Error Logger Circuit for Rapid Communication Bus Fault Logging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing communication bus systems lack efficient error logging mechanisms, leading to delayed and incomplete error response handling, making it difficult to debug and identify errors effectively.
Innovation Solution
An error logger circuit is coupled to the communication bus, which includes an error detection circuit to detect errors and generate an error indicator signal, and a storage circuit to log error information, allowing for quick and detailed error logging without storing transaction history.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If error information is logged using existing communication bus systems, then error records can be obtained, but the error response handling is delayed and incomplete
Solution Approach 1:
The error logging function is segmented from the main communication bus operations. A dedicated error logger circuit with separate storage circuitry is introduced to capture error information independently, allowing error logging to occur in parallel with normal communication operations, thus eliminating delays and ensuring complete error records are captured without affecting system performance
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary error logger circuit is introduced between the communication bus and the error detection mechanism. This intermediary component captures error indicator signals and stores them in dedicated storage circuits, acting as a buffer that ensures error information is preserved immediately without waiting for the main communication protocol to complete its error handling sequence
2Ease of operation
If detailed error information is captured, then debugging efficiency is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The error logging functionality is extracted as a separate, dedicated circuit module from the main communication bus logic. This extracted error logger contains its own storage circuits and control logic, capturing only error-specific information (error type, source address, destination address, bus state) without needing to replicate the entire communication protocol handling, thus providing detailed debugging information while maintaining relatively simple circuitry
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the main communication bus process and log all transaction details including errors, the approach is inverted: a dedicated error logger circuit actively monitors and captures only error conditions. This inversion allows the main bus to remain simple while the error logging subsystem provides comprehensive debugging information through specialized error detection and storage mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes a device including an initiator, a target, a communication bus coupling the initiator to the target over a channel, a functional circuit, and an error logger circuit. The functional circuit is coupled to the channel and can perform a function associated with a transaction request from the initiator to the target. The functional circuit can include an error detection circuit to detect an error associated with the function performed by the functional circuit and to generate an error indicator signal to indicate that the error has been detected. The error logger circuit can be coupled to the functional circuit, in which the error logger circuit is configured to receive the error indicator signal from the error detection circuit and store information about the error.