Products

Protocol Analyzers

Sierra M122A

The Sierra M122A is Teledyne LeCroy’s two port SAS / SATA analyzer with special licensing to allow 6 Gb/s protocol capture. This multifunction platform is available with an integrated traffic generation option capable of host and device emulation. There is also a “Jammer” option for stress testing at the system and component level. This model of the Sierra M122A is configured for 6Gbps SAS & SATA protocol capture and can be field-upgraded to support 12Gb/s SAS testing.

Explore Sierra M122A

Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) is the next-generation replacement of SCSI Ultra320. SAS is a serialized protocol. The serial interface offers several benefits over the existing SCSI parallel bus; allowing for high availability, complex storage topologies, and a lower cost structure.

High Availability: As with SATA, Serial Attached SCSI is a high-speed, point-to-point technology initially designed to operate at speeds up to 6Gb/sec. System designers have found that point-to-point serial connections are inherently more reliable than shared bandwidth parallel connections. As a result, point-to-point serial connections have become the preferred method for implementing high-availability systems. SAS based disk drives are dual ported, taking advantage of this feature. This is a key requirement of high-availability SANs that call for redundant paths to all devices in the system.

Complex Storage Environments: SAS storage environments usually consist of a mixture of disk drives, host bus adapters and expanders. SAS allows for addressing of over 16,000 devices. SAS Expanders are routing devices that forward service requests between the source and destination devices. Expanders can be attached to other expanders, disk drives, and other hosts. An important characteristic of Expanders is their ability to aggregate bandwidth by combining multiple physical links into a "Wide" port. These wide ports can function as intelligent switches and can independently send commands across one physical path with data being returned over a different physical path. This increases the complexity of SAS test and debug because it requires users to monitor multiple links concurrently to record all DWORDs associated with a single SCSI transaction. The usage of expanders also allows for usage of a storage concept called Zoning. Zoning allows administrators to restrict access to devices by other devices. Applications of this include separating storage systems within a company by department.

Lower Cost Structure: Serial Attached SCSI also contains support for SATA drives in its storage environments. This allows support for both enterprise-class performance offered by SAS and low cost storage with SATA drives in the same system. Since the cost of the SAS infrastructure is expected to be comparable to SATA, it is likely that SAS will be the preferred interface. Since both SAS and SATA drives can be used in this environment, it will simplify and standardize the storage infrastructure, allowing for the ability to choose which drive will best fit individual storage needs.

Protocol Analysis

SAS Test and Verification: LeCroy's protocol analysis tools are designed from the ground up to address these unique characteristics of SAS including wide-links and Serial ATA interoperability. Sierra’s analysis and design suites are developed specifically for use with the SAS and SATA protocols, and provide extensive protocol decoding, expert error analysis, and complete user support when decoding and viewing the recorded traffic. This extensive protocol support, combined with the different traffic views, advanced triggering, data filtering, traffic generation, and error injection capability, allows engineers to rapidly become familiar with SAS- and SATA-specific issues, and quickly understand new issues the first time they encounter them. Every engineer becomes a protocol expert with the support of Sierra’s detailed expert analysis.

Flexible, Cost Effective 6G Protocol Test System

Based on the highly regarded Sierra M124A validation system, the M122A offers the same high-fidelity probe design in a lower-cost, 2-port, 6Gb/s configuration. The M122A can record two independent SAS or SATA links simultaneously. The platform can be upgraded to support 12Gb/s SAS plus traffic generation (Trainer) or error injection (InFusion) capabilities.

Unmatched Accuracy with T.A.P.3

The Sierra M122A features custom probe technology known as T.A.P.3 (Transparent Acquisition Probing) which has been field proven in Teledyne LeCroy's market-leading PCI Express, Fibre Channel and USB analyzer platforms. Designed to record SATA 6 Gb/s protocol with minimal impact on the signal-under-test, the Sierra M122A provides the most accurate picture of the SATA power-on reset behavior and speed negotiation timing.

