PCI Express Protocol Analyzer Keysight U4301B

PCI-SIG®, PCIe® and the PCI Express® are US registered trademarks and/or service marks of PCI-SIG.

Keysight’s PCIe protocol analyzer is a combination of hardware and software features that ensure the fastest time to insight.

Industry unique ESP technology for accurate data capture

For any analyzer at PCIe 3.0 speeds, the key is how to recover the signal accurately in different types of platforms and systems. Keysight’s PCIe 3.0 analyzer uses Keysight’s unique ESP (Equalization Snoop Probe) technology, with the ability to tune the equalization algorithm used according to the type of channel the analyzer is monitoring. This ensures that the data captured in the analyzer is exactly what is on the wire. Without this capability, at 8 GT/s, there is a high likelihood of misrepresentation of the data on the bus, which can lead to wasted hours (if not days) in the validation cycle.

Flexible hardware architecture

Keysight’s PCIe analyzer combines accurate probing technology with flexible hardware architecture. The analyzer hardware supports all three generations of PCIe 1.0 through PCIe 3.0 and supports x1 link width through x16. Keysight’s protocol analyzers use a modular chassis-based architecture. For additional flexibility, a single x16 configuration can be split into two separate smaller link width test systems, providing maximum equipment utilization.

Analysis tools for PCIe traffic 

Transactional analysis of NVMe and PCIe data includes the tools for finding and decoding the protocol information, making it easy to locate the protocol errors or to validate device operation. Keysight’s GUI uses the industry-standard spreadsheet style for presentation of protocol information. This makes data viewing clear and precise through a table-based approach. Keysight’s protocol viewers include the easy-flow and color-by-packet-type features to further highlight the stimulus and response nature of the protocols so it is easy to see the request being sent and the data being received. Viewers for the protocol analyzer include Lane, Packet, Navigation, LTSSM, and Performance Summary, showing data from the physical layer up through the transaction layer.