Agilent Technologies

N5393A PCI Express® ElectricalPerformance Validation andCompliance Software for Infiniium54855A or 80000 Series Oscilloscopes

Data Sheet

Verify and debug your PCIExpress® designs more easily

Agilent Technologies N5393A PCIExpress electrical performancevalidation and compliancesoftware provides you with a fastand easy way to verify and debugyour PCI Express designs foradd-in cards and motherboardsystems.

The PCI Express electrical test software allows you toautomatically execute PCIExpress electrical checklist tests,and it displays the results in aflexible report format. In additionto the measurement data, thereport provides a margin analysisthat shows how closely yourdevice passed or failed each test.

The N5393A PCI Expresselectrical test software optionallyutilizes the clock recoverymethod used in the officialPCI-SIG®1 Signal Quality TestMethodology (“SigTest”)

Table of Contents

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Easy Test Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Configurability and Guided Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Reports with Margin Analysis . . . . . . . 6

Reference Clock Measurements . . . . . 8

Powerful Debugging Aids . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Measurement Requirements . . . . . . . 12

Recommended Test Accessories . . . . 13

Oscilloscope Compatibility . . . . . . . . . 14

Test Performed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Sales and Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

application, ensuring that your testresults are consistent with resultsfrom the SigTest application.

The PCI Express electricalperformance validation andcompliance software performs a wide range of electrical tests as per the PCI Express 1.0a and1.1 electrical specifications for add-in cards and motherboardsystems as documented inSection 4 of the base specificationand Section 4 of the cardelectromechanical specification.Selected tests for PCI Express 2.0are also included to help youprepare for the next generation ofthis powerful I/O technology.

1 Peripheral Component Interconnect SpecialInterest Group

2

The N5393A PCI Expresselectrical test software offersseveral features to simplify thevalidation of PCI Express designs:

• Automated 1M Unit Interval(or greater) testing for highestaccuracy

• Test setup wizard for ease-of-use

• Wide range of electrical tests

• PCI-SIG SigTest clock recovery algorithm

• Automated scopemeasurement setup

• Test results report generation

• Pass/fail margin analysis

• Reference clock phase jitteranalysis

With the PCI Express electricaltest software, you can use the same oscilloscope you use for everyday debugging toperform automated testing andmargin analysis based on thePCI-SIG-specified test checklist.

PCI Express compliance testingTo pass signal quality testing at a PCI-SIG-sponsored complianceworkshop, your product mustsuccessfully pass “Gold Suite”testing, based on the PCI-SIGSigTest application. The SigTest application tests yourdevice against the minimumsignal-quality performancerequirements for PCIExpress-compliant products. For full compliance, the PCI-SIGrequires devices to also pass a more rigorous collection ofelectrical tests that are publishedas checklists on the PCI-SIG Website (www.pcisig.com). Theseelectrical tests are much moreintricate than those included in the SigTest application. Youmust perform the tests includedon these checklists before yousubmit your product for testing ata PCI-SIG-sponsored compliance

workshop. If you are developingreceivers and transmitters for add-in boards and systemmotherboards, the N5393A PCIExpress electrical test softwarehelps you execute all the SigTesttests and a subset of the checklisttests that can be measured withan oscilloscope. See the list oftests in Table 3 on page 15.

While SigTest tests provide a good overview of PCI Expresselectrical signal quality, theyaddress only a small subset of the electrical compliancemeasurements specified in thePCI-SIG test checklists. TheSigTest application also providesminimal reporting capability with pass/fail indication andmeasurement values, and haslimited debugging capabilities todecipher eye mask violations orexcessive jitter.

