Press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact information:
Ellisys Corporation
Chuck Trefts, Director of Marketing
Phone: (866) 724-9185
Email: chuck.trefts@ellisys.com
Web site: www.ellisys.com

Ellisys Announces Collaborations with Major Test & Measurement Companies

Strategic Relationships with Tektronix and Agilent Technologies Focus on Silicon Testing for SuperSpeed USB 3.0

Geneva, Switzerland — July 6, 2009 — Ellisys, a leading supplier of protocol test and analysis solutions for USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed USB), the Universal Serial Bus (USB), Wireless USB, the WiMedia UWB platform, and Bluetooth®, today announced collaborations with leading test & measurement providers Agilent Technologies and Tektronix, Inc.  Ellisys will work with Agilent and Tektronix to extend their respective physical layer test and compliance solutions for SuperSpeed USB, including loopback mode receiver testing.  These additional capabilities will be provided by special-purpose configurations of the Ellisys Explorer 280 (EX280) SuperSpeed USB 3.0 protocol analyzer/generator system.  SuperSpeed USB, employing a 5Gb/second signaling rate, is the latest version of the ubiquitous USB personal interconnect, targeted at applications involving rich media, storage, and large digital transfers.    

“These collaborations with Tektronix and Agilent bring together our SuperSpeed USB protocol test and analysis capabilities with high-performance, world-class physical layer test and measurement tools to meet receiver testing and other specific physical layer test requirements of silicon manufacturers currently working to bring SuperSpeed USB to the technology marketplace,” states Mario Pasquali, Ellisys co-founder and president for products.  “We’re pleased to be working closely with these industry-leading companies to bring valuable vertical solutions to SuperSpeed USB developers.”

“Having advance access to measurements enables developers of cutting-edge digital devices to address potential design issues early in the design cycle and get products to market faster,” said Jim Choate, program manager USB applications at Agilent. “We are looking forward to working closely with Ellisys to further address the upcoming USB protocol analysis challenges with our continuously growing portfolio of USB 2.0 and 3.0 test solutions.“

“Tektronix is pleased to be working with Ellisys to help engineers solve USB design verification and compliance challenges faster,” said Ian Valentine, general manager, Technology Solutions Group, Tektronix. “Our extensive PHY layer debugging and automated compliance toolsets are the perfect complement to the outstanding Ellisys protocol support for SuperSpeed USB.”

Receiver Test Mode Defined by SuperSpeed USB Specification
These strategic relationships pave the way for various test methodologies and applications.  A primary application involves SuperSpeed USB receiver testing.  The USB 3.0 specification defines an internal mechanism that characterizes the error rate of a SuperSpeed USB receiver, as well as a special compliance test mode that allows a receiver to loop back bit streams it receives to its transmitter for retransmission to other test equipment for characterization.  To extend test capabilities, Ellisys will provide versions of its SuperSpeed USB Explorer 280 for purposes of characterizing the bit error rate (BER) in the retransmitted bit streams.  Test equipment provided by Tektronix or Agilent can be used to precisely control a multitude of complex physical parameters of the signal transmitted to the receiver in order to test various aspects of the receiver’s capabilities, which are then characterized by the Ellisys EX280 system. 

SuperSpeed Provides Major Performance Boost
SuperSpeed USB is the latest version of the USB personal interconnect, originally introduced in 1995.  SuperSpeed USB will deliver a 10x performance increase as compared to USB 2.0 devices, and will remain backward-compatible to USB 2.0.  The growing ubiquity of large digital media files, high-definition video, flash drives, camcorders, external hard drives, and many other data-intense applications and devices will drive the consumer need for the increased performance provided by this new technology.  Consumers should expect the availability of SuperSpeed USB-enabled computer platforms and devices in early 2010. 

Additional Information
Additional information can be found at: www.ellisys.com/products/usbex280 or by contacting Ellisys at info@ellisys.com.

About Ellisys
Ellisys is a test and measurement company committed to the design and timely introduction of advanced protocol analysis solutions for USB, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, Wireless USB, WiMedia Ultra-Wideband, and Bluetooth technology.  Developers have been using Ellisys products and solutions for more than eight years with great success.  By providing technology developers with the right innovative tools at the right time, Ellisys enables these promising markets to grow in a secure and confident manner, helping to ensure rapid and wide acceptance of these technologies.

Ellisys ● chemin du Grand-Puits 38 ● CH-1217 Meyrin Geneva ● Switzerland
World Class Protocol Test Solutions for USB, Wireless USB, WiMedia, Bluetooth technology

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