Mentor Graphics Extends Seamless Co-Verification to Analysis of Embedded System Performance
Embedded Systems Conference San Francisco 2003
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 14, 2003--Mentor Graphics
Corp. (Nasdaq:MENT) today announced Version 5 of the Seamless(R)
environment, extending the use of the tool beyond hardware/software
co-verification to system performance analysis.
The Seamless tool is the de facto standard for hardware/software
co-verification and new features in Version 5 enable designers to
leverage data uniquely available from co-verification to characterize
and improve on system performance bottlenecks. Armed with the
performance data provided by the Seamless tool, designers can optimize
their systems by tuning designs to meet performance metrics and
verifying hardware and software interfaces in a single environment.
The Seamless product is being used successfully for 32-bit and 64-bit
embedded applications in the communications, digital imaging,
aerospace, and mass storage market sectors.
"The Seamless Version 5 product is a major milestone for Mentor
Graphics as it extends the application of our flagship product from
hardware/software co-verification to system performance analysis,"
said Serge Leef, general manager of the System-on-Chip Verification
Division. "With Version 5, designers can identify system bottlenecks
that prevent the design from achieving or exceeding end product
performance goals. Since 1996 Seamless has been answering the
question: 'Does my system work?' and now, with the release of Version
5, the Seamless tool also answers the questions: 'How well does my
system work?' and 'How can I improve the system performance?'"
"The Seamless tool dramatically reduced the run-time of our
regression suite, and is being used effectively to debug the
hardware/software interface on our MiMagic Applications Processor,"
stated Sanjay Adkar, vice president of corporate engineering for
NeoMagic. "We consider the new performance analysis features in
Version 5 a valuable addition to the Seamless environment."
New Design Performance Analysis Features
The Seamless Version 5 product includes four performance
characterization windows to display different aspects of system
performance. The code profiling window shows which software routines
are taking the longest to execute. The bus load window shows how much
bus bandwidth is being consumed by a routine and if important routines
are being held up in queue. The arbitration delay display shows how
long bus masters have to wait before receiving a bus grant. Finally,
the memory transaction display graphs memory accesses over time,
including cache hits and misses. Designers can analyze the data
presented in these displays to profile a system's performance and
build more efficient designs that maximize the throughput of the
selected processor and bus architecture.
Beyond displaying performance data, Mentor will soon announce a
companion product to the Seamless Version 5 tool that automates the
task of tuning system performance, once a bottleneck is exposed by the
Seamless performance analysis features.
Seamless 5 Accelerates Verification with Native Support for
System-C
The Seamless product has extended its C hardware modeling options
with support for SystemC simulation. With native support for SystemC,
designers can quickly instantiate Seamless Processor Support Packages
into SystemC designs and realize the full range of Seamless benefits
previously delivered only with traditional HDL co-simulation. This
complements the existing C-Bridge transaction level interface to
provide the user greater flexibility in modeling hardware in C at a
variety of abstraction levels. This combination gives the designer
control over the performance/accuracy trade-offs of individual design
components within their verification environment.
Availability
The Seamless Version 5 product is available now and is included as
a maintenance upgrade for current Seamless licensees; there is no
additional cost for this upgrade. For new Seamless licensees, pricing
starts at $40,000. The Seamless 5 product is available now on Solaris,
HP/UX and RedHat Linux platforms. For more information, or to register
for free Seamless workshops and functional verification seminars,
visit www.mentor.com/seamless.
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 about
$600 million and employs approximately 3,500 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 and Seamless are registered trademarks and
C-Bridge is a trademark of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other
company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks
of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Mentor Graphics
Wendy Slocum, 503/685-1145
wendy_slocum@mentor.com
or
Weber Shandwick
Hayley Luz, 503/552-3726
hluz@webershandwick.com
