JTAG based embedded debugger is first for Intel x86 platforms

Once it has been installed, says the embedded instrumentation specialist, systems can be debugged remotely from anywhere and at anytime with no external JTAG emulator hardware. Based on the company's ScanWorks platform for embedded instruments, the debugger firmware operates out of an x86 based circuit board's service processor and may be implemented in an fpga on the board. The platform is able to access the Intel x86 processor through its debug port to diagnose faults and failures in the system. Debugger functions include reading and writing to all x86 registers, to memory, and to I/O interfaces; setting and retrieving breakpoints; and single stepping through code. Because ScanWorks embedded diagnostics is deployed as IP within working systems, Asset says it can perform powerful debugging routines in the lab or in the field and on an unlimited number of systems where it has been embedded. "Being able to debug the root cause of intermittent system failures in the field is a critical capability for high availability systems," said Alan Sguigna, vice president of sales and marketing for Asset. "ScanWorks embedded diagnostics is able to identify the causes of problems that often seem impossible to debug, such as the dreaded 'blue screen' system crash or a kernel panic."