Virtutech Hybrid Simulation
Virtutech, Inc. recently announced a hybrid simulation capability that supports multiple levels of model abstraction within its Simics simulation environment. The capability provides a fully reversible and deterministic simulation environment for easy experimentation with partitioning, parallelizing and optimizing systems and applications. The first implementation of this capability supports the advanced eight-core QorIQ P4080 processor from Freescale Semiconductor.
The Virtutech hybrid simulation approach enables engineers to analyze, debug, profile, and execute their applications in a fast, TLM-based, functionally accurate model and then switch to the cycle-accurate model when they want to perform precise performance analysis on critical sections of their application. In addition, by incorporating the golden model from a semiconductor vendor such as Freescale, developers have the benefit of using an accurate timing model provided by the source of the SoC instead of a less valid one developed by a third party.
A crucial advantage of the Simics hybrid solution is its ability to mix detailed and fast models both temporally and spatially. This allows software developers to mix models at different levels of abstraction within the same simulation session and to switch between them in order to instantaneously analyze specific areas of interest. Using a hybrid solution also enables developers to run a full operating system on the cycle-accurate model without having to model all peripheral devices in full clock-cycle-accurate detail. In addition, Simics enables the user to add fast models of other machines and pure network simulators into the same virtual network as the hybrid device.
More info: Virtutech
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