Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and methods of compiling resources of a programmable emulation system to execute an emulation process, to emulate a logic system, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), currently being tested and prototyped, and then revising, transforming, and moving the compiled instructions sets to inexpensively, quickly, and dynamically adapt to unavailable resources, which may be due to previously allocation to a different emulation job, or for fault tolerance. Relocation of the resources that will execute the emulation job (i.e., “footprint”) may refer to the remapping of a compiled footprint to a revised set of resources, defining a revised footprint. Fault tolerance may refer to support for working around faulty hardware components of the emulation system.

Abstract: An emulation system comprises an outband traffic generating device comprising at least one field programmable gate array coupled to a host system. The outband traffic generating device is configured to transfer one or more bits via an outband channel to a register of an inband traffic generating device. The inband traffic generating device comprises at least one field programmable gate array coupled to a target system. The inband traffic generating device is configured to transfer the one or more bits via an inband channel to the outband traffic generating device.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and products having pipelined inputs to and outputs from an emulator are disclosed. Using a pipeline may allow the round trip cable delay (RTCD) to be spread across two or more clock cycles. In an embodiment, an emulation system may store input data received from a target device during a first clock cycle at a target timing domain interfacing component (TTD), and transmit the stored input data during a second clock cycle after the first clock cycle. In another embodiment, the emulation system may delay transmitting the input data received at the TTD during the first clock cycle such that that the input data reaches the emulator at a predetermined time during the second clock cycle. As the RTCD is spread across multiple clock cycles, the emulation system may implement faster clocks.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and methods to generate, by a compiling processor, one or more sets of one or more execution instructions responsive to compiling a netlist file. The method further includes storing, by the compiling processor, a set of execution instructions into an instruction memory of an execution processor. The method further includes generating, by a compiling processor, a set of one or more keephot instructions for the execution processor based upon the set of execution instructions stored into the instruction memory of the execution processor. The method further includes storing, by a compiling processor, the set of keephot instructions into the instruction memory of the execution processor.

Abstract: A control-circuit of an emulation system may include one or more serial link inputs communicatively coupled to a serial bus, a serial link input receiving an input control bit from the serial bus. A configurable logic circuit may be configured to receive multiple control bits from the one or more serial link inputs, execute one or more operations on the plurality of input control bits according to programmable logic, and transmit an output control bit to a serial output link.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and methods to generate, by a compiling processor, one or more sets of one or more execution instructions responsive to compiling a netlist file. The method further includes storing, by the compiling processor, a set of execution instructions into an instruction memory of an execution processor. The method further includes generating, by a compiling processor, a set of one or more keephot instructions for the execution processor based upon the set of execution instructions stored into the instruction memory of the execution processor. The method further includes storing, by a compiling processor, the set of keephot instructions into the instruction memory of the execution processor.

Abstract: The embodiments described herein may improve utilization of an emulator system's resources, and may improve efficiency and effectiveness in bug-identification and/or target-debugging; the components described herein may improve utilization of the emulator's resources, reduce wait time to execute emulation routines, and may limit or eliminate the need to stop or kill emulations in process. The various embodiments described herein allow for dynamically associating domains and targets by dynamically allocating and assigning domains with particular target connections, which are pins and/or wires that connect target pods to the emulation system. An emulation system may comprise one or more target MUXs that are situated between the target connections and the domains, to allow the relationships between target pods and domains to be identified and switched dynamically.

Abstract: Systems and methods of emulating application-specific integrated circuits using multiple execution phases, where different inputs and outputs are used or produced by components of the emulation system are disclosed. For example, an OMUX may select and transmit different data over a serial bus based on the execution phase of the emulator system. In another example, a processor or cluster may capture outputted data during a first execution phase, execute instructions for a second execution phase, and then return to the capture outputted data for further processing during a next cycle of the first execution phase.

Abstract: A system for concurrent target diagnostics is disclosed. The system comprises dedicated FPGA for generating test data to test target connections between an emulator and a target system. In this way, domains of the emulator may continue to emulate at least a portion of a hardware design during the testing of the target connections. Further, a multiplexer operable to select target connections for testing eliminates errors resulting from manual swapping of target connections during the testing process. The system further comprises multiple paths to a target pod. The paths enable monitoring and reporting on the status of target connections between an emulator and a target system.

Abstract: Methods and systems for concurrent diagnostics in a functional verification system are disclosed and claimed herein. The methods and systems enable testing the interconnections of a functional verification system while the system implements a hardware design. In one embodiment, a first emulation chip of the functional verification system generates an encoded data word comprising a data word and error correction code (ECC) check bits. The ECC check bits enable a second emulation chip receiving the encoded word to determine whether the data word was received without error. In another embodiment, test patters may be transmitted along the unused interconnections while the functional verification system implements a hardware design in other interconnections. In another embodiment, a dedicated pattern generator generates test patterns to transmit across the interconnection.

Abstract: A system for concurrent target diagnostics is disclosed. The system comprises dedicated FPGA for generating test data to test target connections between an emulator and a target system. In this way, domains of the emulator may continue to emulate at least a portion of a hardware design during the testing of the target connections. Further, a multiplexer operable to select target connections for testing eliminates errors resulting from manual swapping of target connections during the testing process. The system further comprises multiple paths to a target pod. The paths enable monitoring and reporting on the status of target connections between an emulator and a target system.

