Total Phase Blog

Question from the Customer:

I am using a Komodo CAN interface. Is there a way to access data from CAN messages from the batch script, not just sending messages? Also, how can I store the received CAN messages in a file?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for the questions! Total Phase offers two options for sending and receiving CAN data with a Komodo CAN Solo/Duo Interface - the Komodo GUI Software or the Komodo Software API, both of which are Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X compatible and available as free downloads.


	Fig 1: Komodo CAN Solo Interface	Fig 2: Komodo CAN Duo Interface

When using the Komodo GUI in batch mode, you can send and receive CAN data and then export the transaction log to a csv file. The Komodo GUI supports many other features, including periodic messaging and configuring the GPIO interface. For more information about the available features, please refer to section 3 of the Komodo GUI Software User Manual.

Figure 3: Export Data from Komodo GUI

The Komodo Software API is a more flexible option for an engineers who wants create their own custom applications. The API provides example programs that can be used as is or customized to meet your requirements. In your case, to save the data in a separate file, you will need to customize the API. The Komodo API supports multiple operating systems (Windows, Linux, and Mac) as well as multiple languages (C, Python, Net, and C#). It also includes program examples, following is a list of those provided with the Komodo API:

detect: Detect Komodo devices attached to the system.
async: Uses the asynchronous interface to send packets on CAN channel A.
gpio: Performs simple GPIO operations with a Komodo interface, including monitoring the pins for voltage changes.
monitor: Monitors CAN bus and GPIO activity. This program prints out timestamps, status messages, errors messages, and data.
request: Requests data from specified CAN ID and prints the received data.
loopback: Demonstrates how to open ports, acquire features, write and read data. This example connects CAN channels A and B together with a properly-terminated cable. Please note, this example applies only to CAN Duo interfaces.

For additional information about the Komodo API, please refer to section 5 of the Komodo CAN Interface User Manual.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include:

We hope this answers your questions. If you have other questions about our CAN interfaces, protocol analyzers or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com. If you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I am attempting to monitor my 4 MHz SPI application with 16-bit transfers with a slave device. I have been using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter with the Control Center Software. When using the slave mode, data will begin to slow and then the tool "locks up" after short periods of time. In taking a close look at the timing of the SPI devices under test, there appears to be a timing conflict with the Aardvark adapter. The timing (td) between the start of the bytes is 2-5 us. However, the setup time for the Aardvark is 4 us.

Looking at the Total Phase products, I seem to have some options - which device or devices do you recommend for this project?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for the question! As a slave in SPI mode, the timing setup of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter does require 4 us between bytes, which is not compatible with the 2-5 us delay. Our latest device, the Promira Serial Platform, will meet your SPI timing requirements.

Promira Serial Platform for I2C and SPI devices

Figure 1: Promira Serial Platform

With the current SPI Active - Level 1 Application, the Promira platform supports active communication on the bus, in addition it offers:

Built-in level shifting 0.9 V – 3.3 V
A total of 200 mA of power to the target devices
USB 2.0, USB 2.0 over Ethernet and Ethernet connectivity.
Slave programming up to 8 MHz
Master programming up to 12.5 MHz

For more information about the Promira's timing parameters, please refer to section 6.2 of the Promira Serial Platform User Manual. For more aggressive requirements, new, more powerful applications will become available Q2 this year - which will be easy to access, as the Promira platform is field upgradeable.

Aside from active devices like the Aardvark adapter and Promira platform, you might find our protocol analyzers helpful.

Figure 2: Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer

The Beagle I2C/SPI analyzer is a low-cost non-intrusive bus monitor, which can monitor SPI up to 24 MHz burst, I2C up to 5 MHz, and MDIO up to 2.5 MHz. With the Data Center Software, the Beagle analyzer displays and filters your bus data in real time, giving you much more visibility into what’s going on in your application.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our host adapters, protocol analyzers or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I have the Total Phase Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer and am testing some bus-powered devices. Is it possible to use the Beagle Software API to disconnect and connect the VBUS (and thereby disable the USB signals from the target device) to simulate manually unplugging and then plugging in the cable? If not, do you have more advanced protocol analyzers that can support this simulation?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! The Beagle 480 analyzer does not support the simulation of disconnecting and reconnecting the VBUS. However, we do have USB analyzers that can do that job for you. The Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer series (Standard Edition and Ultimate Edition) and the Beagle USB 5000 v2 Protocol Analyzer series (USB 2.0 Edition, SuperSpeed - Standard Edition and SuperSpeed -Ultimate Edition) provide the options of connecting and disconnecting the VBUS.


	Fig 1: Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer - Standard Edition	Fig 2: Beagle USB 5000 v2 Protocol Analyzer - USB 2.0 Edition

Controlling VBUS via API:

For both the Beagle USB 480 Power analyzers and the Beagle USB 5000 analyzers, a Beagle API function, bg_usb_target_power, can be used to control the VBUS that is provided to the target device, or to disconnect the target VBUS to/from the host VBUS. For more information about the Beagle Software API, please refer to section 6 of the Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual.

Controlling VBUS via Manual Control:
In addition to controlling the VBUS via API, the Beagle USB 5000 analyzers have a Target Power indicator that controls VBUS and shows if the VBUS is connected or disconnected, with:

A large white circular button, which can be pressed to disconnect and pressed again to reconnect the VBUS between the target host and the target device.
An LED (located in the upper right corner of the button) that is illuminated when the VBUS is present. Alternatively, the LED turns off when the button is pressed to disconnect the VBUS.

