You can connect RTBx to an address bus that runs at up to 250 MHz. To do this, you must reserve a range of addresses for ipoints, with one bit reserved to indicate that the value on the address bus is an ipoint. The ipoint instrumentation writes a value to a specific address in that region to denote a specific ipoint. This approach reduces the maximum trace duration of the RTBx.

This depends on the number of CPU cycles it takes to output successive ipoints, and the rate ipoints are written at. For example, RTBx 2220 can collect trace data via an I/O port with a minimum separation of 4 ns (250 MHz). This model can therefore support a 1 GHz CPU that outputs trace data once every 4 cycles. 

This is the maximum tracing rate that can be sustained over time, calculated from the number of ipoints the RTBx can process per second. The RTBx can support a higher tracing rate for short periods of time, provided that the minimum separation between instrumentation points is met.

The RTBx automatically timestamps data it collects, using either an internal clock or that on embedded hardware. This removes the need to configure a timestamping procedure on the embedded target itself, which would incur code size and execution time overheads.

Compared to other hardware that can be used for timestamping such as debuggers and logic analyzers, the RTBx can collect trace data for far longer, meaning that it doesn't become a bottleneck in your testing.

We supply standard data cables, an adapter, and flying leads to connect RTBx to LVDS or TTL I/O ports. If your target hardware uses non-standard pins or electrical signalling, we provide advice on the best way to connect RTBx to your target, and can develop high performance custom cables to meet your needs.

The RTBx is a data logger that provides a cost-effective, easy-to-use solution for collecting and timestamping long streams of verification data from software tests run on embedded hardware. It is target-independent, supporting a wide variety of target architectures, and provides an excellent way of collecting trace data for use by RVS.