IKOS saves Hughes time in satellite program
Experts at Hughes Space and Communications Co. in El Segundo, Calif., wanted to save time in simulating the verification of multichip module (MCM) and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designs for satellite programs. They found the speed they needed in the IKOS mixed-level simulation and acceleration tools and services from IKOS Systems Inc. in Cupertino, Calif.
"IKOS enabled us to simulate an entire MCM at the gate level, which lowered the risk before entering manufacturing," says Brian Clebowicz, operations manager at Hughes. Without IKOS, Hughes designers would have been forced to simulate ASICs using a higher level of C which would have increased opportunity for error, he says.
Before IKOS, Hughes engineers took two weeks to do MCM simulations on HP workstations, Clebowicz says. With IKOS they were able to simulate an MCM in half a day.
Under the terms of the contract, IKOS will provide the NSIM-64 hardware accelerator with capacity for as many as four million gates along with Voyager CSX, a high-performance mixed-level software simulation solution which is seamlessly integrated with the IKOS NSIM hardware accelerator.
The IKOS Consulting Services were used to support the Hughes integration of the IKOS NSIM hardware accelerator and Voyager mixed-level VHDL simulator into its design environment. - J.M.
For more information on IKOS Systems, contact Cheryl Lingo by phone at 408-366-8535, by mail at 19050 Pruneridge Ave., Cupertino, Calif., 95014, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.ikos.com.
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