We are using the Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer for bus diagnostics. It seems that the Data Center Software used with the Beagle analyzer has limited memory space, which is determined by the available RAM and the configuration of the computer we are using: 4GB/2GB. We need to monitor the USB bus for a week or more. How can we increase the available memory for the Data Center Software to record the data capture from the Beagle analyzer?

Thanks for your question! The available memory for storage for the Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer and the Data Center Software is limited by the memory that is available on the computer. This feature cannot be changed in the current version of Data Center software.

• To increase the memory buffer, you can activate the capture mode, Circular Buffer, in the Data Center Software.
• For greater results, you can use the Beagle API Software to spool the data to another storage device, such as the hard drive of the computer.

 

Figure 1: Data Center Software Circular Buffer

The software circular buffer option allows the Data Center Software application to discard past records during a capture, which keeps the capture size below the capture data limit.

• Removing the data records begins at the start of the first index of the transaction table, regardless of whether or not that record is visible.
• When the buffer is full, the Data Center Software pushes the oldest record and overwrites it with the newest record.

For additional information about the Circular Buffer feature, please refer to section 4.14.3 of the Data Center Software Manual.

For greater memory storage, we recommend using the Beagle API Software, which can be downloaded for free. Many sample programs are provided, which you can modify as needed for your specifications. One of the API examples, capture_usb480 outputs the data to stdout in a comma-separated format (CSV), and also includes some basic collapsing of the data. This output data can be redirected to a file. This example code can also be modified to change the format of the data. Following is a section of the example code:

2506,4663763366,USB,( OK CHIRP_J; )
2507,4663813616,USB,( OK CHIRP_K; )
2508,4663863866,USB,( OK CHIRP_J; )
2509,4663914133,USB,( OK RESET; )
2510,4664158366,USB,( OK HIGH_SPEED; )
2511,4664158366,USB,( ),COLLAPSED [735 SOF]
2512,4755939250,USB,( OK ),SETUP,2d 00 10
2513,4755939583,USB,( OK ),DATA0,c3 00 05 01 00 00 00 00 00 eb 25
2514,4755940116,USB,( OK ),ACK,d2
2515,4755951683,USB,( OK ),IN,69 00 10
2516,4755952083,USB,( OK ),DATA1,4b 00 00
2517,4755952616,USB,( OK ),ACK,d2
2518,4756041600,USB,( ),COLLAPSED [347 SOF]
2519,4799295900,USB,( OK ),SETUP,2d 01 e8
2520,4799296233,USB,( OK ),DATA0,c3 80 06 00 01 00 00 12 00 e0 f4
2521,4799296750,USB,( OK ),ACK,d2
2522,4799313116,USB,( OK ),IN,69 01 e8

The Beagle API Software is supported on 32-bi and 64-bit operating systems Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The languages supported include C, C#, Python, .NET, VB.NET, and VB6. For additional information about the API software, please refer to section 6 of the Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual.

For more information, please refer to the following documents:

• Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual
• Data Center Software User Manual
• Product Guide

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 submit a request for technical support.

I am using an Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter as an I2C slave and another device as a master. I am using 7-bit addressing. After every write command to the Aardvark I2C slave device, the master device tries to read what it has written. The Aardvark is sending a NACK after the master executes a Read command immediately after the Write command. I have some questions about this:

• Why is the I2C slave device, the Aardvark adapter, giving a NACK for a Read command after each Write?
• Do I have to delay the read operation after each write?
• Must NACK always occur after each Write operation from the master?

Thanks for your questions! The Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter's behavior, as a master and a slave, follow theI2C standard specifications. These specifications are described in detail in section 2.3 of the Aardvark Adapter User Aardvark manual.

What you have observed in your setup is the normal behavior of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter as an I2C slave device. Following are examples of setting Max Rx bytes and how the Aardvark I2C slave responds.

To answer your questions, the Aardvark adapter, as a slave, gives a NACK for a read command because it is unable to accept data.  It will not occur after every write operation, only when it is unable to accept data.  The reason the Aardvark adapater is unable to accept data is due to “Max Rx Bytes” setting in the Control Center Software as shown below.

Figure 1: Setting Max Rx Bytes for the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter in I2C Slave Mode

 

• If the Max Rx bytes is set to 9 and the master sends the Aardvark 9 bytes of data, then the Aardvark sends the NACK after it receives the 9th byte. The Aardvark I2C slave informs the master device to not send (write) more bytes of data.
• If the Max Rx bytes is set to 4 and the master sends the Aardvark 9 bytes, then the Aardvark sends NACK after it receives the 4th byte. The Aardvark I2C slave informs the master device to not send more bytes of data.
• However, if the Max Rx bytes is set for 20 and the master sends the Aardvark 9 bytes, then the Aardvark receives 9 bytes without delivering NACK. In this case, the Aardvark I2C slave does not receive a 20th byte - therefore, a NACK is not sent. In this case, you would not have to delay the read operation after each write. The master device can read the data from the Aardvark slave by using a Read ACK.

For additional information, please refer to the following documents:

• Aardvark Host Adapter User Manual
• Control Center Software User Manual
• Total Phase Products
• Product Selector Guide

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.

To test and evaluate SPI devices, I have been using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter and the Control Center Software. For my next project, I need to use LabVIEW and I'll need a special application. What can you tell me about the API software? Can I use the Aardvark API Software to create a LabVIEW application?

