Abstract: A system for emulating a circuit design is presented. The system includes a host workstation coupled by an emulation interface to a field programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to emulate and verify the circuit design when the host workstation is invoked to verify the circuit design. The emulation interface is configured to provide timing and control information for at least the verify. The system further includes a non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions, which when executed cause a computer to compile a portion of the circuit design and an associated verification module adapted to configure the FPGA. A compilation is performed in accordance with a description file.

Abstract: User's register transfer level (RTL) design is analyzed and instrumented so that signals of interest are preserved and can be located in the netlist after synthesis. Then, the user's original flow of RTL synthesis and design partition is performed. The output is analyzed to locate the signals of interest. Latches are selectively inserted to the netlist to ensure that signal values can be accessed at runtime. After that, a place and route (P&R) process is performed, and the outputs are analyzed to correlate signal names to registers (flip-flops and latches) or memory blocks locations is field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices. A correlation database is built and kept for runtime use. During runtime, a software component may be provided on a workstation for the user to query signal values corresponding to RTL hierarchical signal names.

Abstract: User's register transfer level (RTL) design is analyzed and instrumented so that signals of interest are preserved and can be located in the netlist after synthesis. Then, the user's original flow of RTL synthesis and design partition is performed. The output is analyzed to locate the signals of interest. Latches are selectively inserted to the netlist to ensure that signal values can be accessed at runtime. After that, a place and route (P&R) process is performed, and the outputs are analyzed to correlate signal names to registers (flip-flops and latches) or memory blocks locations is field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices. A correlation database is built and kept for runtime use. During runtime, a software component may be provided on a workstation for the user to query signal values corresponding to RTL hierarchical signal names.

Abstract: A system for emulating a circuit design is presented. The system includes a host workstation coupled by an emulation interface to a field programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to emulate and verify the circuit design when the host workstation is invoked to verify the circuit design. The emulation interface is configured to provide timing and control information for at least the verify. The system further includes computer readable storage medium including instructions, which when executed cause a computer to compile a portion of the circuit design and an associated verification module adapted to configure the FPGA. The compilation is in accordance with a description file.

Abstract: A test system for testing prototype designs includes a host workstation, multiple interface devices, and multiple prototype boards. The prototype boards include programmable devices which implement one or more partitions of a user design and an associated verification modules. The verification modules probe signals of the partitions and transmit the probed signals to the interface devices. The verification modules can also transmit output signals generated by one or more partitions on the prototype boards to the host workstation via the interface devices, and transmit input signals, which are received from the host workstation via the interface devices, to one or more partitions on the prototype boards.

Abstract: User's register transfer level (RTL) design is analyzed and instrumented so that signals of interest are preserved and can be located in the netlist after synthesis. Then, the user's original flow of RTL synthesis and design partition is performed. The output is analyzed to locate the signals of interest. Latches are selectively inserted to the netlist to ensure that signal values can be accessed at runtime. After that, a place and route (P&R) process is performed, and the outputs are analyzed to correlate signal names to registers (flip-flops and latches) or memory blocks locations in field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices. A correlation database is built and kept for runtime use. During runtime, a software component may be provided on a workstation for the user to query signal values corresponding to RTL hierarchical signal names.

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.

Abstract: A custom prototyping board and a controller are integrated to form an emulation system for emulating a circuit design. The controller may be disposed on an adaptor board. The custom prototyping board is defined by a set of board description files which further define the FPGA device(s) used in the system as well as the wire connections among the FPGA devices and connectors on the custom prototyping board. The FPGA device(s) is configured in accordance with the partitioned circuit design. Each partitioned circuit in the FPGA device is associated with a verification module for communicating with the controller to control and probe the emulation. A host workstation may be used to link with the controller to support co-simulation or co-emulation of the circuit design.

Abstract: User's RTL design is analyzed and instrumented so that signals of interest are preserved and can be located in the net list after synthesis. Then, the user's original flow of RTL synthesis and design partition is performed. The output is analyzed to locate the signals of interest. Latches are selectively inserted to the net list to ensure that signal values can be accessed at runtime. After that, a P&R process is performed, and the outputs are analyzed to correlate signal names to registers (flip-flops and latches) or memory blocks locations in FPGAs. A correlation database is built and kept for runtime use. During runtime, a software component may be provided on a workstation for the user to query signal values corresponding to RTL hierarchical signal names.

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.

Abstract: Methods and systems for testing a design under verification (DUV), the method including receiving, at an interface, configured Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) images and runtime control information, wherein each of the FPGA images contains a respective portion of the DUV, and a respective verification module associated with a respective FPGA device. The method further includes, sending, by the interface, each of the FPGA images to each of the respective FPGA devices associated with each of the respective FPGA images. The method also includes, sending, by the interface, timing and control information to each of the respective verification modules based on runtime control information received from the host workstation. In response to receiving timing and control information, each of the respective verification modules, controls each of the respective portions of the DUV in each of the respective FPGA devices.

Abstract: An apparatus for circuit emulation may include a first circuit board, one or more circuit emulation resource on the first circuit board, a first interconnection interface on the first circuit board, and a second interconnection interface on the first circuit board. The first circuit board may include conductive wiring paths. The circuit emulation resource is on the first circuit board and coupled with a portion of the conductive wiring paths, with each circuit emulation resource being configured to emulate a portion of an electronic circuit by receiving input signals and producing output signals in response to the input signals. The first interconnection interface is on the first circuit board and coupled with at least a first portion of the circuit emulation resource, The first interconnection interface may be configured to couple with an interconnection interface of a second circuit board having a second group of conductive wiring paths and having a second group of circuit emulation resources.

Abstract: An apparatus for circuit emulation may include a first circuit board, one or more circuit emulation resource on the first circuit board, a first interconnection interface on the first circuit board, and a second interconnection interface on the first circuit board. The first circuit board may include conductive wiring paths. The circuit emulation resource is on the first circuit board and coupled with a portion of the conductive wiring paths, with each circuit emulation resource being configured to emulate a portion of an electronic circuit by receiving input signals and producing output signals in response to the input signals. The first interconnection interface is on the first circuit board and coupled with at least a first portion of the circuit emulation resource, The first interconnection interface may be configured to couple with an interconnection interface of a second circuit board having a second group of conductive wiring paths and having a second group of circuit emulation resources.

Abstract: Methods and systems for testing a prototype, the method including receiving, at a first interface component, a configuration parameter associated with a configured image representative of at least a portion of a user design and an associated verification module. The method further includes, sending, using the first interface component, the configured image to a device. A second interface component may be configured to send timing and control information to the verification module based on at least one of the configuration image and runtime control information received from the first interface component. In response to receiving the timing and control information from the second interface component, the verification module may control the device and/or monitor the device state of at least a portion of the user design.