riscvOVPsim

A Complete, Fully Functional, Configurable RISC-V Simulator

riscvOVPsim has moved to its own GitHub repository.

It can now be found here: github.com/riscv-ovpsim.

For the enhanced version, please download from ovpworld.org/riscv-ovpsim-plus.

The simulators implement the full and complete functionality of the RISC-V Foundation's public User and Privilege specifications.

The simulators are command line configurable to enable/disable all current optional and processor specific options.

The simulators are developed, licensed and maintained by Imperas Software and are fully compliant to the OVP open standard APIs.

As a member of the RISC-V Foundation community of software and hardware innovators collaboratively driving RISC-V adoption, Imperas has developed the riscvOVPsim simulators to assist RISC-V adopters to become compliant to the RISC-V specifications. The latest RISC-V compliance test suite and framework can be downloaded from https://www.github.com/riscv/riscv-compliance .

The riscvOVPsim simulators include an industrial quality model and simulator of RISC-V processors for use for compliance and test development. It has been developed for personal, academic, or commercial use, and the model is provided as open source under the Apache 2.0 license. The simulator is provided under the Open Virtual Platforms (OVP) Fixed Platform Kits license that enables download and usage. riscvOVPsim and Imperas RISC-V support is actively maintained and enhanced. To ensure you make use of the current version of riscvOVPsim this initial release will expire. Please download the latest version.

Runtime configurable settings for all RISC-V specification options makes it very easy to compare run time results with any RTL implementations.

Full commercial features including variant selection, comprehensive trace, GDB/Eclipse graphical source code debug, semihosting, and RISC-V foundation signature dump facility for compliance testing.


riscvOVPsim is a fixed function simulation of one configurable processor model in a fixed platform. Full extendable platform simulations of reference designs booting FreeRTOS, Linux, SMP Linux etc. are available as open source and are available from www.IMPERAS.com, www.OVPworld.org.

Debugging using GDB / Eclipse

The same fixed platform can be used to debug the application using GDB and Eclipse.

For GDB debug add the command line argument -gdbconsole, this will start the GDB debugger and connect to the virtual platform.

For Eclipse debug, using CDT, a configuration to attach to an external remote application for debug should be made. The port to attach to is opened on the running virtual platform by adding the command line argument -port when starting the virtual platform.

Using riscvOVPsim

To use the simulator, just download the files, go into one of the example directories, and execute the provided run scripts. For example on Linux:

$ cd examples
$ cd fibonacci
$ RUN_RV32_fibonacci.sh

CpuManagerFixedPlatform (64-Bit) 20180425.0 Open Virtual Platform simulator from www.IMPERAS.com.
Copyright (c) 2005-2020 Imperas Software Ltd. Contains Imperas Proprietary Information.
Licensed Software, All Rights Reserved.
Visit www.IMPERAS.com for multicore debug, verification and analysis solutions.

CpuManagerFixedPlatform started: Tue Apr 24 19:12:06 2018

Info (OR_OF) Target 'riscvOVPsim/cpu' has object file read from 'fibonacci.RISCV32-O0-g.elf'
Info (OR_PH) Program Headers:
Info (OR_PH) Type Offset VirtAddr PhysAddr FileSiz MemSiz Flags Align
Info (OR_PD) LOAD 0x00000000 0x00010000 0x00010000 0x00016998 0x00016998 R-E 1000
Info (OR_PD) LOAD 0x00017000 0x00027000 0x00027000 0x000009c0 0x00000a54 RW- 1000
starting fib(38)...
fib(0) = 0
fib(1) = 1
fib(2) = 1
fib(3) = 2
...
fib(36) = 14930352
fib(37) = 24157817
finishing...
Info
Info ---------------------------------------------------
Info CPU 'riscvOVPsim/cpu' STATISTICS
Info Type : riscv (RVB32I+MACSU)
Info Nominal MIPS : 100
Info Final program counter : 0x100ac
Info Simulated instructions: 4,400,537,204
Info Simulated MIPS : 1439.2
Info ---------------------------------------------------
Info
Info ---------------------------------------------------
Info SIMULATION TIME STATISTICS
Info Simulated time : 44.01 seconds
Info User time : 3.06 seconds
Info System time : 0.00 seconds
Info Elapsed time : 3.10 seconds
Info Real time ratio : 14.18x faster
Info ---------------------------------------------------

CpuManagerFixedPlatform finished: Tue Apr 24 19:12:10 2018

CpuManagerFixedPlatform (64-Bit) 20180425.0 Open Virtual Platform simulator from www.IMPERAS.com.
Visit www.IMPERAS.com for multicore debug, verification and analysis solutions.

Measuring Instruction Functional Coverage with the riscvOVPsim coverage engine

Instruction Functional Coverage as it relates to processor verification is a technology solution to measure what is being stimulated in the ISA in terms of which instructions, operands and values are driven into a processor.

The Imperas coverage technology is developed using the Imperas VAP intercept technology and is provided as part of riscvOVPsim.

Example coverage command:

$ riscvOVPsim.exe --variant RVB32I --program eg.elf --cover basic --extensions RVI --reportfile impCov.log

The Imperas Instruction Functional Coverage works by monitoring every instruction as it retires and recording information about it.

At the end of simulation this data is summarized in the console and simulation log file.

COVERAGE :: RVI :: threshold : 1 : instructions: seen 13/40 : 32.50%, coverage points hit: 262/2952 : 8.88%

Full details are provided in the report file.

You can get coverage reports for one run or merge results from many runs. You can select which instruction extension to report on, or even select just individual instructions to report on.

There is currently 'basic' and 'extended' coverage measuring.

If a signature comparison based verification methodology is adopted (as in the RISC-V Compliance suites) for comparison between device under test and reference, then functional coverage is only part of the story, as it is essential to measure the successful propagation of the results of the input instructions/values into the signature.

The coverage technology provided as part of riscvOVPsim is fixed functionality. The Imperas coverage technology is available as an extension library as source as a standard part of the Imperas commercial product offerings and this allows users to extend and modify functionality and coverage capability. Contact Imperas for more information.

Extending riscvOVPsim and building your own models and platforms

riscvOVPsim is a fixed function simulation of one configurable processor model in a fixed platform. Full extendable platform simulations of reference designs booting FreeRTOS, Linux, SMP Linux etc. are available as open source and are available from www.IMPERAS.com, www.OVPworld.org.

About Open Virtual Platforms (OVP) and Imperas Software

Open Virtual Platforms was created in 2008 to provide an open standard set of APIs and methodology to develop virtual platforms and simulation technology. www.OVPworld.org.

Imperas Software Ltd. is the leading independent commercial developer of virtual platforms and high-performance software simulation solutions for embedded processor and systems. Leading semiconductor and embedded software companies use Imperas simulators for their processor based simulation solutions. www.imperas.com.

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This is the riscvOVPsim/README.md