System Design Methodology of UltraSPARC ™ -I

Increasing complexity of microprocessor-based systems puts pressure on a product´s time-to-market. We describe a methodology used in designing the system interface of UltraSPARC-I. This methodology allowed us to define the system interface architecture, verify the functionality, perform timing and noise analysis and do the physical board design in parallel. This concurrency permitted rapid implementation of the microprocessor and the system.