Setting Up Your Unix Environment

Authors: Jeannette Djigbenou, Carrie Aust, Jia Fei, Meenatchi Jagasivamani, and Jos Sulistyo

Before you can start Cadence, there are a few configuration files that are needed in your home directory. These files determine the environment in which Cadence runs, what libraries are to be included in your current session. No doubt these files can be edited to suit personal preferences. The setup given below is tailored for machines in the ECE Workstation cluster. We use the NCSU CDK, provided by NCSU and available for public download at http://www.eda.ncsu.edu/wiki/NCSU_EDA_Wiki. These are instructions to set up your UNIX environment using the NCSU Kit. There are three sets of setup guidelines.

On-Site Instructions To Use VTVT_TSMC250 Library
Off-Site Instructions For TSMC 0.25um Library
Install And Use VTVT'S TSMC 0.25um Standard Cells

ON-SITE INSTRUCTIONS TO USE VTVT_TSMC250 LIBRARY

1. Setting Up Environmental Variables (Initial Setup)

Open file .bash_profile in your home directory and set the CDK_DIR environment variable:
if .bash_profile doesn't work, try .bashrc
     > emacs ~/.bash_profile &
     export CDK_DIR=/software/Cadence/NCSU1.5.1/local
Save and close the file and restart a new session or refresh properly the current one.
Proceed to this step only once.

2. Install NCSU Kit and Start Cadence

Make a directory and move there:
     > mkdir project
     > cd project
Now, do the NCSU setup
     > NCSU_setup
Then the Cadence and icfb:
     Cadence
     icfb &
You have completed the setting section of this tutorial. If you wish to view and use our standard cells in Cadence, follow the guidelines listed under INSTALL AND USE VTVT'S TSMC 0.25um STANDARD CELLS.

OFF-SITE INSTRUCTIONS FOR TSMC 0.25um Library

1. Download the NCSU Kit and setup environment variables

Our cells libraries have been developed with the NCSU CDK.The off-site installation instructions below may not apply to your Cadence environment. Therefore, note that in order to properly install the standard cell libraries, you need to be able to install the NCSU CDK successfully with its internal libraries available in your Library Manager when you start Cadence.

Download the NCSU Cadence Design Kit and untar it in a directory named NCSU1.5.1
Set the environment variable CDK_DIR to the path to NCSU1.5.1 in your .cshrc or .bash_profile
Set-up your NCSU CDK depending on your Cadence environment settings. Refer to the Kit's instructions for help on installing the NCSU CDK. You may need to have some Shell scripts for license access, run environment set up, links to the kit's libraries.
Refresh your session or start a new UNIX session

2. Install NCSU Kit and Start Cadence

Make a directory and move there:
- mkdir project
- cd project
Create a link to the NCSU lib directory in your working directory.
- ln -s $CDK_DIR/lib NCSU
Copy the cds.lib file to your working directory.
- cp $CDK_DIR/cdssetup/cds.lib .
If you have a shortcut key file available, place a copy of the shortcut key file in your working directory and append "load <shortcut_key_file_name>" to your .cdsinit file. Note that this file is NOT necessary to install the standard cell library. It is needed to ease the user-interface while using Cadence tools.
Start Cadence and ICFB in your design environment. You should see a list of NCSU_* libraries in your Library Manager at this point. One of these libraries must be NCSU_TechLib_tsmc03d. If this library is not available in your Library Manager, you have done an incorrect installation. Please consult your Teaching assistant or software manager for details on how to install the NCSU Kit, or contact us.

You have completed the setting section of this tutorial. If you wish to view and use our standard cells in Cadence, follow the guidelines listed under INSTALL AND USE VTVT'S TSMC 0.25um STANDARD CELLS.

INSTALL AND USE VTVT'S TSMC 0.25um STANDARD CELLS

1. Download the vtvt_tsmc250 standard cell library design kit

You must first download the VTVT_TSMC250 design kit. The setups followed here are specifically for the environment of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech. Outside users need to modify some setups for their own environments.

The standard cell library could be obtained in this website; store it in your local UNIX directory.

Outside users will need to request Prof. Ha's permission using this web form.

After downloading, type the following command in the UNIX prompt

     gunzip vtvt_tscm250_release.tar.Z

     tar xvf vtvt_tscm250_release.tar

     rm -i vtvt_tscm250_release.tar

The last step simply attempts to save space.

The above step should create a directory named vtvt_tsmc250_release under your UNIX directory.

The Cadence files are available under directory vtvt_tsmc250_release/Cadence_Libraries for the actual physical layout of the standard cells.

2. Setup vtvt_tsmc250 for Cadence

Move the standard cell library layout directory vtvt_tsmc250 into your Cadence directory (the directory you created to run Cadence: project directory in this tutorial)
> mv vtvt_tsmc250_release/Cadence_Libraries/vtvt_tsmc250 project/.
Add the library to Cadence Library Manager by adding the line below in the cds.lib file
> DEFINE vtvt_tsmc250 ./vtvt_tsmc250
Attach library vtvt_tsmc250 to TSMC_CMOS025_DEEP techfile. In the CIW->Tools->Technology File Manager->Attach:
Design Library vtvt_tsmc250
Technology Library: NCSU_TechLib_tsmc03d
The standard cells views are now available in your Library Manager.

The VTVT 0.25um layout, symbol and schematic views of all the cells are listed in your Cadence Library Manager under library vtvt_tsmc250.