Addressing Test Generation Challenges for Configurable Processor Verification

Having only recently entered the mainstream, configurable processor technology already provides practical automated hardware design. In this paper, we address the challenges of verifying these software-constructed hardware artifacts and show that sophisticated automation is mandatory. We describe how a model-based test generation technology was integrated into the verification flow of a configurable processor design. We report on experiments with two complex verification tasks. In both experiments, the model-based technology has achieved much higher coverage than standard verification tools and required considerably fewer engineering resources. We conclude that processor-oriented test generation technology addresses well the challenges of verifying automated hardware design