A user-configurable framework for testing prototype system-on-chip implementations

This paper describes a framework that combines user-configurable software with predefined logic designs for evaluation and testing of prototype system-on-chip implementations. The target platform is a rapid prototyping platform (RPP) based on the ARM integrator/AP development system. The software executes on an ARM microprocessor to control and monitor the system under test that is implemented in an attached Xilinx programmable logic chip. The software has been designed for academic research with distinct user-configurable features. Because it is a research tool, it can be modified and extended as necessary to best suit research needs. Predefined logic that can be integrated with the system under test provides the means for the user-configurable software to trace and analyze the behavior of the system under test. Ongoing research that is benefiting from this framework includes the development of a system-on-chip multiprocessing platform with pipelined processors.