Aptix Corporation Unveils Web-enabled IP Test Drive Product and IP Certification Program.

Business Editors/Technology Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 9, 2000

Designers can now get a high performance assessment of IP

functionality using a standard Internet browser 

Aptix Corporation today announced its IP Test Drive(TM) product and IP certification services.

IP Test Drive enables designers to remotely browse an IP repository, remotely select IP and remotely execute evaluation suites on the high-performance Aptix platform. IP Certification indicates that the IP is emulation-ready on the Aptix platform.

IP Test Drive is a highly secure, interactive IP repository that enables SoC designers to browse catalogs of Aptix Certified IP blocks, select and execute a high-performance interactive evaluation of the IP. The functional evaluation server is based on the Aptix reconfigurable system prototyping hardware, which brings the near real-time speed that provides the user a realistic feel for functional capability of the IP under evaluation. IP Test Drive utilizes Aptix's reconfigurable system prototyping hardware with standard engineering and debugging tools, such as waveform viewers and source code viewers where these features are authorized by the IP provider.

Aptix IP Certification allows IP providers to certify their IP and test suites by mapping them to the Aptix platform. In this way, Aptix can certify that the soft IP supports the functionality of the test bench, as claimed by the vendor. If Aptix verifies that the hardware-mapped IP performs as intended it will be deemed "Aptix Certified."

"The business of IP exchange is in its formative stage. By combining Aptix's block-based verification methodology with the power the Internet, we are bringing new benefits to a worldwide audience of IP providers and consumers," said Leif Rosqvist, COO of Aptix Corporation. "IP Test Drive enables the consumer to remotely execute an evaluation of the IP using a secure channel that exposes the IP functionality without having to commit expensive support resources."

The functional depth of IP targeted for vertical segments is increasing; evaluating functionality in "context" is quickly becoming an imperative. Aptix's unique block-based verification strategy enables soft IP, firm IP and bonded-out cores to be modeled as a unified application platform running at near real-time speeds. The Aptix hardware supports a hybrid interconnect scheme. It has dedicated bus modeling resources, it can model buses in programmable logic and it supports the traditional random or natural interconnect. This open-systems interconnect scheme does not impose any architectural limitations and avoids bus overhead and latency on the propagation of logic values for non-bused signals.

Using the IP Test Drive product, SoC developers are able to browse, select and evaluate Aptix certified IP and test suites. This real-time, interactive usage model provides remote teams with a high-performance "feel" for the IP or design functionality. IP Test Drive is highly secure and supports remote collaboration and assessment of functionality without dedicated support or risk to intellectual capital.

IP Test Drive is a complete product that can be purchased by commercial IP providers or by companies requiring a secure internal IP repository and prototyping system to manage IP. The first deployment of IP Test Drive will be on Aptix's Web-based emulation service, eSoCverify.com, which will serve as an online repository and high-performance evaluation server for Aptix Certified IP. The commercial IP Test Drive product will be available later this year. Prospective customers may contact an Aptix sales representative at 888/TO-APTIX (888/862-7249) for more information.

About Aptix Corporation

Aptix Corporation's products are used to verify system and system-on-chip (SoC) designs prior to integrated circuit (IC) and board tape-out and fabrication. Aptix's products utilize the block-based verification methodology, which provides a mechanism to map and verify individual design blocks incrementally and in parallel with the design creation process. This methodology shortens the net prototype creation time of achieving real-world operation of the prototype to the few days required to map and verify the last RTL block designed. Debugging designs becomes simple because the mapping process is both under the user's interactive control and follows the natural hierarchy of the design. This also makes tracing design problems back to the

source net list an intuitive process.

The company is privately held and is headquartered at 2880 North First Street, San Jose, Calif. 95134. Telephone: [phone], Fax: [phone]. Visit Aptix on the Web at http://www.aptix.com.

IP Test Drive is a trademark of Aptix Corporation.