Keysight Technologies U4301 User manual

Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3
Analyzer
User’s Guide

2Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide
Notices
© Keysight Technologies 2008-2015, 2017
No part of this manual may be reproduced in
any form or by any means (including elec-
tronic storage and retrieval or translation
into a foreign language) without prior agree-
ment and written consent from Keysight
Technologies as governed by United States
and international copyright laws.
Trademarks
UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX Sys-
tem Laboratories in the U.S.A. and other
countries. Target is copyrighted by Thru-Put
Systems, Inc.
Manual Part Number
U4301-97001
Edition
May 2017
Available in electronic format only
Keysight Technologies
1900 Garden of the Gods Road
Colorado Springs, CO 80907 USA
Warranty
THE MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THIS
DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS," AND IS
SUBJECT TO BEING CHANGED, WITHOUT
NOTICE, IN FUTURE EDITIONS. FURTHER,
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY
APPLICABLE LAW, KEYSIGHT DISCLAIMS
ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED WITH REGARD TO THIS MANUAL
AND ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED
HEREIN, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. KEYSIGHT SHALL
NOT BE LIABLE FOR ERRORS OR FOR
INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH THE
FURNISHING, USE, OR PERFORMANCE OF
THIS DOCUMENT OR ANY INFORMATION
CONTAINED HEREIN. SHOULD KEYSIGHT
AND THE USER HAVE A SEPARATE WRITTEN
AGREEMENT WITH WARRANTY TERMS
COVERING THE MATERIAL IN THIS
DOCUMENT THAT CONFLICT WITH THESE
TERMS, THE WARRANTY TERMS IN THE
SEPARATE AGREEMENT WILL CONTROL.
Technology Licenses
The hardware and/or software described in
this document are furnished under a license
and may be used or copied only in accor-
dance with the terms of such license.
U.S. Government Rights
The Software is "commercial computer soft-
ware," as defined by Federal Acquisition
Regulation ("FAR") 2.101. Pursuant to FAR
12.212 and 27.405-3 and Department of
Defense FAR Supplement ("DFARS")
227.7202, the U.S. government acquires
commercial computer software under the
same terms by which the software is cus-
tomarily provided to the public. Accordingly,
Keysight provides the Software to U.S. gov-
ernment customers under its standard com-
mercial license, which is embodied in its
End User License Agreement (EULA), a copy
of which can be found at http://www.key-
sight.com/find/sweula. The license set
forth in the EULA represents the exclusive
authority by which the U.S. government may
use, modify, distribute, or disclose the Soft-
ware. The EULA and the license set forth
therein, does not require or permit, among
other things, that Keysight: (1) Furnish tech-
nical information related to commercial
computer software or commercial computer
software documentation that is not custom-
arily provided to the public; or (2) Relinquish
to, or otherwise provide, the government
rights in excess of these rights customarily
provided to the public to use, modify, repro-
duce, release, perform, display, or disclose
commercial computer software or commer-
cial computer software documentation. No
additional government requirements beyond
those set forth in the EULA shall apply,
except to the extent that those terms, rights,
or licenses are explicitly required from all
providers of commercial computer software
pursuant to the FAR and the DFARS and are
set forth specifically in writing elsewhere in
the EULA. Keysight shall be under no obliga-
tion to update, revise or otherwise modify
the Software. With respect to any technical
data as defined by FAR 2.101, pursuant to
FAR 12.211 and 27.404.2 and DFARS
227.7102, the U.S. government acquires no
greater than Limited Rights as defined in
FAR 27.401 or DFAR 227.7103-5 (c), as
applicable in any technical data.
Safety Notices
CAUTION
A CAUTION notice denotes a hazard. It
calls attention to an operating proce-
dure, practice, or the like that, if not
correctly performed or adhered to,
could result in damage to the product
or loss of important data. Do not pro-
ceed beyond a CAUTION notice until
the indicated conditions are fully
understood and met.
WARNING
A WARNING notice denotes a hazard.
It calls attention to an operating pro-
cedure, practice, or the like that, if not
correctly performed or adhered to,
could result in personal injury or
death. Do not proceed beyond a
WARNING notice until the indicated
conditions are fully understood and
met.

Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide 3
Safety Summary
The following general safety precautions must be observed during all phases of operation of this
instrument. Failure to comply with these precautions or with specific warnings or operating
instructions in the product manuals violates safety standards of design, manufacture, and intended
use of the instrument. Keysight Technologies assumes no liability for the customer's failure to comply
with these requirements. Product manuals are provided with your instrument on CD-ROM and/or in
printed form. Printed manuals are an option for many products. Manuals may also be available on
the Web. Go to www.keysight.com and type in your product number in the Search field at the top of
the page.
General Do not use this product in any manner not specified by the manufacturer. The protective features of
this product may be impaired if it is used in a manner not specified in the operation instructions.
Before Applying
Power
Verify that all safety precautions are taken. Make all connections to the unit before applying power.
Note the instrument's external markings described in “Safety Symbols”.
Ground the
Instrument
If your product is provided with a grounding type power plug, the instrument chassis and cover must
be connected to an electrical ground to minimize shock hazard. The ground pin must be firmly
connected to an electrical ground (safety ground) terminal at the power outlet. Any interruption of
the protective (grounding) conductor or disconnection of the protective earth terminal will cause a
potential shock hazard that could result in personal injury.
Fuses See the user's guide or operator's manual for information about line-fuse replacement. Some
instruments contain an internal fuse, which is not user accessible.
Do Not Operate in
an Explosive
Atmosphere
Do not operate the instrument in the presence of flammable gases or fumes.
Do Not Remove the
Instrument Cover
Only qualified, service-trained personnel who are aware of the hazards involved should remove
instrument covers. Always disconnect the power cable and any external circuits before removing the
instrument cover.
Cleaning Clean the outside of the instrument with a soft, lint-free, slightly dampened cloth. Do not use
detergent or chemical solvents.
Do Not Modify the
Instrument
Do not install substitute parts or perform any unauthorized modification to the product. Return the
product to a Keysight Sales and Service Office for service and repair to ensure that safety features
are maintained.
In Case of Damage Instruments that appear damaged or defective should be made inoperative and secured against
unintended operation until they can be repaired by qualified service personnel.
CAUTION
A CAUTION notice denotes a hazard. It calls attention to an operating procedure, practice,
or the like that, if not correctly performed or adhered to, could result in damage to the
product or loss of important data. Do not proceed beyond a CAUTION notice until the
indicated conditions are fully understood and met.
WARNING
A WARNING notice denotes a hazard. It calls attention to an operating procedure,
practice, or the like that, if not correctly performed or adhered to, could result in
personal injury or death. Do not proceed beyond a WARNING notice until the indicated
conditions are fully understood and met.

4Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide
Safety Symbols
Table 1 Safety Symbol
Symbol Description
Direct current
Alternating current
Both direct and alternating current
Three phase alternating current
Three phase alternating current
Earth ground terminal
Protective earth ground terminal
Frame or chassis ground terminal
Terminal is at earth potential
Equipotentiality
N Neutral conductor on permanently
installed equipment
L Line conductor on permanently installed
equipment
On (mains supply)
Off (mains supply)
Standby (mains supply). The instrument is
not completely disconnected from the
mains supply when the power switch is in
the standby position
In position of a bi-stable push switch

Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide 5
Out position of a bi-stable push switch
Equipment protected throughout by
DOUBLE INSULATION or REINFORCED
INSULATION
Caution, refer to accompanying
documentation
Caution, risk of electric shock
Do not apply around or remove from
HAZARDOUS LIVE conductors
Application around and removal from
HAZARDOUS LIVE conductors is
permitted
Caution, hot surface
Ionizing radiation
Indicates that antistatic precautions
should be taken
CAT I IEC Measurement Category I
CAT II Measurement Category II
CAT III Measurement Category III
CAT IV Measurement Category IV
Symbol Description

6Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide
Compliance and Environmental Information
Table 2 Compliance and Environmental Information
Safety Symbol Description
CSA is the Canadian certification mark to demonstrate compliance with the Safety
requirements.
The C-tick mark is a registered trademark of the Spectrum Management Agency of
Australia. This signifies compliance with the Australia EMC Framework regulations
under the terms of the Radio Communication Act of 1992.
CE compliance marking to the EU Safety and EMC Directives.
ISM GRP-1A classification according to the international EMC standard.
ICES/NMB-001 compliance marking to the Canadian EMC standard.
KC certification mark to demonstrate compliance with the South Korean EMC
requirements.
South Korean Class A EMC declaration
This equipment is Class A suitable for professional use and is for use in
electromagnetic environments outside of the home.
This product complies with the WEEE Directive (2002/96/EC) marking requirements.
The affixed label indicates that you must not discard this electrical/ electronic
product in domestic household waste.
Product Category: With reference to the equipment types in WEEE Directive Annex I,
this product is classified as a “Monitoring and Control instrumentation product”.
Do not dispose in household waste.
To return unwanted products, contact your local Keysight office, or see
www.keysight.com/environment/product/ for more information.

Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide 7
U4301A/B PCIe Gen3 Analyzer—At a Glance
The U4301A/B PCIe Gen3 analyzer lets you capture and decode PCI Express 3.0 (PCIe 3.0) data and
view it in a Protocol Viewer window. The protocol analyzer supports all PCIe 3.0 speeds, including 2.5
GT/s (Gen1) and 5.0 GT/s (Gen2) through PCIe 8 GT/s (Gen3), and it supports link widths from x1 to
x16.
The U4301B PCIe Gen3 analyzer provides enhanced PCIe Gen3 features over the U4301A analyzer.
You can install the U4301B module in a Keysight AXIe chassis (for example, the M9502A 2 slot
chassis). The U4301A module can be installed in a Keysight Digital Test Console chassis (for
example, the U4002A portable 2-slot chassis) or a Keysight AXIe chassis (for example, the M9502A 2
slot chassis).
When a controller PC is connected to a Keysight chassis via an external PCIe interface and cable, the
Keysight Logic and Protocol Analyzer application (running on the controller PC) lets you connect to
the chassis, set up U4301A/B PCIe Gen3 analyzer data captures, and perform analysis.
The U4301A/B PCIe Gen3 analyzer provides:
Effective presentation of protocol interactions from physical layer to transaction layer:
• Industry standard spreadsheet format protocol viewer with:
• Highlighting by packet type or direction.
• Easy flow columns to better understand the stimulus and response nature of the protocols.
• Context sensitive columns to show only the relevant information, minimizing the need to
scroll horizontally.
• Flexible GUI configuration to meet debug needs, with pre-defined GUI layouts for Link Training
debug, Config accesses, and general I/O.
Simple and powerful state-based triggering:
• New simple trigger mode makes it easy to setup single event triggers.
• Powerful state-based triggering including:
• Four states supported in trigger sequencer.
• Triggering on patterns (ordered set patterns or packet types).
• Internal counters and timers.
• Triggering on an ordered set on a specific lane.
• External trigger in/out.
Powerful hardware features ensure capture of important transition events:
• Dual phase lock loops (PLLs) per direction ensuring that the analyzer will lock on speed change
events quickly and not miss any critical data.
NOTE
You can upgrade your U4301A module and enhance its PCIe Gen3 features by using the System
level upgrade license (U4301U-GFP). This license includes a system level upgrade of the U4301A
module to match the features available with the latest U4301B module. This upgrade includes 8
GB Capture Buffer, LTSSM Viewer, Transaction Decoder, and Offline Performance Summary
features.
If there are multiple U4301A modules in a chassis, then installing the System Level Upgrade
license on one of these modules enables features such as LTSSM Viewer, Transaction Decoder,
and Offline Performance Summary on all the U4301A modules in the chassis. The capture buffer,
however, is upgraded only for the U4301A module on which the system level upgrade license has
been installed and not for all the U4301A modules in the chassis.

8Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide
• 8 GB capture buffer for a U4301B module. 4 GB capture buffer for a U4301A module. This can be
upgraded to 8 GB if the System Level Upgrade license is installed on the U4301A module.
• PCIe Gen1 x4 link to the host PC, provides up to 10 Gbps of data download.
• LEDs to show lane status and speed for fast understanding of current link status.
Cross-triggering with an external oscilloscope and making time-correlated measurements (using
markers).
• You can display data captured by the oscilloscope in the Waveform and Listing display windows.
This external oscilloscope correlation and data display feature is also referred to as View Scope.
To know more about this feature and how to use it with the U4301 Analyzer, refer to the External
Oscilloscope Time Correlation and Data Display Online Help.
See •"Using the PCIe Gen3 Analyzer" on page 9

Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide 9
Using the PCIe Gen3 Analyzer
For an overview and list of features, see: "U4301A/B PCIe Gen3 Analyzer—At a Glance" on page 7
•Chapter1,"Hardware and Software Installation" on page 17
•Chapter2,"Probing Options for PCIe Gen3" on page 19
•Chapter3,"Specifying the Connection Setup" on page 21
•Chapter4,"Setting the Capture Options" on page 33
•Chapter5,"Tuning the Analyzer for a Specific DUT" on page 37
•Chapter6"Setting Up Triggers" on page 55
•Chapter7"Running/Stopping Captures" on page 71
•Chapter8,"Viewing PCIe Gen3 Packets and Traffic Overview" on page 73
•Chapter9,"Viewing and Interpreting Equalization Summary Data" on page 106
• Chapter 10, "Configuring and Computing Decoded Transactions" on page 115
• Chapter 11 "Viewing Offline Performance Summary" on page 157
See Also • U4305 PCIe Gen3 exerciser documentation.

