The EDA in cloud: Opportunities and challenges in the cloud computing era

The EDA industry has been looking at cloud computing in a careful and long-term perspective, and it is most fitting to take a stroll through the "cloud" of Electronic design automation (EDA in the clouds) to describe the process. While this may sound like a general idea, cloud computing is a shared resource, software, and information provided through the Web, so there is no general or general statement. Accelerate the development momentum, provide challenges and opportunities is the development trend of this industry.

The gray-haired man like me remembers the bulk of computing in computing, the early cloud computing, and looking back on EDA history, where hardware designers rented computer rooms from Control Data Corporation for their simulations, another example of early cloud computing applications. Ten years ago, we called the Internet EDA or Internet CAD, but these two statements are now lost in the history of the river.

It may be that the technology has soared, perhaps our expectations have changed, or just because the well-defined services have become a reality, but cloud computing is here, really. And the threshold of the cloud computing market is low, which is certainly more advantageous for EDA, which is unwilling to invest in expensive server farms or computer equipment. Amazon (http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/2467.html ">amazon"), IBM, Google, Hewlett-Packard and other companies have now provided a very attractive share computing services.

Some types of EDA applications can perfectly support the cloud and allow the project team to significantly shorten the design cycle. For example: Both analog and checkin are computational resource-intensive tasks, but do not require a great deal of interaction among designers. In other words, "cloud" has a balance point that applies to software tools that work in bulk mode in the old School Computer Center mode. They can be used in the "cloud" can quickly increase on demand computing resources to achieve a significant speed of operation. However, EDA synthesis and physical synthesis are less likely to be technically used on a large number of CPUs, making cloud computing not a good choice from the start.

The cloud computing strategy provides a way to tap into niche markets (niche harsh) for aspiring small EDA companies and low-profile, amorphous semiconductor companies by lowering the threshold. By choosing a cloud strategy, the company will be able to outsource the information Technology (IT) department, save resources and focus on developing the company's core competencies.

The benefits of larger EDA institutions cannot be seen on the surface, taking into account that they have a wide range of problems to overcome. EDA's ignorance of the way cloud computing licensing fees is a problem. It is customary to charge for annual permits or years of permits, and the unintended income paid on demand (pay Per use) has not yet been made. This will change when we find a feasible solution for our industry, which may also mean a radical change in EDA's proven business model.

Another problem that EDA faces is the difficulty of overcoming the idea that the company's team is unwilling to put its precious intellectual property in uncharted territory. However, for many companies, security is only a secondary issue when the attractiveness of cost-effectiveness is adequate. Of interest to cloud computing strategies are smaller design companies that find it attractive to add resources on demand (Resources-on-demand) business models. These companies spend only two weeks a year on tools, so they only buy the resources they need and do not pay for the resources they don't need.

This year's Design Automation Conference (DAC) launched a discussion on cloud computing, enthusiastic participants and a lively atmosphere, a clear signal of the rise of the new trend. During the presentation, the Assembly also provided several cloud computing demonstrations. Look forward to next year there will be papers, seminars, manuals and other forms of richer content. Attendees will also see cloud computing providers at the show, and don't forget that they are also part of the design ecosystem.

EDA must recognize the broad needs of the current project team, develop existing technologies and accordingly innovate new technologies to help them equip the necessary differentiated solutions within time windows and cost requirements. Cloud computing strategy Our first step forward. The goal of cloud computing strategy is to integrate the creativity of Best-of-breed Technologies, design expertise, and design teams to deliver profitable, differentiated wafers.

Because cloud computing does not apply to all designer applications or EDA tools, cloud computing is hovering around this, which is why I think EDA is walking in the cloud.

Author: Patrick Groeneveld

Chief technical expert of micro-Agile Code Design Automation Co., Ltd., chairman of 2012 Annual Design Automation Conference (DAC).

(Responsible editor: The good of the Legacy)