For additional information about this feature, please refer to section 2.1 of the Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our protocol analyzers or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

We have the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter, and are starting to work with SPI target devices with various logic voltage levels. However, we would like emulate a slave and work at voltage levels less than 3.3 V. We think that using a Level Shifter Board will help us, but we would really like to minimize the number of boards in our test setup. What do you recommend?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! The Level Shifter Board can definitely help you to work at various low signal voltage levels; it supports 1.2V, 1.5V, 1.8V, 2.5V, 3.0V and 3.3V.

Figure 1: Level Shifter Board

However, since you would prefer to not have extra accessory boards and need slave capability, we recommend the Promira Serial Platform with the SPI applications. The Promira platform has integrated, built-in level-shifting and specifically, the SPI Active Level 2 Application offers the clock speeds that you are looking for.

Figure 2: Promira Serial Platform

The table below provides a quick glance of the applications’ capabilities. Please note that the SPI write and read performance will vary as the you go to lower voltages, due to physical limitations, but the Promira platform will maximize the speeds you get at any voltage.

Compare the features of the Promira and the I2C/SPI Active Applications, and the Cheetah and Aardvark host adapters.

Figure 3: Comparison Chart

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

We hope this answers your questions. If you have other questions about our serial platforms, board accessories or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

The Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter has been an excellent all-purpose tool for us; we use it for SPI, as a master and a slave. We are working on new design projects that require faster SPI speeds for developing, testing, and validating our devices. We looked at the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter, and while the speed looks good (40+ MHz), it seems to operate strictly as an SPI Master. Do you have a host adapter or other device that supports our new requirements?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! Yes, we do have a device that will support your new requirements: the Total Phase Promira Serial Platform supports master and slave modes for both SPI and I2C. The unique flexibility of the Promira platform allows you to install a number of applications, supporting various protocols.

: Figure 1: Promira Serial Platform

All levels of the I2C and SPI Active applications support the following:

USB and Ethernet connectivity,
Up to 200 mA of power to the target device(s)
An integrated level shifter that operates from 0.9 - 3.45 V

Here is what each individual application level provides:

SPI Active - Level 1 Application

Use up to 6 GPIOs (2 while using SPI)
In Master mode:
- Speeds up to 12.5 MHz
- Up to 3 Slave Select (configurable, shared with GPIO)
- Software configurable Slave Select polarity
In Slave mode:
- Slave at speeds up to 8 MHz;
- Single slave response of up to 32 bytes

SPI Active - Level 2 Application (scheduled for release mid-year 2015)

Note: The SPI Active – Level 1 Application is a pre-requisite for using this application.

Use up to 12 GPIOs

In Master mode:
- Speeds up to 40 MHz
- 1 default response plus 8 unique slave responses of up to 256 bytes/response
- Single slave response of up to 256 bytes
- Up to 3 Slave Selects (configurable, shared with GPIO)
- Software configurable Slave Select (SS) polarity
In Slave mode:
- Speeds up to 20 MHz

The SPI Active - Level 3 Application, scheduled for release early 2016, which will support 80 MHz SPI Master and Slave, Single Dual or Quad I/O, and other advanced features.

For I2C devices, the I2C Active - Level 1 Application is currently available.

Use up to 6 GPIOs (4 while using I2C)
Master at speeds up to 1 MHz
Single slave response of up to 32 bytes
Slave at speeds up to 1 MHz

Additional resources that you may find helpful include:

If you have questions about our Promira Serial Platform or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I have the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter and the Flash Center GUI Software which makes it really easy to use - but I do have a question. For my current lab project, I use Flash Center to read the contents of my memory chip and it works great, but I need to see the status register information as well. Is there a way I can use the GUI software to do that, or is there another software tool that I should use to see that data?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! The Flash Center software does read the memory data, as you observed. However, for reading the status register, we recommend using the Control Center Serial Software.

Use Control Center Serial Software with your Aardvark Host Adapter or Promira Serial Platform

Figure 1: Control Center Serial Software

One of the knowledge base articles in our library addresses your question and may provide some additional useful tips, Writing and Reading from SPI Flash Using Aardvark Adapter and Control Center. The example in the article uses the SPI Flash Demo Board, but you can modify the steps for the target device that you are using. Following is a summary of the steps outlined in the article as they are related to the status register:

Install and Start the Control Center Serial Software on your computer.
Connect the Aardvark adapter to the Control Center Serial Software.
Configure the Aardvark Adapter and enable Target power, if needed.
Enter 06 in the MOSI Message > Click Send. (This Write Enable instruction sets the Write Enable Latch bit)
Enter 01 00 in the MOSI Message > Click Send. (This Write Status Instruction writes 00 to the memory Status register.)
Enter 05 00 in the MOSI Message > Click Send. (This Read Status Instruction reads 00 from the memory Status register.)
View the results in the Transaction Log of the Control Center Serial Software.
Figure 2: Control Center Serial Software Transaction Log

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:
We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our host adapters or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I’m new to CAN and am trying to understand a certain command on my truck’s CAN bus. I’d like to record the data, break it down, and then resend it. Could the Komodo CAN Interfaces help me?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! The Komodo CAN Duo Interface, as well as the Komodo CAN Solo Interface, can definitely help you record, analyze/break down, and send CAN data. The main difference between the two units is that Komodo Duo interface has 2 CAN channels where you simultaneously monitor two different buses or record and send data at the same time. The Komodo Solo interface has one CAN channel and can monitor or send data.