Thanks for your questions! You can use the Aardvark API Software to control the Aardvark adapter and to write a custom program for your specifications. The API comes with support for multiple operating systems (Windows, Linux, and Mac) and multiple languages (C, Python, Visual Basic, and C#), and includes software examples. For more information about the Aardvark API Software, please refer to section 5 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual.

However, we do offer LabVIEW drivers for the Aardvark adapter, which is based on the Aardvark API Software. Like the Aardvark API Software, the Aardvark LabVIEW driver is also provides examples, which can also be customized to create a custom program for your specification. For an example of using Aardvark LabVIEW for SPI devices, please refer to the knowledge base article Sending SPI Messages Between Two Aardvark adapters Using Aardvark LabVIEW.  The following is a summary of that article.

This example uses two Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapters (one SPI master and one SPI slave) and two of the LabVIEW examples, connect and spi:

• connect: Indicates if the I2C/SPI/GPIO functions are available, and displays the following information about the connected Aardvark adapters: port number, Aardvark handle, serial number, hardware version, and firmware version.
• spi: Reads and writes SPI data between two Aardvark adapters.

Instructions:

1. Download and install the latest version of Aardvark LabVIEW Driver.
2. Connect the two Aardvark adapters to the computer via the USB connectors.
3. Connect the two Aardvark adapters to each other via the I2C/SPI connector.
4. Install LabVIEW for Windows from the LabVIEW website.
5. Launch the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver.
6. Run the original connect Aardvark LabVIEW Driver example that is provided in the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver package.
   Figure 1: Aardvark LabVIEW Connect Driver

    

7. Send the SPI data between two Aardvark adapters, using the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver SPI example.

Figure 2: Aardvark LabVIEW SPI Driver

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. 

We are trying to do consecutive SPI accesses as quickly as possible and minimize the time between SS going from inactive to active again. We’re looking at the specifications of both the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter and the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter, but we could use more details and would appreciate your help on our questions below:

• Are the host adapters programmable – can we set them up to send multiple sequential SPI accesses from a single call?
• What is the minimum time between SPI accesses?

Thanks for your questions! For your application, if you are using the SPI host adapter as an SPI master, we recommend using the Cheetah adapter.

Although both host adapters are programmable, the Cheetah adapter can operate at much higher speeds as an SPI master and can communicate with up to three SPI slaves. The minimum time between access is 250us compared to 2ms for the Aardvark adapter. The Aardvark adapter is more of a general-purpose host adapter that can operate as either an SPI Master or an SPI Slave (in addition to supporting I2C as well). Software APIs are available for both adapters, which allow you to create custom programs to meet your specifications. The following summaries describe the key features of the adapters.

Figure 1: Cheetah SPI Host Adapter

Cheetah SPI Host Adapter:

When using the adapter as an SPI master and higher speed is needed, we recommend using the Cheetah SPI master adapter. The key features of the Cheetah adapter are listed below.

• The Cheetah adapter operates up to 50 MHz, can provide gapless shifting, and provides control over the timing of the data that is shifted out.
• The Cheetah adapter can send multiple transactions of 8-bit data without delay.
• This adapter use a high-speed USB link between the adapter and the computer - the USB latency is about 250us.
• An asynchronous interface is provided, which can increase the operational speed for your application.
• Cheetah API Software is available, which includes examples that can be customized for your system specification.

For additional information about Cheetah SPI signaling characteristics, please refer to section 2.5 of the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter User Manual. For information about the Cheetah API software, please refer to section 5 of the user manual.

Figure 1: Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter

Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter:

The key features of the Aardvark adapter are listed below.

• The Aardvark adapter can operate at bitrates up to 8 MHz as an SPI master and 4 MHz as an SPI slave.
• The Aardvark adapter can transfer up to 8-bit data without td delay. There are timing limitations, which is why we recommend the Cheetah adapter specifically for your application:
  • When the Aardvark adapter transfers 16-bit data, there is a delay. The maximum bitrates occur within each individual byte – the bitrates do not extend across bytes.
  • There are various overheads and delays that decrease the overall speed of data transfer, such as SS# assertion to the first clock, setup time for each byte, the last clock to SS# deassertion and the time between the start of the bytes.
  • The GUI and the OS may add additional delay due to internal overhead. In addition, the Aardvark adapter also has a 2ms round-trip latency, which is caused by the full-speed USB link between the computer and the Aardvark adapter. These delays further reduce the throughput across multiple transactions.
• To achieve the fastest throughput, you can use the Aardvark API Software to send many bytes as possible in a single transaction.

For additional information about the Aardvark SPI signaling characteristics, please refer to section 2.4 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual. For information about the Aardvark API Software, please refer to section 5 of the user manual.

For more information, please refer to the following sources:

• Cheetah SPI Host Adapter User Manual
  
• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
  
• Total Phase Products
  
• Product Selector Guide
  

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 submit a request for technical support.

Question from Customer

I am working on a project and we are looking into using the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter to program SPI flash devices. Our setup will have two separate flash chips, which will be selected through their chip select (CS) signals. I understand that the Cheetah adapter can be used to program these chips. My question - is this also supported by the Flash Center Software and could we one binary image to program both flash devices? One flash chip will have the “lower” address space and the other flash chip will have the “higher” address space.

