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OBSERVATIONS

Emerging IJTAG standard marks a new chapter in the evolution of embedded instrumentation

By Glenn Woppman
President and CEO
ASSET InterTech

We’ve been beating the drum for embedded instrumentation for some time now. Soon, one of the industry’s most influential standard-setting bodies, the IEEE, will join in on the chorus. A milestone specification, the proposed IEEE 1687 Internal JTAG (IJTAG) Standard will be ratified soon. But even before it is, I predict you’ll be able to see a real live working IJTAG toolkit for developers. The momentum behind a rapid adoption of the IJTAG standard is already picking up steam. Come by the ASSET booth (No. 117) at the International Test Conference (ITC) Nov. 2 – 4 in Austin, Texas, and let us tell you all about it.

TEST DATA OUT

The Pieces of the Puzzle: Part 1

The most powerful instrument…

Editor’s NOTE: This is the first of a four-part series on the validation, test and debug technologies that currently comprise the ScanWorks® platform for embedded instruments.

By Alan Sguigna
Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Whenever it pops up on my iPod, I think of test engineers. Bob Dylan’s timeless anthem, “The Times They Are a-Changing,” had to be written for us. Look at it this way: Being a test engineer isn’t what it used to be. And, we’re on the cusp of even greater changes to come. The old tried-and-true circuit board test routine of inspection to unpowered probe test to powered test to functional test doesn’t work the way it once did. Fortunately, we’ve made a discovery that will drive validation and test in the future. Most boards have a powerful instrument already on them.

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New boundary-scan features speed test development on ScanWorks®

The boundary-scan toolkit on the ScanWorks platform for embedded instruments has been enhanced with several powerful features that automate and accelerate test development and debug.

Product Manager Kent Zetterberg explains some of the benefits you’ll find when you implement the latest version of ScanWorks boundary-scan test.

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ASSET/Intel® collaboration yields validation toolkit for DDR3 memory suppliers

The six-year collaboration between ASSET and Intel® has borne fruit since its very beginning. Most recently, ScanWorks has been equipped with tools so that memory suppliers can validate the interoperability of their DDR3 chips with Intel’s advanced processors, including the platform most recently announced by Intel, the next-generation micro-architecture codenamed Sandy Bridge.

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Get the most out of those service processors in your high-availability systems

In many embedded applications, service processors (SP) have long played a vital but supporting role to the system’s leading actor, the main CPU. Recently and especially in high-availability systems, the spotlight has begun to shine a bit more brightly on the supporting actors as some system designers have enhanced the part that the SP has to play.

INSIDE ASSET

Test & Measurement World and ASSET Webcast

Webinar on non-intrusive board test (NBT) draws
big-time interest

A recent webinar held in cooperation with Test and Measurement World magazine drew hundreds of signal integrity engineers, test managers and designers who were interested in how they might deploy non-intrusive board test (NBT) methods to solve their validation and test challenges. Larry Osborn, technical product manager, did the honors for ASSET. You can view this content-rich webinar online right now.

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ASSET’s presence will be pervasive at ITC

In addition to occupying one of the dominating booths (No. 117) at the upcoming International Test Conference (ITC) in Austin, Texas, Nov. 2 – 4, ASSET’s presence will be pervasive throughout the week-long conference and exhibition. The ASSET booth will feature hands-on demonstrations of new validation, test and debug tools based on embedded instrumentation technologies like the IEEE P1687 Internal JTAG (IJTAG) standard and ASSET experts will be busy sharing their knowledge and insights at a number of venues.

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IEEE P1687 IJTAG working group rounding the home stretch

A working group of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has been hard at work developing a standard access architecture and protocol for embedded instrumentation. Once ratified, the IEEE P1687 Internal JTAG (IJTAG) standard will usher in a new era for the test and measurement industry where instrumentation in chips will form the basis for non-intrusive validation, test and debug technologies. The working group has made tremendous progress on the IJTAG standard and ratification is expected soon.

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Ecosystem for reduced-pin boundary scan gets a boost

IEEE 1149.7 chip and board tests are on tap following ASSET’s collaboration with IPextreme

ASSET and IPextreme have agreed to collaborate to enable the ScanWorks® platform for embedded instruments as a tools environment for testing chips and circuit boards that conform to the new IEEE 1149.7 reduced-pin boundary-scan standard. “We expect IEEE 1149.7 to have a significant impact in the mobile market where circuit board space is at a premium and test access scarce,” said Adam Ley, ASSET’s chief technologist for boundary scan.

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From the Blogosphere

New ASSET blog tracks the latest trends in validation, test and debug

Are bugs in that watchdog timer bugging you? Or maybe you’re wondering ‘why validate?’ Got a burning desire to know more about Intel®’s QPI bus? The posts on ASSET’s new blog, Test Data Out, are pertinent, incisive and, well, fun to read. Check it out right now and sign up today.

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ASSET in the news:

Recent articles get the word out on embedded instrumentation

Lately, a number of publications and web portals that serve the electronics industry have paid significant attention to the trend toward embedded instrumentation. Of course, it didn’t hurt that ASSET’s experts provided much or most of this content to the media. Read on for a run-down of recently published articles by ASSET and what to watch for in the future.

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New user-friendly web site taking shape

Just in case you missed it, the ASSET web site is changing. Right before your eyes, the web site is morphing into a more user-friendly place. Larger, more inviting banner graphics rotate on the home page, telling the viewer about important upcoming events or offering in-depth information concerning a critical issue in the industry.

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