Abstract: A method of encoding a data word in a physical coding sublayer before serial transmission is provided, where data words comprising data bits are received, and the data words encoded using one or more 8B/10B encodings to generate 8B/10B transmission characters. ECC check bits are then generated, and the transmission characters and ECC check bits DC balanced prior to shuffling the bits together to form an encoded word to be transmitted. A receiver may decode by implementing a decode process with error correction. In some embodiments 26 data bits from two 13-bit word are encoded into a 40-bit encoded word. Bits of two or more encoded words may be interleaved for transmission, or multiple copies of encoded words sent. An integrated circuit serializer/deserializer comprises hardware to perform encoding and/or decoding. A hardware functional verification system may also implement the disclosed encoding/decoding for interconnections between emulation chips.

Abstract: The present patent document relates to a method to compact trace data generated by emulation processors during emulation of a circuit design, and a hardware functional verification system that compacts trace data. Compaction logic within emulation processor clusters accumulated data bits output from the emulation processors and compacts them into trace data bytes in registers based on enable bits identifying valid trace data according to a compaction scheme. Trace data bytes are further accumulated and compacted into larger trace data bytes in higher level processor clusters of the emulation chip according to a compaction hierarchy, with the compacted trace data bytes stored into a trace array of the emulation chip.

Abstract: In one form a method of encoding a data word for serial transmission is provided, where a data word comprising a plurality of data bits is received, an invert bit having a bit value is appended to the data word, the data bits and invert bit are scrambled, ECC check bits are generated, and the data bits, invert bit, and ECC check bits are shuffled together to form an encoded word to be transmitted from a transmitter. A receiver may decode by implementing a decode process with error correction. The encoded word may also be DC balanced by checking the disparity of the bits to be encoded against a running disparity to invert or not the bits. An integrated circuit serializer/deserializer comprises hardware to perform encoding and/or decoding. A hardware functional verification system may implement the disclosed encoding/decoding for interconnections between emulation chips.

Abstract: The present patent document relates to a method to compact trace data generated by emulation processors during emulation of a circuit design, and a hardware functional verification system that compacts trace data. Compaction logic within emulation processor clusters accumulated data bits output from the emulation processors and compacts them into trace data bytes in registers based on enable bits identifying valid trace data according to a compaction scheme. Trace data bytes are further accumulated and compacted into larger trace data bytes in higher level processor clusters of the emulation chip according to a compaction hierarchy, with the compacted trace data bytes stored into a trace array of the emulation chip.

Abstract: The present patent document relates to a method and apparatus for modeling a flip-flop of a user's circuit design when that circuit design is mapped in a hardware functional verification system including a plurality of interconnected emulation chips, or in a single emulation chip. The flip flop can be modeled in the emulation chip as two stages using only a single instruction, and may be configured by programming a register set. A data block, enable block, and LUT block are provided to model the flip flop, and may operate in one of several modes, including combined and uncombined modes. The data block includes a data array to store and provide previous data inputs and previous states of the modeled flip flop. The disclosed embodiments allow a more efficient use of LUTs for modeling flip flops, including options for resets and global enables, operating in several modes.

Abstract: A method and system of providing additional lookup tables in an emulation processor cluster of an emulation chip of a hardware functional verification system is provided. An indirection table may be used within the processor cluster to provide the commonly-used function tables for the lookup tables (LUTs). The indirection table may be indexed according to a smaller portion of the standard LUT function table provided by an instruction than otherwise needed. The unused function table bits in the instruction may then be used for other purposes, including providing functionality to one or more extra LUTs of the processor cluster, whose function tables may be provided from another indirection table provided for that purpose. Additional processing capacity may thereby be provided for the cluster with a small amount of additional overhead within the emulation chip, while still providing the full range of function tables of the LUTs.

Abstract: A method and system of dynamically selecting a memory read port are provided. In one form a method may comprises, in part, processing instructions in the emulation processors of a hardware functional verification system, storing output bits generated by the LUT in a plurality of storage elements, selecting between a plurality of previously-stored LUT output bits and the output port of the data memory, selecting one of the plurality of output bits stored in the storage elements, and sending the current data bit provided at the output port of the data memory to a selection circuit when previously-stored LUT output bits are provided. The disclosed systems and methods provide the ability all inputs to a LUT, even while a memory read port is occupied performing other operations during that emulation step, for example sending a value stored in the memory to another emulation processor using the selection circuit.

Abstract: A processor-based hardware functional verification system with time shift registers is described. The system includes a processor cluster with a plurality of processors that each have a data inputs and select inputs. Furthermore, a plurality of electronic memories each having a plurality of read ports is associated with the processors, respectively. The time shift registers each have an input in communication with the read ports of the electronic memories and an output in communication with the select inputs of the processors. The system further includes an instruction memory that provides a control signal to each of the time shift registers to store data output from read ports of the electronic memories that can be provided to the processor for evaluation during a subsequent emulation step.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for redundant communication channels in an emulation system is disclosed. A processor-based emulation system has a plurality of emulation chips on an emulation board. The emulation chips have a plurality of processor clusters. Signals are sent over one or more communication channels between processor clusters, including from a processor cluster on one emulation chip to a processor cluster on another emulation chip. Copies of the same signal may be sent in duplicate over separate communication channels. If a communication channel failure is detected, instruction memory is modified so that a processor cluster's instructions no longer address a first cluster memory location, but instead address a second cluster memory location of a non-failed communication channel. By using redundant communication channels, emulation system interconnect reliability is increased and recompilation of the design under verification may be avoided.