RICHARDSON, USA: ASSET InterTech’s ScanWorks platform for embedded instrumentation is the first in the industry to support both signal integrity design validation and circuit board test for the new Intel Xeon processor 5500 series, codenamed Nehalem, as well as the 5520 chipset.

Xeon 5500 series processors will be deployed in systems using Intel’s QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) platform architecture.

To validate Intel Xeon processor 5500 series-based designs, the ScanWorks platform employs Intel’s Interconnect Built In Self Test (IBIST) embedded instrumentation technology, which is being placed in that company’s next-generation processors and chipsets. The embedded IBIST instrumentation is employed by ScanWorks to perform margining and bit error rate testing (BERT) on high-speed buses like QPI and PCIe.

The same ScanWorks platform with its processor-controlled test capabilities can also test Nehalem-based circuit boards. ScanWorks is able to take control of an Intel Xeon processor 5500 series CPU and assert structural and functional tests and diagnostics on other devices and buses on the circuit board, including the 5520 chipset. ScanWorks’ validation and test capabilities improve the quality of the system and accelerate a new product’s time-to-market.

“The non-intrusive nature of ScanWorks and the fact that it is much less expensive because it’s software-driven are big advantages over older technologies that require physical access and involve large capital investments for hardware systems, fixtures and other costly accessories,” said Tim Caffee, ASSET’s vice president of I/O instrumentation. “The new QPI-based platforms which will incorporate the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series of CPUs are ultra-fast and require new test strategies. These factors and others are changing the way the industry does validation and test, and ScanWorks is leading the way.”

Pricing for ScanWorks for the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series begins at $13,350 and is available today.