That Last Level Cache is Pretty Important

That Last Level Cache is Pretty Important
by Bernard Murphy on 04-21-2020 at 6:00 am

CodaCache in System

Last-level cache seemed to me like one of those, yeah I get it, but sort of obscure technical corners that only uber-geek cache specialists would care about. Then I stumbled on an AnandTech review on the iPhone 11 Pro and Max and started to understand that this contributes to more than just engineering satisfaction.

Caching

A brief… Read More


Breker Tips a Hat to Formal Graphs in PSS Security Verification

Breker Tips a Hat to Formal Graphs in PSS Security Verification
by Bernard Murphy on 04-16-2020 at 6:00 am

Breker security tables

It might seem paradoxical that simulation (or equivalent dynamic methods) might be one of the best ways to run security checks. Checking security is a problem where you need to find rare corners that a hacker might exploit. In dynamic verification, no matter how much we test we know we’re not going to cover all corners, so how can it… Read More


Innovation in Verification April 2020

Innovation in Verification April 2020
by Bernard Murphy on 04-14-2020 at 6:00 am

Innovation

This blog is the next in a series in which Paul Cunningham (GM of the Verification Group at Cadence), Jim Hogan and I pick a paper on a novel idea we appreciated and suggest opportunities to further build on that idea.

We’re getting a lot of hits on these blogs but would like really like to get feedback also.

The Innovation

Our next pick… Read More


Best Practices for IP Reuse

Best Practices for IP Reuse
by Bernard Murphy on 04-08-2020 at 6:00 am

Reuse

As someone who was heavily involved with rules for IP reuse for many years, I have a major sense of déja vu in writing again on the topic. But we (in SpyGlass) were primarily invested in atomic-level checks in RTL and gate-level designs. There’s a higher level of best practices in process we didn’t attempt to cover. ClioSoft just released… Read More


What’s New in CDC Analysis?

What’s New in CDC Analysis?
by Bernard Murphy on 04-06-2020 at 6:00 am

Validating assumptions in CDC constraints

Synopsys just released a white paper, a backgrounder on CDC. You’ve read enough of what I’ve written on this topic that I don’t need to re-tread that path. However, this is tech so there’s always something new to talk about. This time I’ll cover a Synopsys survey update on numbers of clock domains in designs, also an update on ways to… Read More


PSS, Test Realization and Reuse

PSS, Test Realization and Reuse
by Bernard Murphy on 03-31-2020 at 6:00 am

Generating tests from PSS

Mentor just released a white paper on this topic which I confess has taxed my abilities to blog the topic. It’s not that the white paper is not worthy – I’m sure it is. I’m less sure that I’m worthy to blog on such a detailed technical paper. But I’m always up for a challenge, so let’s see what I can make of this, extracting a quick and not very… Read More


SpyGlass Gets its VC

SpyGlass Gets its VC
by Bernard Murphy on 03-26-2020 at 6:00 am

VC SpyGlass Lint

It’s a matter of pride to me and many others from Atrenta days that the brand we built in SpyGlass has been so enduring. It seems that pretty much anyone who thinks of static RTL checking thinks SpyGlass. Even after Synopsys acquired Atrenta, they kept the name as-is, I’m sure because the brand recognition was so valuable.

Even good… Read More


Mentor Masterclass on ML SoC Design

Mentor Masterclass on ML SoC Design
by Bernard Murphy on 03-24-2020 at 6:00 am

ML algo design

I was scheduled to attend the Mentor tutorial at DVCon this year. Then coronavirus hit, two big sponsors dropped out and the schedule was shortened to three days. Mentor’s tutorial had to be moved to Wednesday and, as luck would have it, I already had commitments on that day. Mentor kindly sent me the slides and audio from the meeting… Read More


5G Infrastructure Opens Up

5G Infrastructure Opens Up
by Bernard Murphy on 03-19-2020 at 6:00 am

5G network

It seemed we were more or less resigned to Huawei owning 5G infrastructure worldwide. Then questions about security came to the fore, Huawei purchases were put on hold (though that position is being tested outside the US) and opportunity for other infrastructure suppliers (Ericsson, Nokia, etc) has opened up again.

Building … Read More


Innovation in Verification March 2020

Innovation in Verification March 2020
by Bernard Murphy on 03-17-2020 at 6:00 am

Innovation

This blog is the next in a series in which Paul Cunningham (GM of the Verification Group at Cadence), Jim Hogan and I pick a paper on a novel idea we appreciated and suggest opportunities to further build on that idea.

We welcome comments on our blogs and suggestions for new topics if they’re based on published work.

The Innovation

Our… Read More