There are many ways to connect to the Komodo interfaces: you can use the Komodo GUI software, Data Center Software, and the Komodo Software API.


	Fig 1: Komodo CAN Duo Interface	Fig 2: Komodo CAN Solo Interface

Here is a summary of the software tools and how they can be used with the Komodo CAN interface:

The Komodo GUI Software provides full access to all Komodo interface functionality - you can do the work without writing custom software to control the Komodo interface: you can send data, do some basic monitoring, and batch commands. You can easily interface with accessory boards such as the CAN/I2C Activity Board Pro, configure GPIO settings, use the Batch Mode to deliver specific CAN data packets and more.
The Data Center Software is purely a bus monitoring software application that displays real-time captured CAN bus data, which can then be filtered. This also simplifies your work by eliminating the need to write custom software to control the Komodo interface. To help you analyze the data, multiple views, such as Block, Hierarchical and more are available.
The Komodo Software API is used to control the Komodo interface, and to customize a program for specific setup requirements. You will need to write your software applications, but the API gives you the most control over the Komodo interface. The API supports multiple OSs (Windows, Linux, and Mac) and multiple languages (C, Python, Visual Basic, and C#), it also includes examples that can be used as-is or customized for your specific needs. For more information about Komodo API, please refer to the section 5 of the Komodo CAN Interface User Manual.

We provide other tools that can help you advance your understanding and usage of the Komodo CAN interface.

The CAN/I2C Activity Board Prois an excellent development tool for the embedded systems developers, which can be used with the GUI Software as well as API.

CAN/I2C Activity Board Pro

Fig 3: CAN/I2C Activity Board Pro

Fig 4: Komodo GUI Interface with the Activity Board

For online tutorials and guidelines, we have articles in our knowledge base. We also have a video that shows you how to use the Komodo CAN Interface with the Data Center Software to analyze and capture and analyzed CAN traffic data
You can also leverage the Komodo CAN interface with other tools such as the uTasker. You may find this useful, especially for the development, troubleshooting and simulation of microprocessors. You can see an example of using the Komodo CAN interface and the uTasker together on youtube.

Here are other resources that you may find useful:

We hope this answers your questions. If you have other questions about our CAN interfaces or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

We plan to use the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter in an automated testing application. Here are the setup details:

The distance between the Cheetah and the target SPI slaves is approximately 6 feet.
We will be using isolators and LVDS to TTL (and the reverse) line drivers.
The estimated delay from the MOSI to the MISO, relative to the same clock rate, will be approximately 60 ns.

Can you help us determine the maximum speed that we could achieve in this application?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! There is a formula that you can use for rough estimates. Please note that the actual SPI speed can vary due to many factors, including the delays caused by the materials used and the environment of the setup.

The formula that you can use to estimate the maximum SPI bitrate:

F max = 1/ (2 x target cable round trip delay + 2 x Cheetah cable round trip delay + target device clock to output)

Applying values based on your setup:

F max = 1/ (2 x 60 ns + 2 x 0.6 ns + 2)

The calculated value:

F max = 1/123.2 ns = 8.12 M Hz

To preserve the signal integrity condition for high frequency applications, we recommend using as short a cable as possible, no more than 3-5 feet between the Cheetah and the target device. However, as your setup uses LVDS (low-voltage differential signaling) between the Cheetah adapter and the target SPI device, a longer cable should be possible, as long as the total round trip delay is small.

For example, if your system has a 60 ns round trip delay, and 2 ns target device clock to output, then the theoretical maximum frequency is 8.12 MHz. However, as previously stated, the actual frequency can be lower due to other system delays, such as delays caused by the target board and the target connector.

The figures below show a sample block diagram and a timing diagram that is based on the system that you described.

Figure 1: Diagram of the Signal Routing

Block Diagram of setup with long cables.

Figure 2: Estimated Delays Used in the Calculation

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

Cheetah SPI Host Adapter User Manual

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our serial platforms, board accessories or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

We are looking for a way to look at the full-speed USB traffic that will be exchanged between two embedded devices. These devices go into standby mode when they are not used. We have found a problem - sometimes the resume command is lost and the device does not wake up again.

We are considering the Beagle USB 12 Protocol Analyzer as well as the Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer.

Our questions:

Are both of these analyzers able to show us all traffic that is sent between our devices, including the suspend/resume frames?
Will we be able to see the corrupted and erroneous frames?
We only have full-speed, and we do not need class-level decoding (the class is vendor specific). Would the Beagle USB 12 analyzer support our system requirements? Would it also see unexpected signals on the data lines?

Response from Technical Support:


	Figure 1: Beagle USB 12 Protocol Analyzer Low cost. Monitors low-speed and full-speed data.	Figure 2: Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer Cost effective. Monitors low-speed , full-speed and high-speed data between devices and offers class-level decoding.

Listed below is a summary of the capabilities of these protocol analyzers.

The Beagle USB 12 Protocol Analyzer is a non-intrusive monitor for full-speed and low-speed USB 2.0 traffic (12 Mbps /1.5 Mbps). The Beagle 12 supports real-time USB Descriptor Parsing, and real-time data capture and display. The Beagle 12 analyzer can also monitor USB packets as they occur on the bus.

The Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer is a non-intrusive monitor for high-speed and full-speed USB 2.0 traffic (480 Mbps / 12 Mbps / 1.5 Mbps). The Beagle 480 analyzer supports real-time USB class-level decoding. Also supported: two capture modes real-time and delayed-download, high-speed USB chirp detection; robust automatic speed detection; hardware-based packet suppression, and digital inputs and outputs for synchronizing with external logic. The Beagle 480 analyzer can also detect suspend/resume events, and unexpected signals.

For more comparative information, please refer to our USB Analyzer Product Guide, as well as Table 20 and Table 21 in the Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual. These tables show the events that the Beagle USB 12 and Beagle USB 480 analyzers provide. For more information about returns, which is related to software API, please refer to section 6 of the Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

Question from the Customer:

I am working on a new design and of part of the requirement is to interface a CAN device to an I2C device. It would be really helpful to emulate that environment - do you have something that is a CAN to I2C translator, or any suggestions on how to do that?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! To set up an environment with CAN to I2C translator, we recommend using three of our products: the Komodo CAN Duo Interface, the Aardvark/I2C Host Adapter, and the CAN/I2C Activity Board Pro.


	Figure 1: Komodo CAN Duo Interface	Figure 2: Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter	Figure 3: CAN/I2C Activity Board Pro

Here is how each of the above products will be used:

The Komodo interface will act as an active CAN node to send and receive commands to the CAN/I2C Activity Board Pro.
The CAN/I2C Activity Board Pro is a demo board with a variety of sensors and peripherals but in this setup, the main component we’ll utilize is its CAN to I2C bridge.
The Aardvark adapter acts as the I2C slave, receiving data that originates from the Komodo interface and is translated by the CAN/I2C activity board.

CAN-I2C Diagram using Aardvark Adapter, Komodo Interface and CAN-I2C Activity Board Pro

Figure 4: How the CAN to I2C Translation Works

In this setup, you use the Komodo GUI Software to have the Komodo interface communicate to the I2C slave devices (the Aardvark adapter), and the Control Center Serial Software to set up the Aardvark adapter in I2C slave mode. For detailed instructions, please refer to our application brief, Using the Total Phase CAN/I2C Activity Board Pro as an I2C-to-CAN Translator.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our host adapters or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I just got backed up with a lot of projects and I need to monitor and debug USB data sent by various USB devices. I'll be working with low and full-speed USB 2.0, about 1.5Mbps to 12Mbps. I'm looking into your USB protocol analyzers - which one do you recommend? I have a lot of experience, but I'm fairly new to working with USB.

Response from Technical Support:

For your range of USB bus speeds, we have two analyzers to recommend for you – the Beagle USB 12 and Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzers. The Beagle USB protocol analyzers and software applications are easy to set up and intuitively use. Unlike other bus monitors, instead of setting up triggers and waiting for data to download, real-time USB traffic is visible immediately. In addition to the analyzers, we provide easy-to-use software, online application notes, and tutorials at no additional cost.


	Figure 1: Beagle USB 12 Protocol Analyzer Full/Low speed USB 2.0 data descriptor parsing	Figure 2: Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer High/Mid/Low speed USB data descriptor parsing and class-level decoding

The Beagle USB 12 analyzer is a cost-effective way to monitor your low- and full-speed USB application. It parses the enumeration (initial handshake between your device and the host), and allows you to view, filter and search all the USB traffic in real-time.

For monitoring high-speed devices and where you need class-level decoding, we recommend the Beagle USB 480 analyzer. We support most of the popular classes such as HID (human interface device), mass storage, hub, audio and many other USB devices, the benefit of high-level USB class that is data decoded as it occurs on the bus saving you hours of time, debugging and analyzing. For example, when decoding a keyboard, you can see all the decoded key strokes, in the transaction window, in real-time.

The screens below show the advantage of viewing organized class-level data, human-readable format provided in real-time, versus raw data packet data that can be very difficult to understand.


Figure 3: Class-Level View Organized hierarchical data	Figure 4: Protocol-Level View Raw data format

For more details about class-level decoding, please see our application note Debug USB Faster with USB Class-Level Decoding.

For both analyzers, the setup is easy:

Install the Data Center Software on your laptop or computer. The Data Center Software provides the real-time filter and search functionality for advanced data analysis while the capture is still being recorded.
Connect the Beagle protocol analyzer to the Data Center Software.
Connect the USB host and the target USB device, start the capture, and immediately capture and view the bus traffic in real time.

To see an example of how to do this, watch our video Capture USB in 90 Seconds.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

We hope this answers your questions. If you have other questions about our protocol analyzers or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I have been using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter as an SPI Master for several projects. It's worked very well for me, but I'm having some challenges with my current project. I basically need to work at faster SPI speeds to work with the current SPI timing parameters. Is there a way to set the timing parameters on the Aardvark adapter, or is there another SPI adapter that would work better? The table below lists the timing parameters I will be working with:

Custom SPI Timing Parameters
Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! For higher speeds and to configure the SPI timing parameters in both master and slave modes, we recommend the Promira Serial Platform, which is supported with the SPI Active - Level 1 and Level 2 Applications. The Cheetah SPI Host Adapter would meet your SPI master speed requirements as well, as its timing parameters can be configured. However, the Cheetah adapter only supports the SPI master mode.

The figures below include the SPI timing diagrams for the Promira platform.