Expert Analysis Software

From the link layer to the application layer, the Sierra analysis suite offers a wide range of traffic views and tools to enable engineers to easily zero-in on areas of interest. When working at the frame level, the Text View shows exchanges of frames and accompanying primitives. For viewing commands and frames in chronological order, the Spreadsheet View can filter out unwanted primitives and frames to simplify the display. The Sierra also features a hierarchical view for the application layer, logically assembling frames and primitives that are related to commands. The traditional hierarchical view groups commands, data, and status. The hierarchical display can be drilled-down to view the frame and link layers. All the analysis views can be used simultaneously synchronized and displayed within one application.

Innovative, Flexible, and Compact System Design

The Sierra's status indicators includes information on negotiated link speed, protocol error detection, link-up, out-of-band (OOB) and data frames currently on the bus. The LCD screen reports which user is currently connected to the Sierra system, the system IP address and status, which can be set from the front panel interface. Host connectivity to the Sierra includes support for both USB 3.0 and Gigabit Ethernet. The expansion port allows for future enhancements, such as providing DC power to a drive. The Sierra enclosure is easily positioned on the bench top or integrated into a 19" rack.

Pin-point triggering

From looking for a particular frame, to more complex events such as timing and status between events, Sierra's logical triggering algorithms give the engineer the ability to quickly define multiple logical state changes with 4 independent timers and counters. Sierra's powerful trigger capabilities include up to a 24-level state sequencer, the ability to pre-filter at each state, and the ability to assign individual triggers to each logical link. Triggering on specific header fields or commands is easy thanks to protocol-specific awareness. Spend more time engineering and less time searching for events with the deepest triggering available.

Automated Intelligence through software

With Sierra's transparent post-processing, searching, and hiding of unwanted traffic, analyzing the captured data has never been easier. Protocol-specific decoding, including the complete SAS and SATA command sets. Metrics are generated for every trace and allow engineers to easily determine what was captured at a glance. Performance reports can reveal command execution, errors, and other data traffic issues. Selecting from the broad range of reports provides each customer with rapid access to the information you seek.

Sierra Error Injector (Jammer)

Building on the capabilities of the industry's first SAS/SATA error injection system, the InFusion option for Sierra M124A/M122A can programmatically alter or corrupt traffic for both SAS 12G and SATA 6G protocols. Fully integrated within the Sierra platform, Infusion is designed to create faulty link conditions while the analyzer records the real response from the system under test. The InFusion 12G solution is the ideal tool for stress testing systems while running real traffic and actual workloads.

Impair and Analyze up to 4-wide Links Simultaneously

The Sierra InFusion 12G system on the M124A platform can operate on up to four SAS or SATA links simultaneously (on the M122A platform, up to 2 links are supported). The Sierra analyzer can simultaneously monitor traffic in both directions over the same physical links. By default, the analyzer will use two channels to monitor before and after the error injection.

Powerful Error Injection and Traffic Modification Abilities

Once the Sierra InFusion system has been added to a SAS or SATA link, it automatically passes the boot up sequence and preserves protocol handshaking between devices. It silently monitors the line while transmitting a faithful copy of the original data stream. The system will wait for a specific time interval or count a particular event that you designate before it begins modifying frames or injecting errors. Sierra InFusion can be configured to send a single error, multiple errors, or random errors.

When changing fields within a frame, the Sierra InFusion traffic modifier will preserve the outbound frame structure, including recalculating the CRC if needed. The response transmitted from the device-under-test will pass through the Sierra system, without modification. This allows true end-to-end system testing. The Sierra InFusion software will maintain a log that contains a summary of the exchange.

Versatile and Easy to Use

In just minutes, an easy-to-use pop up menu interface makes it easy to create test scenarios. Any primitive or data pattern can be intercepted and changed to a user defined pattern. From dropping entire packets - to changing any field within a frame, the Infusion system can create data integrity or simple handshaking errors. This allows for unprecedented corner case and protocol level stress testing for SAS and SATA traffic.

The Sierra InFusion 12G software was designed to modify existing traffic between an initiator and a target, which better reflects real world operating conditions compared to script based simulations. Test scenarios are independent of hardware setup and rarely need to be tuned for different configurations. Saved test scenarios can be recalled making it easy to re-verify system behavior during regression testing of software or firmware.

Sophisticated error injection strategies are now possible using the dual sequencers with up to 256 sequential wait states per sequence. Each state can be configured to check for different conditions or inject different errors before branching to the next state. Looping allows the error injection sequence to repeat at specific intervals. Each sequential state can also include timers and counters to better isolate specific link conditions.

