TABLE OF CONTENTS A major theme within the Verification Cycle is learning from previous verification efforts. Within the Verification Cycle, escape analysis and the feedback loop enable this learning. However, experience is also critical for success. Therefore, this chapter presents three case studies from our own verification efforts.
The Line Delete, Branch History Table (BHT), and Network Processor examples vary in approach and focus. However, together, these case studies provide valuable lessons on creating verification environments, following the Verification Cycle, providing robust drivers and checkers, hierarchical verification, and re-use techniques.
The verification cycle has been discussed in its entirety. Along the way, many examples were presented. In this chapter we discuss three industry case studies that illustrate the principles presented.
These case studies illustrate the yin and yang of stimulus and checking components from Chapter 2, coverage and its usage to bias test cases from Chapters 5 and 7, error-handling verification from Chapter 9, system verification and verification component re-use from Chapter 10, and finally regressions and escape analysis from Chapter 13.
This case study helps illustrate the strategies of verification as described in Chapter 2 as well as error-handling verification as described in Chapter 9. It shows how the marriage of drivers and checkers is required to perform verification successfully. Other references to Chapter 2 include the verification cycle and levels of verification hierarchy. It also demonstrates the ability to mimic real-world scenarios (hard errors as described in...
