LnK Tools - SLIMbus Expert

28th March 2013 : SLIMbus Technical Seminars - Asian Tour

What a success !!!

We had about 100 engineers attending the two SLIMbus technical seminars.
There is obviously a fast growing interest from the Asian market.
The logistics has been perfectly handled by our local distributors, showing once again their high level of professionalism.
On behalf of LnK and Evatronix, We want to thanks all the attendees for these interesting events.

10th December 2012 : Complete SLIMbus conformance test package from LnK

The SLIMbus Conformance test suite comprises:

A very detailed SLIMbus test specification
A library of more than 120 easily customizable scripts

It relies of our acclaimed SLIMbus analyzer and traffic generator.
The use of our SLIMbus Audio Bridge, togther with the analyzer/generator complement the test suite, especially when testing the Pulled protocol in data channels.

This test suite is the result of months of engineering work, done by our SLIMbus experts and made available to all LnK's valuable customers.

4th May 2012 : Embedded Manager and Message Sniffer in the Audio Bridge

The Audio Bridge Evolution main features are:

Embedded manager to transmit configuration messages
Message sniffer for message activity monitoring
New PC GUI application to control the Bridge (based on ScriptBuilder GUI)
NEXT_ROOT_FREQUENCY support
Clock pause and wake up support

The Audio Bridge Evo is readily available

16th March 2012 : Analyzer & Generator version 1.60 is available

The new features are:

All SLImbus Root Frequencies supported by the Generator
Improved Data Channel analysis
Real time HW filters for the Trigger Output
Value element / Information element decoding (user libraries)
Horizontal status line with selectable events
Easy script transmission in FramerLess mode (preset button list)
Remote controls through DLLs (including control of ScriptBuilder) for automated test benches
Other minor improvements and bug fixes

1st July 2011 : SLIMbus Audio Bridge - a step forward in SLIMbus component testing

We are very proud to announce the availability of our new jewel: the SLIMbus Audio Bridge.

Our Protocol Analyzer and Traffic Generator are invaluable tools to validate a SLIMbus interface design.
However, when it is about testing the functionalities using the SLIMbus interface, no tools were available yet.
We have designed a tool that allows existing audio analyzers like Audio Precision, PrismSound and others to be easily connected to SLIMbus components.
It is now as simple to test a SLIMbus audio compoenet as it was to test S/PDIF or I2S audio chips.

Additionnaly, the SLIMbus Audio Bridge can be used in any SLIMbus subsystems as a generic audio component. Very handy to verify a system design or a software stack.
The SLIMbus audio bridge will also find applications in device / feature demonstration.

23rd December 2010 : The SLIMbus Interop Workshop organized at TestronicLabs was a big success.

The SLIMbus Interop Workshop that took place from the 13th to the 15th December at TestronicLabs (Hasselt, Belgium) proved that the existing SLIMbus implementations are all capable of running the powerful features of SLIMbus without any issues.
The main focus of the session was the validation of the data channel management and of the transport protocols. We did not see any interoperability problems, proof that the SLIMbus specification is now well mature.
Most of the setups were using 3 devices and our Generator/Analyzer. Thanks to the little hub board we designed, we did not face any board interconnection issues.

7th June 2010 : The SLIMbus Protocol Analyzer V1.50 is available for download

This is a major release of our SLIMbus Analyzer and Generator. Many new features have been implemented:

Simplified graphical user interface
Hardware loops to generate long lasting streaming
Ability of the Generator to synchronize to an external framer
Enhanced automatic message response
Support of the Pulled and Async protocol as sink
Completely reworked Data view (now very powerful)
Context dependant error detection (reconfiguration sequences, ...)

Read carefully the user manual to know about all the new features of the tools.
There are still some features on which we are working and that are planned in version 1.60: Effective support by the Generator of most of the SLIMbus root frequencies, advanced filtering on the message view, improve the live view when using the generator synchronized on an external framer, auto trig out...
We also simplified the installation procedure by embedding in a single executable install file the Analyzer, the USB drivers, the documentation of the various tools, ScriptBuilder and SLImbusMan applications. Go to the product page in the Members area to download the full installation package.

