New ARM IP tooling suite reduces SoC integration time from months to days

ARM has advanced its mission to enable SoC designers to configure, create and assemble IP-based systems over the course of days rather than months with the announcement of a new suite of IP tools. The new IP tooling suite comprises Socrates DE, CoreSight Creator and CoreLink Creator. Additionally, CoreLink Creator will easily configure and help implement the new CoreLink NIC-450 Network Interconnect, the follow-on to the widely-adopted CoreLink NIC-400.

The new suite addresses the most complex challenges associated with SoC configurability and assembly while reducing time to market. Examples of efficiency gains include:

·         An 8x improvement in assembly schedule – based on project metrics from an ARM project to build a 64-bit ARM big.LITTLE reference platform

·         Configuration of an ARM Cortex-A72 processor in seconds

·         Effortless management of 100,000+ lines of connection metadata per IP.

“Our partners need to deliver ARM-based SoCs to market as fast and accurately as possible,” said James McNiven, general manager, systems and software group, ARM. “In the process of building our own reference designs, we saw our IP configuration, creation and assembly schedules go from projections of months to days thanks to Socrates DE and the CoreSight and CoreLink Creators. Our lead partners are now using ARM IP tooling in concert with ARM and third-party IP to assemble intelligent subsystems faster than ever.”

ARM Socrates DE: simplifying the SoC development process

Socrates DE delivers ARM’s most advanced IP design environment to date, offering configuration, creation and assembly of ARM and third-party IP. Socrates DE equips architects and designers with a wide range of capabilities:

·         The same design environment used within ARM

·         Built-in ARM design knowledge such as ARM AMBA protocols

·         A platform to standardise any IP into the industry-standard IP-XACT format

·         A built-in IP catalog supporting ARM and third-party IP

·         The ability to differentiate on top of ARM IP while maintaining design integrity.

ARM CoreSight and CoreLink Creators: accelerating system IP design

CoreSight and CoreLink Creators, which are built on Socrates technology, further enable architects and designers with several configuration efficiencies:

·         The same IP creation environment used within ARM

·         Built-in ARM design rule checks

·         Guided creation of a high-level specification for Coresight or Corelink IP

·         Automated microarchitecture creation

·         Auto-generated right-first-time RTL and IP-XACT

·         Seamless integration with Socrates DE.

On-chip communication leadership

The new CoreLink NIC-450 Network Interconnect offers a tool-driven automation flow that employs algorithms for tasks such as ensuring deadlock-free operation and partitioning across multiple power/voltage domains. The highly configurable, multi-power-domain CoreLink NIC-450 is most easily configured and deployed via the CoreLink Creator tool. The CoreLink Creator tool enables CoreLink NIC-450 to be optimised to suit the requirements of a complex SoC using AMBA protocols, the industry’s de facto standard for on-chip communication.

Availability

Socrates DE and CoreSight Creator are available now for immediate licensing. CoreLink Creator and CoreLink NIC-450 will be available for delivery in 2H’15. Find out more about ARM’s commitment to simplifying and accelerating the process of system integration by visiting ARM booth #2414 at the upcoming DAC show, June 7-11 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.