X-Stream Operator’s Manual 
WM-OM-E Rev I  349 
local time at maximum 
local time peak-trough 
local time over threshold 
local time trough-peak 
rsnr 
track average amplitude 
track average amplitude- 
track average amplitude+ 
Advanced DDA Analysis 
•  Head Filter/Equalizer Emulation 
• Channel Emulation 
• SAM Histograms 
•  Plot of SAM Values 
• PES Runout Analysis 
• Analog Compare 
• Correlation 
• Trend 
• Histogram 
Drive Analysis Overview 
Obstacles that Can Be Overcome Using the DDA’s Channel Analysis 
Disk Drive engineers who are analyzing channels to determine where and why data errors occur 
face important obstacles. But the DDA’s Channel Analysis feature can be used to overcome these 
obstacles. 
Lack of Synchronization
 
The first obstacle is the lack of integration or synchronization between the computers used to 
identify and locate data errors, and the instruments that analyze the channel signals. It is, therefore, 
difficult to capture the signal that may be responsible for an error at the same point in time at which 
the error occurs. If an error is repetitive, its signal can be captured and viewed. But if the error is 
intermittent, capturing it at the correct time may be impossible. 
Unknown Sectors
 
Another obstacle is that the data written to a particular sector may not be known. And because no 
reference is available, the exact location of an error in a particular sector cannot be determined. In 
order to have a known data set, data may subsequently be written to the sector concerned. 
Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that this will recreate the error. For many, writing to a sector 
with errors is the last resort. 
Problematic PRML
 
Another problem is the difficulty of analyzing partial response maximum likelihood (PRML) head 
signal quality and identifying both the problem locations and the margin available before errors