Alternatively, could we open a binary file and select part of that file to be written to address the first flash device, and then select the other part of that file to be written to the address of the second flash device?

Response from Support

Thanks for your questions! There are two solutions for programming two flash devices: one solution uses the Flash Center Software and two Cheetah adapters; the other solution uses Cheetah Software API and one Cheetah adapter to program both flash devices.

Solution 1: Cheetah Adapter with Flash Center Software:

With two Cheetah adapters connected to the host PC and with their 10-pin headers connected to the flash chips, open Flash Center and connect both Cheetah adapters to the software.  Load your binary file and simply use the hex editor to cut and paste the data you want written to your flash chips.  Remember to check the checkboxes as appropriate in the Adapters section to make sure that you programming the right chip.

Figure 1: Programming with the Flash Center Software

For more information about programming and SPI flash with the Cheetah adapter and the Flash Center Software, please refer to the knowledge base articles:

• Programming SPI Flash Using Cheetah Adapter and Flash Center
• Programming a Single Sector of an SPI Flash Using the Cheetah Adapter and Flash Center

Solution 2: Cheetah Adapter with Cheetah API:

You can use the Cheetah Software API to control the adapter, and to write a custom program for your test setup and test. You can create a program to use the SS1 and SS2 signals from one Cheetah adapter, as well as program the flash devices with separate binary files.

The Cheetah Software API supports multiple operating systems (Windows, Linux, and Mac) and multiple languages (C, Python, Net, and C#), and includes examples. For more information about the Cheetah Software API, please refer to section 5 of the Cheetah Host Adapter User Manual.

For more information, please refer to the following documents:

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

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

As the number of embedded applications grow and as their requirements increase in speed and complexity, the need for a more powerful and flexible embedded systems tool has become significantly more important. The new Promira Serial Platform improves the production, test, design, as well as the development, emulation and debugging of complex embedded I2C and SPI applications.

The current Promira platform includes these features:

• Integrated level shifting - work with signal voltages ranging from 0.9 - 5.0V without additional accessory boards or external cabling.
• Remote control - run automated tasks over the Ethernet. Expand the range of production and prototype units beyond interfacing multiple units to a computer via USB.
• More customization - configure and use up to six GPIOs.
• More target power - provide up to 200 mA to target devices, which in many cases, eliminates the need for an external power source.
• Higher speeds for interfacing with I2C and SPI devices - compared to the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter, the Level 1 application is twice as fast for I2C programming and eight times as fast for SPI programming. Higher speeds are available with the Level 2 and Level 3 applications.
• Download new applications for the Promira Serial Platform - instantly obtain and use more features now and as they become available; new applications will be developed and released, including- dual/quad-IO SPI, eSPI, I2C/SPI protocol analysis, and more.
• Software support - the Promira Serial Platform can be used with many software applications. The Promira Software API is provided with working examples. The Promira Aardvark Wrapper Software API enables developers to use applications that were created with the Aardvark Software AP. The Control Center Serial Software supports the full use of I2C, SPI and GPIO functionalities.

Figure 1: Promira Serial Platform

Following are answers to some of the frequently asked questions about our new product:

Q. What can Promira do for Production and Automated Testing?

In the production and test environments, the Promira Serial Platform can:

• Program firmware and other data in the production environment.
• Exercise DUTs and run regression tests.
• Interface to the production line over the Ethernet.

Q. What can Promira do for developers more quickly than before?

In the research and development environments, the Promira Serial Platform can:

• Burn firmware to EEPROM.
• Program in-system any I2C- or SPI-based memory chip.
• Emulate master or slave devices:
  • Use as a master to interface with sensors, memory chips and other peripherals; emulate an MCU and actively poll sensors, read/write BIOS memory and control the bus.
  • Use as a slave to test commands sent from MCUs; simulate sensors and validate the commands sent by the master device.

We are all very excited - this new product joins the ranks of our industry-leading debugging tools, which could possibly become the best and last solution that you will need for I2C and SPI development.

For more information about our new Promira Serial Platform, please refer to the following documents:

• Promira Serial Platform Quick Start Guide
  
• Promira Serial Platform User Manual
  
• Control Center Software Serial User Manual

If you have other questions about the Promira Serial Platform 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 testing an I2C device. To record the points in time when values change, we are looking for a way to continuously read back a register, which we have not accomplished with a logic analyzer. Here’s what we want to do:

• Continuously read-back I2C for the time period that we specify.
• Retrieve those read-back values as a CSV file.

What are your recommendations?

Response from Support:

Thanks for your questions! There are two possibilities. If you only need to monitor the device over the I2C bus, we recommend the Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer. If you need to write to and read from the I2C device, we recommend the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter. For both devices, Total Phase provides a Software API that you can use to write your own applications customized for your test requirements. The API comes with support for multiple OS (Windows, Linux, and Mac) and multiple languages (C, Python, Visual Basic, and C#).

Figure 1: Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer

Monitoring the I2C Device with the Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer:

The Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer is a non-intrusive device that monitors the I2C bus up to the rate of 4MHz, and can be used with the Data Center Software or Beagle Software API. These software applications are free and can be downloaded.

