The Evolution of USB4, Keeping Up with PCIe, and the Demand for Bandwidth: The Synopsys April Blog Roundup
By Editorial Team
We’re looking back on some of our top blogs for the month of April. As we march toward a new age of innovation, chip design will play an invaluable role in continuing our path to Smart Everything.
From adopting cloud computing to optimizing EDA workloads, our experienced thought leaders covered numerous timely topics in the semiconductor industry. Dive deeper to learn about the necessary shift in data center architectures, PCIe bandwidth solutions, and ushering in a new era of USB4.
For chip designers and users worldwide, the evolution of USB4 has led to complex breakthroughs and added convenience to daily life. From mass storage devices to AI edge devices, USB4 is the new frontier. Morten Christiansen explores how USB4 differs from USB 3.2, the attributes of the USB4 host, hub, dock, and device, and the exciting ways in which the industry’s first complete USB4 solution, Synopsys USB4 IP, will address the growing demand for faster data network and device interface speeds.
2. Newly Expanded Synopsys Headquarters to Foster Greater Workforce Collaboration
Next year, Synopsys employees will enjoy a new and improved workspace as the company consolidates its headquarters onto one 1.3-million square feet campus in Sunnyvale, Calif. In the LEED Gold-certified buildings, employees will have access to amenities such as open-air meeting spaces, outdoor workspaces, a cafeteria, a fitness center, and more. Barbara Donaldson, vice president of workplace resources, discusses how the new location will bring together our growing workforce of Bay Area employees in a single location and promote better agility and technological collaboration.
3. Catalyzing the Impossible — When Semiconductor Design Gets Its SaaS On
Taking center stage during his keynote at SNUG Silicon Valley 2022, Co-CEO, Co-Founder and Chairman Aart de Geus unveiled a partnership with Microsoft that led to the release of the first broad-scale SaaS offering for EDA: Synopsys Cloud. Garnering coverage from publications such as Forbes to Electronic Design, the new cloud-optimized EDA model set itself apart as the first pay-as-you-go SaaS approach for cloud-optimized semiconductor design and verification, uniquely designed for hyper flexibility.
4. How Bandwidth-Hungry Applications Are Changing Data Center Architectures
If data centers can no longer keep up with the demands of our Smart Everything world, it would lead to a steep drop in the intelligent technologies that make up our everyday lives. Manmeet Walia and Manuel Mota explore the shifts in data center architectures, discuss the optical technologies available to support the changes, and highlight why requirements for high bandwidth and low latency continue unabated.
5. What’s New in PCIe 6.0 — Beyond the Bandwidth
Priyank Shukla, Gary Ruggles, and Dana Neustadter delve into PCIe 6.0 — the most significant PCI Express protocol innovation to date — holding double the bandwidth over the previous generation. With the demands of advanced applications in high-performance computing (HPC), hyperscale data centers, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), automotive, the internet of things (IoT), and much more, the bandwidth demand curve is up and to the right, opening the door to a new era of technological innovation.
To view full-length versions of these articles along with other solutions-based pieces, visit our From Silicon to Software Blog.
