Siroyan debuts first high-performance DSP core, tools based on "next generation" architecture

SRA328 outperforms any other DSP at given clock speed, claims Siroyan

READING, UK, April 16, 2002 - Siroyan, the high-performance DSP IP company, today announces the availability of the first in its family of synthesizable cores based on the "next-generation" OneDSP architecture. Designated SRA328, this first soft core offers a fully-scalable performance level from 400 MMACs to 3200 MMACs at 200MHz, enabling it to target a wide range of applications from wireless communications to digital control and speech processing. In addition to the SRA328 core, Siroyan is also debuting its complete tool chain for application software development, which has been developed with the architecture and SRA328 soft core.

The foundry-independent SRA328 is the first implementation of the OneDSP architecture and enables SoC (System-on-Chip) designers to deploy between one and eight execution-unit clusters in a single IP core - the actual number of clusters being determined by the designer when the core is instantiated. This enables the SRA328 core to offer unparalleled DSP performance and enables the optimisation of the soft core to suit performance, power and cost - according to specific SoC design requirements: Add clusters for more performance, or keep the die size down and deliver the performance for less cost.

On a range of DSP algorithms, such as FIR, FFT and Reed Solomon, a 4-cluster instantiation of the SRA328 running at 200MHz outperforms any other DSP at a given clock speed, according to the company.

The scalability of SRA328 is a key differentiating feature as it allows product life cycles to be extended since it allows application platforms to be developed with different levels of performance and by re-using the same software. A single soft-core delivery can be re-used in many applications and extends the product life of the core beyond that of today's hard-core products. This ensures an excellent return on investment in both the core and tools.

As well as the number of clusters, SRA328 offers a choice of architectural configurations, memory subsystems and selectable, application-specific instructions. Each of these options can be selected using Siroyan's menu-based configuration system, which provides a wide range of performance points in the available design space, each of which is pre-verified in conjunction with the tool chain. According to Siroyan, this approach to configurability offers a distinct time-to-market advantage over hard-to-verify architectural extensions.

The core uses a 64-bit AMBA High Performance Bus as the on-chip interconnect, providing a high bandwidth connection to memory, peripherals and other processor cores, and an integrated DMA device for memory-memory block moves, which implements scatter-gather capabilities and is capable of bit-reversed addressing. Also included is a debug interface, which connects via a Nexus 5001 interface to a debug adapter, offering Class 4-compliance at rates up to 100 MHz. This allows remote debugging from a desktop host. Instructions for SIMD Galois Field arithmetic can be included in this core as an optional item. These are particularly useful for Reed-Solomon codes and certain encryption algorithms.

Power efficiency is achieved through a combination of architecture design and process optimisations, including the shutting down of clusters when not in use and support for a wide variety of power-down modes.

Tools for application development
In addition to the SRA328 soft core, Siroyan has announced the availability of the OneDSP tool chain, which contains all the tools necessary to start programming a OneDSP-based application in C. The tool chain consists of the following: A customised port of the GNU C compiler for scalar code, and an optimizing C compiler for both scalar and VLIW code, which has been especially developed to harness the performance benefits of the VLIW features deployed in the OneDSP architecture; Binary utilities, including an Assembler and Linker; the OneDSP XRAY debugger, licensed from Mentor Graphics, which allows full symbolic debugging of programs executing in a number of different target environments; an Instruction Set Model (ISM) that allows OneDSP executables to run on the host machine in the absence of target hardware; and the OneDSP configuration tool, which is used to configure the core's selectable parameters.

Deliverables
The SRA328 is delivered as a synthesizable core in RTL and is supported in a standard EDA development environment and follows the Reuse Methodology Manual (RMM) guidelines. In addition to the RTL database, Siroyan will to deliver to its customers the complete OneDSP architecture conformance suite; scripts for popular EDA tools, such as Synopsys Formality, Avant! Apollo and Cadence NC-Verilog, for the Solaris operating system; an example 2-cluster SoC implementation; and comprehensive documentation. Customer and design support and training is provided directly by Siroyan.

About Siroyan
Siroyan's vision of becoming the industry-standard DSP IP supplier began with the OneDSP program in 1999, following an intensive research study. This two-year program, involving over 800 design engineers in 150 different companies, ascertained the architecture and IP delivery model the company needed to take technology design to the next level of performance. The OneDSP architecture is the first to use clustering techniques to provide unparalleled, scalable DSP power. Delivered as a family of synthesizable cores specifically for SoC deployment, and supported in a standard EDA development environment, Siroyan offers designers the performance and flexibility required for demanding next-generation applications. Headquartered in Reading, UK, the company is privately owned, and employs some 50 technical and commercial staff at its HQ and Design Centres.

PR Contact:

David Close
Corporate Communications, Siroyan
200 Brook Drive, Green Park, Reading, Berkshire,
RG2 6UB, UK
telephone +44 (0)118 949-7988
cellphone +44 (0)7740 57-6223
fax +44 (0)118 949-7228
dclose@siroyan.com