Pushing The Limits Of Hardware-Assisted Verification


As semiconductor complexity continues to escalate, so does the reliance on hardware-assisted simulation, emulation, and prototyping. Since chip design first began, engineers have complained their design goals exceeded the capabilities of the tools. This is especially evident in verification and debug, which continue to dominate the design cycle. Big-iron tooling has enabled design teams to k... » read more

Stories From The Village Called Hardware-Assisted Development


They say it takes a village to raise children and, as a dad of an 11-year-old girl, I can relate. Similarly, for system development and hardware-assisted verification, the overall ecosystem of users, use models, and partners is equally important. The recent CDNLive Silicon Valley event is a great example. The SoC and Hardware/Software track that my team and I were hosting featured NVIDIA, Netro... » read more

How To Speed Up Verification


Software requirements have changed the tapeout process in today’s SoCs so much that it isn’t uncommon to hear a design can’t be released because Android hasn’t booted. “It’s one of those things where you really understand that what used to be classic hardware verification that said ‘the chip is done’ is heavily impacted by if it actually does software things,” noted Frank S... » read more

Productivity, Predictability And Use-Model Versatility


Hardware-assisted verification and prototyping has become a mandatory requirement to allow design teams to gain confidence that a chip tape out can be initiated. The choice of the right hardware-accelerated engine is driven by its productivity, predictability, and use-model versatility, all impacting the key concern of users how to remove bugs. The XP Platform allows design teams to get to the ... » read more

What Really Matters: User Care-Abouts In Hardware-Assisted Verification


By Frank Schirrmeister Sports analogies often work well and, most certainly, they do for electronics development. When again I ran across the VISA advertisement in which Dick Fosbury is featured with his win in the high-jump competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics, I had to smile as it reminded me of hardware-assisted verification (I know, I know…twisted, you might say). Just as Fosbury chan... » read more

Calculating Emulation’s Complex Cost Of Ownership


By Ann Steffora Mutschler Hardware emulation or hardware-assisted verification –whichever term you choose—has been around for decades. But until recently it has seen only modest adoption due to the high cost, long set-up time, power and IT requirements, among other things. But with simulation running out of steam between 50 and 100 million gates, this specialized hardware makes a ... » read more