24th February 2010 : MWC2010, an interesting event for SLIMbus

The exhibition was successful. Crowded audiance, high qualitiy presentations and discussions.
Though most of the attention was given to Google going mobile and the new LTE technology and Smartphones, we had the pleasure to welcome on our booth companies that were not yet envolved in Mipi or Mipi members that were not yet considering SLIMbus in their designs. SLIMbus seems to be more and more perceived by the industry as THE new general purpose bus. Some remarks were made about the need for more flexibility in the clock management and power saving. This is already on the plate of the LML WG and is top priority in our technical brainstorming. The demonstration by austriamicrosystems of a SLIMbus enabled class D amplifier with EQ capabilities was also very well appreciated.

18th January 2010 : The XML Script Builder is available for download

In our continuous effort of making our solutions easier to use, we have designed a very comprehensive XML script builder for the Interactive Traffic Generator. In order to limit the risk of mistakes when building a script, the XML script builder embeds a SLIMbus simulator that will automatically preset the parameters to the correct value. Errors can then be inserted on purpose to trigger a given behavior. Associated to the SLIMbus Bandwidth Management toolbox, the XML script builder provides a graphical display of the bus state over time. These tools are freely available to all the MIPI aliance members and are running on Windows, Linux and Mac OSX. Visit our Member area to dowload it. See the press release for additional information.

24th October 2009 : The Interactive Traffic Generator is now available

The new traffic generator allows interactive behavior on the SLIMbus. It is capable of automatically generate programmed message response and automatically update the guide byte value when an incoming message is crossing the superframe boundary. It is now also possible to loop parts of a script to generate neverending streams. These features were the most demanded ones when dealing with FPGA IP validation. However, we paid a lot of attention to keep all the existing powerfull features of the current generator. The scripts that were designed for the static generator are still useable. They can easily be modified to run the interactive features. We also designed a new HW that allows using all SLIMbus root frequencies. The previous hardware was limited to 24 MHz. See the press release for additional information.

1st October 2009 : The first SLIMbus interop session was very successfull

8 companies were present with their SLIMbus designs at UNH-IOL (University of New Hampshire). All the test benches (without exception) were equiped with the LnK SLIMbus protocol Analyzers. Thanks to these test gears, it was possible to trace every transactions between the devices. That allowed the participant to pinpoint the eventual flaws in their design. The good point was that no serious problem occured. It is a good sign that the SLIMbus specification is in a pretty good shape and that there are no amiguities that could led to interoperability issues. The other reason for that success was that most of the companies present at the interop session designed their SLIMbus IP using the Protocol Analyzer and the Traffic Generator of LnK.

15th July 2009 : The live view is now available for the Protocol Analyzer

The live view is great addition to the existing analyzer features. It allows real time monitoring of the Message Channel traffic. The messages are analyzed and displayed with the same format as for a standard stream record. The record can run almost forever, which allows for very long term Message Channel monitoring. As usual, new powerful features in our tools are always associated to great ergonomics. Engineers want to spend their time on designs, not on tool learning.

15th January 2009 : A New Web Site For LnK

We are pleased to annouce the LnK new web site. As the SLIMbus momentum in the industry is dramaticaly increasing, it was really time to move to a more friendly user interface. The new site is split into 2 sections:
- a public one with as many information and links about SLIMbus and our products
- a member area where Mipi member companies can request a login and password and have access to the detailed documentation about our tools and some goodies.
We hope that this new web site will please everybody. if you have any idea about how to improve the web site, feel free to mail us (info@lnk-tools.com).

8th December 2008 : LnK partners with Orange Tree

LnK partners with Orange Tree to deliver Breakthrough SLIMbus Test and Verification Solutions

LnK's SLIMbus Test & Verification Solutions Use Orange Tree's Interconnect Hardware To Accelerate the Adoption and System Integration of SLIMbus(sm) in Mobile Platforms. Read the complete story.

www.orangetreetech.com