Cadence's Alta Group rolls out tools

Electronic News, July 8, 1996

Sunnyvale, calif.--As part of its application-specific product focus, Cadence Design Systems' Alta Group introduced BONeS Designer 3.6, an enhanced version of its modeling and architectural design simulator; launched its EnWave wireless design product; and came out with new tools and libraries for the system-to ASIC, top-down design flow.

BONeS Designer, traditionally focused on network design and analysis, is now extended to focus on system-level design in three application-specific areas: networking, wireless and multimedia product design.

Alta's new release is the first since its acquisition of the BONeS technology and development team from Systems & Networks, originally spun off from Alta and funded by Cadence. A key enhancement of BONeS Designer includes a co-simulation link to Alta's Signal Processing WorkSystem (SPW) system-level design environment for wireless communication and multimedia product development. Additional features include an updated finite state machine (FSM) editor and new networking library modules.

Integration between BONeS and SPW leverages Alta's Convergence simulation architecture, giving designers a full-system, mixed-level verification environment.

BONeS Designer mixes graphical entry methods with language-based ones, while combining an interactive, high-level simulation environment with post-processing capabilities. BONeS network library modules were also expanded to include an ATM module, Ethernet switches, X.25 cloud module and a network analyzer module.

Available now, the enhanced BONeS Designer 3.6 is priced at $15,000, node-locked. It is available at no charge for BONeS Designer users under maintenance. The new library modules range from $1,000 to $10,000.

The EnWave Wireless Design Solution addresses the wireless communications product arena, specifically personal communication system (PCS), wireless local area network (LAN), advanced messaging, satellite communication and digital cellular standards like IS-95, IS-136 and GSM.

Built on Alta's Convergence simulation architecture, EnWave includes: Alta's core modeling and simulation environment; application-tuned libraries and analysis tools; standard verification environments; and services (training, methodology, design, and modeling).

A key benefit is EnWave's enabling of customers to re-use previous designs or access off-the-shelf intellectual property (IP). EnWave delivers a host of reusable and flexible building blocks tuned for wireless applications.

EnWave's configurations depend on specific customer needs, but all include: wireless standard verification environments; communication libraries; and radio frequency library. EnWave is available now, with prices ranging from $88,000 to $157,500.

Alta's third announcement include the Fixed-Point Communications Library, the Filter Module Generator and a new release of its Hardware Design System (HDS), a combination supporting a communications design flow from floating-point communications design to fixed-point design, and on to ASIC implementation through synthesis and library mapping, all geared to enhance the new EnWave product.

Available now, the Fixed-Point Communications Library is $8,000 and requires users to own HDS. The Filter Module Generator is also currently available at no charge to Filter Design Systems users under maintenance. The Filter Design System is $4,000. HDS 3.5.1 is available now at no cost for users under maintenance, with new users buying in at $10,000.