Cadence 6.1 Setup

Cadence 6.15 Setup

This tutorial is designed to help students set up their accounts in order to run Cadence 6.15 with the NCSU Cadence Design Kit.

Setup

Once you have successfully logged into your account on a Linux machine, you need to take a few steps before you can start using the IC design tools. The following steps will only need to be perfromed once.

• Set Bash Shell for your account
  • Login to http://www.asw.iastate.edu
  • Click on: Manage user <net-id>
  • Select: "/bin/bash"
  • Click on: Update Shell
  • Click on: Logout
  • Note: These changes will take overnight to take effect. Until that time you will need to set your shell manually by typing bash at the command prompt. You will only need to do this for the first day and then your shell will default to the Bash Shell.

• Creat a .bashrc File

You will need to create a ~/.bashrc file which contains the following 3 lines:

if [ -f /etc/bashrc ]; then
   ./etc/bashrc
fi

• After making sure that these lines are present in the ~/.bashrc file, you need to source this file. You can do this by typing

source ~/.bashrc

• Create a ~/.software File
  • The Computer Support Group (CSG) has made a variety of software available for student use. To enable the use of different software tools, every user needs to have a special file, the .software file located in their home directory (i.e., ~/.software). Using a text editor of your choice, create the new file ~/.software and enter the following lines:

IC
MMSIM

These entries enable the use of the IC design tools with the Spectre circuit simulator. You will need to close your terminal and open a new terminal in order for these changes to take effect. If other tools are needed (i.e., tools for automatic place-and-route) you will have to edit this file and add the appropriate entreis as directed by your TA.

• Create a ~/.bash_profile File
  • Create a file named ~/.bash_profile and add the following lines to that file:

if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then
   . ~/.bashrc
fi

BASH_ENV=$HOME/.bashrc
USERNAME=""
export USERNAME BASH_ENV PATH DISPLAY

This file is where you will add any other types of customization to your shell, such as aliases etc.

New Project Setup

The following steps should be taken for every new project.

• Creat a Project Directory
  • It is best to organize your work into multiple directories with each directory being dedicated to a specific class or research project. We will create a new directory where all of our libraries will be stored. Type the following lines at the command line:

mkdir <proj dir>
cd <proj dir>

• You must now copy some Cadence configuration files into your newly created project directory. You will need to copy several files by typing the following commands at the prompt:

cp /remote/ncsu_oa/local/cdssetup/cdsenv ~/<proj dir>/.cdsenv
cp /remote/ncsu_oa/local/cdssetup/cdsinit ~/<proj dir>/.cdsinit
cp /remote/ncsu_oa/local/cdssetup/cds.lib ~/<proj dir>/cds.lib
cp /remote/ncsu_oa/local/cdssetup/display.drf ~/<proj dir>/display.drf

Other

1. Edit your .software file (loading the environment setting of the desired tools) in your home directory using

gedit ~/.software

It should include at least MMSIM, ASSURA and IC. CALIBRE and IUS may be included if they are needed. A sample file may look like this

MMSIM
CALIBRE
IUS
ASSURA
IC

2. Edit your .cdsenv file (setting the default setup of your Cadence environment) in your home directory (Skip this if you are using Hspice simulator.)

gedit ~/.cdsenv

and add the following scripts to .cdsenv

;--------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Analog Artist Simulation Environment Defaults
; FORMAT: tool[.partition] varName type value private {choices, minmax} comment
;--------------------------------------------------------------------------
asimenv.startup       simulator       string  "spectre"

;--------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Graphics Editor and Design Editor Environment Variables
;--------------------------------------------------------------------------
graphic       drfPath string  "/usr/local/cadence/iclocal/local/cdssetup/display.drf"

;--------------------------------------------------------------------------
; spectre environment variables
;--------------------------------------------------------------------------
spectre.envOpts    modelFiles       string  "$CDK_DIR/models/spectre/standalone/tsmc25N.m \
                                             $CDK_DIR/models/spectre/standalone/tsmc25P.m \
                                             $CDK_DIR/models/spectre/standalone/tsmc35N.m \
                                             $CDK_DIR/models/spectre/standalone/tsmc35P.m \
                                             $CDK_DIR/models/spectre/standalone/ami06N.m \
                                             $CDK_DIR/models/spectre/standalone/ami06P.m"

spectre.envOpts controlMode string "batch"

to set the default simulator as Spectre and set the correct model files (TSMC0.25um, TSMC0.35um, and AMI0.5um CMOS) for NCSU PDK.

You may also add the following script to setup the default directory to store simulation results.

asimenv.startup       projectDir      string  "~/cadence/simulation"

3. If you are using NCSU PDK, copy cdsinit file to your working directory

cd <path to your working directory>
cp $CDK_DIR/cdssetup/cdsinit .cdsinit

4. If you need to use Calibre, add the following script to your .cdsinit file in the working directory.

;; Calibre setup

;; Load Calibre Skill Interface if environment var is set
mgc_home=getShellEnvVar("MGC_HOME")

if( mgc_home!=nil && isDir(mgc_home) && isReadable(mgc_home) then
    ; Load calibre.skl for Cadence versions 4.4 and greater
    load(strcat(mgc_home "/shared/pkgs/icv/tools/queryskl/calibre.skl"))
else
    ; MGC_HOME is not set
    printf("Calibre Skill Interface not loaded.\n")
)
;; End of Calibre Skill Interface

5. If you ever use $CDS_SITE in your configuration files, define CDS_SITE in your .basrhc file. (You probably need it if you use Cadence 5.4 in the linux servers before July 2011.)

gedit ~/.bashrc

and add

export CDS_SITE /usr/local/cadence/iclocal/local