What does a chip test setup look like?
A test setup is a computer with the new chip (the system under test) plus a helper computer that controls and watches it.
1. Two computers, two jobs
The system under test (SUT) is a test computer with the new chip, often a reference board. A host computer runs tests on it, like a remote control.
2. Press buttons from far away
Relays (switches the host can flip over the network) press the power button or cut the wall power. Nobody needs to stand by the board.
3. See the screen from your desk
A small box sends the board's screen over the network to your desk, and your typing back. It works even before the operating system starts.
4. Rescue a broken BIOS
A broken BIOS, the first program the main processor runs, stops the board from starting. A flash programmer, a plug-in tool, writes a good BIOS into the BIOS chip.
5. Same start, every time
The host records every version before a test, so every test starts the same and can be compared. Then tests run by themselves, day and night.
Words to know
- System under test (SUT)
- The computer with the new chip that is being tested.
- Reference board
- A board the chip maker designs to test a new chip and to show computer makers how to build theirs.
- Host computer
- The helper computer that runs tests on the SUT and saves results.
- Relay
- An electric switch that a computer can flip.
- BIOS (basic input/output system)
- The first program the main processor runs at power-on. It sets up the computer.
- Flash programmer
- A plug-in tool, not a person, that writes into a memory chip, such as the BIOS chip.
- Driver
- Software that lets the operating system use one part of the computer.
Where you meet it at work
A newcomer first learns to reset a lab system to a known start and write down its versions.
Check yourself
Which computer holds the new chip, and what does the other computer do?Think first, then tap to see the answer.
The SUT. The host sends it commands and saves the results.