	Figure 2: Promira SPI Master/Slave Waveform
Figure 1: Promira Serial Platform	Figure 3: SPI Master/Slave Byte Timing

The tables below show the SPI master and SPI slave timing parameters, and indicate which parameters can be configured. For information about configuring the parameters, please refer to section 7.2.1 of the Promira Serial Platform User Manual.

Table 2: SPI Master Timing Parameters Promira SPI Master Timing Parameters

Table 3: SPI Slave Timing Parameters Promira SPI Slave Timing Parameters

The Promira platform provides a number of advantages over the Aardvark and Cheetah adapters, including:

Integrated level shifting from 0.9-3.3V (5V tolerant)
High-speed USB connectivity - provides high performance and convenience for benchtop programming, testing, and emulation
Ethernet connectivity - convenient for benchtop work, and enables remote control for your automation needs over long distances
More target power - provides a total of 200 mA to target devices
Scalability - SPI and I2C Active applications allow you to upgrade your Promira platform as needed; new applications will be released on a ongoing basis

A summary of the SPI Active application features are listed below, which can be quickly and easily downloaded to the Promira platform.

The SPI Active - Level 1 Application supports:

Master at speeds up to 12.5 MHz
Slave at speeds up to 8 MHz
Single slave response of up to 32 bytes
Program EEPROM, Flash, or other SPI memory
Use up to 2 GPIOs
Up to 3 Slave Selects: configurable, shared with GPIO
Software configurable Slave Select (SS) polarity in master mode

The SPI Active - Level 2 Application supports:

Master at speeds up to 40 MHz
Slave at speeds up to 20 MHz
1 default response plus 8 unique slave responses of up to 256 bytes/response
Single slave response of up to 256 bytes
Program EEPROM, Flash, or other SPI memory - including Dual I/O programming
Use up to 12 GPIOs
Up to 3 Slave Selects, configurable, shared with GPIO
Software configurable Slave Select (SS) polarity in master mode

Note - the Level 1 application must be installed before installing the Level 2 application.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

Question from the Customer:

We have the Beagle 5000 v2 Protocol Analyzer - Standard Edition and we have used it for triggering for USB 3.0 traffic. For example, we have set it up with the trigger to capture an ACK (acknowledgement) packet, but we don't see how to set it up to trigger on NRDY (not ready). Is that possible with the standard edition, or do we need get an upgrade for Complex Triggering?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! You can definitely set up complex triggers with the Beagle 5000 V2 analyzer, and it is very easy to do that with the Data Center Software. Here are the steps:

At the Menu Bar (at the top), select Analyzer and then select Device Settings.
When the Device Settings dialog opens, select the USB tab and then click the Addition Settings button.

Figure 1: Select Device Settings
In the Additional Settings dialog that opens up, select the USB 3.0 Matching tab, click the Complex button and make sure the Enabled box is checked.
Click New Match Action and from the drop menu select DS Data Match (DS is downstream, and US is upstream).

Figure 2: Select the Downstream Data Match
In the DS Data Match Configuration dialog, for Packet Type select Header Packet. The dialog now shows you the options that you can use for a complex match. Here, you can enter the desired binary pattern by replacing the X characters with "1" or "0". To make it easier, you can select Type options that will enter the important data patterns for you.
Click Type and select Transaction Packet from the drop menu. The dialog box becomes more detailed, as shown.
Click SubType and select NRDY from the drop menu.
If desired, you can further specialize the pattern for your trigger by replacing "X" with "1" or "0".

Figure 3: Set Up the Complex Match to Trigger

As you can see, you can trigger on many different events. The Beagle USB 5000 analyzer is very flexible tool built for many different testing conditions.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

What to use:

The Promira Serial Platform, together with the SPI Active Level 1 and SPI Active Level 2 Applications make an excellent tool for programming low voltage Dual SPI Flash devices. You can use the Promira platform with the Control Center Serial Software, and see how easy it is to provide up to 200 mA at the selected voltage level, and program and verify your target SPI device.

Promira Serial Platform and SPI Flash Demo Board for Fast Development and Pre-Test

Use Control Center Serial Software with your Aardvark Host Adapter or Promira Serial Platform

Figure 1: Promira Platform with
SPI Flash Demo Board

Figure 2: Control Center Serial Software

Reap the benefits of the Promira platform and the SPI Active - Level 2 Application:

Program EEPROM, Flash, or other SPI memory, in Single or Dual I/O mode
Up to 200 mA of power to embedded project, at voltage levels from 0.9 V - 3.45 V
SPI Master speed up to 40 MHz
SPI Slave speeds up to 20 MHz
1 default response plus 8 unique slave responses of up to 256 bytes/response
Single slave response of up to 256 bytes
Use up to 12 GPIOs
Up to 3 Slave Selects (configurable, shared with GPIO)
Software configurable Slave Select (SS) polarity in master mode

Note: To use the SPI Active - Level 2 Application, the SPI Active - Level 1 Application must also be installed.

The Control Center Serial Software is an easy to use GUI that allows you to easily interface with your slave device, It includes the ability to program in batch mode, which makes running repetitive commands significantly easier. The batch scripts can be saved as XML files that you can use as-is or modify as needed.

