Mentor supports Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC Platform with updated embedded platform release

Targets industrial, medical, automotive and aerospace markets

July 27, 2017 -- Mentor, a Siemens business, today announced an update to its market-leading embedded product portfolio with broad coverage for the Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC ZCU102 Evaluation Kit. This release provides developers with support for the unique combination of multicore processors on the MPSoC development platform with Mentor Embedded Linux, Nucleus RTOS, Mentor Embedded Hypervisor, Code Sourcery tools and Android support. With this release, Mentor Embedded multicore solutions provide the industry’s most comprehensive support for the MPSoC to facilitate the development of complex heterogeneous multicore systems.

The Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC represents the next generation of multicore platforms for compute-intensive, safety and security systems. Mentor’s embedded software and tools portfolio provides MPSoC developers with a one-stop-shop for all their software needs.

“This update to the Mentor embedded portfolio delivers comprehensive runtime and tools that allow MPSoC developers to more easily unlock the potential of Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoCs,” stated Simon George, director, product marketing, Embedded Software at Xilinx. “The unique combination of cores on the Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC requires advanced runtime solutions and development tools that support the complex heterogeneous systems, which is exactly what Mentor delivered.”

Mentor Embedded Linux (MEL) is a commercially supported, extensible Linux platform based on the industry standard Yocto Project™. Running in over 3 billion devices, the Nucleus® real-time operating system (RTOS) is a proven, highly-scalable real-time operating system designed to meet the most rigorous performance metrics. Both MEL and the Nucleus RTOS can run natively on the MPSoC Cortex-A53 cores in Asymmetric Multi-Processing (AMP) mode, across all Cortex-A53 cores in Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP) mode, or as a guest OS on Mentor Embedded Hypervisor.

The Mentor Embedded Multicore Framework (MEMF) allows developers to configure and deploy multiple operating systems across heterogeneous Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC processors with or without a hypervisor. The framework supports seamless inter-process communication between MEL, Nucleus RTOS, and bare metal. With the Mentor Embedded Multicore Framework, MEL as the master operating system, can boot and shut-down other MEL instances running on Cortex-A53 cores, and Nucleus RTOS or bit manipulation engine (BME)-based applications running on Cortex-A53 or Cortex-R5 cores.

The Mentor Embedded Hypervisor (MEHV) is small-footprint type 1 hypervisor designed to meet the design requirements for open source flexibility, real-time performance, and adherence to industry standards. The framework of MEHV supports Cortex-A53 multicore processor architectures in AMP, SMP or a combination of both. The product portfolio includes Sourcery Codebench to provide a single development environment for all the MPSoC cores and runtimes based on GCC/G++ tools. Sourcery CodeBench with integrated Sourcery Analyzer provides developers with a development environment to create and optimize embedded Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ Linux, RTOS, hypervisor, and bare metal based applications.

“Early on we recognized the potential of the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC and the opportunity to leverage our market leading heterogeneous technology to enable developers with a comprehensive solution,” stated Scot Morrison, general manager, Platforms Business Unit, Mentor Embedded Systems Division. “While presenting opportunities for system consolidation, heterogeneous multicore solutions present unique complexities that can more easily be overcome with a single source solution so developers can realize a faster time for both development and system optimization while reducing risk.”

Product Availability

The new Mentor Embedded technologies supporting the Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC ZCU102 Evaluation Kit are available now. For more information, visit the website: https://www.mentor.com/embedded-software/semiconductors/xilinx/.

About Mentor Embedded

The Mentor Embedded Systems Division enables embedded development for a variety of applications in numerous market segments including IoT, automotive, industrial, medical, smart energy, and consumer electronics. Embedded developers can create systems with the latest processors and micro-controllers with commercially supported and customizable Linux®-based solutions including the industry-leading Sourcery CodeBench and Mentor Embedded Linux products. For real-time systems, developers can take advantage of the highly scalable, safety-certifiable Nucleus RTOS. For more information, visit www.mentor.com/embedded.

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation, a Siemens business, is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services, and award-winning support for the world’s most successful electronic, semiconductor, and systems companies. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. Web site: http://www.mentor.com.