CoWare and ARM Partner to Enable Rapid Configuration of AMBA NIC-301 Network Interconnect-based SoC Designs in SystemC

New CoWare SBL-301 SystemC Bus Library for CoWare Platform Architect provides configurability, visibility and rapid turn-around time, enabling system designers to efficiently optimize AMBA NIC-301 network interconnect-based designs

ARM TechCon3 Conference, SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Oct. 21, 2009 – CoWare®, Inc., the leading supplier of Electronic System Virtualization™ software and services, and ARM [(LSE: ARM); (Nasdaq: ARMH)] today announced their partnership to provide system designers with a new SystemC solution for the efficient configuration of AMBA® NIC-301 Network Interconnect based SoC Designs. The announcement includes the launch of CoWare’s new SBL-301 SystemC Bus Library for CoWare Platform Architect, enabling early configuration, exploration, and optimization of next-generation system-on-chip (SoC) architectures using AMBA® technology-based virtual platforms in SystemC, and a new agreement enabling CoWare direct distribution and support of the ARM® AMBA designer ADR-301 tool for AMBA NIC-301 configuration.          

“Our AMBA NIC-301 Network Interconnect is a highly configurable Fabric IP that allows our customers to better meet their performance goals. CoWare’s adoption of the latest generation AMBA Network Interconnect into their Platform Architect portfolio is a significant demonstration of their commitment to support ARM’s customers designing at the system-level in SystemC,” said Andy Nightingale, product marketing manager – Processor Division, ARM.

“The pressure facing our customers to meet their increased performance, cost and low power requirements is placing a big burden on system architects to define the right architecture,” said Patrick Sheridan, director of marketing, CoWare. “Based on CoWare’s patented Bus Compiler technology, our new SBL-301 SystemC Bus Library for Platform Architect enables system architects to truly benefit from the unique capabilities of ARM’s AMBA NIC-301 Network Interconnect. CoWare is excited to announce the results of our partnership with ARM.”  

New Technology for CoWare Platform Architect

CoWare virtual platforms for architecture design are the virtualized representation of an electronic system used for the purpose of system-level performance analysis and architecture optimization. The CoWare Platform Architect flow provides system architects with the ability to efficiently capture the dynamic performance workloads of each application subsystem of a multi-function SoC in the form of transaction traffic, months before software is available and with minimum modeling effort using a well-defined, repeatable methodology. Highlights of the flow resulting from this agreement include:

• Fast and accurate SBL-301 SystemC Bus Library that fully models the AMBA NIC-301 Network Interconnect at the transaction-level for architecture exploration and performance optimization.
• System-level visibility in the Platform Architect graphical environment for AMBA protocol-aware transaction tracing, statistical analysis of interconnect performance at its ports and internally across hierarchical transaction paths, interconnect resource utilization and contention statistics enabling performance measurement of transaction count, transaction throughput, latency, and more.
• Configurability in Platform Architect across a broad range of AMBA NIC-301 Network Interconnect architectures and parameter settings. Configurations in Platform Architect can be set at run-time, enabling efficient simulation sweeping, data collection, sensitivity analysis, root cause analysis, and the optimization of performance and cost from thousands of candidate architectures

New CoWare Distribution of ARM ADR-301

As part of the agreement CoWare will directly distribute and support the ARM AMBA designer ADR-301 tool for use with Platform Architect. The integration between CoWare Platform Architect and the AMBA designer ADR-301 tool efficiently manages the configuration information for the system-level exploration, uses the configuration checks in AMBA designer ADR-301 tool to validate candidate architectures, and adds the detailed settings in AMBA designer ADR-301 used for RTL verification and implementation.RTL generation licenses for all AMBA Systems IP, including the AMBA® NIC-301 Network Interconnect and Low Power DDR Controllers are available from ARM.

Availability

The new CoWare SBL-301 SystemC Bus Library and architecture design solution featuring CoWare Platform Architect and AMBA designer ADR-301 is available for early customer evaluation today, with production release in December 2009.

About CoWare Solutions for ARM technology-based Designs

CoWare is the leading global supplier of electronic system virtualization solutions for software development, platform architecture design and platform verification of ARM technology-based platforms. CoWare combines ARM instruction-accurate processor models and implementation-accurate Carbonized ARM models within one standards-based SystemC design environment. The CoWare solutions enable engineers to take full advantage of the capabilities of the entire range of ARM system elements in the context of the actual design; from ARM memory controllers and interconnects to application and embedded processors and embedded firmware.

About ARM

ARM designs the technology that lies at the heart of advanced digital products, from wireless, networking and consumer entertainment solutions to imaging, automotive, security and storage devices. ARM’s comprehensive product offering includes 32-bit RISC microprocessors, graphics processors, video engines, enabling software, cell libraries, embedded memories, high-speed connectivity products, peripherals and development tools. Combined with comprehensive design services, training, support and maintenance, and the company’s broad Partner community, they provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com.

About CoWare

CoWare is the leading global supplier of electronic system virtualization software and services. IP, semiconductor, and electronics companies use CoWare virtualization solutions to design better processor- and software-intensive products faster. CoWare solutions solve the new design challenges associated with platform architecture design, platform verification, application sub-system design, processor design, DSP algorithm design, and software development, and are based on open industry standards including SystemC. These solutions also enable IP and semiconductor companies to implement more effective go-to-market strategies. CoWare's corporate investors include ARM [(LSE: ARM); (Nasdaq: ARMH)], Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ: CDNS), STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), and Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE). CoWare is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and has offices around the world. For more information about CoWare and its products and services visit http://www.coware.com.