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Novas Extends Industry-Standard Debug Platform for Embedded Processor-Based System-on-Chip Designs
Debug Leader Launches nESL Product That Will Provide Advanced
Transaction Analysis, SystemC Debug and HW/SW Interface Capabilities
SAN JOSE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Feb. 28, 2005—
Novas Software, Inc., the leader in debug systems for complex chip
designs, made a strong push into the electronic system level (ESL)
arena today with the introduction of its new nESL(TM) product. The
nESL product provides capabilities geared specifically for the 60
percent of today's system-on-chip (SoC) designs that employ embedded
processor-based platforms, as well as for designers using advanced
system-level design techniques.
The nESL product is an extension of Novas' core debug platform
that together with the Company's flagship Verdi(TM) Automated Debug
System provides a unified, layered approach to debug that bridges the
RTL and system/software domains. New capabilities include: advanced
transaction debug and analysis; SystemC compiler, visualization and
tracing tools; and hardware-software debug interfaces. These
collectively support the higher abstraction and more diverse modeling
requirements of embedded system design and verification, as well as
the debug of on-chip communications-related structures such as buses,
interfaces and IO components.
"As the use of embedded processors becomes commonplace, innovating
new ways to understand the behavior of complex design structures and
on-chip communications is absolutely fundamental if engineers are to
get their jobs done quickly," said Scott Sandler, president and CEO of
Novas. "The introduction of our nESL product is a major step forward
for SoC debug, and a logical next move for Novas as we continue to
expand our solution space to encompass the full range of evolving
requirements from systems to silicon."
Embedded Systems Debug Platform
The emergence of system-level techniques for both embedded
processor designs and advanced verification environments introduces
new debug requirements beyond traditional hardware description
language (HDL)-related methods. Bus-based communication and embedded
processors -- together with accompanying software, the use of C-based
modeling and application-specific pre-designed intellectual property
-- all add complexity to how a design is debugged by diverse software
and hardware teams. These factors are driving the need for an expanded
debug platform that enables rapid understanding of the design within
its complete verification environment.
The nESL approach tackles this complex process with a single
environment that facilitates high-level design methods and provides a
common interface for debugging across the entire development flow --
from system modeling and simulation-based verification through to
emulation of the complete system. It supports multiple languages,
transaction-based models and busses, advanced testbench and assertion
code, mixed analog/digital signal analysis, hardware/software
interaction around industry standard processors and bus structures, as
well as the analysis of specific protocols. It also works with
specialized tools including software debuggers and rapid prototyping
systems.
Advanced Transaction Debug and Analysis
The first release of the nESL product features a comprehensive
transaction viewing environment and powerful suite of analysis tools.
The new functionality is built on top of the proven Novas Design
Knowledge Architecture, which allows transaction data to come from a
number of different sources, including SystemC SCV and "e" sequence
descriptions. A variety of transaction styles including split and
overlapping transactions can be visualized in a highly intuitive and
informative manner. nESL users can also rapidly filter and sort
transactions to analyze bus loading or perform source and destination
checks.
Also among the notable innovations is the Open Transaction
Interface (OTI) that streamlines the capture and storage of
transaction data. Designers can easily convert signal information from
HDL code, as well as proprietary bus formats, to transactions for
abstract viewing. The OTI enables third parties to provide converters
and other tools to output transactions. Denali, Inc. (Novas-Denali
press release, March 2004) and SpiraTech, Inc. have deployed this use
model to output debug information into their transaction-based
products.
In addition, Novas is providing a library of bus standards that
will operate with a variety of language inputs and cover a range of
protocols through an agreement with SpiraTech (see related
Novas-SpiraTech release dated February 28, 2005).
"The joint SpiraTech/Novas relationship enables transaction level
debug for all engineers, eliminating the need for the development of
signal-to-transaction abstraction converters by the end-users," said
Simon Calder, CEO of SpiraTech. "Leveraging transactions through this
unified approach greatly improves an engineer's ability to understand
complex design behavior, and will further accelerate debug cycles at
the system level now that this technique is accessible with minimal
effort."
Pricing & Availability
The new nESL product is purchased as an option to the Novas Verdi
Automated Debug System. The U.S. list price starts at $6,000 for a
one-year license. The transaction debug and analysis capabilities are
immediately available, and the hardware-software debug and SystemC
functions are scheduled for limited production availability at the end
of the second quarter of 2005.
About Novas
Novas Software, Inc. is the leading provider of robust,
tool-independent design debug systems to companies designing complex
ICs, embedded processing platforms and SoCs. Novas' products
dramatically reduce the time it takes for engineers to locate, isolate
and solve the root causes of functional design and verification
problems. Novas has been ranked first in customer satisfaction for
three consecutive years in a comprehensive EDA study published by CMP.
There are more than 12,000 Novas systems installed worldwide by over
400 companies and 40 partners utilizing Novas technology in their
products today. Novas is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. with
offices in Europe, Japan and Asia-Pacific. For more information, visit
www.novas.com or email info@novas.com.
Note to editors: Digital screenshot photography and graphic
illustration available upon request.
Verdi is a trademark of Novas Software, Inc. All other trademarks
or registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Contact:
Wired Island, Ltd.
Public Relations for Novas
Laurie Stanley, 925-224-8762
laurie@wiredislandpr.com
or
Novas Software, Inc.
Rob van Blommestein, 408-467-7872
rob@novas.com
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