On-chip FPGA verification runs faster

Software for on-chip FPGA verification leverages the advanced 65nm ExpressFabric architecture of the Virtex-5 platform family.

Xilinx has announced the immediate availability of its ChipScope Pro 9.1i software and ChipScope Serial I/O Toolkit 9.1i - the latest version of the company's unique solution for on-chip FPGA verification.

The 9.1i version leverages the advanced 65nm ExpressFabric architecture of the Virtex-5 platform family, supporting up to 60% faster clock speeds as compared with the previous 90nm FPGA version.

New support in the ChipScope Pro Serial I/O toolkit extends the dramatic reduction in cost and complexity of debugging high-speed serial I/O designs in Virtex-5 LXT FPGAs.

Devices from both the LX and LXT platforms of the Virtex-5 family are shipping now.

The latest version of the optional ChipScope Pro Serial I/O Toolkit extends the on-chip verification solution to simplify real-time measurement and verification of the RocketIO multigigabit transceiver (MGT) channels available in the Virtex-4 FXT and Virtex-5 LXT platform FPGAs.

With support for all major serial I/O standards including PCI Express, Serial RapidIO, gigabit Ethernet, XAUI, and Fibre Channel, the ChipScope Serial I/O Toolkit allows shorter setup and debug times for serial I/O designs at a fraction of the cost of comparable bit error ratio test (BERT) hardware test solutions.

The ChipScope Pro 9.1i release inserts logic analyser, bus analyser, or virtual I/O low-profile software cores directly into a user's design.

This allows users to easily capture and view any internal signal or node, including embedded hard or soft processors at or near operating system speed through the programming interface, freeing up pins in the design.

ChipScope Pro software offers a methodology for rapid verification of high speed FPGA designs with less impact making it easier to meet timing goals.

When combined with the Virtex-4 family of FPGAs, the previous version of ChipScope Pro software could capture signals up to 315MHz.

With optimisations to exploit the features of the silicon architecture of the Virtex-5 platform FPGA family, ChipScope 9.1i software can capture signals up to 500MHz, allowing better, more accurate analysis of high speed designs.

Captured signals can then be analysed through the included ChipScope Pro logic analyser.

Building on the collaborative efforts with Agilent Technologies, the ChipScope Pro Serial IO Toolkit 9.1i offers support for the new Agilent E5910A Serial Link Optimiser to help design teams manage the challenges associated with the migration of traditional parallel digital buses to gigabit-speed serial bus streams such as those available in the Virtex-4 FX platform FPGAs.

This combination of on-chip verification available with the ChipScope Pro Serial I/O Toolkit and the measurement analysis capabilities of the Agilent Serial Link Optimiser provide a comprehensive solution for bit error rate (BER) testing unique in the FPGA industry.

ChipScope delivers a unique solution for on-chip debug to over 30,000 users worldwide.

The ChipScope Pro Serial IO Toolkit is an addon option to the ChipScope Pro debug system, and includes the architecturally optimised IBERT debug core and IBERT control console.

ChipScope Pro software and ChipScope Pro Serial I/O Toolkit are available for Microsoft Windows and Solaris as well as both 32 and 64bit versions of Red Hat Linux.

The ChipScope Pro system lists at US $695 and the ChipScope Serial IO Toolkit at US $295.

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