Test Data Out (TDO)

Brawny Servers vs. Wimpy Servers

You may not be able to kick sand into the faces of those wimpy servers in the data center much longer. The wimps are on the rise, even though they won’t take over the beach any time soon.

Overclockers Unite!

The new Sandy Bridge E (Enthusiast) processors are a gamer’s delight. With the new LGA2011 socket and X79 chipset, Intel Sandy Bridge-E series processors come with enhanced performance overclocking support. But is it worth the money?

Why you need boundary scan in your board bring-up toolset

Did you ever need a new board coming off the production line yesterday and it wouldn’t boot? It didn’t even try to come up and gave you no hint why?  Typically you’d connect a debugger tool to see if you could get some signs of life. You might put some code into memory to start running some tests. But there’s no response from the processor and you can’t access any of the memory parts on the board. You’re stuck...

Performance versus Conformance Testing

OEMs in the telecom industry invest in verifying the performance and conformance of the high-speed interconnects off their gear. Does the same approach apply to chip-to-chip interconnects, and in other industries?

Your laptop - are you getting what you paid for?

Many of us got new laptops, e-readers, tablets, and other electronics toys as gifts over the holidays. But do these machines run as fast as they’re supposed to?

The Coming Crisis in Board Bring-Up

I was reflecting on how much processor speeds, memory, and data transmission rates have increased over the last few decades. And yet the same old tools and techniques are often used to bring up new designs. When do you think we fall off the cliff?

Programming devices at In-Circuit Test?

I read a very interesting article recently making the case for programming PLDs and Flash Memory at In-Circuit Test (ICT). What do you think?

Debugging CATERR and other failures

The challenge of system debug on Intel (and other) systems can be huge. What new tricks are available for debugging system hangs, crashes, or application errors?

Don't be Intrusive!

Ever heard the old saw about the guy (gal) that “went to a fight and a hockey game broke out”?

I’d characterize the ongoing debate on the value and longevity of In-Circuit Test (ICT) as a bit of a brawl…

Solving Intel QuickPath Interconnect and DDR Margining Issues

This past week ASSET and Intel did a presentation at the Intel Developers Forum (IDF) on using ScanWorks to solve QPI and DDR3 margining problems.