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?

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?

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.

PCT Detects Link Training Failures

One of our customers was experiencing field returns when 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports started failing to pass traffic at full line rate. How could they test for these failing boards in manufacturing and prevent them from getting out to customers?

Board Bring-Up

Board bring up of an early prototype is one of the most important steps for a design team. The first boards must pass through a battery of tests to demonstrate that the hardware is rock-solid. Non-intrusive technologies can be used to accelerate this process.

Drift in High-Speed I/O Circuits

With chip-to-chip interconnects now running at 8 GT/s and above, a new class of faults due to manufacturing and process drift is emerging. What are these faults and how are they detected?