Following is a summary of how to set up and then program your SPI Dual Flash device:

Set up the tools:

Connect the Promira platform to the Control Center Serial Software on your lab computer
Connect the Promira platform to the target device
Configure the Promira platform for Multi I/O SPI
Configure the desired voltage level for powering the target device
Configure the desired bitrate
Configure the Promira platform for Dual SPI Mode
Initialize the target device and read the device ID

Figure 3 below shows an example of this configuration in the Transaction Log:

Configure Promira Serial Platfrom for Dual SPI Mode in Control Center Software

Figure 3: Configure Promira for Dual SPI Mode

Write, Read, and Verify

Initialize the target device and erase the data sector
Write data to the device
Read and verify the data from the device

Figure 4 below shows the results in the Transaction Log:

Promira read write transaction in Control Center Software

Figure 4: Transaction log from Reading and Writing Dual SPI Flash Device

Want to learn more? For a complete set of instructions, refer to our knowledge base article Programming a Dual SPI Flash Using the Promira Serial Platform and the Control Center Serial Software. The example in the article uses the Flash SOIC-16 Socket Board - 10/34. Don’t worry if you don’t have the same board, you can easily modify the setup for your environment.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

Question from the Customer:

We need to analyze the USB communication between a smartphone and a prototype board equipped with a custom embedded USB chip. We'll be testing the USB link over various periods, from 5 minutes to 24 hours, maybe longer. The tests will be run at USB full speed. What we need is to:

Be able to save a record of the USB communication for at least 24 hours.
Evaluate the quality of the USB signals over the entire capture session.

Which USB Protocol Analyzer do you recommend for this project?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! Assuming that your smartphone and board are using high-speed USB (480Mbps) connections, we recommend using either the Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer or the Beagle USB 480 Power Analyzer – Standard or Ultimate Editions. To save vast amounts of data over long periods, we also recommend using the Beagle API Software, vs the Data Center Software along with our analyzers.


	Figure 1: Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer	Figure 2: Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer

When using any of our USB analyzers with the Data Center Software , the captured data is stored in the RAM of the analysis PC. Considering the extensive tests that you will be running, you may need to capture more data than the computer's RAM can support. That being the case, we suggest using the Beagle API Software. The API allows you to write a custom program for running your test as well as store data in a hard drive or flash drive instead of the computer’s RAM.

Here is a summary of the non-intrusive Beagle USB analyzers that will work for your smartphone traffic project:

The Beagle 480 Protocol Analyzer is a non-intrusive monitor for high-speed, full-speed, and low-speed USB 2.0 (480 Mbps / 12 Mbps / 1.5 Mbps). The Beagle 480 analyzer has real-time USB class-level decoding with the Data Center software, two capture modes: real-time and delayed-download, high-speed USB chirp detection, robust automatic speed detection, hardware-based packet suppression, and digital inputs and outputs for synchronizing with external logic. The Beagle 480 analyzer can also detect suspend/resume events and unexpected signals. In addition, the Beagle 480 analyzer has a software circular buffer mode (a rolling 1 GB of space in the analysis PC’s RAM).
The Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer – Ultimate Edition has all of the capabilities of the Beagle 480 analyzer plus additional features including: real time current and voltage monitoring, enhanced USB 2.0 advanced triggering, and extra-large hardware buffer. The Beagle 480 power analyzer has a hardware circular buffer of 256 MB capacity plus a large hardware circular buffer.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

Question from the Customer:

I have a project that involves integrating and testing devices on a CAN bus, and I'm looking at your Komodo CAN Solo and Komodo CAN Duo Interfaces. Which one would be best to use for executing read and write commands simultaneously from different threads? Also, what software package do you recommend using for this application?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! To simultaneously execute read and write commands, our Komodo CAN Duo Interface will work best for you. Read and write commands can be executed simultaneously from different threads, when you send the commands through two of the different virtual ports on the Komodo Duo interface. The Komodo CAN Solo Interface, on the other hand, has only one port and can only execute commands one at a time.

For other applications, with synchronization and a locking mechanism, threaded commands can also be executed from the same port (but not simultaneously).


	Figure 1: Komodo DUO CAN Interface

Following are the specifications about the Komodo CAN Duo Interface:

Transfer rate up to 1 Mbps
Independent galvanic isolation
8 configurable GPIOs
USB 2.0 full-speed, bus-powered
Two independent customizable CAN channel, with the protection of independent galvanic isolation per CAN channel.

There are currently a few software packages available for use with either Komodo interface - Komodo GUI Software, Data Center Software, and Komodo API Software. For your application, we recommend using the API software.

The Komodo Software API can be used to control the Komodo interface, and to customize a program for specific setup requirements. The Komodo API supports multiple OS (Windows, Linux, and Mac), multiple languages (C, Python, Visual Basic, and C#), and includes examples that can be used as-is or customized for your specific needs. You would need to use the API to simultaneously execute your read and write commands.
The Komodo GUI Software provides full access to all Komodo interface functionality – there is no need to write custom software to control the Komodo interface, easily configure GPIO settings, use the Batch Mode to deliver specific CAN data packets, and more.
The Data Center Software is a bus monitoring software that displays real-time captured CAN bus data, which can then be filtered. This software simplifies your work by eliminating the need to write custom software to control the Komodo interface, helps with data you analys, and offers multiple views, such as Block and Hierarchical.
For more information about Komodo API, please refer to the section 5 of the Komodo CAN Interface User Manual. For details about threading, please refer to section 3.8.3 of the Komodo CAN Interface User Manual.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

Question from the Customer:

I have three Aardvark SPI/I2C Host Adapters that I have been using to control three SPI slave devices. I'm starting a design where I'll need to control more than thee SPI devices - what are my options? Can the Promira Serial Platform provide multiple SPI slave select (SS) signals? Also, similar to the Aardvark adapter, is there support for LabVIEW and Matlab?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your questions! The Promira Serial Platform is a robust and advanced serial device that we strongly recommend for your projects. With the SPI Active - Level 1 Application, the Promira platform supports one SS signal. Add the SPI Active - Level 2 Application, and you have three SS signals. Later this year, SPI Active - Level 3 Application will be available with support for up to eight SS signals, in addition to many other new features.


