Development Tools News

Nohau GigaTrace records 100 mega samples of digital data per second for up to 10 minutes

Campbell, Calif.  April 22, 2003  Nohau Corporation today announced the release of the GigaTrace recording system, which allows software developers to record 100 mega samples of parallel data per second for up to ten minutes at a time.

Before the GigaTrace developers could only record several Megabytes of data at a time, translating to only a fraction of a second of execution time.  Now, several minutes or even hours can be recorded. The result: bugs are much easier to catch. Using GigaTrace, software developers can record and identify tricky bugs faster than ever before resulting in saved time and money.

How it Works
GigaTrace is a recording system that uses hard disk drives in order to record digital signals.  Typically the recorded information is the address and data busses of a microprocessor, but any information coming out of the processor can be used.  Examples are ETM (Embedded Trace Module) from ARM and Nexus trace information (IEEE-ISTO 5001).

The GigaTrace records like a logic analyzer or in-circuit emulator, but with the added benefit of recording hundreds of GigaBytes of data in real-time in one session without stopping. It is able to find problems where it is not possible to set up a trigger because the source of the problem is unknown, and it allows users to view unexpected problems so developers can fix them.

With GigaTrace, the entire flow of program and data transactions can be recorded for extended periods of time so it is possible to analyze what happened. The GigaTrace software can use the recorded information to search through the executed code using complex search state machines to find difficult problems.

In addition to finding bugs, GigaTrace can be used to provide a summary of how much time was spent in different places of the program (Program Performance Analysis), and calculate how many times a certain function was executed, or how many times a certain data address was accessed. GigaTrace can calculate which pieces of code were and were not executed (Code Coverage), and perform time measurements between different points in the program.

“Even if there are no problems, GigaTrace can be helpful in creating a better understanding of what the code actually does while running in a real system in the field,” said Nohau President Olle Hallengren. “By recording vast amounts of data and then processing it in various ways, valuable insights can be won.”

Pricing
Nohau currently has a patent pending on the GigaTrace. The GigaTrace costs from $7,500 and is available now.

About Nohau Corporation
Nohau provides the tools for engineers of embedded systems to complete their development projects in an efficient and economical way. Nohau Corporation, headquartered in Campbell, California, is a market leader in development tools, providing support for the major microcontroller manufacturers. Nohau’s forty worldwide distributors provide sales and service to over 15,000 direct customers.