Abstract: A method for quickly testing an electrical connection used between two nodes. For example, the method can be used with an IEEE-1394-2008 Beta serial bus. The testing is used to determine if a disconnect signal is a permanent disconnect signal or a temporary disconnect signal. Also, the testing provides for a fast reconnect that attempts one or more times to determine a temporary disconnect, thus creating a range in microseconds to milliseconds in which to verify the temporary disconnect. Also, the number of attempts can be replaced by a certain time period.

Abstract: In a fully non-intrusive bus monitoring interface the bus under test is not affected at all by the presence of the bus monitor. Other bus devices do not recognize the monitor as it does not participate in the bus arbitration and tree identification. The bus monitor is completely invisible to the bus / devices under test as it is not assigned its own nodeID, does not transmit a SelfID packet and is not affecting the bus topology. Furthermore, the device does not add any delays into the signal propagation between two devices and has neglectable influence on signal quality. However, it still provides the necessary means to tap into the signal transmissions to detect bus symbols and convert them into suitable data patterns for subsequent data analysis.