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Ixiasoft
2.2.4.3. Optimizing for Timing Closure
Compilation Settings for Timing Closure
Setting | Location | Effect on Timing Closure |
---|---|---|
Allow Register Duplication | Assignments > Settings > Compiler Settings > Advanced Settings (Fitter) | This technique is most useful where registers have high fan-out, or where the fan-out is in physically distant areas of the device. Review the netlist optimizations report and consider manually duplicating registers automatically added by physical synthesis. You can also locate the original and duplicate registers in the Chip Planner. Compare their locations, and if the fan-out is improved, modify the code and turn off register duplication to save compile time. |
Prevent Register Retiming | Assignments > Settings > Compiler Settings > Advanced Settings (Fitter) | Useful if some combinatorial paths between registers exceed the timing goal while other paths fall short. If a design is already heavily pipelined, register retiming is less likely to provide significant performance gains, since there should not be significantly unbalanced levels of logic across pipeline stages. |
Guidelines for Optimizing Timing Closure using Timing Constraints
Appropriate timing constraints are essential to achieving timing closure. Use the following general guidelines in applying timing constraints:
- Apply multicycle constraints in your design wherever single-cycle timing analysis is not necessary.
- Apply False Path constraints to all asynchronous clock domain crossings or resets in the design. This technique prevents overconstraining and the Fitter focuses only on critical paths to reduce compile time. However, overconstraining timing critical clock domains can sometimes provide better timing results and lower compile times than physical synthesis.
- Overconstrain rather than using physical synthesis when the slack improvement from physical synthesis is near zero. Overconstrain the frequency requirement on timing critical clock domains by using setup uncertainty.
- When evaluating the effect of constraint changes on performance and runtime, compile the design with at least three different seeds to determine the average performance and runtime effects. Different constraint combinations produce various results. Three samples or more establish a performance trend. Modify your constraints based on performance improvement or decline.
- Leave settings at the default value whenever possible. Increasing performance constraints can increase the compile time significantly. While those increases may be necessary to close timing on a design, using the default settings whenever possible minimizes compile time.