10 Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide

Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide 11
Contents
Safety Summary 3
Compliance and Environmental Information 6
U4301A/B PCIe Gen3 Analyzer—At a Glance 7
Using the PCIe Gen3 Analyzer 9
1 Hardware and Software Installation
2 Probing Options for PCIe Gen3
3 Specifying the Connection Setup
Probing options 21
U4321A Solid Slot Interposer Card 22
U4322A Soft Touch Midbus 3.0 probe 22
U4324A PCIe Gen 3 Flying Lead probe 22
U4328A M.2 (M-key) Interposer 23
U4330A U.2 (SFF-8639) Interposer 23
To specify the connection setup 23
4 Setting the Capture Options
5 Tuning the Analyzer for a Specific DUT
PCIe Gen3 Tuning Overview 38
What is Tuning 38
How Tuning Works 38
When to Perform Tuning 38
Default and User Defined .ptu Files 38
Tuning - Broad steps 39
Tuning Method 40
Preparing the U4301A/B Module and DUT for Tuning 41
Creating a Physical Layer Tuning File 42
To create a physical layer tuning file 42
LEDs display during BER Based Tuning 47
Loading a Tuning File in the Logic and Protocol Analyzer GUI 48
Tuning a Bidirectional Setup 50

12 Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide
Contents
Fine Tuning a .ptu File 51
Fine Tuning Flow 51
To fine tune a .ptu file 51
6 Setting Up Triggers
Setting Up Simple Triggers 56
Setting Up Advanced Triggers 59
Using Timers in Advanced Triggers 62
Setting General Trigger Options 64
To select which links the trigger is for 64
To set the trigger position 64
To save/recall favorite triggers 64
To clear the current trigger 65
Setting up a Trigger on Physical Layer Errors 66
Physical Layer Errors Supported for Triggering 66
To set up a trigger on error 66
To view the Trigger on Error and Errored Packet 68
Possible Reasons for an Errored Packet not Appearing in the Protocol Viewer After the Trigger on
Error Occurred 70
7 Running/Stopping Captures
8 Viewing PCIe Gen3 Packets and Traffic Overview
Filtering Packets Displayed in Protocol Viewer 75
Filtering Bidirectional Packets Data 77
Searching for Specific Packets in Protocol Viewer 80
Compacting the Display of Training Sequence Packets 82
Example - Compacted Display 82
To configure the Compact setup 83
To enable the compact display 84
To turn off the compact display 84
Viewing the Captured PCIe Traffic Statistics 85
Navigating through the captured PCIe packets 87
Viewing a Traffic Overview Chart 89
To display a traffic overview chart 89
Understanding the Displayed Traffic Overview Chart 89
Customizing the Traffic Overview Chart 89
Zooming In/Out the Traffic Overview Chart 90
Placing markers in the traffic overview chart 91

Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide 13
Contents
Exporting Packet Times from a Traffic Overview Chart to a .csv or an Excel File 93
Exporting Captured PCIe Data to a .csv File 95
9 Viewing LTSSM States, State Transitions, and Equalization Summary
LTSSM Overview 98
Prerequisites 101
Configuring and Computing LTSSM States and Equalization Summary 102
Viewing LTSSM States/Transitions Data 104
Viewing and Interpreting Equalization Summary Data 106
Exporting Equalization Summary Data to an Excel File 107
Customizing the Display in the Equalization Summary Section 108
Navigating Through the LTSSM Transitions/States/EQ occurrences 110
Interpreting LTSSM States and Transition Results 111
10 Computing and Viewing Decoded Transactions
Transaction Decoding - Overview 114
Types of Protocols Supported 114
Transaction Decode Tab 114
Configuring and Computing Decoded Transactions 115
Before you Start 115
Computing Transactions from the Captured Data 115
Defining / Verifying the Device Setup 117
Saving the Device Setup Details 121
Viewing the Configuration Space of a DUT 122
Configuring Timestamps Displayed in the Computed Transactions 123
Saving the Computed Transaction Data 124
Clearing the Computed Transaction Data 124
Interpreting and Navigating Through the Transaction Decode Results 126
Transaction Details Pane 126
Transaction Overview Pane 127
Navigating Through Transactions 130
Navigating Between Transactions and their Associated Packets 131
Visualizing a Transaction Set (Super Transaction) 133
Viewing NVMe Transactions 135
Viewing Transactions for NVMe Controller Initialization 135
Viewing Admin Command Transactions 136
Viewing NVMe I/O Command Transactions 137

