A Boundary-Scan Solution for Remote System Monitoring, Testing and Configuration Via Inherent Secure Wired or Wireless Communication Protocols

The IEEE 1149.1 Boundary-Scan standard has become an invaluable tool for testing today's complex, high density digital designs. Although typically used to detect structural faults at board level test, access to the Boundary-Scan infrastructure at the system level enables such capabilities as system monitoring, system test after final assembly and system reconfiguration. To exploit these capabilities, one must have access to the internal Boundary-Scan infrastructure, which is becoming increasingly difficult with the miniaturization of products, shielding requirements and security concerns that prevent external access via the edge connector to the necessary test signals. Subsequently, it has become imperative that an alternative solution be found to gain access to the internal Boundary-Scan infrastructure. This paper will describe a solution to overcome these obstacles by providing remote access to a target system's internal Boundary-Scan infrastructure utilizing the existing, secure, wired or wireless communication protocol.