A case study of Compaq´s simulation environment migration to Windows NT

Providing a Windows NT design environment is possible now that electronic design automation (EDA) applications are available on Windows NT, and Intel-based systems are available that provide the needed configurations and performance to run Verilog regressions. This paper describes the approach Compaq took to implement a Windows NT compute farm for running batch Verilog regressions. During a six-month period, approximately 225,000 EDA jobs ran in a UNIX compute farm at Compaq. Fifty percent of these jobs are Verilog regressions. By deploying a Windows NT compute farm for running Verilog regressions, Compaq can provide increased complete capacity for a heavily used application. The topics covered in this paper include the migration strategy used at Compaq and the results achieved to date. Also, information is provided about Compaq´s current design environment that provides the framework for understanding the direction taken during the migration. This case study provides a methodology for other organizations to follow in their transition to a Windows NT design environment