• Regarding your test setup, you can use the Beagle analyzer with the Data Center Software to capture the I2C data to the memory, and display it in the Data Center transaction log. After the stopping the capture, you can save the transaction log data to the default tdc file or export the data to a CSV file.
• The Data Center Software transaction log displays the time that each transaction occurs in the timestamp column. Examples are provided in the Data Center Software.
• You can use the Beagle API Software to capture I2C data, and then manipulate and save the data based on your system requirements and test specifications. The Beagle API Software is provided with software examples that you can use and customize for your test setup.

Figure 1: Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter

Actively Communicating with the I2C Device with the Aardvark IC2/SPI Host Adapter:

The Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter actively communicates on the I2C bus, as well as performs I2C write and read operations. The Aardvark adapter supports I2C up to 800 KHz, and supports: Flash Center Software, Control Center Software, and Aardvark Software API.

• Regarding your test setup, when the Aardvark adapter is configured as an I2C master and used with the Control Center Software, manual read and write operations can be performed. Additional information about these operations, please refer to steps 1-12 of the knowledge base article Programing I2C EEPROM Using Aardvark Adapter, Level Shifter Board and Control Center.
• With the Control Center Software, you can store the I2C transaction log to a CSV file. For additional information about the Control Center Software and CSV files, please refer to section 3.2.4 of the Control Center Software User Manual.
• With the Aardvark API Software, you can create programs for your system requirements and test specifications. The Aardvark API Software is provided with software examples that you can use and customize for your test setup.
• The Flash Center Software package allows you to quickly erase, program, and verify I2C- and SPI-based EEPROM and Flash memory chips. The Flash Center Software application is written with standard Aardvark APIs that can be downloaded.

For additional information, please refer to the following documents:

• Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer Quick Start Guide
• Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual
• Beagle API Software
• Data Center Software User Manual
• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter Quick Start Guide
  
• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
  
• Aardvark API Software
• Control Center Software User Manual

I'm using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter as an I2C master with the Aardvark Software API. Using C and LabVIEW drivers, I have seen the 1ms delay between separate executions as stated in section 3.8.4 in the Aardvark Host Adapter User Manual. For the next series of tests, I'll need to run the devices and the I2C data at a higher speed. Do you have any suggestions to speed up the sequential I2C execution and reduce the USB delays?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for the questions! The Aardvark adapter can operate at 1K Hz - 800KHz bitrate as an I2C master or an I2C slave. Many optimizations have been employed to decrease the setup time for the Aardvark adapter. The byte throughputs within each transaction are very close to the theoretical maximum byte throughput of 1/9 of the bitrate.

Regarding USB delays, the Aardvark adapter has a 2ms round-trip latency, which is caused by the full-speed USB link between your computer and the Aardvark adapter. The GUI and the operating system may add additional delay due to internal overhead. With the current version of the Aardvark adapter and the Aardvark API,  there are no options to affect these delays. For additional information about the Aardvark I2C Signaling Characteristics, please refer to section 2.3 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual.

For much higher I2C data speeds and reduced USB latency, we recommend our new Promira^™ Serial Platform.

Figure 1: Promira Serial Platform

The Promira Serial Platform supports the I2C master mode at 1 kHz to 1.02 MHz, and the I2C slave mode at 1 kHz to 500 kHz; offering programming speeds up to 2x faster than that of the Aardvark adapter. When using USB 2.0 connectivity, the Promira platform uses a high-speed USB link between the Promira platform and the computer, which reduces the USB latency from 2ms to about 250us. The Promira platform also has an asynchronous interface that may provide additional speed-up for your setup. Other advanced features include functioning as an I2C master up to 1 MHz, Integrated level shifting from 0.9V to 5.0V, and USB 2.0 / Ethernet connectivity for faster downloads, remote control, and factory floor automation.

Regarding delays, every Promira platform I2C master read transaction will have a delay before the last byte, and there may be additional delays between bytes during the I2C master read and write. Although there is no inter-byte delay for the most part of the I2C transaction, the Promira Serial Platform occasionally requires additional time to process the received bytes and set up the next bytes. In this case, delay is inserted on the I2C bus. There can also be additional overhead caused by the operating system between the Promira API calls. For more information about the Promira I2C signaling characteristics, please refer to section 2.2 of the Promira Serial platform User Manual. For more information about Promira Software API, please refer to section 5 of the Promira Serial Platform User Manual.

There are delays that are inherent to the I2C bus protocol. The I2C requires that 9 bits are sent for every 8 bits of data; the throughput will not be exactly 1/8 times the bitrate. The maximum bitrates are only achievable within each individual byte; the bitrates do not extend across bytes. There is also a finite time required to set up a byte transmission.

For additional information, please refer to the following documents:

• Promira Serial Platform Quick Start Guide
• Promira Serial Platform User Manual
• I2C Active - Level 1 Application
  
• 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 submit a request for technical support.

 

Question from the Customer:

I am using the Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer for a full speed USB trace. I want to measure the time between the control transfer and the second IN transfer. Doing that with the cursor shows a delta of 14 ms. However, the trace includes SOFs and polls that add up to over 200ms. The screen shots below the both normal view and the time reference view of a full speed USB trace.

Figure 1: Data Center Software: Full Speed USB Data with Normal View and Time Reference View

How do I get the proper delays displayed in the timing column?

