Incisive Verification: Top 10 Things I Learned While Browsing Cadence Online Support Recently

There is always a demand, in most corners of the world today, for learning and troubleshooting something simply and quickly. Most users of any product or tool want access to a self-service knowledge base so that they can go and troubleshoot the issue on their own. They do not really want to sit through a long training class and also pay money; rather, they are of the type who have the knack to figure things out on their own by taking a deep dive, head first.

In this quarterly blog, I will share what the teams across the Cadence Incisive verification platform have developed and shared on Cadence Online Support, http://support.cadence.com, in the last month of 2013 and first month of 2014 to enable verification and design engineers be comfortable and well versed with Cadence verification tools, technologies, and solutions.

Rapid Adoption Kits (RAKs) from Cadence help engineers learn foundational aspects of Cadence tools and design and verification methodologies using a "do-it-yourself" approach. Application notes (app notes), tutorials, and videos also aid in developing a deep understanding of the subject at hand.

Download your copies from http://support.cadence.com now and check them out for yourself. Please note that you will need Cadence customer credentials to log on to the Cadence Online Support http://support.cadence.com website.

1.     Reuse UVC for Acceleration - RAK

There are thousands of legacy UVCs, stable and reliable, developed over the last 15 years. It is ideal to reuse these environments when starting acceleration verification, rather than creating the whole verification environment from scratch.

This RAK provides a short overview of the process required for taking a UVC implemented in e, and using it for verifying a DUT running on an acceleration machine, e.g. - Palladium. It describes the steps that have to be taken for adapting the UVC to achieve the desired goal of acceleration verification - executing tests significantly faster over running with RTL.

Rapid Adoption Kits	Overview	Application Note(s)	RAK Database
UVM e : Reuse UVC for Acceleration	View	View	Download (0.4 MB)

 

2.     Acceleration Performance Boost - RAK

When employing acceleration verification, speed is a crucial aspect. The verification engineers strive to get supreme performance, while maintaining verification capabilities.

This RAK provides suggestions for advanced techniques for maximizing the performance of verification acceleration. It discusses the various interfaces between the simulator and the acceleration machine, and their effect on performance.

Rapid Adoption Kits	Overview	Application Note	RAK Database
UVM e : Acceleration Performance Boost	View	View	Download (0.4 MB)

 

3.     Introduction to CPF Low-Power Simulation - RAK 

This RAK illustrates Incisive Enterprise Simulator support for the CPF power intent language. The RAK provides instructions on invoking a CPF simulation in Incisive Enterprise Simulator, and also provides an overview of SimVision debug capabilities and Tcl debug extensions. It also comes with a hands-on lab to examine CPF behavior in simulation.  

 

Rapid Adoption Kits	Overview	RAK Database
Introduction to CPF Low-Power Simulation	View	Download (1.7 MB)

 

4.     Introduction to IEEE-1801 / UPF Low-Power Simulation  - RAK

This RAK illustrates Incisive Enterprise Simulator support for the IEEE 1801 / UPF power-intent language. In addition to an overview of Incisive Enterprise Simulator features, SimVision and Tcl debug features, a lab is provided to give you an opportunity to try these out.

 

Rapid Adoption Kits	Overview	RAK Database
Introduction to IEEE-1801 / UPF Low-Power Simulation	View	Download (2.3 MB)

 

5.     Specman Simulator Interface Synchronization Debug Cookbook - App Note

This Specman Simulator Interface Synchronization Debug Cookbook is supposed to be a guiding document for every engineer who wants to learn about Specman - simulator interface synchronization. This is a comprehensive document that includes a flowchart that can be used in order to map the problem, and take the correct steps in order to resolve it. It also includes a detailed section for every possible problem and its solution. This cookbook is also very useful for power users to be able to debug these kinds of issues independently.

6.     Loading Commands at Runtime for Verilog Tests - App Note

This app note on Loading Commands at Runtime for Verilog Tests illustrates how to convert directed Verilog tests into command files to enable a single compile flow, and shows the ability to use the save and restore feature of Incisive Enterprise Simulator.

The flow described in this note focuses on support for Verilog [IEEE 1800]. This app note shows you different approaches to optimize the execution and runtime of Verilog directed tests. It illustrates how to remove redundancy and how to run only portions of a test that are of interest. The suggestions in this app note can be adapted to your particular setup. An example testcase is included. 

7.     Incisive Enterprise Specman Elite Testbench Tutorial - Tutorial

TheIncisive Enterprise Specman Elite Testbench Tutorial is also available online for you to take advantage of this self-help tutorial.

The goal of the Specman tutorial is to give you first-hand experience in how the Specman system effectively addresses functional verification challenges. The tutorial uses the Specman system to create a verification environment for a simple CPU design.

8.      How to Detect Glitches in Simulation Using IES  - Video

The video "How to Detect Glitches in Simulation Using IES" discusses the common reasons of glitches in gate-level simulation. It also discusses the techniques to detect and analyze glitches during simulation with Incisive Enterprise Simulator.

9.      Delay Modes Selection, and Their Impact in Netlist Simulation - Video

The video "Delay Modes Selection, and Their Impact in Netlist Simulation" discusses different delay modes in which netlist simulation can be done. It demonstrates different methods to select a delay mode and the impact of a selected delay mode on timings in simulation. 

10.  What's New in 13.2 Debug Analyzer and SimVision - Videos

Short demo videos are now available on the latest/greatest features of our 13.2 debug solutions.  You may want to review them yourself just as a refresher on the latest features of both SimVision and Incisive Debug Analyzer.

• New features in IDA 13.2 Release
• New features in SimVision 13.2 Release  

Both of these videos will be linked to in the "What's New in Debug" screen that is launched at SimVision/Debug Analyzer startup or accessible through the help menus.  

We will continue to provide self-help content on Cadence Online Support, your 24/7 partner for getting help in resolving issues related to Cadence software or learning Cadence tools and technologies. If you are signed up for e-mail notifications, you've likely noticed new solutions, app notes (technical papers), videos, manuals, etc.

Happy Learning!

Sumeet Aggarwal

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