Maulik Desai
February 21, 2025
5 Minutes read
Choosing the Best Hardware Emulator Platforms for Complex Systems: ZeBu, Veloce, and Palladium
As chip designs become more complex and advanced, silicon engineers face the challenge of validating systems before they’re physically manufactured. In today’s world, the need for fast, accurate verification of the chip is more critical than ever.
This is where hardware emulation platforms come into play—providing a cost-effective, high-speed solution for simulating complex systems in real-time. Tools from three industry giants—ZeBu by Synopsys, Veloce by Mentor Graphics (now Siemens), and Palladium by Cadence—lead the market. Each platform has its strengths, and the best choice depends on performance, scalability, capabilities, and integration with your workflow.
Key Metrics for Choosing the Right Emulator
The following metrics can help guide your decision when selecting the best hardware emulation platform for your project.
- Performance and Speed: Performance is crucial for running simulations that accurately represent real-world scenarios.
| Platform | Clock Speed | Gate Count Support |
| ZeBu | Up to 1.5 GHz | Up to 2.5 billion gates |
| Veloce | Up to 2 GHz | Up to 1.5 billion gates |
| Palladium | Up to 1.2 GHz | Up to 2.2 billion gates |
- ZeBu: Strong in high-performance designs but slightly behind Veloce in clock speed.
- Veloce: Best for speed-critical designs but with a lower gate count.
- Palladium: Balanced performance, ideal for various applications but not optimal for extreme speed requirements.
- ZeBu: Strong in high-performance designs but slightly behind Veloce in clock speed.
- Veloce: Best for speed-critical designs but with a lower gate count.
- Palladium: Balanced performance, ideal for various applications but not optimal for extreme speed requirements.
- Memory and I/O Bandwidth: Memory capacity and bandwidth determine how well an emulator handles large designs and data throughput.
| Platform | Memory Capacity | I/O Bandwidth |
| ZeBu | 4 GB | 1.2 TB/s |
| Veloce | 2 GB | 800 GB/s |
| Palladium | 3 GB | 1 TB/s |
- ZeBu: High bandwidth for large designs and efficient data transfer.
- Veloce: Adequate for most designs but may struggle with ultra-large-scale projects.
- Palladium: Balanced memory and bandwidth, suitable for varied applications.
- Primary Target Designs: The platforms cater to different project scales and architectures:
| Platform | Target Design Size | Ideal Use Cases |
| ZeBu | 25M-200M Gates | SoCs, IP blocks, and medium to large designs |
| Veloce | 25M-200M Gates | Large ASICs, FPGAs, and designs requiring deep tracing |
| Palladium | 100M-1B Gates | Complex SoCs, CPUs, GPUs, and multi-chip systems |
- Integration and Scalability: When it comes to integration, having a tool that works well with other parts of your design ecosystem can save time and reduce friction.
- ZeBu: Seamlessly integrates with Synopsys tools; highly scalable for large designs.
- Veloce: Easy integration with Mentor’s suite of EDA tools; limited scalability for ultra-large designs.
- Palladium: Unified with Cadence’s ecosystem, including design, verification, and analysis tools. It has excellent scalability for complex systems.
- Emulation Cost: Cost is always a consideration in any technology purchase, especially for complex and high-performance tools like emulation platforms.
| Platform | Price per Gate | Cost Suitability |
| ZeBu | $0.0025–$0.01 | Cost-effective for smaller designs (2M–25M gates) |
| Veloce | $0.005–$0.02 | Balanced for medium-sized projects (25M–200M gates) |
| Palladium | $0.02–$0.05 | Higher cost but supports very large designs (100M+) |
Additional Considerations
- Maintenance and Support Costs: Costs can vary depending on the vendor and the specifics of the service agreements. Teams should consider both upfront and long-term maintenance expenses when evaluating platforms.
- Scalability: Although Palladium has a higher initial cost, its ability to handle more extensive and complex designs may reduce the need for multiple emulation systems. This scalability can result in long-term cost efficiency for large-scale projects.
- Support and Documentation:
| Platform | Support | Documentation |
| ZeBu | Good support; smaller community | Comprehensive but less detailed |
| Veloce | High-quality, 24/7 support | Very detailed and frequent updates |
| Palladium | Excellent, specialized support | Highly comprehensive and user-friendly |
Conclusion: Which Emulation Platform Is Right for You?
Choosing the right emulation platform depends on your project’s scale, your current tool ecosystem, and the specific needs of your hardware and software development teams. Below are several use case examples to help you determine which emulation platform best fits your requirements.
- Zebu: Ideal for developing an IoT sensor hub that integrates various sensors, microcontrollers, and wireless communication modules, with a gate count of approximately 10 million gates.
- Veloce: Designed to develop complex SoCs for autonomous driving systems. The SoC integrates multiple processor cores, GPUs, and various interfaces, with a gate count of approximately 150 million gates.
- Palladium: Well-suited for designing high-performance SoCs for data centres, integrating CPUs, large caches, and high-speed interconnects, with a gate count of approximately 500 million gates.
About ACL Digital
At ACL Digital, we bring extensive experience and expertise in hardware emulation platforms and semiconductor design workflows. With a deep understanding of leading emulation solutions like ZeBu, Veloce, and Palladium, we assist our clients in selecting and implementing the platform that best suits their project requirements. Our team is dedicated to delivering tailored solutions that enhance verification efficiency, accelerate time-to-market, and optimize overall design performance. Whether you are developing complex SoCs, advanced ASICs, or large-scale systems, ACL Digital supports you in navigating the challenges of modern chip design. Connect with us to explore this in more detail.