Also, to view only the setup and the data timing, I want to filter out both the SOFs and the NAKs. Using the LiveFilter tab in the Data Center Software, I see I can filter out the SOFs. How do I filter out the NAKs?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your questions! The selected view determines how information is displayed. When you use the class view or the transaction view in the Data Center Software, the records may not be in time-order due to how the data is grouped for higher level parsing. You can see the records in time-order by switching to packet view, which disables the higher level parsing. Note that only the captures run in sequential mode can be viewed in packet view. Following is a summary of the capture views.

Figure 1: Data Capture Views

 

• Packet – Protocol-level decoding is performed - the records are in time-order. Collapsed groups, such as SOFs and IN-NAKs are broken up as necessary to ensure records are in timestamp order. Only captures run in Sequential Mode can be viewed in Packet View. For more information, please refer to section 6.2 of the Data Center Software User Manual.
• Transaction – Protocol-level decoding is performed - the records may not be in time-order. Collapsed groups are not broken up for time-order preservation. Since there is no time-order restriction, captures generally appear more compact in this view than in Packet View.
• Class – Class-level parsing is performed -the records may not be in time-order. Captures generally appear high-level and compact in this view. For more information regarding class-level decoding, please refer to section 6.9 of the Data Center User Manual.

For filtering out the NAK packets, go to the LiveFilter tab, click on the Packet radio button under the Protocol section and unselect the NAK checkbox.

Figure 2: Filtering out NAK with LiveFilter

For more information, please refer to the following documents:

• 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:

How critical is the bitrate setting in SPI Slave mode? Does the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter communicate only with other SPI devices that support exactly the clock speeds that the Aardvark does? If not, should the bit rate on the Aardvark be configured higher than that of the SPI master or lower?

Also, the Control Center Serial Software User Manual uses terminology such as rising/falling and sample/setup. How do those terms correlate to CPOL (clock polarity) and CPHA (clock phase), and can you provide more information about that configuration?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your questions! Setting the bitrate applies only to the device in the SPI master mode; it is not necessary to set the bitrate for the device in slave mode, as SPI slave devices use the clock of the master. However, the master and slave devices must agree to the data frame, which is related to the clock transitions, polarity and phase, as indicated in section 4.2 of the Control Center Serial Software User Manual.

Figure 1: Configure SPI Mode via the Control Center Software Serial

The Aardvark adapter is capable of sending SPI data at 8 MHz, while our newest product, the Promira^™ Serial Platform, with the SPI Active – Level 1 Application, can send data at 12.5 MHz. The Control Center Serial Software can be used with both devices.

Here are the definitions of rising/falling and sample/setup, relative to CPOL and CPHA:

• rising/falling is equivalent to CPOL = 0; the leading edge of the clock is rising and the trailing edge is falling.
• falling/rising is equivalent to CPOL = 1; the leading edge of the clock is falling and the trailing edge is rising.
• sample/setup is equivalent to CPHA = 0; data is sampled on the leading edge of the clock.
• setup/sample is equivalent to CPHA = 1; data is sampled on the trailing edge of the clock.

Based on those settings, four SPI modes are possible, which are illustrated in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Clock Polarities and Clock Phases of SPI Modes

Question from the Customer:

I am using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter as an I2C master. I am trying to send a read request to an I2C device sensor, which communicates in binary code. Is there a simple way to send a command in the binary format? I am using the Control Center Serial Software GUI, which only seems to accept hexadecimal (hex) inputs.

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! When using the Aardvark host adapter and Control Center Serial Software, data messages and the load data files can only be done in the hex format. However, other software applications are available - you can read and write I2C/SPI data with the Aardvark host adapter using the Control Center Serial Software, the Flash Center Software  or the Aardvark Software API.  In your case, we recommend using the Aardvark Software API,  which can be customized to interface with specified data formats, including binary.

Figure 1: Aardvark Software SPI - Customize for Multiple Data Formats

Summaries of the key features of the software applications are listed below:

• The Aardvark Software API is used to control the Aardvark adapter, and to write a custom program for your specific requirements. The API comes with support for multiple operating systems (Windows, Linux and Mac) and multiple languages (C, Python, Visual Basic and C#), and includes software examples. We recommend using the Python bindings as it is a simple language, and is a good option for scripting.
• The Control Center Serial Software provides full access to all of the Aardvark adapter functionalities, and eliminates the need to write custom software to control the Aardvark adapter. It has also the batch scripting capability when used with the Aardvark XML Batch Script Language.
• The Flash Center Software provides mechanism 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. Supporting new devices,  we continuously create and add new parts to the library. The Flash Center Software has options to use hex, S-Record or binary data formats, but only for how data is stored; the data formats do not apply to communicating with devices.

For additional information, please refer to the following documents:

• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter Quick Start Guide
• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• Flash Center Software User Manual
  
• Control Center Software Serial User Manual
• Aardvark 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 using the Aardvark IC2/SPI Host Adapter with the Control Center Software in I2C mode. At 400 kHz, I want to send a Write followed by a Repeated Start with a Read. When I observe the I2C traffic, there is a delay of at least 5ms between the Write and the Read. What is the least amount of time that this can occur between an I2C write and read operation? Here is the XML script that I am using:

<aardvark>
<configure i2c="1" spi="0" gpio="1" tpower="0" pullups="1"/>
<i2c_bitrate khz="400"/>
<i2c_write addr="0x12" count="2" radix="16" nostop="1">00 20</i2c_write>
<i2c_read addr="0x12" count="1"/>
</aardvark>

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! In general, the Aardvark adapter operates at 1 kHz - 800 kHz bitrate as an I2C master or an I2C slave.

