USB Tracker 110 - FAQ
This page answers to questions most frequently asked to our technical support team. It also features a few hints and practical tips in the questions and answers mode.
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General queries
| Q: |
What is the USB Tracker 110? |
| A: |
The USB Tracker 110 is the ideal USB analysis tool to support USB device and related software components development. It enables the verification of a USB device at different abstraction levels. Particular attention has been paid to the user-interface's design, which presents data in a clear and precise way.
Whether it analyses an existing device's functioning, searches for incompatibility or measures a driver or piece of equipment's performance, we are quite convinced that you will be entirely pleased with the USB Tracker 110! |
| Q: |
Which recording speeds can be analyzed by the USB Tracker 110? |
| A: |
The USB Tracker 110 supports recording on low speed only links (1.5 Mbit/s), full speed only links (12 Mbit/s) and mixed-speed links. It means that it can record traffic from any low speed or full speed device. The USB Tracker 110 automatically selects the appropriate speed. |
| Q: |
The USB Tracker 110 is inexpensive, but what about quality? |
| A: |
Products' quality is vital to Ellisys. Before being dispatched to the end-user, each USB Tracker 110 is subjected to rigorous quality checks to ensure that it functions as it should. However, if despite these precautions a unit should be defective, Ellisys provides a 2-year warranty for each USB Tracker 110. |
| Q: |
The USB Tracker 110 is so small, what about its features? |
| A: |
A major part of the USB Tracker 110's complexity has been transferred to the host computer, which enables the use of a limited number of components and a very small outer case. The operating speed of modern computers enables the USB Tracker 110's power to be multiplied. |
| Q: |
What can be done with a USB Tracker 110 and what are its limitations? |
| A: |
You can analyze traffic in an existing USB device or a USB device you are in the process of developing. The USB Tracker 110 records all packets and bus states (RESET, SUSPEND, etc) but does not have triggering or advanced decoding features. For more advanced development projects, to benefit from a trigger or to analyze a high speed USB 2.0 link, Ellisys recommends using a USB Explorer 200. |
| Q: |
What is the recommended configuration to use a USB Tracker 110? |
| A: |
The USB Tracker 110 records the data to be analyzed in real time using a USB 2.0 high speed connection. To achieve this, two host controllers are necessary: the first one to connect the peripheral to be tested and the other to record the data. You must therefore have either:
- Two computers, one for analysis and the other for testing.
- One computer with two host controllers. This happens when an USB 2.0 extension card is being used.
To insure best performance results, we highly recommend the use of two computers, one of them fitted with a USB 2.0 high speed connection. |
| Q: |
The USB Tracker 110 supports recording data using a USB 2.0 high speed connection. Do I absolutely need a USB 2.0 high speed host controller? |
| A: |
No. In most cases, the analyzer works just as fine with a high speed connection (480 Mbit/s) than with a full speed one (12 Mbit/s). But you must be aware that a full speed connection may not be adequate if the data flow is too large. If you experience any kind of trouble with the analyzer, please ensure that you are using the recommended configuration. |
| Q: |
What is the maximum amount of data that can be recorded? |
| A: |
The analyzer uses the host-computer memory to store recorded traffic. Since our Visual USB software records data to the central memory (RAM), the maximum amount of data is usually limited to one or two hundreds of megabytes. Our RecordToDisk tool can be used to record huge amount of data into consecutive files that can later be opened using Visual USB. |
| Q: |
What is RecordToDisk and how do I use it? |
| A: |
RecordToDisk is a software tool that records USB traffic to the hard disk without further processing. It creates consecutive files with a manageable size that each contains part of the recorded traffic. Visual USB can then be used to open these files and decode them. Usage of this tool is recommended if the Link Under Test has troubles appearing very infrequently. You can record traffic during hours or weeks and later return to the correct position in the files using a time stamp or any other external event. |
Visual USB Software
| Q: |
The basic element of USB is the packet, but I can only view transactions and transfers. Is it possible to view packets as well? |
| A: |
In order to avoid overloading the transactions tree, we have decided to conceal by default the transaction packet components. You can display them by ticking off the "Show transaction packets" notch that is available in the "Options" panel. |
| Q: |
I would like to filter out some unwanted information. How do I proceed? |
| A: |
A text zone for each column is provided for this. Simply enter '2,3' in the device column to display peripherals 2 and 3 only. Likewise, entering '!0,1' in the endpoint column is concealing all the endpoints except 0 and 1. |
| Q: |
The detailed view allows seeing high-level textual information. How do I proceed in order to view numerical low-level information? |
| A: |
Low-level information (decimal, hexadecimal and binary data) is available by clicking on the button  (Show low-level) located at top of the packets' frame (right view). The Data panel can also be used to see data in hexadecimal, decimal, binary or ascii representation. |
| Q: |
The software displays a descriptor in the detailed view but it seems that some fields are missing. Where are they? |
| A: |
The software conceals fields that are irrelevant in a given context. You can display them by clicking on the  (Show full-details) button. Additional fields will appear in a slightly darker color. |
| Q: |
What do consecutive SOF and NAK mean? |
| A: |
Consecutive SOF and NAK gather similar transactions to avoid overloading the screen. So, recording a bus with no activity for a few seconds will gather thousands of SOFs on the one line. |
| Q: |
Will an invalid SOF packet be lost within a consecutive SOF? |
| A: |
No, an invalid SOF will separate the group to which it belongs into two valid groups and will be placed in between these two groups. It will also be identified by an icon indicating that it is not valid. |
| Q: |
I bought a software option but it is not activated. What can I do? |
| A: |
Please make sure that you activated the software sent to you by email. After this, please check that your software version is the latest available from the website Download section. Restart then your software with an analyzer connected. |
| Q: |
How do I print from the software? |
| A: |
Printing can be done using the data export feature. The www.ellisys.com/products/usbtr110/feature11.php page
presents a preview for this option and a description of available formats.
Some samples of exported data are available in the USB Tracker 110 installation folder (by default C:\Program Files\Ellisys\Visual USB). Look for files into the Samples folder.
Here is a description of some files that are available in this folder:
- Mouse transactions.txt
USB mouse transactions exported in text format, easily printed for subsequent analysis.
- Mouse transactions.xml
USB mouse transactions exported in XML format, analyzable with custom-made software.
- Mouse descriptors.h
USB mouse descriptors exported in a C header file.
- Mouse setup requests.h
All Setup requests of a USB mouse exported in a C header file.
- Mouse.ufo
File used as a base for all export samples.
Be aware that some exported files may become very large, which makes it often
necessary to filter transactions before exportation. InstantFilters can easily
suppress unnecessary information (See www.ellisys.com/products/usbtr110/feature02.php for
more information).
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Hardware
| Q: |
Is it possible to upgrade the USB Tracker 110 firmware? |
| A: |
Yes, the analyzer firmware is automatically upgraded with each new Visual USB software release. No user intervention is required. Our newsletter is sent to all subscribers when a new software is released. |
| Q: |
Which packets light up the Activity indicator? |
| A: |
DATA packets light up the Activity indicator for around ten milliseconds. In a busy bus case, this indicator blinks rapidly. |
Further detailed information
If you didn't find the answer to some question in this document, please send
us a message using our Sales Information or Technical
Support form.
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