WADE: a Web-based automated parallel CAD environment

Abstract

We present a novel framework of a Web-based automated parallel CAD environment. The goal of this project is to make available to the CAD community a growing number of design and test applications that support standard interfaces and execute efficiently in a parallel environment. The design files of a user working on a remote machine are transparently shipped to the local Compute Center, the relevant computation is performed in a parallel environment and then the results are returned back to the user. A job submission and scheduling tool ensures proper load balance and maximal usage of the various parallel machines. The whole process is done efficiently and transparently without the user having to bother about any low-level details. At present, a number of parallel CAD tools including a placement tool, a fault simulator and a VHDL simulator are supported. Results from a preliminary implementation are impressive and show the feasibility of the approach.