Method and apparatus for versatile controllability and observability in prototype system
First Claim
1. A system for emulating a circuit design, the system comprising:
- a custom prototype board comprising at least one field programmable gate array (“
FPGA”
) for emulating the circuit design, the at least one FPGA of the custom prototype board being capable of emulating at least a portion of the circuit design, the at least one FPGA also being capable of being configured to include a verification module that provides timing and control information to the at least a portion of the circuit design and probing signals associated with the at least a portion of the circuit design, the custom prototype board being described by at least one board description file;
a host workstation capable of providing image data representative of the at least a portion of the circuit design being emulated and of the verification module, the image data being based at least in part on the at least one board description file and to be downloaded to the at least one FPGA on the custom prototype board; and
an emulation interface coupled between the host workstation and the custom prototype board, the emulation interface being capable of providing timing and control information to at least the verification module, the emulation interface comprising a controller and a memory device, wherein the controller is capable of being configured to receive and process signal values associated with the probed signals to store the processed signal values in the memory device.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method for emulating a circuit design includes receiving, at an emulation interface, signal values associated with probed signals from a verification module of a custom prototype board which can be described by at least one board description file and can comprise at least one field programmable gate array for emulating the circuit design. The method can also include processing, the probed signal values associated with a portion of the circuit design being emulated, the emulation interface being capable of being configured to provide timing and control information to at least the verification module, and can comprise a controller and a memory device, with the controller being capable of being configured to receive the probed signal values. The method can further include storing the processed information and transmitting it to the host workstation.
16 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for emulating a circuit design, the system comprising:
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a custom prototype board comprising at least one field programmable gate array (“
FPGA”
) for emulating the circuit design, the at least one FPGA of the custom prototype board being capable of emulating at least a portion of the circuit design, the at least one FPGA also being capable of being configured to include a verification module that provides timing and control information to the at least a portion of the circuit design and probing signals associated with the at least a portion of the circuit design, the custom prototype board being described by at least one board description file;a host workstation capable of providing image data representative of the at least a portion of the circuit design being emulated and of the verification module, the image data being based at least in part on the at least one board description file and to be downloaded to the at least one FPGA on the custom prototype board; and an emulation interface coupled between the host workstation and the custom prototype board, the emulation interface being capable of providing timing and control information to at least the verification module, the emulation interface comprising a controller and a memory device, wherein the controller is capable of being configured to receive and process signal values associated with the probed signals to store the processed signal values in the memory device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An emulation interface comprising:
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a controller coupled between a host workstation and a custom prototype board, the controller being capable of receiving, after configuration, signal values associated with probed signals from a verification module of the custom prototype board, the custom prototype board being external to the emulation interface and comprising at least one field programmable gate array (“
FPGA”
) being capable of being configured to include the verification module, the probed signal values being associated with at least a portion of a circuit design being emulated by the custom prototype board; anda memory device coupled with the controller to store information associated with the probed signal values, wherein the custom prototype board being described by at least one board description file, and the controller being capable of being configured to provide timing and control information to at least the verification module. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A method for emulating a circuit design, the method comprising:
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receiving, at an emulation interface, signal values associated with probed signals from a verification module of a custom prototype board, the custom prototype board being external to the emulation interface and comprising at least one field programmable gate array (“
FPGA”
), the at least one FPGA of the custom prototype board being capable of being configured to emulate at least a portion of the circuit design and being capable of being configured to provide the verification module, the custom prototype board being described by at least one board description file;processing, by the emulation interface, the probed signal values, the probed signal values being associated with at least a portion of the circuit design being emulated, the emulation interface being coupled between a host workstation and the custom prototype board, the emulation interface being capable of being configured to provide timing and control information to at least the verification module, the emulation interface comprising a controller and a memory device, the controller being capable of being configured to receive the probed signal values; storing, by the emulation interface, processed information from processing the probed signal values by the controller; and transmitting, by the emulation interface, the processed information to the host workstation. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, causes a computer to perform a method for emulating a circuit design, the method comprising:
