We are very excited about the release of the new Data Center™ 4.0 Software, the latest version of our protocol analysis software, and the industry’s only true real-time protocol analysis for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.

We now have expanded support for USB class-level decoding of Video, Printer, CDC (communications device class), DFU (device firmware upgrade), and Still Image (PTP) classes. With more classes, more developers can take advantage of class-level decoding to speed up their analysis, development, and debugging.

Additionally, our GUI is now customizable!  We have always had a reputation for intuitive layout and user-friendly features.  Now, the interface is even more interactive, and allows you to modify and change the display to fit your needs and focus on the information that is most relevant for your application.  Of course, the Data Center software still offers hierarchical transaction grouping and advanced filtering capabilities to make data as accessible as possible.

Other new features include an improved hex editor, bandwidth meter, timing tools with shifting time reference, comment support, and automatic update checking.

Visit our website to see the new Data Center 4.0 Software!
http://www.totalphase.com/products/data_center/

Everybody at Total Phase is excited to announce that our Data Center™ 3.5 Software has been nominated for an ECN Magazine annual Readers Choice Award! The nomination is for top innovation in the Test and Measurement category. Please visit the ECN website and vote for us at http://www.ecnmag.com/2009techawards.

The ECN Readers Choice Award is especially exciting for Total Phase, because we strive to deliver industry-leading features at a low cost to make protocol analysis accessible to more developers. Each new feature in the Data Center 3.5 software was engineered to reduce bottlenecks and make debugging and development more efficient for our customers.

Data Center 3.5 Software

The Data Center 3.5 Software is the only protocol analysis software in the industry with true real-time performance and cross-platform support for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. This user-friendly bus monitoring software captures and displays USB, I2C, and SPI data in real-time with the Beagle™ line of hardware protocol analyzers.

In 2009, we completely revamped the architecture of the Data Center to make it even more powerful and user-friendly. Upgrades included: real-time USB class-level decoding, expanded real-time data filtering, intuitive hierarchical data packet grouping, UNIX-style command line interface, instant multilingual support, and more. These new features help engineers solve problems more efficiently through a deeper and clearer analysis of USB, I2C, and SPI protocols.

For more information about the Data Center 3.5 Software, please visit http://www.totalphase.com/products/data_center/. The software can be downloaded for free and includes sample captures to demonstrate how it works with the Beagle line of protocol analyzers. Additionally, you can check out recent blog posts for a more in-depth look at Data Center’s new features.

Don’t forget to vote for us at http://www.ecnmag.com/2009techawards!

The Data Center 3.5 Software was designed with an intuitive user experience, in addition to its real-time performance and time-saving features. Our latest video below highlights the bus tree feature in the Data Center Software. The bus tree is especially useful in debugging USB applications because it provides a quick, yet informative, overview of all the USB devices under test.

With the bus tree, users can filter the USB traffic by a specific device address, see a real-time count of the data transferred, endpoint addresses, configuration, and more. The bus tree feature makes USB analysis more efficient for engineers and saves them time. To see the bus tree feature in action, take a look at our short video below:

There are many protocol analyzers with class-level decoding, but the visibility provided by real-time class-level decoding can make the difference between an outstanding and an average tool. Whether you are developing HID, mass storage, hub, or audio devices, the benefit of having the high-level USB class data decoded immediately as it occurs on the bus can save hours of debug time and frustration. For example, when decoding a keyboard, developers can actually see all the decoded key strokes in real-time right in the transaction window.

With Data Center 3.5, engineers can efficiently debug and see all the data, from the automatically parsed high-level class data to low-level bus states, as it occurs on the bus in real-time. Here are a few time-saving features highlighted in the “Introducing Class-Level Decoding” video:

Hierarchical Grouping:

With intuitive hierarchical grouping, users can quickly view and analyze the data. In the transaction window, IN, OUT, and SETUP packet groups are automatically organized into class-level groupings.

Hub, HID, and Mass Storage Decoding:

Debug immediately by simply inserting the target device into the Beagle USB 480 analyzer and see class-level data parsed in true real-time as it is generated on the bus.

Info Pane:

Drill down into the decoded data from each transaction by quickly viewing the Info Pane.

Quick Summaries:

See instant input reports, HID buttons, and more in the transaction window in real-time. In this video notice that immediately as the mouse is plugged in, users can see the input report with information on the x and y axis as well as information on the button in true real-time.

Everyone at Total Phase is excited to announce the addition of real-time USB class-level decoding to our Data Center™ Software.

Class-level decoding is going to be tremendously useful to engineers who are developing and debugging USB devices. The Data Center v3.5 Software can capture and decode the low-level USB data in real-time and translate it into a high-level human-readable format. The new class-level decoding feature includes descriptor parsing, advanced hierarchical transaction grouping, and class-level filters.

The Data Center Software currently supports Human Interface Device (HID), Mass Storage, Hub, and Audio classes. Support for additional classes will be available soon. The software is available right now as a free download for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X from our website.

More information about the upgraded Data Center software and class-level decoding feature is available on our main website.

Last week, we had a booth at Texas Instrument’s Technology Day event near Atlanta, Georgia. It was a good event and we enjoyed the southern hospitality. If you haven’t been to a TI Tech Day, we encourage you to find out when the next one is coming to your area.

Tech Days are one to two day events and are filled with technical sessions covering everything from design solutions, power management, board and system level solutions, tools, and more. Each Tech Day also features technology exhibits where attendees can network with vendors, see demos, and find out more about debugging and development solutions. It’s a great way to meet people and learn about new technologies and applications from TI and their partners.

In September, we’ll be at the TI Tech Days in Toronto, Ontario, and another in Boston, Massachusetts. If you are in the area, please feel free to stop by and visit us. Can’t make it to the show? Contact us, we would be more than happy to arrange to meet if you want to see a hands-on demonstration of our tools.