SAN JOSE, Calif., March 26, 2012 – Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS), a leader in global electronic design innovation, today announced the company is adding support for two popular protocol standards used in cloud computing applications, 12Gb/s SAS and NVM Express, to the Cadence Verification IP (VIP) Catalog <http://www.cadence.com/products/fv/verification_ip/pages/default.aspx> .  The expanding VIP Catalog is helping leaders in the networking market, like AppliedMicro, to deliver the systems and SoCs powering cloud-based computing.   

Cadence is a leading provider of verification IP for emerging interface technologies, and the only provider with a complete VIP suite targeting emerging standards for cloud computing infrastructure.  Cadence is working to provide VIP in time for early adopters to verify their designs and be first to market with their end products.  Cadence offers VIP for over 40 interface protocols and over 6,000 memory models that have been proven by hundreds of users over thousands of designs.  Cadence is also an active participant in 20 standards organizations and plays a key role in interface development.  Some of the standards vital to cloud computing that are a part of the Cadence VIP catalog include:

• 12Gb/s SAS: A new addition to the Cadence VIP catalog, 12Gb/s SAS is an enhanced protocol for connecting storage systems, delivering the massive data content required by the cloud.
• NVM Express:  Also a new addition to the Cadence VIP catalog, NVMe is a storage protocol for connecting drives and controllers, unlocking the huge I/O potential of solid state drives.
• Ethernet 40G/100G: These emerging high speed networking standards are critical components to support the growing demands of network fabrics and virtualization.
• DDR4: This high performance, next generation memory interface offers 2x higher performance and 40% lower power consumption than DDR3, providing higher system throughput at a lower operating expense.
• LRDIMM: Compared to previous RDIMM generations, LRDIMM provides up to 3X the server memory capacity while maintaining the same loading.

“AppliedMicro values working with leading IP providers, such as Cadence, who provide high-quality products to help us achieve our design requirements cost effectively. To get to market quickly with lower integration risk, AppliedMicro chose Cadence verification IP architected for seamless integration into our advanced SystemVerilog design and verification methodology,” said Amal Bommireddy, vice president of engineering, AppliedMicro.  “Cadence’s products’ performance and integration gives us confidence that our end-products will properly interoperate with these industry standard interfaces.”

“12Gb/s SAS is the latest evolution of the SAS standard poised to deliver enterprise class storage to a variety of cloud and data center environments,” said Harry Mason, director of industry marketing, LSI, and president of STA <http://www.scsita.org/> . “By doubling the data transfer rate, 12Gb/s SAS improves the cost performance density of SAS interconnects and enables higher degrees of capacity scaling. Pre-silicon verification capabilities, such as those offered by Cadence with its VIP products, are critical to the SAS ecosystem and reinforce the interoperability required of these pervasive storage interconnects. STA is pleased that Cadence is helping advance the rapid adoption of this all important industry standard.”

“Our customer’s system and SoC designs for cloud computing often require support for multiple interface standards,” said Erik Panu, vice president of R&D, System and Software Realization Group, Cadence.  “To make this task more manageable, Cadence spends a great deal of time and effort to ensure our libraries feature pre-verified, up-to-date VIP for the latest interface standards, helping our customers be first to market with their cloud computing solutions.”

About Cadence

Cadence enables global electronic design innovation and plays an essential role in the creation of today’s integrated circuits and electronics. Customers use Cadence software, hardware, IP, and services to design and verify advanced semiconductors, consumer electronics, networking and telecommunications equipment, and computer systems. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with sales offices, design centers, and research facilities around the world to serve the global electronics industry. More information about the company, its products, and services is available at www.cadence.com.