The Memory And Storage Hierarchy


The memory and storage hierarchy is a useful way of thinking about computer systems, and the dizzying array of memory options available to the system designer. Many different parameters characterize the memory solution. Among them are latency (how long the CPU needs to wait before the first data is available) and bandwidth (how fast additional data can be “streamed” after the first data poi... » read more

Automotive Electronic Power


Nick Hendricks: I was drag racing. I'm a drag racer. Detective Samson: You were drag racing. Nick Hendricks: [nods] Detective Samson: In a Prius. Nick Hendricks: I don't win a lot. —Horrible Bosses (2011) Automobiles are now a platform for multiple electronic devices. From controllers for complex hybrid drive systems like those found in the Toyota Prius to all types of entertainment s... » read more

Remembering Gary Smith


The EDA industry recently said farewell to one of its biggest advocates, Gary Smith, who passed away on July 3. Writing a remembrance for an industry acquaintance can be uncomfortable; writing one for someone who was a friend is just, plain painful. While I had a number of years writing about technology under my belt, by the time I started covering EDA for Electronic Business in 1997 I k... » read more

A Broad, Effective Approach to Optimizing for Power


As an industry we talk a lot about the challenges of power-aware design and accompanying issues at leading-edge nodes. There’s no denying some tough challenges, but if we’re honest, there are plenty of opportunities we can exploit right now to improve power in our designs. You’ve heard the saying, “death by a thousand cuts?” Well, when it comes to grappling with power in today’s ... » read more

Interface IP Subsystems Speed TTM


Interface protocol specifications start out simply, handling off-chip communication for SoCs. As more companies get involved in the specifications, each company adds features to address their market segments. Each new version of the protocol specification offers new features and increased speed, and the protocols are often overhauled to work at higher speeds and improve performance for applicat... » read more

Don’t Let The Headlines Trick You


This is the time of year when reports get issued summarizing the sales results of the server market in the first quarter. As a way of grabbing attention, many of the headlines will mention that the results of the first quarter are below those of the fourth quarter, bringing to mind all sorts of doomsday scenarios. Don’t be fooled. In many industries, sales exhibit a large seasonal compo... » read more

SoC Connectivity Verification Nightmare


At the recent 2015 women’s World Cup soccer final in Canada, Japan was completely caught off guard in the first 15 minutes (and 4 seconds) by the USA. They were wary of the “set-piece” play by the USA team, which they were not able to defend against, resulting in the first three goals by the American women. However, the game breaker was the 54-foot midfield hat-trick goal from Carli Lloyd... » read more

Verification Quality Comes Into Focus


Across the board, when I talk with people about power management verification or any verification actually, the topic of quality always comes up. The first plan of attack is to look at coverage: how it is managed, how to perform coverage in a more constructed way. Ellie Burns at Mentor Graphics mentioned that because UPF can define all of the states of the system, the states of the power man... » read more

How To Get The Most Power While Being Cool To The Touch


Traditional electronics thermal management in high power applications such as telecommunication, networking, and computing involves keeping the operating junction temperatures at, or below, maximum rated values for the intended application, often with fans, blowers, heatsinks, etc. Mobile consumer electronics also have to be thermally managed to ensure that when a person uses the product, ‘to... » read more

Not All Workloads Are Equal


ARM's Ben and Otilia put a human face big on processing — who sleeps, who works, when they do each, and and what's behind their decision. Check out the video: [youtube vid=J2z7P9JKukc] big.LITTLE uses a heterogeneous multi-core approach to power optimization, where high-performance CPU cores are combined with the most efficient CPU cores to deliver peak-performance capacity, higher s... » read more

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