Most of us understand the basic concept of a virtual channel: mapping multiple channels of traffic, possibly of mixed priority, to a single physical link. Where priority varies, quality of service (QoS) settings can help ensure higher priority traffic flows unimpeded. SoC designers can capture the benefits of virtual channels… Read More
Tag: soc design
The Case for Data Management Amid the Rise of IP in SoCs
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, during the adolescent days of the system-on-chip (SoC) design movement, there was a lot talk about IP and design reuse, but it was seldom put into practice. A decade later, SoC turned into a juggernaut with a tripartite alliance of chipmakers, IP suppliers and semiconductor manufacturing fabs.… Read More
Simulating to a fault in automotive and more
We’re putting the finishing touches on Chapter 9 of our upcoming book on ARM processors in mobile, this chapter looking at the evolution of Qualcomm. One of the things that made Qualcomm go was their innovative use of digital simulation. First, simulation proved out the Viterbi decoder (which Viterbi wasn’t convinced had a lot … Read More
Last line of defense for IoT security
If I grab 10 technologists and ask what are the most important issues surrounding the Internet of Things today, one of the popular answers will be “security.” If I then ask them what IoT security means, I probably get 10 different answers. Encryption. Transport protocols. Authentication. Keying. Firewalls. Secure boot. Over-the-air… Read More
Testing Ethernet with virtual co-modeling
Ethernet is suddenly a hot topic in SoC design again. The biggest news may be this: it’s not just the cloud and enterprise networks. Those are still important applications. The cloud is driving hard for more ports at 25G server and 100G switch speeds according to a recent Dell’Oro Group report. Enterprise networks are driving for… Read More
CEVA achieves first certified Bluetooth 4.2 IP
SoC designers working on chips for the IoT and wearables now have access to cutting-edge certified Bluetooth Smart technology from CEVA. At Bluetooth ASIA in Shanghai, CEVA announced the RivieraWaves Bluetooth Smart 4.2 IP Platform has achieved full certification by the Bluetooth SIG to the Bluetooth 4.2 specification using… Read More
ClioSoft SOS v7.0: Faster, Smarter and Stronger
System-on-chips (SoCs) are now everywhere, whether they are processors, microcontrollers or FPGAs, and what matters more these days is how quickly these large and complex chips adapt to the specific needs of the OEM application or the “system.” So time-to-market window is shrinking, and conversely, the use of … Read More
This is how FPGA Prototyping Works
FPGA prototyping has come a long way since the late 1980s when chipmakers began using FPGA devices for building system prototypes of ASIC designs. The utility of a working FPGA prototype allows hardware designers to develop and test their systems, and it provides software developers early access to a fully functioning hardware… Read More
DDR stands for Don’t Do (Just) RTL
In optimizing SoC design for performance, there is so much focus on how fast a CPU core is, or a GPU core, or peripherals, or even the efficiency of the chip-level interconnect. Most designers also understand selecting high performance memory at a cost sweet spot, and optimizing physical layout to clock it as fast as possible within… Read More
Aldec packs 6 UltraScale parts on HES-7
A few months ago, when the Xilinx UltraScale VU440 FPGA began shipping, one of the immediate claims was a quad-FPGA-based prototyping board touted as “Godzilla’s Butcher on Steroids”. That was a refreshing and creative PR approach, frankly. I’m always careful with less creative terms like “world’s biggest” or “world’s fastest”,… Read More