Latest Test and Measurement News

Compute Express Link (CXL) Device Validation Solution

19 January 2024 - Teledyne LeCroy announced the OakGate CD240-G5 CXL Validation Solution for PCIe 5.0-based Compute Express Link (CXL) memory expansion devices. The new OakGate CXL validation solution offers performance and functionality testing for CXL memory devices, accelerating time-to-market of highly reliable memory devices.

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data is propelling the trend toward heterogeneous computing, where multiple processors work in parallel to process massive volumes of data. CXL is an open standard industry-supported cache-coherent interconnect for processors and is supported on the PCI Express (PCIe) 5.0 interface. CXL, a memory semantics technology, enables high-speed, low latency communication between the host processor and devices such as accelerators, memory buffers and smart I/O devices, while expanding memory capacity and bandwidth beyond what is possible today. Functional and performance validation testing is critical to the successful launch of CXL memory expansion devices, ensuring that new devices perform per the standard when released to the market. The OakGate CD240-G5, the latest Teledyne LeCroy test solution for CXL, is based on the company's proactive collaboration with multiple data center, memory, and chipset manufacturers that develop next-generation CXL test and validation solutions.

"Micron's collaboration with Teledyne LeCroy to prepare OakGate CD240-G5 for the real world has helped mature the CXL compliance test ecosystem, in addition to strengthening our own CXL innovation," said Siva Makineni, vice president of advanced memory systems at Micron. "Teledyne LeCroy's validation capabilities have played an important role in ensuring the quality and compliance of our developing CXL solutions. More importantly, enabling test and validation of advanced features while the software and hardware ecosystem prepare for this emerging standard is a critical step towards industry adoption of CXL."

Over the past two years, Micron has closely collaborated with Teledyne LeCroy to finetune its CXL validation capabilities by testing its nascent CXL solutions on the platform. Testing its CXL devices with Teledyne LeCroy's rigorous validation capabilities enabled Micron's CXL devices to make the CXL Consortium's Integrators List showcasing manufacturers with products that have met stringent CXL compliance standards.

Teledyne LeCroy's OakGate validation test solutions for CXL specification provide a rich library of analysis and visualization capabilities. The robust Endeavor validation software includes the ability to:

• Test up to 4 (four) EDSFF E.3 or CEM CXL devices
• Discover and enumerate CXL memory devices
• Access the PCIe and CXL register spaces of connected devices
• Exercise common memory traffic patterns
• Allow CXL commands to be custom tailored and sent to connected devices through Endeavor's Passthrough Command Tool
• Execute built-in security flows utilizing Security Protocol and Data Model (SPDM) over Data Object Exchange (DOE), SMBus and PCIe Vendor Defined Message (VDM)
• Perform power control
• Test sideband #PERST, #REFCLK, #PWRDIS control

A full Software Development Kit (SDK) is included for all features listed including Representational State Transfer (REST) server with Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) allowing users to programmatically control all features available in the tool and automate. Additionally, Teledyne LeCroy's customized, proprietary driver talks directly to the CXL device hardware. It provides the highest level of performance and lowest latency ensuring consistent and repeatable test performance.

OakGate CXL validation test appliances for PCIe Gen5 can be ordered now.

www.teledynelecroy.com/