PCIe Interposer Capture Buffer Reduction Through Real-Time Packet Pruning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional PCIe Protocol Analyzers face challenges with high costs and error proneness due to the need for large memory buffers to capture and process high-speed data, especially with the increased bandwidth of PCIe Gen6, which affects signal integrity and data processing.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an interposer circuit that performs real-time data integrity checks, omits unnecessary data integrity bits and ACK/NACK packets, removes redundant fields, and compresses data payloads in parallel to reduce the amount of data stored in the capture buffer, while maintaining analysis functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If large memory buffers are used to capture high-speed PCIe Gen6 data, then data capture capability is improved, but cost and error proneness increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes unnecessary data components from the captured PCIe data stream in real-time. Specifically, it removes data integrity bits (such as CRC fields) and ACK/NACK packets that are not essential for protocol analysis. This extraction reduces the volume of data stored in memory buffers while preserving the essential information needed for debugging and analysis, thereby reducing cost and error proneness without sacrificing data capture capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different processing treatments to different portions of the captured data. Essential data fields are preserved with full quality, while non-essential fields (such as data integrity bits and acknowledgment packets) are removed or compressed. This selective processing optimizes the balance between data capture completeness and storage requirements, reducing memory buffer size needs while maintaining analysis functionality.
2Speed
If large memory buffers are used to store captured data, then data capture capability is improved, but material cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and eliminates redundant data elements such as data integrity bits and ACK/NACK packets from the captured PCIe data stream. By removing these non-essential components, the total volume of data requiring storage is significantly reduced, thereby reducing the memory buffer size needed and the associated material costs for implementing high-speed data capture systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters of the captured data by removing specific fields and compressing others. This parameter modification reduces the effective data volume that needs to be stored, allowing for smaller, less expensive memory buffer implementations while maintaining the ability to capture and analyze high-speed PCIe Gen6 data effectively.
3Loss of information
If all data integrity bits and ACK/NACK packets are stored, then complete data record is maintained, but storage requirements and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent systematically extracts and removes data integrity bits (such as CRC fields in TLPs and DLLPs) and ACK/NACK packets from the captured data stream. These elements are identified as non-essential for protocol analysis purposes. By removing them, the system reduces storage requirements and processing complexity while maintaining sufficient data completeness for effective debugging and analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies selective processing to different data components, preserving essential fields with full detail while removing or compressing non-essential fields. This local differentiation in data handling quality optimizes the balance between maintaining useful information and reducing processing complexity, allowing efficient analysis without storing all raw data components.
Data Source
AI summary
A method is provided for reducing data stored in a capture buffer of an interposer circuit during communication of the data over a data link according to a high-speed, layered packet-based protocol for analysis. The method includes performing data integrity checks of the data in real time, and omitting data integrity bits corresponding to the data integrity checks from transaction layer packets (TLPs) and data link layer packets (DLLPs) of the data when the data integrity checks indicate the data is correct; performing acknowledge and negative acknowledge (ACK/NACK) matching in real time to confirm successful delivery of the TLPs of the data using ACK/NACK packets, where the ACK/NACK packets are omitted from being stored in the capture buffer; removing and/or reducing fields in real time from the TLPs and/or the DLLPs of the data; and compressing data payloads of the TLPs and/or the DLLPs of the data in parallel.