Figure 1: Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter

These bitrates are only achievable within each individual byte and do not extend across bytes. It is not possible to send bytes at a throughput of exactly 1/8 times the bitrate. The I2C protocol requires that 9 bits are sent for every 8 bits of data. The byte throughputs are very close to the theoretical maximum byte throughput of the 1/9 bitrate.  About the delay that you see - there is a finite time required to set up a byte transmission.

The Aardvark adapter also has a 2ms round-trip latency for each Aardvark Software API function, which is caused by the full-speed USB link between your computer and the Aardvark adapter. The GUI and the operating system may add additional delay due to internal overhead, which cannot be changed. So, in conclusion, if you want to create your application, using the API would be your best bet in reducing the delays between write and read transactions. However, if you are simply sending these separate write/read transaction pairs, you can use the Master Register Read command in the Control Center software. This command uses the Aardvark hardware to send the read and write command in succession with almost no delay.

For more information about the I2C signaling characteristics, please refer to section 2.3 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual.

To meet your speed requirements, we recommend the PromiraTM Serial Platform. The advanced features include operating as an I2C master up to 1 MHz, integrated level shifting from 0.9V to 5.0V. and USB 2.0 / Ethernet connectivity for faster downloads, remote control, and factory floor automation.

Figure 2: Promira Serial Platform

Regarding speed - the Promira platform supports the I2C master mode at 1 kHz to 1.02 MHz and the I2C slave mode at 1 kHz to 500 kHz. When using USB 2.0 connectivity, the Promira platform uses a high-speed USB link between the Promira platform and the computer, which reduces the USB latency from 2ms to about 250us. The Promira platform has also an API queuing mechanism that may provide additional speed-up for you. For additional information about I2C signaling characteristics, please refer to section 2.2 of the Promira Serial Platform User Manual and to section 5  for details about the Promira Software API. We provide Promira Aardvark Wrapper Software API, which enables you to use the Aardvark API with the Promira platform; however, to maximize the speed of the Promira platform, we recommend using the native Promira API.

• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
  
• Aardvark API Documentation
  
• 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'm working on a project with the following requirements: the SPI master sends requests the SPI slave every 10ms and the slave responds with the data. For some tests, I may need to add a delay after selecting the SPI slave device. I don't see these options within the Control Center Software that comes with the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter - I understand that I can use the Aardvark Software API instead.

It would be easiest for me to write programs in LabVIEW – can the Aardvark adapter be used with LabVIEW?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your questions! Yes, the Aardvark adapter can be used with LabVIEW. The Total Phase Aardvark LabVIEW driver is based on the Aardvark API, supports 32-bit Windows and includes example VIs. The Aardvark Software API can also be used to create loops. The API supports a cross platform (Windows, Linux, and Mac OS – 32- and 64-bit) and the following programming languages: C, C#, Python, .NET, VB.NET, and VB6.  Program examples are  provided. We recommend using the Python bindings as it is a simple language and a good option for scripting. Please note - the Aardvark Software API and the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver are offered as two individual packages that are used separately. The Control Center Serial Software does not support conditional loops.

Figure 1: Aardvark LabVIEW Driver

For additional information, please refer to the readme files that are provided with the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver package and the knowledge base article Sending SPI Messages Between Two Aardvark adapters Using Aardvark LabVIEW.

Note - as an SPI master, the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter provides user-configurable SPI delays; the Aardvark host adapter does not provide that option. More information about signal characteristics for these host adapters is available in the user manuals:

• section 2.5 of the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• section 2.4 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
  

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

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

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 your Komodo CAN Duo Interface and I see there is a batch script window in the Komodo GUI Software. Is there a way I can use Komodo Software API in that window to send CAN messages, as well as capture and then store data in a file? If so, do you have any API python code examples that I could use?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your questions! The Komodo CAN Solo Interface and the Komodo CAN Duo Interface, used with the Komodo GUI in batch mode, allow you to send messages to the target device; however, this application does not support capturing data. To capture and then store data, you can use the Total Phase Data Center Software. For more information, please refer to section 3.4 of the Komodo GUI User Manual and section 4 of the Data Center Software User Manual.

Note - the Komodo Duo Interface can simultaneously transmit messages and capture data; transmitting messages and capturing data must be done separately with the Komodo Solo Interface.

Figure 1: Komodo CAN Duo Interface

The Komodo GUI batch script window is separate from the Komodo Software API. Komodo API python examples can be executed from the command line; they cannot be executed from the Komodo GUI batch mode window.

The Komodo Software API is used to control the Komodo interface and allows you to write custom programs to your specifications. API supports multiple operating systems (Windows, Linux, and Mac) and multiple languages (C, Python, Net, and C#). The following code examples are provided with the API:

• detect: Detect Komodo devices attached to the system.
• async: Uses the asynchronous interface to send packets on CAN channel A.
• gpio: Performs simple GPIO operations with a Komodo interface, including monitoring the pins for voltage changes.
• loopback: Demonstrates how to open ports, acquire features, write and read data. This example requires CAN channels A and B to be connected together with a properly-terminated cable. (This example only applies to CAN Duo interfaces.)
• monitor: Monitors CAN bus and GPIO activity. This program prints out timestamps, status messages, errors messages, and data.
• request: Requests data from specified CAN ID and prints the received data.

