BusinessWire
August 01, 2005 10:04 AM US Pacific Timezone

Aldec Responds to an EDA Paradigm Shift with Sub-$200 High Performance HDL Simulator

HENDERSON, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2005--Aldec, Inc., a pioneer in mixed-language simulation and advanced design tools for FPGA and ASIC devices, announced today the release of Riviera-SNA (Simulator for Networking Applications). The new product is aimed at 64-bit Linux design verification server farms and is priced starting at less than $200 per seat. Riviera-SNA addresses changing customer needs as ESL and ASIC manufacturers require an increased number of high-performance simulators online.

EDA Paradigm Shift

Despite that over 70% of the design effort goes into design verification alone, there are still many ASIC re-spins and product cancellations due to poor design quality. To cope with these issues, the industry has seen a surge in automatic testbench generation tools. This surge has caused an explosion in the number of testbenches and, in turn, simulation time needed for verification. Because of this, current simulation farms with access to 100-500 simulators can no longer do a satisfactory job. The ESL, ASIC and large consumer goods manufacturers now need farms with 1,000 to 10,000 or more high-performance simulators online.

"A paradigm shift is taking place in design verification. Existing limitations to corporate simulator networks are becoming the next bottleneck in the design process," stated Stanley Hyduke, president of Aldec, Inc. "Because tools such as Synopsys(R) Vera(R) and Cadence(R) Specman Elite(TM) are being increasingly used for automatic testbench generation, engineers now need a way to verify hundreds, or even thousands, of testbenches in a fast and economical way."

"Simulation is entering a new phase as the primary product quality assurance tool," stated Eric Seabrook, director of marketing for Aldec. He added, "Riviera-SNA is a simulator product for networking applications that makes economical sense for the new era of automatic testbench generation. Riviera-SNA will be well-suited for simulation farms at medical, military, communications and consumer goods manufacturers."

Riviera-SNA Features

Riviera-SNA is a batch mode, common kernel, multi-language simulator. Based on Aldec's industry-proven VHDL and Verilog mixed-language simulation technology, the new product is aimed at supporting large verification teams seeking access to an unlimited number of simulators. Aldec has also added major gate and timing simulation speed enhancements to Riviera-SNA to allow even faster functional and timing design verification.

Riviera-SNA currently runs on AMD Opteron(TM) 64 with support for Solaris10 to follow shortly. It handles VHDL, Verilog, SystemVerilog and SystemC mixed-designs with support for PSL, OVA and SVA assertions. The product enables large multi-national companies to simulate more than 50,000 test cases within a 12-hour period at a very low cost.

Aldec is currently installing Riviera-SNA on a 10,000-node server farm for a renowned ASIC manufacturer that is supplying electronic devices to the automotive and wireless industries. This installation is the largest design verification server farm in the electronics industry. The installation should be completed and tested within the next month, a separate announcement will follow.

Pricing and Availability

Riviera-SNA is available now and is sold directly by Aldec in the U.S. as well as by authorized international distributors. The single language Riviera-SNA sells for $180 each as 1-year license in quantities of 10,000. In quantities of 1,000 pieces Riviera-SNA is under $400 each. Mixed-language support is also available at an additional cost. To receive a FREE evaluation copy of the basic Riviera, go to www.aldec.com/riviera.

About Aldec

Aldec, Inc., a 21-year EDA tool provider, is committed to delivering high-performance, HDL-based design verification software for UNIX, Linux and Windows platforms. Aldec is dedicated and responsive to serving its customers' needs. It is recognized that to be productive in today's market and to best serve customers in the future, new technologies and innovations that go beyond traditional methods of conducting business in the EDA industry must be pursued. Aldec is committed to customer service and is actively developing a company that will evolve along with its customers' designs. Additional information about Aldec is available at http://www.aldec.com.

Riviera is a trademark of Aldec, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.