Functional verification of an embedded network component by co-simulation with a real network

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a technique for verification of the functionality of a hardware networking component by including an existing real-world network into the simulation loop. As a consequence, there is no need for a high-level network model to create the system simulation. Instead, third party hardware/software can be used for the crosschecking of the design's functionality. The technique is most suitable for C/C++ based design methodologies which can directly access the operating system (OS) network interface functions. Because of that, the integration of a real network into the simulation loop can be straightforward. We demonstrate the method on verification of a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) hardware implementation used in a design of an embedded web-camera with direct Internet connectivity.