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Improving Team Productivity through Design Data Management in ICstudio

Steve Chin, Stretch, Inc.Karim Khalfan, ClioSoft, Inc.

S.Chin/K.Khalfan, IC-Studio Design Management, May 20062

Stretch is a fabless semiconductor company that provides software-configurable

processors for the most compute-intensive applications.

Standard C/C++ programming tools Off-the-shelf configurable processor

Extraordinary performance Easy and rapid development Significant cost savings Suitable for multiple applications


Need for Revision Control

Complex and multi-discipline design environment

Obvious need to manage a large amount of data

Without revision control

Design errors Loss of data Schedule impact

SynthesisSynthesisRTL DesignRTL DesignSpecificationSpecification

P & RP & RVerificationVerificationCustom DesignCustom Design

Generic Design FlowGeneric Design Flow


Stretch Custom Design

Schematic (DA-IC)

Verilog Netlist

Custom Layout (IC-Station)

Spice / LVS Netlist LVS/DRC/LPE

SPICE Simulator

LEF / DEF / ??

Specification

Verification

Timing Data

GDSII

P & R / Timing ClosureTapeout Database

RTL Design

ICstudio


Stretch Chip Design Teams

Software Development— CVS/RCS, Perforce

RTL-Based Hardware Design— CVS/RCS, Perforce

Verification & Test Engineering— CVS/RCS, Perforce

Custom Design (prior solutions)— Perforce— Multiple backup copies


Custom Design: Challenges

Manage interface data to/from other teams Manage ECOs as well as inadvertent loss of data Manage multi-user / multi-site access Mentor’s ICstudio

— Both binary and ASCII data— Uniqueness of IC-Station / DA-IC data structure


Custom Design: Problems

Inadvertently editing a cell Manual work with “dmgr_ic”

— Recovery of lost or corrupted data— Reverting databases

Multiple copies takes up disk space— Copies kept by DA-IC & IC Station

(during save procedure)— Limited number of copies kept

Conclusion: Lost productivity


Custom Design: Possible Solutions

Custom Perforce interface— No GUI and not seamless— Resources to develop and support

Matrix-One— Not yet available for ICstudio— Hard to setup

SOS viaICstudio— Production release available— Easy to setup— Seamless integration— Works out of the box!!


ClioSoft’s SOS viaICstudio @ Stretch

Stretch started using the ClioSoft solution at the end of Q3 2005

Ease of setup— Up and running within 30 minutes— Legacy database under revision control

within a day— New design work within a week


ClioSoft’s SOS viaICstudio: Features

Unique workarea/sandbox per user— Access control of working database— Update to and from repository as needed— Use of previous versions

Seamless / integrated commands— Check-in, check-out— Version history— Update workarea— Tag and snapshot

Easily managed repository Command line access


ClioSoft SOS viaICstudio: Features

Snapshot— Tapeouts, ECOs, design milestones

Revision Search Order (RSO)— Uniquely update workarea— Coupled with tags, very powerful tool

Audit trail for project management Increase re-usability for new projects Multi-site collaboration


ClioSoft SOS viaICstudio: In progress

Take advantage of API + command line interface

Administrator feature support


Conclusion

Simplified management of custom design database at Stretch

Improved productivity Improved tracking of project progress


What is Data Management

The ability to manage the design data from start (specification) to finish (tape-out).

Allows a group of individuals to work together “efficiently & effectively”regardless of their geographical locations.

Manages all the revisions of the design data.

Provides a user the ability to go back in time to a previous point in the project.

Streamlines the design methodology.


ClioSoft Company Overview

Founded in 1997 Headquarters in Fremont, CA Mission: Improve design team

productivity Customer Base: Analog Devices, RF

Micro, Spansion, Tektronix, Marvell, Toshiba, Honeywell, Intersil, Stretch, and many more…


Streamlined SoC Design Process

Verification

RTL Design

Place & Route

SynthesisSpecification

ClioSoft’s Design Data Collaboration Platform

Analog Design


Meet your Design DM Challenges

Version Control of Files & Directories

Eas

y to

Set

up, U

se &

Adm

inis

ter

Extremely Large &Complex Data SetsExtremely Large &Complex Data Sets

Smart Cache & Express Update

Linked and Sandbox Workareas

Complex Flows &Multiple Tools

Complex Flows &Multiple Tools Event Triggers & Project Defined Attributes

Seamlessly Integrated with EDA Tools

Large GloballyDistributed Teams

Large GloballyDistributed Teams

Client-Server Architecture

Team Collaboration & Project Visibility

Composite Design Objects

Design DM Challenges ClioSoft DM Solutions

C API & Command Line Interface


ClioSoft Products

SOSDesign Data Collaboration Platform

SOS API + Command Line Interface

SOS viaICstudioDM in Mentor IC Flow

SOS viaDFIIDM in Cadence IC Flow DM in Other Flows


Mentor-ClioSoft Integration Architecture

MentorICstudio

SpecificationDigital DesignAnalog Design

VerificationLogic Optimization

Place & RouteTiming AnalysisLayout Editing

LVSDRC

Clio

So

ft S

OS

DM

AP

I

ClioSoftSOS

Data ManagementClient

Multi-Site CollaborationCheck-outCheck-in

Version HistoryTag & SnapshotBranch & Merge

Update WorkareaAudit Trail

Access ControlManage Hierarchy

Engineer’sWork Area

ProjectRepository

SOS PrimaryServer

Men

tor

Inte

rfac

e to

Clio

So

ft D

M

Local SiteCache

SOS CacheServer


Screenshot of Integration

Screenshot of the data management feature within ICstudio


Project Status

View the entire status of all the objects in the projects.

You can also narrow the list down to a selected few based on their status.


Check Out, Check In & Tag


Version History

Select a cell-view and view the entire history of the cell-view.

You can also roll-back a previous revision.


Conclusion & Benefits

A DM system can help:— Reduce “Time to Market”— Improve Quality— Reduce Development Cost

An Integrated DM system:— Allows Users to Work within a Familiar

Environment— Users Work at the Abstract Level of Libraries,

Cells, Views and Groups


Documents

Improving Team Productivity through Design Data Management ... · Improving Team Productivity through Design Data Management in ICstudio ... —CVS/RCS, Perforce RTL-Based ... —Check-in,