Course Title: 
PCI Bus Architecture and Analysis
Date: Determined by Customer
Time: 6 hours
Location: Customer Facility
Goals:
To obtain an in depth understanding of the PCI Bus Specification and the operation of the PCI, PMC or CompactPCI Bus Analyzer.
Course Description:
This course presents a comprehensive examination of all aspects of the PCI Bus specification and the capabilities and use of an analyzer. The following topics are covered:
1. PCI Bus Overview - The specifications and elements that make up the PCI bus along with a brief historical look of the development and enhancements to the bus over time.
2. Signals – The signals that comprise the PCI bus are defined. Signals can be grouped into address/data, control, arbitration, interrupt and system functions.
3. Operation – The transfer of data between devices is explained. The signals, protocols and timing involved in performing a transfer are presented in detail.
4. Configuration Space –Configuration space defines the identity, function and capabilities of a device on the bus as well as allowing the system to configure a device. The structure and definition of the configuration space is presented.
5. Electrical Specifications - The power supply and signal specifications for PCI boards and backplanes are presented including signal levels and timing.
6. Mechanical Specifications – Several PCI form factors are discussed including PCI, PMC and CompactPCI. Outlines and dimensions for various board and backplane types are presented.
7. New Specifications – The PCI bus has been enhanced to improve speed and performance with the addition of the 66 Mhz and PCI-X specifications. The new PCI Express specification is also presented.
8. PCI Bus Analyzer - The features and operation of the PMC850 bus analyzer to understand, diagnose and analyze system problems and performance of a PCI bus is presented. Each analyzer feature is covered including state, waveform and performance analysis, exerciser and stimulus, anomaly detection, compliance testing and target memory. The analyzer is controlled by either a windowed software interface or API software.
