Virtual CPU speeds storage ASIC to market: News from Summit Design

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Fujitsu has successfully used Summit Design's electronic system level (ESL) methodology based on Virtual-CPU (V-CPU) for its latest Serial Attached SCSI ASIC project. Fujitsu Computer Products of America, one of the world's leading suppliers of hard disk drives and computer peripherals, selected Summit Design's V-CPU for its ability to analyse the interaction between hardware and software, and to validate the system configuration as soon as there are executable descriptions of both prior to silicon availability. V-CPU is a hardware/software coverification tool that supports high-performance host mode and OS (operating system) execution along with ISS target mode execution.

V-CPU also provides monitors for tracing hardware/software transactions.

"V-CPU has strategically changed our verification methodology", said Mike Chenery, Vice President, Advanced Products Engineering, Fujitsu Computer Products of America.

"Prior to V-CPU, we had been running pure HDL simulations and nothing was ever done with the actual firmware".

"Fujitsu wanted the ability to run the actual drive software on the simulated SAS chip".

"The introduction of Summit Design's V-CPU code allowed us to run our SAS software at machine speeds, enabling complete verification of both hardware and software before the first physical samples became available".

"This capability provided Fujitsu with significant time-savings and eliminated the need for a redesign of the ASIC and a second fabrication".

V-CPU includes a software execution environment that runs the embedded system software as if it were running on the target CPU.

This is coupled with a logic simulation of the embedded system hardware, which responds to bus cycles as if they were initiated by the target CPU.

V-CPU consists of a set of coverification system components that comprise the Base system, plus a collection of unique solution support packages.

The V-CPU base system is coupled with one or more of the solution support packages to provide a virtual target of the embedded hardware.

"Fujitsu is a leader in hard disk drive (HDD) storage technology and their most-advanced, highly complex designs demonstrate well the need for ESL solutions", said Rami Rachamim, Director of Marketing at Summit.

"V-CPU, with its unique HW/SW implicit access technology, delivers the needed verification performance and bandwidth, providing engineering teams with a powerful solution and competitive advantage".

"Through early modelling and analysis of complex HW/SW systems, V-CPU ensures fasters TTM and higher quality of results".

V-CPU supports a wide range of solution support packages, including processor solutions, bus solutions, RTOS solutions and development board solutions.

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