Technical data

Help
In the “Help” menu (top right corner of the main window), you will
find:
• The "Getting Started Guide" (F1; this document)
• The "Language Guide", which describes the script language
you can use in expert mode
• The "About" dialog, with version and license information
Basics
The basic operation of the PCIe Link Training Suite would be as
follows:
• Select a PCIe revision
• Select a loopback pattern
• Apply the settings to the instruments and train the device
into loopback
Now you can adjust the instrument parameters to debug your DUT,
e. g. reduce the differential amplitude until bit errors are observed or
deviate the data rate to test the DUT's margins.
One of the main features of the PCIe Link Training Suite is to modify
the training sequence and the loopback pattern. You can let the PCIe
Link Training Suite generate those automatically, or you can fine-
tune the sequence and patterns using a simple macro language.
Two terms you might encounter from time to time are "sequence" and
"pattern". A pattern is a stream of bits that is sent out by the BERT.
In order to be more flexible, the entire bit stream is divided into
multiple patterns, which are then processed by a sequencer. The
sequencer can loop patterns and step from one pattern to another.
This way, it is possible to generate very long data streams with only
short patterns, which perfectly fit into the instrument's limited
memory.
Since the PCI Express Link Training Suite is mainly intended for
debugging and troubleshooting, the parameters are not constrained
to the compliance values. Therefore, you must take care not to
increase critical parameters beyond the ratings of your DUT. Also
note that the parameters you apply should be calibrated with the
corresponding instrument, they are typically however not calibrated
with regard to your specific setup!
13 N5990A-301 Getting Started Guide
CAUTION