Nuclei and Lauterbach Successfully Complete World’s First RISC-V Data Trace Solution

Data Trace serves as a fundamental mechanism in advanced debugging, facilitating the real-time recording of processor data access addresses and values. This capability is essential for isolating non-deterministic software anomalies, optimizing memory bandwidth, and executing system-level power analysis. During the validation process, Nuclei’s processor IP exhibited rigorous compatibility and performance, achieving full compliance with the Data Trace specifications outlined in the E-Trace V2.0 standard.

Lauterbach’s TRACE32® solutions consist of the universal PowerView debugging and tracing software as well as debug and trace accelerator modules. While Lauterbach’s intelligent PowerDebug modules provide highest download speeds and smallest response times for efficient debugging and test automation, PowerTrace real-time trace modules provide full insights of what the CPUs and other cores are doing without impacting its real-time performance in any way. Trace analysis including code coverage measurements can support bringing complex embedded designs to market faster, safer, and more reliably than ever.

The collaboration between Nuclei and Lauterbach significantly propels the RISC-V ecosystem by establishing a standardized debugging benchmark, encouraging broader adoption in safety-critical industries such as automotive and industrial control. It ensures that RISC-V designs can meet the rigorous verification requirements of high-end commercial applications.

The technical specifications of this solution are characterized by the following attributes:

o Industry Precedence & Ecosystem Advancement: As the inaugural implementation of RISC-V Data Trace in CPU IP, this development mitigates the reliance on traditional architectures for advanced debugging, thereby augmenting the viability of the RISC-V architecture in high-performance sectors.

o Protocol Compliance: The solution encompasses the complete Data Trace specifications of the E-Trace V2.0 protocol, ensuring data integrity and standardization, which permits seamless integration with Lauterbach’s TRACE32® industry-standard debug interface.

o Comprehensive Instruction Set Support: The architecture extends support beyond standard Load/Store instructions to include Atomic Memory Operations (AMO) and Control and Status Register (CSR) instructions. This allows for granular analysis and backtracking of data interactions in complex environments, including multi-core synchronization and system configuration.

“This world-first RISC-V Data Trace solution marks a major milestone for both Nuclei and the entire RISC-V ecosystem. By delivering fully E-Trace V2.0 compliant debug capabilities, we fill a critical gap in the RISC-V ecosystem, help developers tackle complex debugging challenges, and better serve safety-critical sectors including automotive and industrial control. This achievement would not be possible without our close partnership with Lauterbach and our extensive base of customers as well.  We will keep advancing RISC-V technologies to create greater value for all Nuclei users and all RISC-V users.", says Jianying Peng, CEO of Nuclei System Technology

“The world’s first solution for RISC-V data tracing demonstrates that Lauterbach and Nuclei are at the forefront of technical development for RISC-V solutions”, says Stephan Lauterbach, Co-Founder and CTO of Lauterbach GmbH. “It lifts the verification of complex RISC-V based embedded systems to the next level, speeding-up product time-to-market”.

The solution demonstrates the maturity of Nuclei System Technology’s processor IP within Lauterbach’s advanced TRACE32® toolchain environment and is designed to optimize the development cycle of RISC-V-based SoCs and accelerate product time-to-market.

About Nuclei System Technology

Founded in 2018, Nuclei System Technology has been dedicated to the research and development of RISC-V CPU IP and corresponding platform solutions, establishing itself as a leading representative in the domestic RISC-V sector. Starting from scratch with a strong commitment to in-house innovation, Nuclei has built four general-purpose CPU IP product lines (N/U and NX/UX) and three vertical-specific CPU IP product lines (NS, NA, and NI). To date, Nuclei’s RISC-V CPU IP has been officially licensed by over 300 customers worldwide, spanning a wide range of fields including Al, automotive electronics, 5G communications, network security, storage, industrial control, MCU, and loT.

For more information, please visit https://www.nucleisys.com/

Press contact:
Tianbin(Neil) Fan
Nuclei System Technology
8/F, Sandhill Central
No. 505 ZhangJiang Road
Pudong Dis, Shanghai

E-Mail: info.international@nucleisys.com