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Mentor Graphics Introduces Platform Express to Accelerate Platform-Based System-on-Chip Design and Verification
WILSONVILLE, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2001- Mentor Graphics
Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT) today introduced the Platform Express(TM)
environment, the semiconductor design industry's first environment for
rapidly creating, configuring and verifying platform-based,
system-on-chip (SoC) designs.
The Mentor Graphics® Platform Express environment enables design
teams to build and configure a platform core and its corresponding
peripherals and software in a virtual prototype. Simultaneously,
Platform Express generates a custom verification environment to verify
interfaces in the portion of the design surrounding the embedded
processor and its attached peripherals. By automating tedious and
error-prone design creation and verification steps, Platform Express
shaves months off aggressive product development cycles and allows
designers to focus on product differentiators.
``With Platform Express, Mentor Graphics allows SoC designers to
rapidly create and verify platform-based SoC designs,'' said Serge
Leef, general manager of the System-on-Chip Verification Division.
``Platform Express brings together Mentor's core strengths in
intellectual property cores, embedded software, simulation, and
emulation to minimize the verification bottleneck.''
Platform Express Enables Rapid SoC Design
Maximum performance from SoC designs requires optimal design of
the logic surrounding the embedded processor. As SoC designs have
increased in complexity, optimizing interfaces around the processor
has become a tedious design step. To assist design groups, processor
vendors are now beginning to supply configurable designs (core
platforms) that include memory and many common peripherals optimized
for use with the processor core, and some standard connection ports
onto which additional user-designed logic can be quickly added.
Using Platform Express, designers can browse through a library of
available processors, memories and peripherals and drag and drop
selected items into a graphical editor. Platform Express provides a
graphical user interface that enables users to create systems as block
diagrams. Platform Express automatically creates the necessary
connections between components, depending on a selection of standard
buses, including AMBA and VCI. Platform Express includes a memory map
display that automatically displays utilization of address space.
Platform Express Simplifies Design Verification
The Platform-Based Design (PBD) methodology supported with
Platform Express not only generates complete hardware and software SoC
designs, but also generates custom execution environments required to
verify designs. Each set of verification tools customized for a
particular design is called an execution environment. Most design
groups require multiple execution environments to complete the
verification of a design's hardware and software. Each environment
will support a different combination of tools and verification
targets, and offers different levels of accuracy and performance.
Once graphical entry is complete, Platform Express automatically
generates the design, as well as the software to run on the design and
a testbench to drive it. Platform Express then invokes verification
tools, transparently generating and executing scripts that would be
time-consuming to prepare manually. Platform Express also
automatically generates diagnostic code for each peripheral and memory
component in the design. Designers can proceed to hardware/software
co-verification using the Seamless® co-verification tool or to
RTL-level hardware verification using the ModelSim® tool. Platform
Express enables designers to reap the rewards of a platform-based
design methodology and the ability to verify the design as soon as it
is created, eliminating months of waiting time as test environments
are laboriously created.
Platform Based Design Receives Industry Support
Mentor Graphics is collaborating with leading semiconductor firms
to provide Platform Express design kits for popular SoC Platforms. The
first platform developers include Oki and Altera Corp. (Nasdaq:ALTR).
``Altera continues to push the envelope of programmable logic
design with new families of devices that bring SoC functionality to
the programmable world,'' said Tim Southgate, vice president of
software product planning and tools marketing at Altera. ``The
introduction of processor cores onto our System-on-a-Programmable Chip
architectures makes them ideally suited for creating platforms that
simplify the task of optimizing hardware/software on-chip interfaces.
Platform Express will accelerate development times for our customers,
allowing them to explore several platform configurations in a few
hours.''
``Our customers expend significant time and resources optimizing
the design around the processor to ensure maximum processor
performance and functionality, even though this portion of the design
does not necessarily differentiate their products in the market,'' said
Masasuke Kishi, general manager of Oki's silicon platform architecture
department. ``By adopting Platform Express with Oki's mPLAT®(a), an
ARM-based integration platform and design environment, our customers
can now create and verify complete, optimized processor subsystems
quickly and can focus design resources on product differentiators.''
Platform Express uses standard bus specifications, for example the
open AMBA(TM) from ARM (LSE:ARM) (Nasdaq:ARMHY), to enable rapid
design and integration of IP into SoC platform designs.
``Integrating components from multiple sources quickly and reliably
is the key to fast turnaround on SoC designs,'' explained Dr. John
Goodenough, program manager, Systems Solutions at ARM. ``Tools such as
Platform Express enable users to benefit from the wide industry base
of IP with an AMBA interface, and to automatically generate the
appropriate interconnect.''
Platform Express provides an environment in which designers can
design and verify memories and peripherals from commercial
intellectual property providers.
``Memory bandwidth has become a significant bottleneck for
high-performance SoC designs,'' said Sanjay Srivastava, CEO and
president of Denali Software. ``Platform Express gives designers the
ability to address these types of design issues with a comprehensive
platform-based methodology. Using Platform Express, designers can
safely integrate our Databahn(TM) memory processor cores, and quickly
configure them for optimal bandwidth in the context of the surrounding
SoC design.''
About Mentor Graphics
Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT) is a world leader in
electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products,
consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most
successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in
1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of more
than $600 million and employs approximately 2,975 people worldwide.
Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road,
Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are
located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314.
World Wide Web site: www.mentor.com.
Mentor Graphics, Seamless and ModelSim are registered trademarks
of Mentor Graphics Corporation. Platform Express is a trademark of
Mentor Graphics. All other company or product names are the registered
trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.
ARM is a registered trademark of ARM Limited. AMBA is a trademark
of ARM Limited. All other brands or product names are the property of
their respective holders. ``ARM'' is used to represent ARM Holdings plc
(LSE:ARM)(Nasdaq:ARMHY); its operating company ARM Limited; and
the regional subsidiaries ARM, INC.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Ltd.; ARM
Taiwan.
Editor's Note: The first character in the name ``mPLAT'' --the Oki
platform and design environment-- should in fact be the greek letter
``mu.'' The substitution was made because the mu is not supported by
this and many other wire media systems.
Contact:
Mentor Graphics
Wendy Slocum, 503/685-1145
wendy_slocum@mentor.com
or
Benjamin Group/BSMG Worldwide
Jeremiah Glodoveza, 415/352-2628 ext. 136
jeremiah@benjamingroup.com
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