Features

3

N5393A benefitsThe N5393A PCI Expresselectrical test software saves you time by setting the stage for automatic execution of PCIExpress electrical tests. Part of the difficulty of performingelectrical tests for PCI Express is hooking up the oscilloscope,loading the proper setup files,and then analyzing the measuredresults by comparing them to limits published in thespecification. The PCI Expresselectrical test software does muchof this work for you. In addition,if you discover a problem with

your device, robust debug toolsare available to aid in root-causeanalysis. These debug tools areprovided by the Agilent E2688Ahigh-speed serial data analysissoftware, which you must installon your oscilloscope to use the PCI Express electrical test software.

The N5393A PCI Expresselectrical test software offersmany more electrical tests thanthe SigTest application. Unlikethe SigTest application, theN5393A PCI Express electrical

test software automaticallyconfigures the oscilloscope foreach test, and it provides aninformative results report that includes margin analysisindicating how close your product is to passing or failing aparticular test assertion. Table 1shows a side-by-side comparisonof the capabilities of the SigTestapplication and the AgilentN5393A PCI Express electricaltest software. A complete list of the measurements made by the PCI Express electrical testsoftware can be found in Table 3.

Capability Agilent N5393A PCI-SIG SigTest

Number of measurement assertions 16+ 4

Support for PCIe 1.1 Yes Yes

Reference clock tests 10 0*

Automated oscilloscope setup for Yes, guided No, single setupeach measurement

Measurement results Pass/fail with margin analysis Pass/fail with measured value

Clock recovery method PCI-SIG SigTest or 1st/2nd order PLL PCI-SIG SigTest

Custom report generation Yes No

Selectable number of tests Yes No

Compliance test boards supported CBB, CLB CBB, CLB

* PCI-Sig offers a separate utility (Clock_Jitter) for analyzing reference clock phase jitter.

Table 1. Comparison of capabilities of the Agilent PCI Express electrical test software and the PCI-SIG SigTest application.

Benefits

4

Easy Test Definition

The N5393A PCI Expresselectrical test software extendsthe ease-of-use advantages ofAgilent’s Infiniium 54855A or80000 Series oscilloscopes totesting PCI Express designs. TheAgilent automated test enginewalks you quickly through thesteps required to define the tests,set up the test, perform the tests,and view the test results. You can select a category of tests allat once, or specify individualtests. You can save tests andconfigurations as project files andrecall them later for quick testingand review of previous testresults. Straightforward menuslet you perform tests with aminimum of mouse clicks.

Figure 2. The Agilent automated test engine guides you quicklythrough selecting tests, configuring tests, setting up theconnection, running the tests, and viewing the results. Individualtests or groups of tests are easily selected with a mouse click.

Easy to follow taskflow for configuringand running tests

Select one test or agroup of tests with asingle mouse click

Test with SSC enabled or with a clean clock orwith your own specifiedclock recovery choice

Pick the standard youwant to test against

Choose the test point you areprobing with your oscilloscope

Figure 1. The Agilent N5393A allows you to easily specify thetest standard you want to use to test the compliance of yourdevice. This makes test setup easy as only the appropriatetests for that test point are shown on later test selection pages.

Test your referenceclock for phase jitterto help ensure cleanhigh data rate transmissions

5

Configurability and Guided Connections

The N5393A PCI Expresselectrical test software providesflexibility in your test setup. Itguides you to make connectionchanges with hookup diagramswhen the tests you select requireit. All PCI Express electricalcompliance tests you perform are based on the official PCI-SIGapproved set of test fixtures. Thecompliance fixtures include theCompliance Base Board (CBB) for add-in card testing, and theCompliance Load Board (CLB) formotherboard or system testing.Connection to the compliance testfixtures is selectable betweenSMA cables or Agilent InfiniiMaxactive differential probes.

Figure 4. When you make multiple tests where the connections must bechanged, you are prompted with connection diagrams and/or photographs.

If more than one test setup connectionis required, you will be notified here

You are prompted to make the appropriateconnections for the set of tests

Figure 5. The PCI-SIG Compliance BaseBoard (CBB) for add-in card testing, andthe Compliance Load Board (CLB) formotherboard or system testing.

