CRAVE: An advanced constrained random verification environment for SystemC

A huge effort is necessary to design and verify complex systems like System-on-Chip. Abstraction-based methodologies have been developed resulting in Electronic System Level (ESL) design. A prominent language for ESL design is SystemC offering different levels of abstraction, interoperability and the creation of very fast models for early software development. For the verification of SystemC models, Constrained Random Verification (CRV) plays a major role. CRV allows to automatically generate simulation scenarios under the control of a set of constraints. Thereby, the generated stimuli are much more likely to hit corner cases. However, the existing SystemC Verification library (SCV), which provides CRV for SystemC models, has several deficiencies limiting the advantages of CRV. In this paper we present CRAVE, an advanced constrained random verification environment for SystemC. New dynamic features, enhanced usability and efficient constraint-solving reduce the user effort and thus improve the verification productivity.