( ESNUG 250 Item 8 ) -------------------------------------------- [9/6/96]
Subject: ( ESNUG 247 #3 248 #3 249 #1) Opinions On Hardware Emulators
> Real gates vs. "emulation gates" -- unlike the comment someone made,
> emulation gates are NOT 2-3X smaller than real ASIC gates -- the actual
> gate capacity depends on the design style -- much like in an ASIC.
> Emulation gate was designed to be a unisex unit of measure which includes
> a certain combination of memory bits and logic gates.
From: Dennis Skey <dskey@ctron.com>
John,
Quickturn uses FPGA's whose capacities far exceed what they market. Xilinx
has limitations which Quickturn is forced to worked with (i.e. compile times,
successful compilation of fpgas,....etc). Thus the compile times and
capacities that Quickturn gives a customers are hard to pin down, but this
should not be the main issue for comparing emulation companies. Quickturn
has so many solutions for the entire industry it is hard not to choose them.
- Dennis Skey
Emulation Consultant
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
> Aptix -- Price leader. U.S. $0.50 (or less) per gate emulation. But
> size limit of ~100 kgates and it's the Radio Shack kit of emulators.
> You get a board, not a box, and you spend a lot time shuffling FPGAs
> in and out of it. You provide your own Tektronix/HP logic analyzer
> for debugging. Fast compiles and simulation times. No DAC parties.
From: michel@aptix.com (Michel Courtoy)
Hi John,
[ Call Me Ishmael ] got a few things right on his survey of emulation
vendors but then he misfired on a few others.
Probably the key misunderstanding is on the issue of open systems versus
black boxes for emulators. Aptix has chosen to offer open systems for its
emulators while all other vendors have opted for a closed environment.
Why do open systems make sense for emulation?
The Aptix patented open architecture makes it possible to incorporate all
system components in the programmable emulation environment -- including
the processor, DSP, memories, I/O interfaces, and FPGAs for the new ASIC.
The user is free to select the latest and greatest FPGA increasing the
capacity of the emulator with the introduction of every new FPGA family.
This combination results in true system-level emulation.
Another key benefit of the Aptix open architecture is the higher
emulation speeds: Aptix users average 20MHz. It means that many emulated
designs can now run in real-time, eliminating the system slow-down
issues. A regression test that would have taken a day to complete with a
traditional emulator only takes one hour with the open architecture Aptix
system making it possible it iterate multiple times on the design in one
day of work.
Finally, the reviewer is right on when it comes to pricing: Aptix is the
leader in that department. Looking beyond the initial acquisition cost,
price is of increasing concern because hardware/software co-design is
needed to develop the 'whole' system. The availability of low-cost
'replicate' copies of the emulator can considerably speed up development
times and increase quality. Aptix is the only vendor to offer an
economically viable replicate option.
Is it just me or is there really a correlation between the prices charged
by the vendors and their DAC parties?
- Michel Courtoy
Aptix Corporation
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