Figure 3. In configuring the tests, you define the device to test, itsconfiguration, and how the oscilloscope is connected.

Specify 1 million UI (or more) for your jittermeasurements

Show thespectralresponse ofyour referenceclock in thecritical 1.5 -22 MHz region

Clean-clockoscillator usedon the 1.1 CBB

6

Reports with Margin Analysis

In addition to providing you withmeasurement results, the N5393APCI Express electrical testsoftware provides a report formatthat shows you not only whereyour product passes or fails, butalso reports how close you are to the limits specified for aparticular test assertion. You can select the margin test reportparameter, which means you can specify the level at whichwarnings are issued to alert youto electrical tests where yourproduct is operating close to the official test limit defined by the PCI Express 1.0a or 1.1specifications for a given testassertion.

Figure 7. Additional details are available for each testincluding the test limits, test description, and test resultsincluding waveforms if appropriate.

Figure 6. The PCI Express electrical test software results reportdocuments your test, indicates the pass/fail status, the test specificationrange, the measured values, and the margin.

Test results in aneasy-to-readHTML formattedreport

Overall testdescription

Summarytest results

Details for each specific test made

Test limits

Test description

Test results and waveforms

7

Figure 8. How close you are to passing or failing a test is indicated as a% in the margin field. A result highlighted in yellow or red indicates thatthe margin threshold level for a warning or failure was detected.

Reports with Margin Analysis (continued)

User set margin thresholds forwarning and failure indicators

Margin values indicate when the resultsare approaching test limits. Warningsand failures are highlighted.

8

Reference Clock Measurements

The PCI Express 1.0aspecification failed to specify theinput bandwidth the referenceclock receiver or phase jitter ofthe reference clock itself. This isimportant because jitter that lieswithin the loop bandwidth thereceiver PLL for the referenceclock will transfer onto the highspeed data lines. This hole in thePCI Express specification wascorrected in the 1.1 update.

The N5393A includes powerfulreference clock evaluation toolsincluding phase jitter. Thespecification calls for a veryspecific phase jitter filter thatfocuses the measurement on thejitter that lies between 1.5 and22 MHz. The filter also amplifiesthe jitter 3dB (peaking) withinthis region. The Agilent N5393Aincludes proprietary filteringsoftware (patent pending) thatexactly implements the filterspecified in the 1.1 PCI Expressspecification.

Utilizing Agilent’s InfiniiMax1169A high performancedifferential probes, you canmeasure your reference clockusing the PCI-SIG’s ComplianceLoad Board (CLB).

Reference clock tests

• Phase jitter

• Rising edge rate

• Falling edge rate

• Differential input high voltage

• Differential input low voltage

• Average clock period

• Duty cycle

Infiniimax 1169A probewith E2678A socketadapter attached to CLB

Note 2pF capacitorsadded to CLB to createREFCLK complianceload as per spec

Figure 9. The N5939A software includes important tests for the reference clock of yourPCI Express system. This signal can be probed using the Agilent InfiniiMax 1169Aprobes in conjunction with the PCI-SIG’s compliance load board.

Figure 10. This shows the CLB inserted in a PCI Expressmotherboard with the Agilent 1169A probe attached usingthe Agilent E2678A Differential Socket Probe Head.

9

Powerful Debugging Aids

If your device fails a test, youneed to determine how it failed.To use N5393A PCI Expresselectrical test software, you mustinstall Agilent E2688A high-speedserial data analysis software,which provides you with severalpowerful debugging tools. The8b/10b decoding feature lets

Figure 11. The 8b/10b decoded symbol information is shown below theappropriate portion of a PCI Express signal using the E2688A software.

Make sure yourcompliance patternhas the proper disparity (K28.5-,D21.5, K28.5+,D10.2)

Use the 10-bit codedisplay to validateyour compliancepattern conforms tothe PCI Expressstandard

you identify data-dependenterrors that result in eye maskviolations caused by inter-symbolinterference (ISI). You canperform 8b/10b decoding tocapture and display serial datasynchronized with the analogview of a serial data stream.

