There is more than C to worry about

There is more than C to worry about
by Don Dingee on 10-17-2016 at 4:00 pm

We periodically see that “software ate the world” line – I’m pretty sure I’ve used it a couple times myself. The fact is, software doesn’t run itself; never has, never will. Somewhere there has to be an underlying computer. First it was on beads, then in gears, then in tubes.… Read More


Case study illustrates 171x speed up using SCE-MI

Case study illustrates 171x speed up using SCE-MI
by Don Dingee on 10-12-2016 at 4:00 pm

As SoC design size and complexity increases, simulation alone falls farther and farther behind, even with massive cloud farms of compute resources. Hardware acceleration of simulation is becoming a must-have for many teams, but means more than just providing emulation… Read More


CCIX shows up in ARM CMN-600 interconnect

CCIX shows up in ARM CMN-600 interconnect
by Don Dingee on 09-30-2016 at 4:00 pm

All the hubbub about FPGA-accelerated servers prompts a big question about cache coherency. Performance gains from external acceleration hardware can be wiped out if the system CPU cluster is frequently taking hits from cache misses after data is worked on by an accelerator.

ARM’s latest third-generation CoreLink CMN-600 … Read More


It’s a heterogeneous world and cache rules it now

It’s a heterogeneous world and cache rules it now
by Don Dingee on 09-28-2016 at 4:00 pm

Cache evolved when the world was all about homogeneous processing and slow and expensive shared memory. Now, compute is just part of the problem – devices need to handle display, connectivity, storage, and other tasks, all at the same time. Different, heterogeneous cores handle different workflows in the modern SoC, and the burden… Read More


3 Small-Team Design Productivity Challenges Managed

3 Small-Team Design Productivity Challenges Managed
by Don Dingee on 09-21-2016 at 4:00 pm

“Data management tools? We use small teams doing small designs. Each project only has two or three designers. Everyone uses the same EDA tools. Why do we need another tool for collaboration?” Good question. If you enjoy frequent meetings and redoing work because someone didn’t understand the status of IP blocks, the answers may… Read More


Organizing Data is First Step in Managing AMS Designs

Organizing Data is First Step in Managing AMS Designs
by Don Dingee on 09-14-2016 at 4:00 pm

Efficient collaboration is essential to meeting tight chip design schedules. In analog and mixed signal (AMS) design, collaboration has many facets. Design tools are usually specific to roles, and handoffs are numerous, especially when moving a design to a foundry. … Read More


SoC QoS gets help from machine learning

SoC QoS gets help from machine learning
by Don Dingee on 07-29-2016 at 4:00 pm

Several companies have attacked the QoS problem in SoC design, and what is emerging from that conversation is the best approach may be several approaches combined in a hybrid QoS solution. At the recent Linley Group Mobile Conference, NetSpeed Systems outlined just such a solution with an unexpected plot twist in synthesis.

The… Read More


10 Challenges in IP Design Collaboration

10 Challenges in IP Design Collaboration
by Don Dingee on 07-18-2016 at 4:00 pm

Enterprise design management can be summed up in one word: collaboration. Intellectual property (IP) reuse and the success of distributed system-on-chip (SoC) design efforts depend strongly on how well designers can collaborate. As time-to-market windows have shortened, the challenges around design collaboration have… Read More