To stay in step with the continuing scalability of newly introduced products, both logic and protocol analyzers will exhibit more scalability. So a system of either type that tests Sonet, SDH, or Ethernet at a specific rate will also provide the potential to handle gigabit-Ethernet rates—and even higher. Along this line, protocol and logic analyzers will be produced with standard mainframe chassis architectures, designed to receive various kinds of test modules either available now or in the future.
Both protocol and logic analyzers will demonstrate more smarts, which will translate into greater reliance on PC Windows-type platforms. Along with this will come the ability to run various types of software applications to connect equipment in a network or in a production test environment or, for that matter, in virtually any kind of environment where an engineer or technician is obliged to perform measurements.
Both AT&T (www.att.com) and Cingular (www.cingular.com) plan to replace their TDMA wireless basestations with GSM. These companies will seek lightweight, low-cost protocol analyzers.
A meeting coming up soon in which logic and protocol analyzers will be covered is the Embedded Systems Conference, March 12-16, San Francisco. More information can be found at www.esconline.com.
Already a feature in some instruments, such as the Bus Doctor from Data Transit (www.data-transit.com), histograms will be provided on other protocol analyzers about to be introduced.
Becoming more popular in both types of analyzers will be post-capture filtering, which reduces the amount of data that a viewer must look at and confines the display to only the data of interest, such as a particular address range on the PCI bus, a particular destination, or a source/ID combination on a high-speed serial bus.
Protocol analysis is becoming more software driven and an adjunct to other test instruments. Expanding its scope, analysis packages will be aimed at RF, wired, and fiber-optic equipment. As the convergence of telecommunications with networks accelerates, traditional long-distance types of technologies and LAN Ethernet and/or Internet types of technologies will commingle. There will be much more migration of Internet protocols to the soon-to-burgeon, high-capacity networks, which will increase the burdens on protocol testing even more.
Currently, many businesses lack direct links for high-speed data. But as pipelines in the telecom arena via routers to telecommunications voice/IP and data/IP become more commonplace, metro networks will bring fiber links right to businesses. Data rates will soar, demanding more of protocol testing. Also expect to see a growing number of protocol analyzers and companion protocol analysis programs aimed at the last mile, for formats like those in General Packet Radio Service (GPRS).
We can expect a gradual shift from script engines to state machines because the latter are much more flexible, reactive messaging instruments.
See associated timeline.