CoWare Inc. announced the availability of a new Interconnect and Memory Subsystem Performance Optimization design flow for CoWare Platform Architect, enabling early and efficient optimization of next-generation system-on-chip (SoC) architectures using ARM® AMBA®-based virtual platforms.

CoWare virtual platforms for architecture design are the virtualized representation of an electronic system used for the purpose of system-level performance analysis and architecture optimization. The new flow provides system architects with the ability to efficiently capture the dynamic performance workloads of each application subsystem of a multi-function SoC in the form of transaction traffic, months before software is available and with minimum modeling effort using a well-defined, repeatable methodology.
The new Interconnect and Memory Subsystem Performance Optimization design flow for CoWare Platform Architect is enabled by CoWare’s advanced system-level design features, including:

• Trace- and task-driven generation of transaction traffic, enabling creation of performance workload models reflecting the application performance workloads of the multi-function use-cases for interconnect and memory subsystem analysis;
• Integrated graphical environment for transaction tracing and statistical port analysis enabling platform model validation and system-level performance measurement of transaction count, transaction throughput, and transaction latency;
• Support for simulation and analysis of multiple TLM protocols at mixed levels of abstraction, including TLM-2.0 and cycle-accurate AHB, APB, and AXI communication protocols, and user-defined data collection based on SCV transaction recording;
• Scripting support for simulation sweeping of traffic scenarios and IP parameters across multiple simulations enabling design space exploration, sensitivity analysis using spreadsheets, and root cause analysis;
• CoStart services for rapid end-user ramp-up with AXI-based designs.

CoWare Platform Architect tool and IP model enhancements and CoWare CoStart services are available immediately for use with the 2009.1.1 release.