10

Powerful Debugging Aids (continued)

Using the E2788A Serial DataAnalysis tool you can test forillegal characters in yourcompliance pattern. You can alsouse the mask test feature to

Problems with early silicon stillpersist with new PCI Expressdevices. Make sure yours isn’t oneof them. SKP characters are notallowed in the compliance pattern.

Figure 12. Check for illegal characters in the compliance pattern (such asSKP’s) using the E2688A Serial Data Analysis tool.

identify the specific digitalpatterns that caused a specificfailure in the eye diagram whentesting under the 1.1 specification(using a first order PLL).

11

This eye fails after 658KUIs are analyzed

Figure 13.

Powerful Debugging Aids (continued)

Figure 14. The E2688A allows you to show the specific waveform thatcaused an eye diagram failure.

Here you see the specificwaveform (and 10-bitcode) that caused theeye failure

12

Measurement Requirements

The N5393A PCI Expresselectrical performance validationand compliance software requiresthe E2688A high-speed serialdata analysis software, one of thePCI-SIG approved compliance testfixtures (CBB or CLB), and atleast two SMA cables or InfiniiMaxactive differential probes. Someof the measurements cannot be made with the PCI-SIG

Compliance test fixture Description

CBB PCI Express Compliance Base Board for testing PCI Express add-in cards

CLB PCI Express Compliance Load Board for testing PCI Express platforms

compliance test fixtures and mayrequire you to build or acquire acustom test board, assembly, orother test fixture.

To purchase the PCI Expresscompliance test fixtures, consultthe PCI-SIG Web site and selectthe PCI-SIG specification orderform link at: www.pcisig.com/specifications/ordering_information

13

Recommended Test Accessories

To complete your test setup,Agilent provides a wide range of cables, adapters, terminations, etc.

Add-in card testing

Model number Description

PCI-SIG Compliance Base Board (order from www.pcisig.com/specifications/ordering_information)

15442A Two SMA cables

One PC power supply

One power supply load for regulation

1810-0118 Six 50 Ω terminators

System motherboard testing

Model number Description

PCI-SIG Compliance Base Board (order from www.pcisig.com/specifications/ordering_information)

15442A Two SMA cables

1134A or 1169A InfiniiMax probe with socketed (E2678A) probe adapter

1250-1741 Two right angle SMA adapters (f - m)

1810-0118 Six 50 Ω terminators

Semiconductor device testing

Model number Description

Customer supplied custom test fixtures with SMAs

15442A Two SMA cables

1169A One InfiniiMax probe with differential solder connection (E2677A)

Optional (for all types of testing)

Model number Description

11667B Power splitter, DC to 26.5 GHz, 3.5 mm (f) connectors

11646B Power divider, DC to 26.5 GHz, 3.5 mm (f) connectors

1250-1159 Three SMA (m - m) adapters

8493B Coaxial attenuator (3, 6, 10, 20 or 30 dB), DC to 18 GHz, SMA connector

Matched cable pair, two 90cm (36 inch) SMA (m - m) cables propagation delay within 25 ps

1810-0118 SMA (m) 50 Ω termination

Table 2. Recommended test accessories

14

Oscilloscope Compatibility

The N5393A PCI Expresselectrical performance validationand compliance software iscompatible with Agilent 54855A6-GHz oscilloscopes withoperating software revisionA.03.50 or higher. To use it, youmust also install Agilent E2688Ahigh-speed serial data analysissoftware. For oscilloscopes withearlier software revisions, free

Data rate Recommended oscilloscope Bandwidth of recommended oscilloscope

2.5 Gb/s DSO81304A 13 GHzDSO81204A 12 GHzDSO81004A 10 GHzDSO80804A 8 GHz54855A 6 GHz

upgrade software is available atwww.agilent.com/find/infiniium_software

The N5393A PCI Expresselectrical performance validationand compliance software iscompatible with Agilent 80000Series oscilloscopes withoperating software revisionA.03.90 or higher.

