SoC System Management (SSM)

SSM is a hardware-software “subsystem” IP which decouples SoC system management functions, such as power, security, error recovery, and boot sequencing, from the specific design, and consolidates these tasks, promoting high reuse and faster hardware-software integration. Add SSM virtualization to you SoC architecture and save time and money.

SoC distributed computing, multicore architectures are complicating the management of system functions, such as power, security, error recovery and even boot sequencing. Solutions developed in-house are often designed specifically for the SoC configuration, which results in adding some combination of extra logic and additional software. The chart below shows the required capital and labor mixes needed to complete a SoC project:

Project Output Curve

SSM operates as a self-contained unit, called a subsystem, which decouples the system management functions from the specific design, and consolidates the tasks, promoting high reuse and faster hardware-software integration. SSM shifts downward the curve because the labor and capital required to engineer the in-house solution has been eliminated by using the new SSM technology. The downward shift represents the money and time saved.

SSM adds virtulization to the SoC architecture. Hardware level virtualization comes from the SSM's ability to operate as a self contained unit independent from the other SoC elements. SSM connects to the other IP cores using a simple hardware bus scheme, and executes commands sent to it to drive the necessary signal level transactions that change an IP cores' operation state. Software virtualization comes from SSM's ability to communicate its status to the other software on the SoC as it is performing the hardware level tasks. SSM provides API's and a kernel which is hosted on SSM's hardware core. Drivers connect SSM to other software on the SoC. SSM can also take command directives directly from the other software.

SSM uses a unique policy maker-enforcement approach to system management. SSM assumes any other resource on the SoC is a policy maker. SSM takes its commands in the form of a list, which are also called scripts. Scripts are placed into SSM's local RAM. SSM executes these scripts and communicates its status at hardware and software levels.

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