	Figure 1: Promira Serial Platform

SPI Active - Level 2 Application

Note: The SPI Active – Level 1 Application is a pre-requisite for using this application.

In general:

Single and Dual I/O support
Use up to 12 GPIOs
Provide up to 200 mA of power to target devices
Signal voltage levels from 0.9- 3.3V, 3.45V and 5V
Communicate via Ethernet or Ethernet over USB

In Master mode:

Up to 3 Slave Selects (configurable, shared with GPIO)
1 default response plus 8 unique slave responses of up to 256 bytes/response
Software configurable Slave Select (SS) polarity
Speeds up to 40 MHz
Single slave response of up to 256 bytes

In Slave mode:

Speeds up to 20 MHz

SPI Active - Level 3 Application

The SPI Active - Level 3 Application is scheduled for release later this year. Here are the additional key features that will be provided:

Note: Both the SPI Active – Level 1 Application and SPI Active – Level 2 Application are pre-requisites for using SPI Active – Level 3 Application.

In general:

Single, Dual, and Quad I/O support
Use up to 16 GPIOs
Provide up to 200 mA of power to target devices
Signal voltage levels from 0.9- 3.3V, 3.45V and 5VCommunicate via Ethernet or Ethernet over USB

In Master mode:

8 Slave Select signals (configurable, shared with GPIO)
1 default response plus 32 unique slave responses of up to 64 MB total
Software configurable Slave Select (SS) polarity
Speeds up to 80 MHz

In Slave mode:

Speeds up to 20 MHz

Promira LabVIEW drivers are available, as well as example programs that you can use as is or modify for your custom application. For more information and guidelines about using LabVIEW, please refer to our knowledge base articles.


	Figure 2: Promira LabVIEW Drivers

Although we do not provide MATLAB drivers, many customers have them and we also offer some Knowledge Base articles on the topic such as “How To Use Total Phase Products With MATLAB”. This article provides guidelines about using the API Software to integrate Matlab with the Aardvark adapter. You can modify that information for the Promira platform. For details about Promira API Software, please refer to section 6 of the Promira Serial Platform User Manual.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

Question from the Customer:

I just started using the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter with the Flash Center Software and it works really well. I have a question about the bit rate speed. I don't always need the default bit rate speed of 50,000 kHz. In fact, most of the time, 40,000 kHz works with the SPI memory devices I control and program. A few devices work at slower speeds, but not many.

Each time I turn on the Cheetah adapter, I have to change the bit rate from the default speed. Is there a way I can update the default bit rate so that I don't have to modify it each time?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! You can easily set the default bit rate of the Cheetah adapter with the Flash Center Software. There are two ways to do this – both are quite easy.


	Figure 1: Cheetah SPI Host Adapter	Figure 2: Flash Center Software Intuitive GUI

You can use the Device Control Panel, and select the desired speed parameter from the bit rate dropdown menu. For speeds greater than 32 kHz, you can type in the desired speed, and Flash Center will remember the speed and part the next it is opened.


	Figure 3: Flash Center Software - Device Control Panel

Alternatively, you can edit the XML file of the device that you are working with. This enables you to set the desired bit rate speed for each SPI device - you will not have to modify the bit rate speed after setting up the speed parameter in the SPI device's file. For example, for 40,000 kHz, set the maxBit field in the selected XML file as follows: <maxBit rate>40*1000</maxBit rate>.

In addition to setting the bit rate, the Flash Center Software, you can quickly erase, program and verify devices, use multiple host adapters in parallel, and view the activity in real time. Also, we provide an extensive XML library that is constantly updated, supporting more devices. This allows you to communicate with many SPI devices from several manufacturers - and because it's XML, you can easily adapt or create your own file for custom devices, or for devices that are not currently supported.

The information that you need to set up communication with devices that are not already in the XML library is easy to obtain. Most often, it is the basic information provided in the device specifications of the manufacturer's data sheet.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

Question from the Customer:

I saw your knowledge base article that describes how to program multiple images into SPI flash at a different offset, and I used it for the Aardvark I2CSPI Host Adapter: Programming a Single Sector of an SPI Flash Using the Cheetah Adapter and Flash Center. I followed the instructions in that article, but found the write times to be too long. In my case, the first image size is 500 kB. It took around 1-2 minutes to program the file into offset 0, sector 0. The second image is only 4 kB, but it took five minutes to program it into offset 3F0000, sector 63 of the flash.

Is there a way to improve the speed? Can I directly tell the Flash Center Software which offset addresses for programming different sectors?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! The Flash Center Software provides advantages to quickly erase, program and verify I2C and SPI memory devices. However, the architecture of the Flash Center tool causes it to start at offset 0, which includes when you are programming a different sector within a device. As shown in step 13 of that knowledge base article, you are filling the earlier sectors with 0xFF or all "ones" to not change the previously programmed values.


