Platform Architect

Quickly address challenges of evolving algorithms, highly parallel compute and high memory requirements with Platform Architect

• Automated generation of workloads from AI frameworks, including an AI operator library for Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) modeling
• AI centric HW architecture model library consisting of Virtual Processing Units (VPUs) with specific parameters to represent AI compute and DMA engines, relevant interconnect and memory subsystem models, and example NVDLA performance models to rapidly represent custom AI accelerators
• AI specific analysis views to determine memory and processing rooflines

Platform Architect enables architects to create task-driven workload models of their end-product application for early architecture analysis.

• Generic task models are easily configured to create a hierarchical workload model of the application, called a task-graph
• The application workload model is mapped onto a model of the hardware platform, based on Virtual Processing Units (VPUs) and other system TLM performance models from the rich Platform Architect model library
• Platform and workload analysis enable hardware-software partitioning to be optimized for best system performance well before the application software is available
• Task graphs are fully reusable as elastic task-driven traffic generators for Interconnect and Memory Subsystem Performance Optimization

Trace-driven traffic generation enables architects to focus on the challenges associated with the optimization and performance validation of the backbone SoC interconnect and global memory subsystem.

• Dynamic application workloads are modeled using traffic generation, enabling early measurement of system performance and power before software is available
• Simulation sweeping enables parametric collection of analysis data, exploring all workload scenarios against a range of architecture configurations
• Powerful tools for analysis visualization provide graphical transaction tracing and statistical analysis views that enable you to identify bottlenecks, determine their root-cause and examine the sensitivity that system performance and power may have to individual or combined parameter settings
• The result is an executable specification used to carefully dimension the SoC interconnect and memory subsystem to support the latency, bandwidth, and power requirements of all SoC components, under all operating conditions

After exploration the model of the candidate architecture can be refined to replace the trace-driven and task-driven traffic generators with cycle-accurate processor models.

• This enables architects to validate the candidate architecture using the available performance critical software
• Software and hardware analysis views can be visualized together to provide unique system-level visibility to measure performance and power and confirm goals are met

Complete IEEE 1666-2011SystemC TLM-2.0 Standards-based Environment
Synopsys Platform Architect is a native SystemC environment fully compatible with the IEEE 1666-2011 SystemC TLM-2.0 Language Reference Manual (LRM). It supports the assembly, simulation and analysis of models containing mixed levels of abstraction including:

• SystemC transaction-level models using IEEE 1666-2011 TLM-2.0 and Accellera Systems Initiative (ASI) TLM industry standards, and the open Synopsys SystemC Modeling Library (SCML) API library for highly reusable TLM-2.0 based peripheral modeling
  
• Mixed SystemC / HDL co-simulation with Synopsys VCS and other third party HDL simulation environments enabling reuse of RTL memory controllers and other IP components
  
• Plus, models used in Platform Architect for architecture analysis can be reused as appropriate to accelerate the creation of virtual platforms with Synopsys Virtual Prototypes for software development and software-driven verification