ARM, Ignios speed up multicore development

ARM and Ignios Ltd have accelerated the development of multicore solutions by reducing the time and effort needed to develop, debug and run complex multicore simulations.

The simulation modelled multiple ARM9 family processors and third-party DSP processors operating together, using ARM RealView development tools with MaxSim technology and Ignios' multicore-enabling SystemWeaver technology. The flexibility of the RealView development solution enables additional bus layers, processors and memory to be added or removed. In addition, the System Weaver technology enables software developed for one platform to be targeted at other platforms, without recompilation. Both technologies work together to speed up the early design cycle of advanced SoC platforms.

"Demonstrating SystemWeaver support for the market-leading ARM9 family processor is a very significant step for Ignios," said Rick Clucas, CEO, Ignios. "Our complementary technologies prove that rapid development of complex multicore systems is now a reality, facilitated by the combination of the ARM RealView ESL simulation tools and Ignios' SystemWeaver run-time multicore system management."

RealView ESL tools with MaxSim technology incorporate many features that support multicore development and analysis, including the ability to rapidly bring together diverse simulation models with high run-time efficiency. For example, a representative multicore system that includes cycle accurate models of two ARM9 family processors, two DSP cores and the SystemWeaver core operates fast enough to enable software developers to test real application code long before the availability of silicon.

"With the industry now embracing multicore solutions, ARM is committed to helping its Partners develop their products faster so that they can capitalize on this opportunity," said Seth Bernsen, product manager, RealView MaxSim Tools, ARM. "Ignios' use of ARM technology in the exploration of multicore platforms is another example of the wide adoption of RealView ESL tools for rapid prototyping and analysis of very high complexity, multicore SoCs."

SystemWeaver technology provides a number of benefits that accelerate the process of software development for multicore designs. The software developer sees the same multi-threaded programming model independent of the number of cores present in the SoC, and the technology also provides a powerful debug capability. SystemWeaver ensures that the resulting code executes efficiently on the available processing resources, and the optimum architecture can be carried forward to silicon implementation with the model's debug capabilities.