Leveraging virtual hardware platforms for embedded software validation
By Bill Neifert, Carbon Design Systems
Embedded.com (06/16/08, 12:00:00 PM EDT)
A hybrid approach to configuring a virtual hardware platform enables developers to explore all facets of the system long before it's built.
The increasing pressure on software-development schedules for embedded systems has driven many companies to adopt system prototyping strategies. Typically, these prototypes are built from real hardware either as a number of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) on a custom-built board or a pre-built solution such as a hardware emulator.
These hardware-based solutions suffer from a number of limitations, however. High cost, low debugability, and difficult-to-replicate corner cases all combine to limit the overall value of a physical prototype.
A new generation of prototypes is arriving to address these limitations and give software designers even earlier access to a development platform. Virtual hardware prototypes help pull software design earlier in the system schedule and cost less than their hardware equivalents. This article, the first in a two-part series, will discuss the merits of various virtual prototyping approaches. The follow-up article will include a case study that walks you through a virtual prototype's construction and use.
Embedded.com (06/16/08, 12:00:00 PM EDT)
A hybrid approach to configuring a virtual hardware platform enables developers to explore all facets of the system long before it's built.
The increasing pressure on software-development schedules for embedded systems has driven many companies to adopt system prototyping strategies. Typically, these prototypes are built from real hardware either as a number of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) on a custom-built board or a pre-built solution such as a hardware emulator.
These hardware-based solutions suffer from a number of limitations, however. High cost, low debugability, and difficult-to-replicate corner cases all combine to limit the overall value of a physical prototype.
A new generation of prototypes is arriving to address these limitations and give software designers even earlier access to a development platform. Virtual hardware prototypes help pull software design earlier in the system schedule and cost less than their hardware equivalents. This article, the first in a two-part series, will discuss the merits of various virtual prototyping approaches. The follow-up article will include a case study that walks you through a virtual prototype's construction and use.
To read the full article, click here
Related Semiconductor IP
- Ultra-Low-Power LPDDR3/LPDDR2/DDR3L Combo Subsystem
- Parameterizable compact BCH codec
- 1G BASE-T Ethernet Verification IP
- Network-on-Chip (NoC)
- Microsecond Channel (MSC/MSC-Plus) Controller
Related Articles
- Improving Software Driver Development and Hardware Verification Productivity using Virtual Platforms
- Fast virtual platforms open up multicore software development
- Virtual Prototyping Environment for Multi-core SoC Hardware and Software Development
- Leveraging Virtual Platforms for Embedded Software Validation: Part 2
Latest Articles
- Lyra: A Hardware-Accelerated RISC-V Verification Framework with Generative Model-Based Processor Fuzzing
- Leveraging FPGAs for Homomorphic Matrix-Vector Multiplication in Oblivious Message Retrieval
- Extending and Accelerating Inner Product Masking with Fault Detection via Instruction Set Extension
- ioPUF+: A PUF Based on I/O Pull-Up/Down Resistors for Secret Key Generation in IoT Nodes
- In-Situ Encryption of Single-Transistor Nonvolatile Memories without Density Loss