14 Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide
Contents
Viewing a Transaction Performance Chart 139
Viewing a Complete Set of Transactions for a Command Submission and Completion 141
Viewing Decoded Payload for NVMe Commands 142
Viewing Decoded PRPs for NVMe Commands 143
Viewing Decoded MSI-X Table 144
Viewing AHCI Transactions 147
PCIe Configuration Space Registers Transactions - Examples 147
Generic Host Control Registers Transactions - Examples 148
Port Specific Registers Transactions - Examples 149
SATA Commands Transactions - Examples 150
Visualizing a Complete Set of AHCI Transactions 151
Viewing Decoded Payload for AHCI Commands 152
Viewing PRDT Entries for an ATA Command 153
11 Viewing Offline Performance Summary
Offline Performance Summary - Overview 158
Performance Overview Tab 158
The Overlay View - At a Glance 159
Configuring and Computing Offline Performance Summary 161
Before you Start 161
Computing Offline Performance Summary 161
Saving the Computed Performance Summary Data 162
Defining Chart Settings 163
Interpreting the Performance Summary Results 170
Performance Statistics panes 170
Charts pane 172
Flow Control 174
Flow Control- Examples 176
Saving the Favorite Overlay Chart 179
Navigating Through the Performance Summary Results 181
Navigating Through a Chart 181
Navigating Between Performance Statistics and Associated PCIe Data 181
Customizing Charts 186
Changing the Sampling Rate and Re-sampling the Chart 186
Changing the Chart Display 186
Showing/Hiding the Chart Legend 191
Showing/Hiding the Band Chart 191
Viewing the Center of the Chart 193
Zooming In/Out Charts 193
Moving a Performance Series Chart to Front 195
Exporting Performance Summary Charts Data to a .csv or an Excel File 197

Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide 15
Contents
12 Glossary
Index

16 Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide
Contents

Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer
User’s Guide
1Hardware and Software In-
stallation
You install the U4301B PCIe Gen3 analyzer in a Keysight AXIe chassis (for example, the M9502A 2
slot chassis). The U4301A PCIe Gen3 analyzer module can be installed in a Keysight Digital Test
Console chassis (for example, the U4002A portable 2-slot chassis) or a Keysight AXIe chassis (for
example, the M9502A 2-slot chassis).
The Keysight chassis is connected to a controller PC via a PCI Express interface and a cable.
The controller PC runs the Keysight Logic and Protocol Analyzer application software which lets you
set up the U4301A/B PCIe Gen3 analyzer, specify triggers and other data capture options, capture
data, and analyze the captured data using the Protocol Viewer window.
See the “Keysight AXIe based Logic Analysis and Protocol Test Modules Installation Guide” for information
on:
• Installing the U4301A/B PCIe Gen3 analyzer module into a Keysight AXIe chassis.
• Connecting the AXIe chassis to a controller PC via the PCIExpress interface.
• Installing the Keysight Logic and Protocol Analyzer software on the controller PC.

1 Hardware and Software Installation
18 Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide

Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer
User’s Guide
2Probing Options for PCIe
Gen3
The currently available options for probing a PCIe Gen3 device under test (DUT) are:
• U4321A solid slot interposer
• U4322A midbus 3.0 probe
• U4324A PCIe Gen3 Flying Lead probe
• U4328A M.2 (M-key) Interposer
• U4330A U.2 (SFF-8639) Interposer
Details about these probing options (and other PCIe Gen3 tools) can be found in the "PCI Express
Gen3 Hardware and Probing Guide".
This guide is installed with the Logic and Protocol Analyzer software and can also be downloaded
from the Document Library tab of the U4301 module on www.keysight.com.

2 Probing Options for PCIe Gen3
20 Keysight U4301 PCIe Gen3 Analyzer User’s Guide