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© 2003 StarCore LLC. All rights reserved. Specifications and information herein are subject to change without notice. All trade names, trademarks,
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Document number 10080-01 (18 February 2003)
Identify the needs of your organization
Identify why your organization needs a DSP core and what you
expect from it. Consider the target applications for all business
units, the range of expected performance, and the type of software
that will run on the DSP (for example, pure signal processing
code or a combination of signal processing and control
code). Take into account future needs and product roadmaps.
Allocate a realistic budget
Don’t forget that you get what you pay for. Cheap intellectual
property (IP) vendors tend to give poor support and will not
stay in business long, because they can’t generate sustainable
streams of revenue.
Your investment in software over the years is much greater
than your investment in the core license. Don’t take a chance
that your selected IP vendor will disappear and take with it the
DSP architecture you purchased; you would be forced to undertake
a software migration challenge, while your competitors
leap forward with their industry-standard architectures.
Select an IP vendor
When selecting a licensor of DSP intellectual property, consider
the following points:
Does the IP vendor offer a broad choice of cores that match
your target power/performance/price combination? Is the DSP
architecture scalable to meet your current and future needs?
Will your investment in software development be protected by
a compatible roadmap? Is the IP 100% (as opposed to just
99.9%) synthesizable? Is the IP vendor willing and able to provide
the necessary technical support? Will the IP vendor be in
business next year? ...and five years from now?
Perform your due diligence
Benchmark the target DSP core with examples from your target
applications. Don’t limit your investigation to industry-standard
benchmarks, which may not be good predictors of performance
in your system.
Verify that the IP can be incorporated easily in your EDA
and design environment. Ideally, integrating the core in your
SoC will not require use of special cells. Scan insertion and testability
should not pose any unusual challenges. In addition, the
most flexible DSP cores do not require dual-ported memories or
special “tag” memories for the caches.
Ensure that the DSP soft macro can be quickly “hardened”
in any process and with any library, without appreciable loss of
performance, even when the core is subject to real-world memory
load conditions.
Finally, check the IP vendor’s references and verify that the
total cost of ownership—not just the price—is right.
Identify a pilot project
Set a realistic first target to achieve tangible results in a short
time, with minimum risk. A success story in the early phases of
a DSP core adoption will build the confidence of both management
and technical staff. If possible, select a pilot project to
develop a real-world product, rather than a test chip, to accumulate
the most valuable experience in a short time.
Train your staff
Dedicate the necessary time and budget to train your staff—
your most valuable resource. Your training investment will pay
two healthy dividends: software developed according to the
best coding practices, and a cost-effective SoC implementation.
Your IP vendor can arrange training classes to transfer the
know-how in the shortest time.
Take advantage of your IP vendor’s expertise
Your IP vendor is your strongest ally in your quest for the right
product in the shortest time. Your IP vendor is the most precious
resource for technical and business information. Don’t
hesitate to ask for help on software development and SoC integration
challenges.
Subscribe to the appropriate level of technical support that
your organization needs. The best IP vendors offer several tiers
of service, to match your needs. Keep in mind that one size does
not fit all.
Ask your IP vendor to help you to achieve the best results
when hardening a macro, for the shortest time-to-revenue.
Although nobody can do miracles, if you set realistic
expectations, you will be able to accomplish more with fewer
resources.
Develop a relationship with your IP vendor
A close, long-term relationship with your IP vendor can prove
to be a powerful strategic weapon in your arsenal.
Plan ahead and engage your IP vendor early on next-generation
projects. State your requirements in a clear and realistic
manner; offer to provide feedback on a new DSP core thatʹs in
the works. Volunteer to be a lead customer of the new core--this
will put you in pole position in the race with your competitors.
Think of your core IP vendor as an extension of your own
R&D team. Your competitors can license the same IP, but they
can’t develop a strong relationship with your IP vendor overnight.
Leverage your IP vendor’s partner network
A number of partner companies already cooperate with your IP
vendor to offer software development tools, application software,
operating systems, complementary IP, development
boards, and services. Before you decide to go for in-house
development, consider buying from one of these partner companies.
You are likely to find out that you don’t need to “reinvent
the wheel,” when you can simply buy it.
Protect your investment
Once you have invested in a DSP core license, keep your IP current
by subscribing to your IP vendorʹs maintenance program.
When you need to upgrade to higher-performance cores or
differentiate your product line with lower-cost cores, check
with your IP vendor for upgrade conditions. You might be able
to license several cores from the same architectural family for a
fraction of their cumulative list price.
After you decide to buy versus make a DSP core, focus on
reaping the financial benefits for your company; your key competencies
are differentiating your SoC in the market and adding
system-level value for your customers.
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Ten Steps to a Successful DSP Core Integration
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