Executive summary
A high ‑speed Ethernet switch SoC program requires system‑level validation to meet demanding performance, scalability, and reliability requirements. The design needed to support large‑scale packet processing and sustained high‑throughput operation under real‑world traffic conditions.
Traditional simulation approaches were insufficient to validate system behavior at scale or to uncover performance bottlenecks early in the development cycle. The program required an approach that enabled ‑long running stress scenarios, deep visibility for debugging, and faster execution to accelerate verification cycles. The objective was to validate system performance comprehensively while reducing overall validation time and risk.
Key Highlights
- System performance and stress testing performed by injecting millions of packets
- Faster bug exposure and reduced simulation cycles
- Replacement of stable RTL blocks with simplified Verilog models to reduce design size
- Achieved up to 10 times performance improvement through RTL simplification
- Balanced static and dynamic signal capture for speed and visibility
- Coordinated with ‑third-party EDA vendors to debug ‑tool level issues and identify workarounds