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receiving, at an emulation interface, signal values associated with probed signals from a verification module of a custom prototype board, the custom prototype board being external to the emulation interface and comprising at least one field programmable gate array (“
FPGA”
), the at least one FPGA of the custom prototype board being capable of being configured to emulate at least a portion of the circuit design and being capable of being configured to include the verification module, the custom prototype board being described by at least one board description file;processing, by the emulation interface, the probed signal values, the probed signal values being associated with at least a portion of the circuit design being emulated, the emulation interface being coupled between a host workstation and the custom prototype board, the emulation interface being capable of being configured to provide timing and control information to at least the verification module, the emulation interface comprising a controller and a memory device, the controller being capable of being configured to receive the probed signal values; storing, by the emulation interface, processed information from processing the probed signal values by the controller; and transmitting, by the emulation interface, the processed information to the host workstation. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for emulating a circuit design, the system comprising:
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a custom prototype board comprising at least one field programmable gate array (“
FPGA”
) for emulating the circuit design, the at least one FPGA of the custom prototype board being configured to emulate at least a portion of the circuit design, the at least one FPGA also being configured to include a verification module that provides timing and control information to the at least a portion of the circuit design and probing signals associated with the at least a portion of the circuit design, the custom prototype board being described by at least one board description file;a host workstation configured to provide image data representative of the at least a portion of the circuit design being emulated and of the verification module, the image data being based at least in part on the at least one board description file and to be downloaded to the at least one FPGA on the custom prototype board; and an emulation interface coupled between the host workstation and the custom prototype board, the emulation interface being configured to provide timing and control information to at least the verification module, the emulation interface comprising a controller and a memory device, wherein the controller being configured to receive and process signal values associated with the probed signals to store the processed signal values in the memory device.
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22. An emulation interface comprising:
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a controller coupled between a host workstation and a custom prototype board, the controller being configured to receive, after configuration, signal values associated with probed signals from a verification module of the custom prototype board, the custom prototype board being external to the emulation interface and comprising at least one field programmable gate array (“
FPGA”
) being configured to include the verification module, the probed signal values being associated with at least a portion of a circuit design being emulated by the custom prototype board; anda memory device coupled with the controller to store information associated with the probed signal values, wherein the custom prototype board being described by at least one board description file, and the controller being configured to provide timing and control information to at least the verification module.
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23. A method for emulating a circuit design, the method comprising:
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receiving, at an emulation interface, signal values associated with probed signals from a verification module of a custom prototype board, the custom prototype board being external to the emulation interface and comprising at least one field programmable gate array (“
FPGA”
), the at least one FPGA of the custom prototype board being configured to emulate at least a portion of the circuit design and being configured to include the verification module, the custom prototype board being described by at least one board description file;processing, by the emulation interface, the probed signal values, the probed signal values being associated with at least a portion of the circuit design being emulated, the emulation interface being coupled between a host workstation and the custom prototype board, the emulation interface being configured to provide timing and control information to at least the verification module, the emulation interface comprising a controller and a memory device, the controller being configured to receive the probed signal values; storing, by the emulation interface, processed information from processing the probed signal values by the controller; and transmitting, by the emulation interface, the processed information to the host workstation.
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24. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, causes a computer to perform a method for emulating a circuit design, the method comprising:
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receiving, at an emulation interface, signal values associated with probed signals from a verification module of a custom prototype board, the custom prototype board being external to the emulation interface and comprising at least one field programmable gate array (“
FPGA”
), the at least one FPGA of the custom prototype board being configured to emulate at least a portion of the circuit design and being configured to include the verification module, the custom prototype board being described by at least one board description file;processing, by the emulation interface, the probed signal values, the probed signal values being associated with at least a portion of the circuit design being emulated, the emulation interface being coupled between a host workstation and the custom prototype board, the emulation interface being configured to provide timing and control information to at least the verification module, the emulation interface comprising a controller and a memory device, the controller being configured to receive the probed signal values; storing, by the emulation interface, processed information from processing the probed signal values by the controller; and transmitting, by the emulation interface, the processed information to the host workstation.
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Specification