Conquest RXV — X-Propagation Sign-Off
X-Propagation Sign-Off
- Performs accurate audit of design initialization and provides useful debug capability
- Prevents inaccurate RTL simulation by identifying potential X-optimism
Dangerous X
Design language standards define an X as an “unknown” when simulation cannot definitely resolve a signal value. State-of-the-art low-power designs can have several sources of Xs due to switching between power modes. Xs can increase signal transitions and exceed the design’s power budget.
The X’s can mask bugs in RTL simulation that eventually show up in netlist simulations. Extraneous X’s can also exacerbate X-pessimism in netlist simulations.
Time consuming synthesis-simulation iterations are required to debug the unknowns. Conquest RXV exposes all X-sources up-front at RTL and helps improve design quality by helping to address X-optimism and unnecessary X’s.
Reset Audit
While hardware resets can be used to initialize registers to known values, resetting every flop or latch is challenging.
Additionally, every FF in the design may not even need to be initialized, for example—FFs internal to a pipeline. Reset Audit enables understanding the design initialization requirements and status accurately.
Conquest RXV provides information about percentage initialization, whether a particular FF is getting initialized, by what mechanism it is initialized.
RTL X-Propagation Analysis
Conquest RXV delivers a comprehensive report that highlights how susceptible a design is to the masking of functional bugs due to X-optimism in RTL simulations. All X-sources in the design are automatically identified through structural analysis as well as X-accurate formal reset analysis. The report shows nets in the design that are sensitive to X-optimism due to the propagation of an X from said X-sources, and provides debug information with links to the source code and a trace from each X-Optimism net to a relevant X-source.
Integrated X-Propagation Graphical Debugger
Conquest RXV provides comprehensive reports for review of reset audit and optimism analysis.
It also comes with a powerful integrated graphical interface that shows debug paths, facilitates waivers of X-sources, and provides links for source code navigation.
Benefits
- Identifies all X-sources and X-sensitive constructs that might lead to X-propagation and affect design quality
- Minimizes susceptibility to simulation inaccuracy due to X-optimism at RTL
- Enables easy graphical debugging with integrated source browser, schematics, and waveforms