	Figure 1: Example of Programming Sectors Using the Flash Center Software

The Flash Center algorithm then writes the 0xFF values to the sectors 0 through 62 before writing to the 63rd sector. In effect, you are programming the whole device and programming the last sector can take as long as programming the entire image.

We do have more tools available, and they will make your work much faster. For your project, we recommend using the Aardvark Software API, which supports the C, C#, VB, .NET and Python programming languages. The API provides working examples that you may use as-is or modify to meet your specific needs. One example file provided, aaspi_eeprom.py, is specifically for programming an EEPROM. You can easily adapt this program for your use in programming your flash device.

For example, for your SPI flash memory, you could choose a specific offset directly in your code to start the write process to the flash device. This way, writing pages or sectors would be much faster than with the Flash Center Software - you can start the write cycle at any page within the device. For more information about API software, please refer to section 5 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI User Manual.

You can also look at a Promira Software API example, which we provide for our Promira Serial Platform, that programs the N25Q series of flash memory devices from Micron. The Promira API is different from the Aardvark API - it is an applicable reference and provides useful guidelines. For details about Promira API, please refer to section 6 of the Promira Serial Platform User Manual.


	Figure 2: Promira Serial Platform

The Promira Serial Platform - this is an advanced, robust device that provides additional advantages, such as support for dual and quad IO SPI for writing and reading, a greater range of speed and many more features that can benefit your projects.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our host adapters, serial platforms or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.

Question from the Customer:

I'm working on a project with a colleague who is in a different geographic location. He has collected data capture containing SPI traces from your Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer and shared a .tdc file with me. I don’t have the analyzer or any other Total Phase products – how can I open this capture file?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! You do not need a Total Phase product or even to purchase any software to view the file. Total Phase software are free to download from the website. In this case you can view the data capture file using the Data Center Software. The Data Center Software is a free bus monitoring software that captures and displays USB, I2C, SPI, and CAN bus data in true real time through the Beagle line of hardware protocol analyzers, as well as our Komodo line of CAN interfaces. It is the only protocol analysis software in the industry with true real-time performance and cross-platform support for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. Simply download the Data Center Software from our web site.


	Figure 1: Data Center Software

After you download and install the Data Center Software, you can open the .tdc file and view the captured SPI traces in great detail. The screen capture below displays an example of what the data looks like when you open the file.


	Figure 2: Data Center Software – Data Display

As you can see above in Figure 2, your view of the data would be identical to that of your colleague’s. You are able to use all primary features of Data Center, such as the search and filter functions.

You can take a “close-up” look at the SPI transactions, such as the bit-level timing. To look at bit-level timing, follow the steps below:

Click on the transaction of interest. In this example, row 28 was selected. (Figure 3)
From the menu bar at top, click View and then select Details.
The Details view appears in the lower left corner of the Data Center display. Click the Timing tab. (Figure 4)

Figure 3: View Details Figure 4: Timing Details
In this example, the timing for 1-bit data shifting is shown in nanoseconds: Timing (ns). Fun Fact: You can calculate the clock frequency with the number you see in bit-level timing. The time to shift 1 data bit is shown as 1000 ns, which indicates the clock frequency is 1 MHz

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

What are the Options to Batch and Store CAN Messages with the Komodo CAN Solo/Duo Interface?

What are the Best Tools for talking to 4 MHz SPI Devices with Shorter Timing Setups?

How do Beagle USB Protocol Analyzers Control the VBUS to the Target Device?

What is the Most Streamlined, Flexible, and Low Signal Voltage Solution that Total Phase Offers for SPI?

Which Host Adapter or Serial Platform Supports Both Master and Slave Modes for SPI Development, Test, Programming, and Validation?

Which Software Tool Should I Use with the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter to Read the Status Register Information?

How Do the Software Tools Work with the Komodo CAN Duo Interface and How Do They Help Me Capture and Analyze Real-Time Data?

What is the Maximum Speed We Can Achieve Between the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter and the Target SPI Device?

Which Beagle USB Protocol Analyzer is Best to Monitor Full-Speed USB Traffic Between Embedded Devices?

Which Host Adapter and Interface Can I Use to Create a CAN to I2C Translator?

See How and Why Beagle USB Protocol Analyzers are the Best Tools for Monitoring and Debugging Your USB Application

How Can I Configure the SPI Timing Parameters for Both SPI Master and SPI Slave Modes?

How Can I Set Up a Trigger for the Beagle USB 5000 Protocol Analyzer to Start on a NRDY Packet?

Quickly Power Up and Program Your Dual SPI Flash Devices with the Promira Serial Platform and the Control Center Serial Software

Which Beagle USB Protocol Analyzer Works Best for Analyzing Smartphone Traffic Over a Long Period of Time?

Which Komodo CAN Interface and Which Software Package Best Supports the Simultaneous Execution of Commands from Different Threads?

How Many SPI Slave Devices Can I Control with one Promira Serial Platform, and How Can I Use the LabVIEW and Matlab Software Applications?

How Do I Change the Default Bit Rate Setting on the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter for my SPI Memory Devices?

How Can I Optimize Programming Multiple Images into Different Sectors of an SPI Flash Memory?

How Do I Share SPI Traces Captured with a Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer with a Colleague in Another Office?