Xilinx Simplifies and Lowers Cost for High-Speed Serial Design With New ChipScope Pro Serial IO Toolkit

Serial IO Toolkit Makes It Easier, Faster to Verify and Debug High Performance RocketIO MGTs in Virtex-4 FX FPGAs

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- April 10, 2006 -- Xilinx, Inc. today announced immediate availability of the ChipScope(TM) Pro Serial IO Toolkit to dramatically reduce the cost and complexity of debugging high-speed serial IO designs. The new toolkit simplifies the real-time debug of RocketIO(TM) multi-gigabit transceivers (MGTs) on Xilinx® Virtex(TM)-4 FX FPGAs with unprecedented levels of user control and on-chip access.

Virtex-4 FX RocketIO transceivers deliver the widest range of high-speed IO performance in the market today. The ChipScope Pro Serial IO Toolkit lets designers make the best of use of this high-performance serial bandwidth at the lowest verification and debug costs. It enables analysis of systems utilizing all major serial IO standards, including PCI Express, Serial RapidIO, Gigabit Ethernet, XAUI, and Fibre Channel, making it an ideal debug solution for server, storage sub-system, communication line card and backplane applications.

"While the number of applications integrating serial connectivity is rapidly expanding, traditional test solutions are falling short in their ability to address the complex on-chip verification challenges that result," said Chuck Tralka, director of Product Marketing, Advanced Products Division at Xilinx. "Our new toolkit closes this gap by providing designers with real- time control and on-chip access for debug at just a fraction of the cost of comparable solutions. Access to quick start, easy-to-use tools will further accelerate adoption of the most advanced high-speed serial IO in the semiconductor industry."

Low-Cost, High-Speed Serial IO Debug

Designing with MGTs introduces new verification and debug challenges, given the speeds and multiple implementation options available with Virtex-4 FX MGTs for high-performance serial IO designs. Traditional Bit Error Ratio Tester (BERT) solutions are expensive and do not provide full visibility into the MGT logic to enable quick adjustments to transceiver settings to maximize high-speed serial performance and margin.

Based on the industry-leading ChipScope Pro debug and verification software with over 20,000 users today, the Xilinx Serial IO Toolkit is intuitive, easy-to-use and costs less than 0.1 percent of comparable BERT benchtop hardware solutions. It uses an integrated, architecturally-optimized IBERT core that enables control of all Virtex-4 FX MGT settings and supports multiple channels on the same device. The embedded core transmits and receives serial IO signals using a built-in pattern generator and pattern detector to measure bit error ratios with resulting data displayed in real time. The toolkit also features a comprehensive control panel enabling designers to change "on the fly" any RocketIO MGT parameter. The net result is faster design turnaround time and lower overall development costs.

About ChipScope Pro Debug and Verification System

The ChipScope Pro system enables on-chip debug at system speed. The system enables rapid verification and debug of Xilinx FPGA designs by allowing engineers to insert parameterized logic analyzer, bus analyzer, and Virtual I/O low-profile debug and verification cores directly into the FPGA design. These cores provide access and visibility of any internal signal or node, including processor busses. Signals are captured and brought out through the JTAG programming interface, minimizing pins required for debug. The system provides unparalleled control and visibility for debug and verification of the FPGA while it is interacting with the rest of the system using the ChipScope Pro Analyzer real-time interface.

Pricing and Availability

The ChipScope Pro Serial IO Toolkit is an add-on option to the ChipScope Pro debug system, and includes the architecturally-optimized IBERT debug core and IBERT control console. The toolkit is immediately available for Windows PC, Solaris, or Linux workstations. For a limited time, Xilinx is offering the ChipScope Pro Serial IO Toolkit free of charge to existing in-maintenance ChipScope Pro users. New users can purchase the ChipScope Pro system and also receive the Serial IO Toolkit at no charge for a limited time.

The ChipScope Pro system and optional Serial IO Toolkit may be ordered through the Xilinx.com online store. The ChipScope Pro system is $695 US list. Both are also available for free download of 60-day evaluation version at www.xilinx.com/chipscopepro.

About Xilinx

Xilinx, Inc. is the worldwide leader of programmable logic solutions. Additional information about Xilinx is available at www.xilinx.com.