Cadence Accelerates Arm-Based Server Development by Automating Arm Pre-Silicon Bare Metal Compliance Testing

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 18, 2018 — Cadence Design Systems, Inc. has announced that it is collaborating with Arm to enable high-performance computing (HPC) customers to execute bare metal pre-silicon verification compliance tests through the ArmServer Base System Architecture (SBSA) Compliance Suite using the Palladium Z1 Enterprise Emulation Platform and Perspec System Verifier from the Cadence Verification Suite. Through the collaboration, customers can now perform compliance testing on Arm-based server systems-on-chip (SoCs) up to three months prior to Linux bring-up, shortening time-to-silicon and reducing system integration risk.

For more information on the Cadence Verification Suite tools that enable pre-silicon compliance testing via the Arm SBSA Compliance Suite, please visit the Palladium Z1 Enterprise Emulation Platform landing page at www.cadence.com/go/palladiumz1asr and the Cadence Perspec System Verifier landing page at www.cadence.com/go/perspecasr.

The Arm SBSA Compliance Suite currently consists of 120 tests that can be run on a bare metal testbench generated by the Perspec System Verifier from a portable stimulus model of the design—offering compliance testing and faster debugging without involving the previously required Linux software stack. The reference example comes with a verification plan (vPlan) for the Cadence vManager^™ Metric-Driven Signoff Platform, and the tests complete in minutes on the Palladium Z1 Enterprise Emulation Platform. A version of the reference example that is compatible with the Accellera Portable Test and Stimulus Standard (PSS) v1.0 will be available later in the fourth quarter of 2018.

“The Arm SBSA Compliance Suite lets customers determine if an SoC is compliant with server requirements ahead of silicon, providing confidence that the design will function as intended,” said Drew Henry, senior vice president and general manager, Infrastructure Line of Business at Arm. “Through our continued collaboration with Cadence, we are enabling our mutual customers to use the Cadence tools and our SBSA Compliance Suite to create high-quality Arm-based server innovations more quickly with reduced risk.”

“The complexity of thoroughly verifying hardware and hardware-dependent bare-metal software has been growing for years, and pre-silicon co-verification has become a must,” said Paul Cunningham, corporate vice president and general manager of the System & Verification Group at Cadence. “Through our close collaboration with Arm and with the Palladium Z1 and Perspec technologies, we are making it easier for HPC customers to achieve better predictability with accelerated SoC delivery.”

To learn how tests from the Arm SBSA Compliance Suite can be implemented in a pre-silicon verification environment using the Palladium Z1 Enterprise Emulation Platform and Perspec System Verifier, please visit Cadence in Booth 733 at Arm TechCon, which is being held October 16-18, 2018 at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA.

The Palladium Z1 Enterprise Emulation Platform and the Perspec System Verifier are part of the broader Cadence Verification Suite. These tools support the company’s System Design Enablement strategy, which enables system and semiconductor companies to create complete, differentiated end products more efficiently. The Verification Suite is comprised of best-in-class JasperGold^®, Xcelium^™, Palladium Z1 and Protium^™S1 core engines, verification fabric technologies and solutions that increase design quality and throughput, fulfilling verification requirements for a wide variety of applications and vertical segments.

About Cadence

Cadence enables electronic systems and semiconductor companies to create the innovative end products that are transforming the way people live, work and play. Cadence software, hardware and semiconductor IP are used by customers to deliver products to market faster. The company’s System Design Enablement strategy helps customers develop differentiated products—from chips to boards to systems—in mobile, consumer, cloud datacenter, automotive, aerospace, IoT, industrial and other market segments. Cadence is listed as one of Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For. Learn more at cadence.com.

Source: Cadence