Portable Stimulus: A Small Step in Standardization
Accellera Approves Creation of Portable Stimulus Working Group
At DVCon 2014, Mentor Graphics proposed Accellera launch an exploratory exercise, called a Proposed Working Group (PWG), to determine if there was sufficient interest and need to create a standard in this area. To help motivate the consideration of this activity, we indicated we would offer our graph-based test specification embodied in our inFact verification tool.
Rapid adoption of our technology has been the trend, especially when used in conjunction within a SystemVerilog UVM testbench environment. One of the major benefits of UVM has been the portable nature of the testbench to facilitate design verification within and across companies. The exclusive nature of our graph-based test specification language limits its easy use within the industry leading users to suggest we look to standardize it in keeping with the fundamental UVM principle of testbench portability.
After about a year of discussion in Accellera, the group announced it had concluded there should be an official standards project in this area. Industry participants have likewise offered quotes of support for the formation of the Accellera Portable Stimulus Working Group.
The challenges to efficient and effective verification continue to grow. If we stop where we are today in verification algorithm advances and standards the trend to require more people, time or compute resources will continue grow unabated at exponential rates.
For Mentor Graphics part, the verification team here has gone to market with innovative technology that has shown remarkable ability to improve verification productivity and efficiency. The specification we offer to Accellera to seed this project is the same embodied in technology we used when we partnered with TSMC to validate advanced functional verification technology we announced in 2011. From that announcement, we shared that tests conducted by AppliedMicro in designs destined for TSMC shortened “time-to-coverage by over 100x.”
One need not wonder if it is possible to shrink a month’s worth of verification tests into less than an 8 hour work day. It is. To find out how our specific use of this technology works and what motivates us to support standardization of Portable Stimulus in Accellera, I invite you to visit the Verification Academy where a session on Intelligent Testbench Automation shows what can be done.
And for those who would like to help in the development of the standard and may have technology to further underpin it, you should consider attending the first organizational meeting of the Portable Stimulus Working Group at DVCon 2015 March 5th from 6pm-9pm. Contact Accellera for member-only meeting details or catch me at DVCon 2015 and I can share more information with you.
