ScanWorks^® JTAG Interconnect Development Station Bundle

Organizing Your Data

Before ScanWorks can generate boundary-scan tests, it needs a description of the boundary-scan features of the design. During test generation and application, design-specific information is created. ScanWorks organizes and manages this information for you by creating a data structure of projects, designs and actions. A project is a container for designs, which include all the information about each version of your design. An action includes all the information about each test you’ve created. All of this information is compiled in a single compressed file so it can be moved easily between ScanWorks Stations for further development, board repair, or manufacture. This compressed file also provides a convenient method of archiving your data to protect it.

Describing Your Design

ScanWorks builds a description of your design from the information you provide, including Boundary Scan Description Language (BSDL) files, CAD files of your design and models of non-boundary-scan devices. BSDL files are the only required files, but when more information is provided such as CAD data and devices models, tests can be developed and deployed much faster. Many BSDL files, flash memory models, dynamic memory models and non-boundary-scan device models are available on ASSET’s web-based model library.

ScanWorks provides two methods for describing your design. If you know the boundary-scan devices and their order in the scan path it is easy to list them in the proper order and to assign the proper BSDL file to them. ScanWorks then automatically builds the required description files from this list. If the design is large or you don’t have the CAD files, the ScanWorks Scan Path Discovery utility can automatically discover the devices on the scan path from a netlist, determine their order, create the required description files and a block diagram of the scan path, and generate scan path verification tests. ScanWorks will accept practically any netlist format. Net lists are imported and converted to the ScanWorks’ internal format.

ScanWorks also uses non-boundary-scan device information to ensure that any tests of the connections between boundary-scan and non-boundary-scan devices will be safe for the board. ScanWorks will not test any nets it is not aware of ensuring that the generated test will be safe to apply to the board. Models describe the non-boundary-scan devices’ IO characteristics. Many of the most common device models are available to ScanWorks users under maintenance contracts from ASSET’s web-based model library. If a model is not available, it can be easily created.

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