15

Tests Performed

The N5393A PCI Expresselectrical performance validationand compliance softwareperforms the following tests asper the PCI Express 1.0a and 1.1electrical specifications for add-incards and motherboard systemsas documented in Section 4 of the base specification (“PHY”)and Section 4 of the cardelectromechanical specification(“EM”). For reference, the testsperformed by the SigTestapplication are also noted.

Assertion no. Description N5393A SigTest

Transmitter tests

PHY.3.1#26 DC common mode voltage Y N

PHY.3.2#1 De-emphasis on multiple bits same polarity Y Nin succession

PHY.3.2#2 Transition bit voltage Y N

PHY.3.3#1 Transmitter eye diagram Y N

PHY.3.3#2 Unit interval without SSC variations Y N

PHY.3.3#3 Minimum D+/D- output rise/fall time Y N

PHY.3.3#4 Jitter median to max deviation Y N

PHY.3.3#5 Maximum RMS AC common mode voltage Y N

PHY.3.3#9 Minimum eye width Y N

Receiver tests

PHY.3.4#1 Minimum receiver eye diagram Y* N

PHY.3.4#2 AC peak common mode input voltage Y* N

PHY.3.4#6 Jitter median to max deviation input Y* N

System board (connector) tests

EM.4#4 Minimum jitter Y Y

EM.4#20 Transmitter path eye diagram Y Y

Reference clock (connector) tests

PHY.3.3#2 Phase jitter Y N/A*

PHY.3.3#1 Rising edge rate Y N/A

PHY.3.3#1 Falling edge rate Y N/A

PHY.3.3#4 Differential input high voltage Y N/A

PHY.3.3#4 Differential input low voltage Y N/A

PHY.3.3#9 Average clock period Y N/A

PHY.3.2#2 Duty cycle Y N/A

Add-in card (connector) tests

EM.4#13 Minimum jitter Y Y

EM.4#19 Transmitter path eye diagram Y Y

* Note: Receiver tests provided by the N5393A do not validate the receiver’s tolerance or ability to correctly receivedata. They validate the signal at the receiver against specified tolerances.

Table 3. PCI Express Electrical tests performed by the N5393A software.

16

Ordering Information

To purchase the PCI ExpressElectrical Performance Validationand Compliance software with anInfiniium 54855A or 80000 Seriesoscilloscope, please order thefollowing:

Related literature

Publication title Publication type Publication number

Infiniium 80000 Series Oscilloscopes and Data Sheet 5989-1487ENInfiniiMax II Series Probes

Infiniium 54850 Series Oscilloscopes and Data Sheet 5988-7976EN1130 Series Probes

E2688A High-Speed Serial Data Analysis with Data Sheet 5989-0108ENClock Recovery Software

Model number Description

N5393A PCI Express Electrical Test software for Infiniium 54855A or 80000 Series oscilloscopes

Option 003 High-Speed Serial Data Analysis software for Infiniium 5485XA or 80000 Series oscilloscopes

Model number Description

N5393A PCI Express Electrical Test software for Infiniium 54855A or 80000 Series oscilloscopes

E2688A High-Speed SDA software for Infiniium 5485XA or 80000 Series oscilloscopes

To add the PCI Express ElectricalPerformance Validation andCompliance software to anexisting Infiniium 54855A or80000 Series oscilloscope, pleaseorder the following:

While not required for the 1.0a or1.1 tests, some of the PCI Express2.0 tests performed by the N5393Acompliance software require thatAgilent N5400A EZJIT PLUS jitteranalysis software be installed on your oscilloscope. For neworders, you can add EZJIT PLUSas Option 004. To add EZJITPLUS to an existing oscilloscope,order the N5400A.

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© Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2006

Printed in USA, September 30, 2006

5989-1240EN

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