LeCroy Protocol Test Card for PCI Express 2.0

Selected by the PCI-SIG® as an official test tool for PCI-Express® 2.0 at PCI-SIG Workshops

LeCroy Summit T2-16 Protocol Analyzer

The LeCroy Protocol Test Card (PTC) is a multimodal test board used for checking adherence to the protocol-oriented sections of the PCI Express 2.0 specification. The PTC has been developed in close collaboration with Intel®, and is specifically designed to meet industry requirements for next generation development tools for PCI Express. LeCroy brings extensive technical experience with PCI Express compliance verification and testing,building on the family of products that already support PCI Express compliance with tools such as SpekChek™on SPX Trainers and the Link and Transaction tests on its PETrainer™line of products.

This new tool will be used by validation and test engineers to check for functionality and interoperability of add-in cards, systems, and chips using PCI Express 2.0. The tests are mainly defined to check the platform (BIOS, OS and RC) and add-in devices (endpoints, switches, and bridges) in the form of an add-in card. The PTC Card is easy to use and works at both 5 GT/s and 2.5 GT/s. Simply insert the card into a PCI Express socket and test the PCI Express host or device for conformity to specifications.

Key Specifications

  • Transaction Layer, Data Link Layer and Firmware (BIOS/EFI) tests for PCI Express 2.0 and 1.x
  • MidBus connector for analyzer debugging
  • LeCroy connector for Summit™ T2-16 Protocol Analyzer
  • Field-upgradeable FPGA
  • USB 2.0 connector for topology simulation mode
  • x16 Connector for testing add-in cards from x1 to x16 lane widths

Key Benefits

  • Reduces time-to-market through higher quality interoperability test
  • Tests both platforms (root complexes) and add-in devices (endpoints)
  • Ensures compliance to PCI Express 2.0 and PCI Express 1.x specifications
  • Supports 2.5 and 5 GT/s speeds
  • Supports testing with x1, x4, x8, and x16 add-in cards
  • Easy to use
  • Portable & low cost

The card operates in the following test modes:

  • Add-In-card test mode
  • Topology Simulation mode
Both of the test modes can be controlled by either a command line interface or by changing a dip switch on the PTC card itself.