Once a product ships, the role of boundary-scan does not end.
Periodic software and hardware updates can be performed remotely using
the boundary-scan chain as a non-intrusive access mechanism. This allows
Flash ROM updates and reprogramming of programmable logic for example.
Service centers that normally would not want to invest in special support
equipment to support a product, now have an option of using a standard
PC or lap-top for boundary-scan testing. A simple PC based boundary-scan
controller can be used for all of the above tasks and also double as a
fault diagnostic system, using the exact same test vectors that were developed
during the design and production phase. This concept can be taken one
step further by allowing an embedded processor access to the boundary-scan
chain. This allows diagnostics and fault isolation to be performed by
the embedded processor. The same diagnostic routines can be run as part
of a power-on self-test procedure.
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What
is Boundary Scan?