Note - the Python API allows you to modify the examples for your system requirements. The examples do not currently include a program that takes data from the received CAN messages and then store that data in a file. For additional information about API, please refer to section 5 of the Komodo CAN Interface User Manual.

More information is available in the following resources:

• Komodo CAN Interface User Manual
• Komodo GUI Software User Manual
• Data Center Software User Manual
• 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.

Question from the Customer:

I am looking for a Protocol Analyzer to monitor and analyze high-speed USB 2.0 devices. Can you describe the features and the differences between the Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer - Ultimate Edition and the Beagle USB 5000 v2 Protocol Analyzer - USB 2.0 Edition? Please include how the Beagle USB protocol analyzers and target devices are powered.

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your questions! Here are details about both Beagle USB protocol analyzers, and the features that are specific per model:

Both Beagle USB protocol analyzers are non-intrusive USB 2.0 monitors that operate on USB 2.0, work with the Total Phase Data Center Software and provide the following features:

• Real-time display, search, and filtering of USB data
• Real-time USB class-level decoding
• High-speed USB chirp detection and robust automatic speed detection, as well as detect suspend/resume events and unexpected signals.
  
• A hardware buffer with a large circular buffer
• Hardware-based packet suppression
• Digital inputs and outputs to synchronize with external logic

Figure 1: Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer-Ultimate Edition

The Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer - Ultimate Edition features include:

• High-speed, Full-speed, and Low-Speed USB 2.0: 480 Mbps, 12 Mbps and 1.5 Mbps
• VBUS current and voltage measurement
• Enhanced USB 2.0 advanced triggering

Regarding how this analyzer is powered:

• Analysis computer supplies the power to the Beagle analyzer over USB
• Power is passed through the analyzer from the target host port to the target device port

For more information about powering this protocol analyzer and the target device, please refer to section 2.2 of the Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual.

Figure 2: Beagle USB 5000 v2 Protocol Analyzer-USB 2.0 Edition

The Beagle USB 5000 v2 Protocol Analyzer - USB 2.0 Edition is meant to be a platform that can be upgraded to USB 3.0 and provides the following:

• USB 2.0 at the following speeds: 480 Mbps, 12 Mbps and 1.5 Mbps
• USB 2.0 advanced triggering
• Field upgradeable to monitor USB 3.0 data

Regarding how this protocol analyzer is powered:

• An external power supply powers the analyzer, not the analysis computer.
• Power is passed through the analyzer from the target host port to the target device port

For more information about powering this protocol analyzer and the target device, please refer to section 2.1 of the Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual.

Here is a comparison chart for your quick reference:

Figure 3: Comparison Chart

If needed, you can use the Beagle Software API to create customized programs for your specifications, the following documents may be helpful resources:

• Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual
  
• Data Center Software User Manual
  
• Beagle 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 using the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter to send large data blocks at maximum speed. I find that I'm getting reliable SPI transmission for long blocks at 40Mb/sec, which corresponds to 5MB/second - these results are OK.

However, the fastest I can queue data to send using ch_spi_queue_array, in blocks of less than 64KB - since num_bytes is only a U16, is about 1.4MB/second.

What causes this difference in speed, and what can I do to improve the performance for queuing data in smaller data blocks?

About my setup:

• The laptop is running Windows 7, 64-bit
• The Cheetah adapter is connected to the laptop via USB.
• The slave device is an FPGA device. I am only blasting transmit data to the FPGA - I am ignoring what the slave might output on the MISO line.

Response from Technical Support:
Thanks for your question! The difference in speed is related to how data is managed with the Cheetah Software API library and interacting with the operating system, a trait that we cannot change. However, there is a solution to improve the programming speed. For your setup, we recommend using the asynchronous API, which allows you to stream data at higher rates. An example of asynchronous API is provided in the API package: “async”. Examples in C, C#, and Python are available.

Figure 1: Cheetah SPI Host Adapter

The key to high performance streaming is to asynchronously submit data to the Cheetah adapter, and then create the next queue while the adapter is shifting out the bytes. Then, before the current queue is completely shifted out, would then submit the next queue for delivery.  Good luck with your application!

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Cheetah SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• API Documentation
• Cheetah API Software

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 plan to use the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter with the external software application Agilent/Keysight VEE. I have installed the Windows driver but cannot detect the adapter in the VEE software. Are there dll libraries that I need to add in system directory or in the VEE installation directory? I see that Total Phase has prepared a driver for LabVIEW which is a similar program.

Response from Technical Support:

Thank for your question! We do our best to support Total Phase customers, but currently, we do not officially support the Agilent VEE development environment. However, Agilent VEE can interface with any standard C DLL. To use VEE, you can use our aardvark.dll and bind to the functions within VEE. To do so, you will need to add the prefix of "c_" to the name of each API function that we have documented. Adding that prefix enables direct access to the API functions in the DLL. For additional information about Aardvark Software API, please refer to section 5 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual.

Figure 1: Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter

Although we do not have support for VEE, we strive to help as many customers as possible.  We do provide support for LabVIEW and Matlab, two very popular development environments in the embedded systems community.

• We support LabVIEW with drivers and software examples, knowledge base articles and additional information in selected blogs.
• We support Matlab with a detailed knowledge base article How To Use Total Phase Products With MATLAB. 

