18129381. MANAGEMENT OF HOT ADD IN A TESTING ENVIRONMENT FOR DUTs THAT ARE CXL PROTOCOL ENABLED simplified abstract (ADVANTEST CORPORATION)

MANAGEMENT OF HOT ADD IN A TESTING ENVIRONMENT FOR DUTs THAT ARE CXL PROTOCOL ENABLED

Organization Name

ADVANTEST CORPORATION

Inventor(s)

Srdjan Malisic of San Jose CA (US)

Chi Yuan of San Jose CA (US)

Rebecca Qiu of San Jose CA (US)

Jenny Chen of San Jose CA (US)

MANAGEMENT OF HOT ADD IN A TESTING ENVIRONMENT FOR DUTs THAT ARE CXL PROTOCOL ENABLED - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18129381 titled 'MANAGEMENT OF HOT ADD IN A TESTING ENVIRONMENT FOR DUTs THAT ARE CXL PROTOCOL ENABLED

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes an efficient testing system that allows for hot adding of devices under test (DUTs) without interfering with the testing of other DUTs. The system includes a user interface, a test board, and a tester that can communicate with a plurality of DUTs compliant with the compute express link (CXL) protocol.

• User interface for system interaction
• Test board for communication with DUTs
• Tester for directing testing of DUTs
• Hot add capability for adding DUTs without interrupting testing
• DUTs can operate as extended memory
• User interface can indicate pause, removal, and addition of DUTs
• Automatic recognition of added DUTs by host
• BIOS operations for detecting characteristics of added DUTs

Potential Applications

This technology could be applied in the testing and validation of memory devices, especially in scenarios where hot adding of memory modules is required without disrupting ongoing testing processes.

Problems Solved

This technology solves the problem of interrupting testing processes when adding or removing devices under test, particularly in the context of memory devices operating as extended memory.

Benefits

The benefits of this technology include increased efficiency in testing procedures, seamless addition of devices under test, and improved user experience through automated recognition and detection of added DUTs.

Potential Commercial Applications

Potential commercial applications of this technology include memory testing systems for data centers, server farms, and other high-performance computing environments where efficient and effective testing processes are crucial.

Possible Prior Art

One possible prior art could be testing systems that do not support hot adding of devices under test, leading to interruptions in testing procedures when adding or removing components.

Original Abstract Submitted

Efficient and effective testing systems and methods are presented. In one embodiment, a system includes: a user interface configured to enable user interaction with the system; a test board configured to communicatively couple with a plurality of devices under test (DUTs), wherein the DUTs are compute express link (CXL) protocol compliant; and a tester configured to direct testing of the plurality of DUTs, wherein the tester is configured to enable hot add of one of the plurality of DUTs without interfering with testing of the other DUTS. In one exemplary implementation, the DUTs are memory devices and the DUTs can operate as extended memory. The user interface can be utilized to indicate a pause to remove a DUT and to indicate a DUT has been added and to trigger a re-start. The added one of the plurality of DUTs can be automatically recognized by a host in a way that is transparent to users. The tester automatically directs the hot add in response to a user trigger. In one embodiment, basic input/output system (BIOS) operations direct detection of characteristics associated with the added one of the plurality of DUTs.