A Comprehensive Solution for SAS and SATA

Teledyne LeCroy's SAS and SATA solutions provide you with advanced features necessary to ease the development and deployment of SAS and SATA devices. By combining the functionality and power of a Sierra SAS/SATA Analysis, Traffic Generator, and InFusion Error Injector, you have a complete system that gives you the most in-depth analysis, testing, and validation available for SAS and SATA.

Sierra SAS Traffic Generator

SAS 6 Gbps Analysis Option

CrossSync Multi-Protocol Analysis option

CrossSync is Teledyne LeCroy's analyzer synchronization solution that enables time-aligned display of protocol traffic from multiple daisy-chained analyzers. Captured packets are displayed in separate windows that share a common time scale. Navigating the traffic in either direction will scroll to the same timestamp in the synchronized window. When using the CrossSync option, users can access the full complement of analysis capabilities available within each individual Teledyne LeCroy software. Search, reporting, and decoding all operate normally.

Identifying the point where a specific bus event moves over a bridge is nearly impossible without the CrossSync synchronization solution. Now it's easy to use triggering to find the same packet travelling across both busses. Either analyzer can be set up as the trigger master. When the trigger event is detected, the capture on all daisy chained analyzers stops, Each display will show the exact point where the event occurred. It's also possible to define separate trigger events that operate independently for each side of the bridge.

The solution includes a lightweight software control panel that starts and stops recording across daisy-chained analyzers. Users can sync or un-synch traces on-the-fly. The Time Tune feature provides a real time slider for adjusting the offset between displays. This makes it easy to see latency across busses.

The CrossSync control panel is available at no cost and only requires the analyzers to be connected using their on-board Sync ports. This Sync port is built-in to every Advisor T3 and STX M6-1 analyzer. For owners of Teledyne LeCroy's, Summit T3, Voyager M3i, and Sierra -based analyzers, the Sync port is available as an optional expansion board (ACC-EXP-002-X) that can be installed by users in just a few minutes. This allows developers to leverage analyzers already in the lab to help resolve multi-protocol problems at the system level.

The CrossSync option supports a wide combination of Teledyne LeCroy's flagship analyzers including PCI Express Gen 1, Gen 2 and Gen 3, USB 2.0 and 3.0, Serial ATA (SATA) 1.5, 3, and 6Gbps, Serial Attached SCSI 6Gbps, and Fibre Channel 1, 2, 4 and 8Gbps systems.

Sierra External Power Expansion Card v2

SAS Verification Option

1U Zero Carrying Case

Protocols Supported	SAS and SATA
Data Rates Supported	12 Gb/s, 6 Gb/s, 3 Gb/s and 1.5 Gb/s
Trace Memory Size	Up to 32 GB
No of Ports Supported	M122A: Up to 2 ports M124A: Up to 4 ports
Cascadeable	M122A: Up to 16 ports M124A: Up to 32 ports

Triggering	Advanced State Machine Trigger
Filtering	Pre-recording and Post-recording
Spread Spectrum Clocking	Yes
Performance Analysis	Yes
Simulated Waveform Display of OOB	Yes
Data Bus Interface	M122A: MiniSAS HD Connectors
Front Panel Connector	M122A: MiniSAS HD Initiator, MiniSAS HD Target, External Trigger In/Out, USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet

Front Panel Indicators	M122A: LEDs (Trigger, Error, Line, Link Speed, Frame/OOB) for each of 2 initiators and 2 Targets; Status Display Panel
Rear Panel Connectors	M122A: AC Power, Expansion Slot
Host Requirements	Windows 8.1 / Windows 7 / Windows XP / Windows Server 2012 (x64) / Windows Server 2008 (R2)
Host Interface	USB3.0 or USB2.0 or Gbe
Dimensions	M122A: 39.4 x 36.3 x 4.45 cm (15.5” x 14.3” x 1.75”)

Weight	M122A: 3.0 Kg (7.5 lbs)

Power Requirements	M122A: 90-254 VAC, 47-63 Hz, 200W Max

Environmental
Operating Temperature	0 to 50 C (32 to 121 F)
Non-operating	-20 to 80 C (-4 to 176 F)
Operating Humidity	10% to 90% RH (non-condensing)