Completing the Design Kit

This chapter describes the process of finalizing an ADS Design Kit. Verification is an essential step in design kit creation if model files were translated from another simulator format. There is a standard method for packaging and distributing design kits that should be adhered to, and understanding the requirements of design kit support is also important. This chapter is mostly aimed at design kits that are being developed for distribution outside of the organization where they were developed.

Verifying a Design Kit

If a design kit contains translated models, verification of those models is an essential part of ADS design kit development and potentially the most time consuming part of creating a design kit. This is because there can be significant differences between how simulators work, due to the use of different equations or unique extensions to a base technology.

An engineer working on verification must understand the details of the model very well, and must take the time to understand how to correct for simulation differences. To assist in this verification process, Agilent Technologies has developed a model verification tool. Results of the verification can be saved and presented to your customers to give them confidence in the models and the design kit.

Assigning a Version

Each release of a design kit must have a version assigned to it for the design kit to qualify as following the standard. The version can be any string of your choice, but it must be registered in the template ads.lib file. For more information on the ads.lib file, refer to The ads.lib Template.

This version must be changed any time even one file in a design kit is changed, and the whole design kit should be repackaged and shipped as a single unit, to maintain the integrity of the complete set of files. This is very important for tracking down customer problems. If a customer has a problem with a design in ADS, the Agilent EEsof-EDA Customer Support department cannot investigate the issue without installing the exact version of the design kit that the customer has installed.

It is highly recommended that a revision control software package is used to store the design kit files during development and after release. This type of software tags each individual file with a version. The complete set of files can then be tagged at a release with a tag that is related to the version of the design kit seen by users.

Packaging for Distribution

To distribute your design kit, create a zip archive from the files. Zip is the only format recognized by the ADS design kit installation software. Zip and unzip are shipped as a standard part of ADS. The files are in the $HPEESOF_DIR/bin directory, including documentation in the zip.doc file. If your design kit is packaged in anything other than a .zip file, you must include installation instructions with the design kit and be prepared to support your customers if they have installation problems.

The design kit standard does not extend into the distribution method. It is up to each company to decide the best method for distributing its design kits. The typical method for foundry design kit distribution is from the foundry web page.

Once you have created and tested your design kit, there are a couple more steps you can take prior to zipping up the contents of the design kit.

1. Remove all .ael files. Check the de/ael and circuit/ael directories. If there is a .atf file for every .ael file, you can remove the .ael files. This will prevent users from modifying your code and changing the behavior of your design kit. It also hides the code you have built into your callbacks. One exception to this is the palette.ael file. Some users prefer to control the ordering of their palettes themselves. Since there is no user interface to control the palette configuration, setting the palette location in the palette.ael file is the only way to do this. There is no harm in shipping the palette.ael file.
2. Remove the circuit/ael directory. Only do this if you are using demand-loaded components and have combined all the ael files in this directory into a single .idf file.
3. Make sure that none of the files in your design kit are read-only. All files must have full write permission or the unzip procedure may fail. To set the write permission on all files:
   On unix, from the directory at the top of the design kit, enter the command: chmod -R 777 *
   On PC, open the Windows Explorer file browser and click the right mouse button on each directory and filename. Select Properties and ensure the Read-only attribute is unchecked.
4. Zip the design kit, including the top level directory. Make sure before you start the zip that you are pointing to the top level directory of the design kit, the one which bears the name of the design kit. If you are performing this process from the command line in a DOS or unix shell, cd to the directory above the design kit. To create the zip file my_design_kit.zip , enter the following command in a DOS shell or unix window:
   zip -r my_design_kit my_design_kit
5. To test the result, copy the zip file to a different directory and unzip it. The unzipped image should contain only one directory at the top level. All subdirectories will be one level below that (see Design Kit Directories). To test the kit as your customers will use it, refer to the Design Kit Installation and Setup documentation.
   
   

   Design Kit Directories

Supporting a Design Kit

The creator and supplier of a design kit is responsible for informing the users of the kit how to get help with the kit, including installation, component and model or data file problems. The Design Kit Installation and Setup documentation available in the ADS manual set can be used as a starting point for design kit users. Agilent Technologies customer support can help with general setup issues or simulation issues, but if the problem is specific to the design kit, the support personnel will need access to the design kit.

Your company is expected to have a dedicated resource for this purpose. This person will handle the support calls first. If the problem is determined to be with the ADS environment or simulator, then the call and the design kit can be forwarded to the Agilent EEsof EDA customer support department. The customer should not contact Agilent Technologies directly, since they will not have permission to share the design kit with the Agilent EEsof EDA customer support department. Additionally, if your customer works directly with Agilent Technologies and it is discovered that the problem is in the design kit, then you may not get the feedback that you need to make the corrections to the kit.