to a variety of reasons such as noisy channels, ISI, impedance mismatches, etc.

A bit error rate test is essential to determine the quality of link over the channel and figure out whether signal integrity is compromised. Hence, BERT Testers are used for this specific purpose.

A BERT tester works by sending a test stream of data through the channel and subsequently compares the data stream at the destination with a reference data stream. The result is usually reported as the number of error bits divided by the total number of bits that were present in the data stream. BERT testers also report the number of bits that were missed during the transmission.

To sum up, BERT testers reveal just a handful of information such as bit error rate and give a measure of the signal integrity and network performance.

Protocol Analyzers – Unlike Oscilloscopes and BERT testers, Protocol Analyzers allow designers and developers to debug their embedded systems at a higher level. Protocol analyzers come in two variants – Software and Hardware. Although the software variant offers an economic advantage, it is limited by the capabilities of the host computer’s hardware.

The hardware variant has the ability to debug embedded hosts, and it also offers visibility into issues related to timing, transmission, and speed negotiation.

Protocol Analyzers have a big advantage over BERT testers and oscilloscopes as they allow the developers to view the data in the form of packets and not just individual bit streams. Moreover, protocol analyzers also offer a real-time display of the captured data to speed up the process of debugging a system.

While Oscilloscopes and BERT Testers are pretty useful in debugging embedded applications, it is evident that protocol analyzers have plenty of advantages over the other tools mentioned above.

If you have 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 Komodo CAN Duo Interface and I could use your help. I have a function that does de-initialization. I see km_close() returns 1 instead of KM_OK. Is this expected? What does the return value of 1 tell me?

Also, I’m trying to figure out what the proper sequence for de-initializing everything -- open, acquire, enable, power, de-power, disable, release and then close -- so that the device will return to a good state. Can you provide me a Komodo Software API example to do that?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your questions! The km_close() API  command closes a Komodo port; it returns the number of ports closed, which is usually 1. For more details about km_close(), please refer to the API Documentation.

Here’s a sequence of API commands to apply that should get the results you’re looking for:

1. km_find_devices() list of ports through which Komodo devices can be accessed.
2. km_open() open a Komodo port
3. km_acquire() acquire features from the Komodo device.
4. km_can_bitrate()  set the bitrate
5. km_can_target_power()  set the target power option on a CAN channel
6. km_close()  close a Komodo port

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Komodo CAN Interface User Manual
• Komodo API Documentation

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.

The term packet sniffer might sound a little fishy and suspicious, but it isn’t anything like that. In network management, packet sniffing plays a very crucial role. Network managers and technicians use packet sniffers to diagnose underlying problems in their networks. So, a packet sniffer is essentially a tool that aids in monitoring network traffic and troubleshooting a network. It works by capturing and analyzing packets of data that flow through a particular network.

So, what does a packet sniffer look like? Well, in some cases, a packet sniffer might be in the form of a dedicated hardware device. Such a device can be easily built with embedded systems development tools. However, you can also find packet sniffers in the form of a software application. These software applications run on standard general-purpose computers performing packet sniffing tasks by using the hardware capabilities of the network.

How do packet sniffers work?

To understand how a packet sniffer works, you need to first understand that data travels through a network in the form of packets. In packet-switched networks, the data to be transmitted is broken down into several packets. These packets are reassembled once all the data packets reach their intended destination.

When a packet sniffer is installed in the network, the sniffer intercepts the network traffic and captures the raw data packets. Subsequently, the captured data packet is analyzed by the packet sniffing software and presented to the network manager/technician in a user-friendly format. By user-friendly, we mean the Network Administrator should be able to make sense of it.

Uses and Implementations of Packet Sniffers

It’s easy to see why packet sniffers are an indispensable tool in a network administrator’s toolkit. So, let us delve deep into how exactly packet sniffers are used to troubleshoot and rectify network-related problems.

Monitoring network usage – Packet sniffers are great at monitoring the network usage at any given time, helping Network Managers identify whether a particular network is normal or congested. Also, making it possible to identify bottlenecks within the network and identify and improve the performance with infrastructure upgrades.

Identifying problems – As mentioned earlier, packet sniffers can identify network-related issues. This is possible because a packet sniffer can analyze the conversation between two or more nodes in a network. So, in the event of a network error, the information captured by the packet sniffer can be used to identify the erroneous packets and pinpoint the node that failed to answer the request(s). Making it easy to identify faulty devices within the network in an efficient manner and providing the ability to take swift corrective actions.

Detecting security loopholes – A disturbing fact about packet sniffers is their ability to work as spying tools. They also help the good guys, such as your Network Manager, by testing the vulnerabilities of a network. Once these vulnerabilities are detected, it is easier to remove the loopholes thus preventing the possibilities of hacking attempts.

Types of Packet Sniffing

IP sniffing and MAC sniffing are some of the most common ways to analyze and examine the traffic flowing through a network. Both IP and MAC sniffing rely on using the Network card for sniffing data packets that correspond to a specific IP or MAC address, respectively. Thus the network administrator can easily analyze the information packets to detect any flaws within the network.

