Agilent's Industry-First Half-Size Mid-Bus Probing Solution for PCI Express

The PCI Express technology is expanding beyond the computer segment into other industries such as embedded designs in medical instruments as well as communication and military sectors. Traditional PCI Express in the computer system typically has connections through a slot connector with easy probing solutions. However, in these new industries, space and signal access for debugging is a big challenge. Space constraints dictate the test and debug strategy for any given design. Without the right type of probe, designers cannot easily see the protocol exchanges, and debugging becomes much more challenging. The Agilent N5328A half-size mid-bus probe for PCIe 2.0 offers a method to probe these embedded signals effortlessly.

Our flying leads probe is designed for space-constrained systems, said Jun Chie, marketing manager of Agilent's Logic and Protocol Test business. In conjunction with our powerful protocol analyzer, the half-size mid-bus probe will allow designers to monitor the PCI Express protocol with a probe that is much more compact. This reduces routing concerns and simplifies the board layout.

At PCIe 2.0 speeds, reliable probing becomes even more important. Without a reliable probing solution and the right form factor, reliable data capture becomes difficult if not impossible.

Agilent understands that probing is key to enable reliable monitoring and debugging of the PCIe 2.0 link. With the introduction of the half-size mid-bus probe, Agilent provides an industry-unique probe portfolio for PCIe 2.0, including the full-size mid-bus probe (straight, swizzle and split styles available), slot interposer probe, flying leads probe and now the N5328A half-size mid-bus probe. Agilent's extensive probing capabilities are combined with a powerful PCIe 2.0 analyzer, with a reliable data capture engine, easy-to-use graphical user interface and a versatile form factor, making Agilent's E2960B Series the leader in the industry for PCI Express 2.0 test and debugging.

Agilent Strategic Product Planner Michael Fleischer-Reumann will present a webcast, How to pass the receiver compliance test for PCI Express, on June 30. For details and registration please visit Agilent's Digital Webcast Series.