SNLA421 December   2022 DS320PR810 , SN75LVPE5412 , SN75LVPE5421

 

  1.   Abstract
  2.   Trademarks
  3. 1Introduction
    1. 1.1 Add-in-Card (AIC) Form Factor
  4. 2Compliance Tests
    1. 2.1 Workshop Test Results
    2. 2.2 Electrical Testing Results
  5. 3Electrical Performance
    1. 3.1 Effects of EQ Index on Time Domain Signal
    2. 3.2 Effects of EQ Index on the Eye Diagram
    3. 3.3 Effects of DC Gain on Time Domain Signal
    4. 3.4 Effects of DC Gain on the Eye Diagram
  6. 4Compliance Setting Fine Tuning
  7. 5Summary
  8. 6References

2 Compliance Tests

There are several test types that define PCI Express AIC component compliance testing.

  1. Configuration: This test exercises the configuration space registers of the device under test. In the case of a redriver AIC the test partner is providing the PCIe specific information. Its purpose is to check for compliance with the PCI specification for configuration space registers. The test software accesses the AIC and issues configuration read and write requests and checks for the correct response. The test program also performs functional stress tests to ensure the end-point can retrain and relink in an acceptable amount of time. It also tests to make sure the AIC can properly handle hundreds of cycles of link-up/link-down and all registers are operational. While the redriver is a silent partner in this test, it is important that the redriver does not compromise any functional performance when inserted into the PCIe link.
  2. Electrical: PCI Express Electrical Testing was developed to help verify electrical compliance to the PCI Express Base Specification(s). PCI Express Electrical Testing is a series of transmitter and receiver tests used to evaluate PCI Express Host and PCI Express AIC products. Testing on a redriver AIC and the endpoint test partner is done using a compliance baseboard (CBB) available from the PCI-SIG. The CBB provides the physical means to connect the AIC to high-speed test equipment for measurement and analysis.
  3. Protocol: Link and Transaction Protocol testing to ensure AIC compliance to specification requirements.
  4. Interoperability: For interoperability test sessions the test procedure will tend to vary by device function. For linear redrivers which do not have any endpoint function, the procedure is tied to the partner device. As an example, a PCIe SSD could be used to transfer files and data. The PCI-SIG recognizes that participants may bring designs that are not fully compliant or have unknown or undisclosed bugs. For this reason, to pass the interoperability tests, vendors must only demonstrate a success rate of 80%.

Once a device has passed 100% of the PCI-SIG mandatory tests and 80% interoperability, the device is eligible to be on the Integrators List. The Integrators List is proof a product has passed all the PCI-SIG tests and has demonstrated interoperability with others. This status implies that the device is viable for use in PCIe systems.