While Packet sniffers have legitimate uses in monitoring and troubleshooting a network, they have also been widely used by hackers for gaining unauthorized access to a network and stealing information. That is why it is very important for network managers to put security measures, such as firewalls, in place to prevent intrusion to the network.

What’s the difference between a Packet Sniffer and a Protocol Analyzer?

A protocol analyzer captures and analyzes signals and data traffic over a communication channel (not a network). A communication channel can vary from on board communication to a satellite link.

Total Phase offers a variety of protocol analyzers:

CAN Protocol

• Komodo CAN Duo Interface
• Komodo CAN Solo Interface

I2C Protocol

• Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer

eSPI Protocol

• eSPI Analysis Application

SPI Protocol

• Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer

USB Protocol

• Beagle USB 12 Protocol Analyzer
• Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer - Standard Edition
• Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer - Ultimate Edition
• Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer
• Beagle USB 5000 v2 Protocol Analyzer - USB 2.0 Edition
• Beagle USB 5000 v2 SuperSpeed Protocol Analyzer - Standard Edition
• Beagle USB 5000 v2 SuperSpeed Protocol Analyzer - Ultimate Edition
• USB Power Delivery Analyzer

Want to learn more? We have videos and knowledge base articles. And click below to have a personal demo to show you  our analyzers in action - we can also create a demo to specifically address your needs.

Request a Demo

Question from the Customer:

I have a project where I need to compare the temperatures of two separate devices in the same environment.  I’m looking to use the Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer to collect and plot the data. How can I best capture and view the data?

Response from Technical Support:

Thank you for your questions!  You can easily capture and view data using the Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer with our Data Center Software. This solution offers you two ways to save and view the data: one is viewing the .tdc log file that the Data Center Software saves; another method is exporting the data in .csv format and viewing the data in an Excel sheet (or other tool).

NOTE – Saving and viewing data like this works for all models of Total Phase Beagle analyzers.

• Method 1. Use the Beagle analyzer with the Data Center software, and save the transaction log as a .tdc file. Then you can use the Data Center Software to open and view the .tdc file. For more information, please refer to sections Saving a Capture  and Save Settings of the Data Center Software User Manual. You will need two instances of Data Center Software to view two separate data files.
• Method 2. You can use Beagle analyzer and Data Center Software to export the transaction log to .csv or bin format. Then you can use Microsoft Office Excel (or another tool that is compatible with .csv or bin formats) to open the .csv or bin file. You could then use the plotting and graphing tools in Microsoft Office Excel to plot your data.  For additional information, please refer to section Exporting a Capture of the Data Center Software User Manual.

When you export data, to make sure you save complete data records, do the following with the Data Center Software:

1. Click File
2. Click Export
3. Enter file name in the File Name text box
4. Click Save
5. Disable Export Only Visible Records
6. Click OK

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Beagle Protocol Analyzer 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.

With each passing day, embedded system designs are becoming more complex as they require increasing data transfer rates, shorter cycle times, and other requirements.

Embedded systems engineers are required to sort out signal integrity issues quickly to speed up the development life cycle. You might already be aware that modern serial data links operate at very high frequencies in the range of gigahertz. At these high speed extremes,  a host of variables such as impedance mismatches, termination schemes, and transmission-line effects can affect the quality of the signals. All the above-mentioned factors can lead to errors when a system is trying to interpret the value of a bit.

One way to evaluate the performance of your system is using "eye diagrams" generated by an oscilloscope – these can help you can gain valuable insight into the workings of your system and all the channel imperfections that might have crept in while designing the system.

But what exactly is an eye diagram? How does it work? And more importantly, how can you generate one?

Well, let’s have a look at some eye diagram basics.

An Eye Diagram from an Oscilloscope

The eye diagram is a pattern that shows what the digital signal stream looks like from a holistic point of view. Ideally, an eye diagram should resemble a step function (rectangular boxes). However, real-life communication between digital systems is not free from imperfections;  the resultant signal samples look like an eye.

But, how does an oscilloscope generate the pattern?

The oscilloscope simply receives and samples the digital signals received from your system. By sampling small segments of a long data stream, the oscilloscope is able to superimpose them over each other and display the data on the screen, as an eye diagram. It reveals crucial information such as SNR, Jitter, noise, etc. that can be used to unearth issues with the design in early stages of development.

An Eye Diagram from the Total Phase Advanced Cable Tester

Typically, eye diagrams are used to measure transmitter performance, potentially through a link. The Advanced Cable Tester uses eye diagrams in a slightly different way:  visualize the performance of a cable by transmitting a known signal, capture that signal on the other end of the cable, then analyze the signal and building an eye diagram. A cable with better performance will have a more “open” eye. Compare the two images below captured with our cable tester:

Figure 1

Figure 2

Both were captured through the same channel (same differential pair) of the same cable, but Figure 1 was captured at 10 Gbps, and Figure 2 at 5 Gbps. You can see the first image shows significantly less opening. This cable is adequate for both speeds, but has much more margin for 5Gbit/s than 10Gbit/s. A lower quality cable would show a much smaller eye opening.

Click below if you would like a demonstration of the Advanced Cable Tester and see an eye diagram for yourself. You can also take a look at our datasheet and contact our technical sales team with your questions.

Request a Demo