ProtoSync

ProtoSync is an option for Teledyne LeCroy oscilloscopes that provides simultaneous views as follows:

1. Physical layer waveforms (captured by a Teledyne LeCroy oscilloscope)
2. Decode annotation overlays (displayed on a Teledyne LeCroy oscilloscope)
3. Protocol analysis views (displayed in a separate software window)

ProtoSync leverages Teledyne LeCroy’s oscilloscope decode annotation capabilities to provide simultaneous views of the complete protocol stack, from physical layer to transaction layer. The oscilloscope acts as the acquisition system, passing digital data to Teledyne LeCroy's industry-standard protocol analysis software tools.

ProtoSync is especially useful for standards that support dynamic equalization, such as PCI Express and USB 3.x. Dynamic equalization is a link initialization process where training sequences communicate transmitter and receiver parameters to establish a link. In the pre-silicon stage of development, protocol analyzer hardware may not yet be available or physical layer problems may be so prevalent that a protocol analyzer may not be able to provide the desired analysis. Yet debugging dynamic equalization is usually much easier if both analog waveforms and high level protocol packet data are available and are synchronized together so as to navigate to hard-to-find details of dynamic equalization.

In addition, more mature standards are increasingly becoming embedded in system designs. Embedded systems usually present complex attachment or probing challenges that make it difficult to conveniently connect a protocol analyzer, or the embedded system engineer may not be familiar with the protocol analyzer tool. However, the challenges around connecting an oscilloscope to the embedded system are usually already known and resolved, and the debug and validation system engineer is quite familiar with the operation of an oscilloscope. By providing the ability to view advanced protocol packet data using physical layer oscilloscope captures as a source, complex problems can be more easily debugged.

ProtoSync runs on Teledyne LeCroy WaveRunner, WavePro, WaveMaster, and LabMaster oscilloscope platforms.

Supported serial decoders:

• – PCI Express 1.0 through 5.0 (Up to 4 lanes Tx/Rx, or 1 lane Tx+Rx)
• – USB4 (Gen2, Gen3)
• – USB 3.2 (Up to Gen2x2)
• – USB 1.x, 2.0
• – USB2 HSIC
• – SATA Revision 1.0, 2.0, 3.0
• – SAS Gen1, 2, 3
• – Fibre Channel 1, 2, 4, 8GFC