Challenges of Replacing Legacy Analog Instrumentation During TPS Rehost Projects

Abstract

This paper starts with a brief overview of Test Program Set (TPS) life cycle and explains TPS maintenance (and/or re-host) issues that come with long-term support requirements. The focus of the paper is the compatibility issues found between the legacy and the replacement analog instrumentation during two recent TPS re-host projects. A detailed analysis is provided for the compatibility issues and the applied solutions from the perspective of both the TPS developer and the analog instrument vendor. The paper is concluded with a section on possible approaches to design a new analog instrument that needs to replace a legacy instrument without sacrificing from the features necessary for modern test requirements.