October 24, 2011. GOEPEL electronic has announced the introduction of a special LAN server feature for its SCANFLEX® hardware platform. The new option enables the utilization of a preconfigured gigabit LAN interface for high-speed transfer of very large Flash image—up to several gigabits—for in-system programming without additional components. Now the functional interface test as well as high-speed data transfer can be implemented on the same hardware platform.
“The size of Flash memories to be programmed is continuously increasing, stretching currently utilized JTAG methods to their limits. We solve this problem by providing an integration-capable and parallelizable solution on a unified platform,” said Thomas Wenzel, managing director of GOEPEL electronic’s boundary scan division. “In connection with our innovative VarioTAP® technology for processor emulation users are now able to combine the benefits of a JTAG based target initialization with the efficiency of high-speed Flash image downloads, saving time and costs for programming.”
SCANFLEX® provides the gigabit interface by the Model BAC9305-LAN1G Bus Access Cable (BAC), supporting functional tests as well as high-speed data transfer. SCANFLEX® is a modular JTAG/boundary scan platform, controlled by a central controller. It provides ideal integration characteristics into other test systems such as in-circuit testers (ICT), flying probe testers (FPT) or functional testers (FCT), enabling the seamless combination of different test and programming strategies.
The VarioTAP® technology for processor emulation transforms an existing processor via the standard debug port into a native design embedded test and programming controller, initializing all interfaces. These capabilities are used in applying a SCANFLEX® integrated LAN server to create a peer-to-peer connection. The fully parallelizable method does not require specific firmware and target booting. The size of Flash images is no longer limited.