Question from the Customer:
I am using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter. For this project, I would like to use Flash Center Software to program the IDT TSE2004GB2B0 I2C EEPROM, which is a 512 byte device that is configured in two 256 byte pages. I have tried to create an XML file to program this I2C device, but can’t figure out how to make it work. Can you help me program this I2C device?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! The Flash Center Software supports writing to a number of memory devices. Flash Center Software reads/writes to the first page, which consists of the first 256 bytes of the I2C EEPROM that you are programming.

Figure 1: Flash Center Software

To write to the first page of specific device you are using, please do the following:

1. Create the part file (the contents of the part file are listed below).
2. Open the Flash Center Software.
3. Select Operation | Choose Target...
4. Select Load Part File...
5. Select the part file that you created in step 1.
6. Select "Integrated Device Technology" on the Manufacturer tab and then select "TSE2004GB2B0" on the Part Number tab.

The contents of the XML part file:

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
  
• Flash Center Software User Manual
  
• Aardvark API Documentation

Question from the Customer:

I am looking into purchasing the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter for computer communication with a microcontroller on an external board for data exchange. I am planning on using a Visual Basic platform to develop an easier customer interface to access the information.

• Can I use Visual Basic with the Aardvark adapter?
• Are there program examples available?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your questions! You can write and read I2C and SPI data with the Aardvark adapter using Control Center Software, Flash Center Software, and Aardvark Software API. For your setup, we recommend using the Aardvark Software API, which supports Visual Basic. The Aardvark API gives you access to all the functions of the Aardvark adapter, and you can write a custom program for your specifications. The API comes with support for multiple operating systems (Windows, Linux, and Mac) and multiple programming languages (C, C#, Python, .NET, VB.NET, and VB6 – 32- and 54-bit). Examples programs are provided in the Aardvark API package, which includes the following:

• aai2c_eeprom - read/write an I2C serial EEPROM
• aaspi_eeprom - read/write to an SPI serial EEPROM
• aagpio - run GPIO tests

Figure 1: Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter

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

For more speed and flexibility, you may want to check out our latest I2C/SPI product: the Promira^™ Serial Platform, It offers:

• Integrated level shifting provides voltages from 0.9 to 3.3 volts without an accessory board.
• High-speed USB connectivity to the host system provides high performance for benchtop programming, testing, and emulation.
• Ethernet connectivity is enables remote control for automated operations.
• Provides 200 mA of power - power your device with easier connectivity.
• Promira Software API for custom setups and specifications.

Figure 2: Promira Serial Platform

When used with the I2C Active - Level 1 Application, the Promira platform supports high speed I2C programming, high performance debugging, and superior emulation for your I2C protocol needs. I2C programming speeds with the Promira platform are twice as fast as those of the Aardvark adapter.

For the SPI bus, using the SPI Active - Level 1 Application with the Promira platform supports clock speeds of up to 12.5 MHz for master and 8 MHz for slave functionality. Over eight times faster than the Aardvark adapter, the Promira platform supports faster programming for debugging and emulation of SPI devices.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• Aardvark API Documentation
• Promira Serial Platform User Manual
• Promira 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.

DesignCon 2015 in Santa Clara, CA starts on January 27 and the Expo Hall opens on January 28. Total Phase is excited to exhibit this year and thinks there are plenty of reasons you should attend too.

Reasons to Attend

1. Total Phase is exhibiting in booth #648.  Stop by and talk to our experts about test and measurement for your embedded systems.
2. Experience the power of the Promira^™ Serial Platform in Live Hands-on Demonstrations.
3. Learn more about the Total Phase I2C, SPI and USB family of products.
4. Enter to win a Promira Serial Platform.
5. Registration to the Expo Hall is free.
6. Happy Hour! Beer and snacks will be served on the Expo Floor on Wednesday and Thursday from 5pm – 6pm.

As technology continues to evolve and move towards the “Internet of Things”, so must the tools to support such a bold endeavor. Total Phase is a leading provider of embedded systems solutions with a commitment to deliver simple, easy-to-use and industry leading test and measurement tools.

Late 2014, Total Phase introduced the Promira Serial Platform, our most advanced serial device ever. Stop by for a short demonstration, to learn about the important new ways Total Phase is keeping up with the changing times and how we have future-proofed the tools you rely on.

Live Presentations: The Power of the Promira Serial Platform will run throughout the day. 

In-booth Demos
Stop by our booth #648 for a demo and see how our complete family of host adapters and protocol analyzers can optimize your time and assist with your project timeline.  Total Phase offers solutions for I2C, SPI, USB and CAN protocols.

Meet the team
Meet the Total Phase team, ask questions and get answers on how your can meet your project goals and deadlines.

*Enter to win a Promira Serial Platform
Stop by the booth, talk to one of our experts and enter to win a Total Phase  Promira Serial Platform with SPI Active - Level 1 and I2C Active - Level 1 applications and one year of support (retail value = $750).  Mention this blog and enter twice.

Winner will be selected at 5:30 on Thursday, January 29 - stop by our booth, see our products and demos, and enter!

Expo Hours
Wednesday, January 28:    12:30pm - 6:00pm
Thursday, January 29:       12:30pm - 6:00pm

Meet a few products from the Total Phase family
Promira Serial Platform	Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer - Ultimate Edition	Komodo CAN Duo Interface