StreamTeam

StreamTeam is a data logger and viewer. It can capture up to four simultaneous asynchronous serial data streams into a cache buffer that is optionally filtered and logged to a disk file. More than one instance can be run at the same time to capture different streams to separate files. The log viewer has powerful display and search capabilities. The log files are viewable with timestamp, signal, trace, error and packet information to aid in debugging protocols and other serial streams. More than one instance of the viewer can run concurrently to view more than one file or even two locations in the same file.

 

Logging features:

Viewing features:

Four independent logical channels. All hardware baud rates from 2 through 115,200. User-defined log filters. User-defined packet filters for protocol marking. Log up to 2 Gigabytes of data. Millisecond time stamping. Will capture modem signals even in the absence of data flow. Configuration files memorize common capture session settings. Multithreaded, multitasking data collection model User-configurable cache sizes.

Live mode to view incoming data as it arrives. Two independent movable cursors with delta time stamping. WYSIWYG printing of user-customizable display options. Signal trace, timestamp, filter and driver packet displays. Configuration file management to store common or specific viewing options. View StreamTeam, MicroTAP or any other type of file. Signal, error, filter packet, and log gap searches. Character-class capable text search engine. Binary data searching with optional masking and user-selected comparison logic.

 

Data collection control panel

Multithreaded

Capture data from up to four ports (COM1 through COM4) at the same time. Each port is serviced by an independent data collection thread with separately adjustable communications parameters. Speeds can be set independently from 2 to 115,000 baud.

Huge Logs

Collect up to 2 GB of data from up to four independent logical channels. Run multiple instances to generate separate log files at the same time!

Filter Definitions

Define character strings of one to four bytes with a one to four byte mask that start and stop the channel logging to disk and the setting of markers. Four levels are available for packet marking, allowing unlimited channel-specific filters to be defined for later detailed content analysis.

Priority Boosting

Adjust the slider controls to boost the priority of the caching (data collection) and logging (disk storage) threads to prevent starvation while running foreground applications. Increase the process priority for an overall boost to both cache and logging threads.  More than one instance of the logging software can be run at the same time to capture different streams to separate files.  Each copy of StreamTeam comes with a breakout cable that will allow it to monitor both Tx and Rx from a standard RS232 signal. Additional cables are available.

 

Flexible Display

Below is the main log viewing window.  The right-click menu offers fast access to the most common operations. Select optional address, data, ASCII translation, signal trace, and packet background fields. The display base of the data fields can be set from 2-36 (this example is in Hex).  StreamTeam, MicroTAP or any other file can be viewed as raw data.

Two movable cursors (click and/or drag) this allows arrival, elapsed (e.g., inter-character gap) and duration (e.g., packet length) time measurements with millisecond resolution. Each cursor has a slaved twin in the (optional) ASCII equivalents section shown on the right hand side. Either of the twin cursors in a pair can be grabbed to position both twins on the screen.  The timestamps and addresses for the data under the cursors are displayed in the timestamp bar at the bottom of the display. Bytes received in error have a red X. The A cursor is positioned on a byte received with Break and Framing errors.  The green stripes indicate packet markers. 

The picture on the left shows that packet filter 1 was applied to values 7 through 12 (0x0C). The yellow "L" drawn in the cell for the byte value 07 indicates that the byte was received after a gap in the log (filters can also control logging). The four user-applied packet markers can be searched for also. You can quickly and easily find the beginning and/or end of specific runs of data by applying and searching for these packet markers.  Four levels of packet filtering can be applied and displayed by StreamTeam.

RS232 control Signals (eg CTS/DTR) can be displayed as a Trace for all channels in the log. Most of the events are signal transitions that occurred without any data being transmitted. These can be collected as separate events.

The ASCII equivalents are shown at the right side of the main display.  Control codes can be displayed with their ASCII names.

Data can be searched using a character-class aware text searching engine for strings up to 32 bytes long, or a one to four byte binary search with optional masking and logical comparisons.  In the example below, the search would return a match for "Text" or "Test."

 

 

For RS-232 character logging accurate to the nearest microsecond take a look at MicroTAP