Web-based design

Flávio Rech WagnerUFRGS, Porto Alegre, Brazil

SBCCI, Manaus, 24/09/00

Informática

UFRGS

Motivation

• Systems-on-chip, embedded systems– software, hardware (digital, analog)

– multiprocessor platforms (DSPs, µcontrollers, ASIPs)

• Design productivity gap

• Design reuse

• Expertise reuse

Motivation

• Systems-on-chip, embedded systems

• Design productivity gap– Transistor count grows 58% per year

– Design productivity grows 21% per year

– Design and expertise reuse is the solution

• Design reuse

• Expertise reuse

Motivation

• Systems-on-chip, embedded systems

• Design productivity gap

• Design reuse– Standards

• VSIA

– Methodologies

– Availability of IPs

• Expertise reuse

Motivation

• Systems-on-chip, embedded systems

• Design productivity gap

• Design reuse– Standards

– Methodologies• Abstraction - hard x soft IPs

• Languages - VHDL, Java, SpecC

• Object-orientation

• Core selection

• Communication synthesis

– Availability of IPs

• Expertise reuse

Motivation

• Systems-on-chip, embedded systems

• Design productivity gap

• Design reuse– Standards

– Methodologies

– Availability of IPs• Vendors

• Protection

• E-commerce

• Expertise reuse

Motivation

• Systems-on-chips , embedded systems

• Design productivity gap

• Design reuse

• Expertise reuse– Analog and mixed design

– Physical design and effects

– High-level design

– Test and testability

The impact of the web

• Web is a “technology push” also for EDA

• Services

• Distributed data

• Distributed tools

• Distributed teams

The impact of the web

• Web is a “technology push” also for EDA

• Services– Information on components and products

– Search engines

– Technical support

– IP analysis and selection

• Distributed data

• Distributed tools

• Distributed teams

The impact of the web

• Web is a “technology push” also for EDA

• Services

• Distributed data– Design reuse

– IPs

– Standards

• Distributed tools

• Distributed teams

The impact of the web

• Web is a “technology push” also for EDA

• Services

• Distributed data

• Distributed tools– Distributed environments

– Tool integration

– Distributed tool execution

• Distributed teams

The impact of the web

• Web is a “technology push” also for EDA

• Services

• Distributed data

• Distributed tools

• Distributed teams– Expertise reuse

– Collaborative design

Environments, frameworks

• Requirements– Management of data, tools, design flows, teams

• Data management

• Design management

• Tool management

• Team management

Environments, frameworks on the web

• Requirements

– Management of distributed data, tools, design flows, teams

• Data management

• Design management

• Tool management

• Team management

Environments, frameworks on the web

• Requirements

• Data management– Distributed version and configuration management

• Design management

• Tool management

• Team management

Environments, frameworks on the web

• Requirements

• Data management

• Design management– Distributed design flow management

– Loosely coupled flows

– System modularity

– Methodologies for web-based design

• Tool management

• Team management

Environments, frameworks on the web

• Requirements

• Data management

• Design management

• Tool management– Tool integration or encapsulation

– Web-based tool interfaces

• Team management

Environments, frameworks on the web

• Requirements

• Data management

• Design management

• Tool management

• Team management– Task distribution and synchronization

– Design tasks may be fired …

– By designers on different nodes …

– And may need tools and data on different nodes

Tools on the web

• “Applet” model x “computing center” model– Tool runs either on the client or on the server side

– Move data or move tool?

– Interactive x batch tools

– Pay-per-use

– Protection of data and tools

• A good architecture combines both models

• What tools?

Tools on the web

• “Applet” model x “computing center” model

• A good architecture combines both models– Each task has a different trade-off regarding ...

• Communication and computation costs

• Security

– Solution may very according to the network characteristics

• What tools?

Tools on the web

• “Applet” model x “computing center” model

• A good architecture combines both models– Each task has a different trade-off regarding ...

• Communication and computation costs

• Security

– Solution may very according to the network characteristics• Performance

• Intranets x Internet

• What tools?

Tools on the web

• “Applet” model x “computing center” model

• A good architecture combines both models

• What tools?– Is the web a new platform enabling the development of new tools?

– Do we have the same “old” tools?

– Taking concrete cases

Tools on the web

• “Applet” model x “computing center” model

• A good architecture

• What tools?– Is the web a new platform enabling the development of new tools?

– Do we have the same “old” tools …• With a new web interface?

• Running on a new execution environment?

– Taking concrete cases

Tools on the web

• “Applet” model x “computing center” model

• A good architecture

• What tools?– Is the web a new platform enabling the development of new tools?

– Do we have the same “old” tools …• With a new web interface?

• Running on a new execution environment?

– Taking concrete cases• High-level synthesis, place-and-route => same tools!

• Validation => new simulation tools!

Distributed simulation

• Co-simulation of multiple domains

• Multi-language specification

• Hardware models

• Standards

• Challenges

Distributed simulation

• Co-simulation of multiple domains

• Multi-language specification

• Hardware models

• Standards

• Challenges

on the web !!!

Distributed simulation

• Co-simulation of multiple domains

• Multi-language specification

• Hardware models

• Standards– For describing the behavior of IPs

– HLA: High-Level Architecture• Federated simulation

• Challenges

on the web !!!

Distributed simulation

• Co-simulation of multiple domains

• Multi-language specification

• Hardware models

• Standards

• Challenges– Integrating IPs into distributed models

– Performing multi-language, multi-domain co-simulation on the web

on the web !!!

An ideal web-based environment

• Adapt tools to a web-based design environment– Build web interfaces

– Consider client - server trade-offs

• Build new web-specific tools

• Reuse ideas

• What is really new and important?

An ideal web-based environment

• Adapt tools to a web-based design environment

• Build new web-specific tools– Distributed simulation

• Reuse ideas

• What is really new and important?

An ideal web-based environment

• Adapt tools to a web-based design environment

• Build new web-specific tools

• Reuse ideas– From design frameworks

• An “old” discipline which ...

– Was fading away …

– And may become again relevant because of web computing

• Recover models, techniques, architectures and adapt them to the web

– From collaborative design

• What is really new and important?

An ideal web-based environment

• Adapt tools to a web-based design environment

• Build new web-specific tools

• Reuse ideas– From design frameworks

– From collaborative design• Bring solutions from different communities

• What is really new and important?

An ideal web-based environment

• Adapt tools to a web-based design environment

• Build new web-specific tools

• Reuse ideas

• What is really new and important ?

–IP-based methodologies– Challenge: combine abstraction + language + object-orientation +

+ soft IPs + communication synthesis + …

An ideal web-based environment

• Adapt tools to a web-based design environment

• Build new web-specific tools

• Reuse ideas from design frameworks

– Environments must support methodologieslanguages design management

models data management

tools team management

methodologies

– “Old” ideas must be adapted to “new” IP-based methodologies

• What is really new and important?

X

An ideal web-based environment

• Adapt tools to a web-based design environment

• Build new web-specific tools

• Reuse ideas from design frameworks– Environments must support methodologies

– “Old” ideas must be adapted to “new” IP-based methodologies• Recent proposals on object-oriented VHDL to promote reuse and

workflow management

• What is really new and important?