Synopsys looks to hardware for faster ARC core designs
The ARC AXS101 and AXS102 Software Development Platforms are complete hardware and software platforms that include ARC processors, peripherals, pre-built Linux and MQX operating systems, device drivers, and application examples, enabling designers to start software development prior to SoC availability. They use an existing ASIC for the older EM cores and FPGA implementations for the newer HS34 and HS36 cores.
Previously SoC designers had to use virtual models of the processor or wait until the chip design was taped out.
Peripheral I/Os on the platforms include licensable DesignWare Interface IP such as USB, Ethernet, UART, GPIO, SPI, I2C and Secure Digital (SD) and allow designers to use the same hardware and drivers in the final SoC implementation, reducing development effort. Additionally, the built-in HapsTrak connector on the ARC Software Development Platforms allows designers to quickly implement SoC prototypes using Synopsys’ industry-leading HAPS FPGA-based prototyping solution.
"Software development is often the most critical and resource-intensive portion of the overall SoC development process," said Clint Cole, CEO of Digilent. "Synopsys’ ARC Software Development Platform offers a pre-validated, integrated solution that allows software engineers to start developing software much faster and earlier in the design cycle, helping to achieve aggressive time to market schedules, while reducing the overall development effort."
Synopsys already has virtual models for the cores for SoC software designs. “We provide models of our ARC processors where ARC nSIM is an Instruction Set Simulator intended mainly for software developers and ARC xCAM is a 100% Cycle-Accurate model mainly intended for SoC designers,” said Allen Watson, Product Marketing Manager at Synopsys. “These can be used in a Virtual Platform as nSIM can be used with an OSCI SystemC virtual platform or with Synopsys’ Virtualizer software.”
Instead the new hardware platforms use CPU daughter cards that enable real time software development, validation, code porting, software debugging and analysis on real hardware. The AXS101 Software Development Platform incorporates the AXC001 CPU Card that supports the ARC 625D, 770D, EM4, EM6 and AS221BD processors in an ASIC implementation, delivering at-speed operation. For example, the ARC 770D processor can run up to 800 MHz. The ARC AXS102 Software Development Platform includes the AXC002 CPU Card that supports the new ARC HS34 and HS36 processors in an FPGA implementation, ideal for the development of SoCs for high performance embedded applications.
The built-in HapsTrak connector provides a fast tunnel, operating at up to 150MHz through the ARM AMBA AXI interconnect, enabling designers to easily connect the ARC Software Development Platform to Synopsys’ HAPS FPGA-based prototyping system, where additional CPUs, peripherals or other custom logic can be integrated into the design for full SoC prototyping. In addition, five Digilent Pmod Compatible connectors support the integration of other custom and commercially available hardware extensions.
The platforms are supported by Synopsys’ ARC MetaWare Development Toolkit, enabling the development and debugging of highly optimised, high density code. Also available for the ARC Software Development Platforms are the open source GNU Toolchain and Synopsys ARC MetaWare Lite tools, which give designers flexibility to choose the ideal software development environment for their needs. ARC MetaWare Lite is a free version of the ARC MetaWare Development Toolkit that can be used for software applications of up to 32Kb code size.
"As embedded designs grow in complexity, designers need integrated hardware and software solutions to help them speed their SoC development process and meet crucial project schedules," said John Koeter, vice president of marketing for IP and systems at Synopsys. "Synopsys’ ARC Software Development Platforms provide embedded software engineers an ideal, ready to use solution for efficient coding. By integrating all the required hardware and software into a single development platform, Synopsys has made it significantly easier for embedded designers to accelerate the development of their ARC processor-based SoCs."
The AXS101 with the AXC001 CPU Card for ARC 625D, 770D, EM4, EM6 and AS221BD processors, is available now. The AXS102 with the AXC002 CPU Card for ARC HS34 and HS36 processors, is scheduled to be available March 2014.
www.synopsys.com
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