Our developers are starting to analyze the interaction between two devices, neither of which has an operating system (OS). One device is a printer. The other device is a medical device that monitors a hospital patient.

The monitor has an “offline” printing mode and printer drivers that enable it to interact with a printer via USB. This monitor and its drivers have successfully interacted with many brands of computers. One exception is the printer that the developers are troubleshooting.

I am helping the developers find the most cost-effective tool to capture the USB log of the printer. Based on performance and budget, I am interested in two of your analyzers: the Beagle USB 12 Protocol Analyzer and the Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer - Standard Edition.

My question - would either of these analyzers work in this scenario? Neither the printer nor the monitoring device has an operating system.

Thanks for your question! Whether or not the devices that you are monitoring have an OS does not affect the ability of either Beagle USB analyzer to sniff USB data. You can have a non-OS system attached to the Target Device Port or the Target Host Port of the Beagle USB analyzer. The only requirement is connecting the Analysis Port to a platform that can run the Data Center Software.

Recommendations for Capture and Debug

To view, analyze, and capture live USB data through the Beagle USB analyzer, you will need a platform, such as a lab computer, to run the Data Center Software. The Data Center Software is supported on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems.

Here is an example of debugging USB in real time.

This video shows how to connect the devices to the host computer Data Center Software, and then capture and filter the USB data for analysis.

USB Analyzers and USB Speeds

The Beagle USB 12 Protocol Analyzer works with Low-Speed (1.5 Mbps) and Full-Speed (12 Mbps) USB. Higher-end products, such as medical monitoring devices, typically operate with High-Speed USB (480 Mbps). For capture data at that speed, we strongly recommend either the Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer or the Beagle USB 480 Power Protocol Analyzer.

We hope that answers your question. Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Beagle Protocol Analyzer User Manual
• Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer Quick Start Guide
• Beagle USB 12 Protocol Analyzer Quick Start Guide
• Data Center Software User Manual
• USB Background

We also have articles that provide examples of how our products can be used:

• About the USB Protocol, Common USB Bus Errors, and How to Troubleshoot Them
• Using a Beagle USB Protocol Analyzer, How Do I Trigger and Capture Data?
• The Beagle USB 480 Protocol Analyzer: Advanced Debugging Using the Digital I/O Port

If you want more information, feel free to contact us with your questions, or request a demo that applies to your application.

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