The role of software in validating silicon IP

on YouTube ↗19m

" summary

Claims that software-only validation missed 13 missing instructions in OpenRISC when the compiler never emitted them, prompting a full UVM analysis; hybrid modeling combines fast QEMU/Renode or Spike-level models with cycle-accurate Verilator/GHDL/iverilog peripherals to run real OS and compiler test suites pre-silicon. A lockstep debugging gdb-server compares golden-reference and target models instruction-by-instruction so divergences raise immediate exceptions; this workflow finds tens of silicon bugs and enables first-silicon bring-up.

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" chapters (14)

1. 0:00Intro
2. 1:06Definitions
3. 1:451999: The Original OR1200 Test Suite
4. 2:302010: OVM Verification
5. 2:58The Lesson
6. 3:23Software Verification of HW
7. 4:06Types of Software Simulator
8. 6:53The Virata Helium 210
9. 7:57Hybrid Modeling
10. 9:28The Software Testing Framework
11. 10:15Comparative Regression Testing: TechEdSat
12. 12:35Making Comparative Testing Easier
13. 14:46Conclusions
14. 16:36Lockstep Debugging

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