Virtio's Web-based Virtual Prototyping Platform to Include Mentor X-Ray Debugger

Leading software debugger provides consistent development cockpit for rapid virtual prototyping

CAMPBELL, Calif., October 2, 2000 --- Virtio today announced that Mentor Graphics (NASDAQ: MENT) XRAY® Debugger is now available for Virtio platforms, which are complete virtual prototypes of IP intensive embedded system solutions. With XRAY integrated into the Virtio virtual prototyping technology, users can now run and debug production-quality software on a virtual System-on-Chip (SoC) platform before hardware is available. This process reduces the risk of costly silicon respins by identifying hardware and software interface errors early in the design cycle.

A traditional bottleneck in SoC design is the time-consuming and error-prone process of evaluating multi-sourced hardware and software. With XRAY integrated into Virtio's virtual prototyping technology, software engineers can now test code running on hardware at the very earliest stages of the design cycle. Designers can do early stage software engineering on the virtual platform, increasing the likelihood that the software will work flawlessly on the hardware platform.

"We are excited that Mentor Graphics has chosen to support Virtio's virtual prototyping environment with the XRAY Debugger," said Shay Ben-Chorin, Virtio president and CEO. "The announcement shows Mentor's support for a paradigm shift in embedded systems development where systems can be prototyped, customized and evaluated risk-free over the Internet. With the XRAY Debugger, optimized platforms can be accessed on-line and debugged within a consistent environment. In addition, the integration creates an enhanced platform solution that provides our mutual partners, like MIPS Technologies, Inc. with more development options for their customers and end-users."

With the integration of the XRAY Debugger with the Virtio Explorer?, designers will be able to evaluate and explore embedded system solutions and platforms on-line. Access through Virtio OnLine? allows embedded system hardware and software developers to try before they buy, thereby enabling faster and better decisions in the selection of hardware IP, software IP, and software development tools.

"With the integration of XRAY into the Virtio Explorer, SoC designers can now use the same debugger from the early conceptual design stage, through early production prototypes, all the way to the final embedded system," said Michael Kaskowitz, vice president and general manager of the Embedded Software Division of Mentor Graphics. "Everybody wins because platform developers can test the hardware with real embedded software test suites and software engineers can evaluate these IP platforms before fabrication."

About XRAY

XRAY is the leading source-code debugger for embedded processors. XRAY supports instruction-set simulation and co-verification, as well as hardware-assisted debugging of evaluation and prototype hardware. XRAY also supports unified debugging of multiprocessor systems. The XRAY Debugger product line includes versions to support BDM, JTAG, emulators, processor probes and other hardware-assist solutions, target resident monitors, and instruction-set simulators. XRAY also provides a common interface to the complete set of tools for debugging embedded applications, improving developer productivity and eliminating the need to learn multiple user interfaces.
About Mentor Graphics Corp.
Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products and consulting services for the world's largest electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of more than $500 million and employs approximately 2,600 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777, Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: www.mentor.com.

About Virtio Solutions

Virtio offers three environments for the development of embedded systems: Virtio Explorer a free environment used to explore and evaluate any public platform; Virtio IDE? (integrated development environment) enables production software development on any Virtio platform; and Virtio Integrator? a complete environment for rapid development and customization of IP intensive embedded system solutions. Virtio Online delivers all three of these environments via an ASP model over the Internet.

About Virtio

Virtio delivers an environment where embedded systems are evaluated, customized, and proliferated over the Internet. With its unique virtual prototyping technology, Virtio overcomes critical time-to-market barriers for both embedded system suppliers and developers. Virtual prototyping allows system designers to create a high-performance software model of a complete system - without the need for physical hardware. The technology is powerful and scaleable enough to model a complex embedded system and yet fast enough to execute production-quality software very early in the design cycle. Virtio is based in Campbell, Calif. Additional information about Virtio is available at www.virtio.com.

Virtio, Virtio Explorer, Virtio IDE, Virtio Integrator and Virtio Online are trademarks of Virtio Corp. All other brand or product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and should be treated as such.

Editorial Contacts:

Kella Knack
KJ Communications for Virtio
650-508-0371
kjcomk@cs.com
Jeremiah Glodoveza
Benjamin Group for Mentor
415-352-2628
jeremiah@benjamingroup.com