Run a Simulink Cosimulation Session

Set Simulink Model Configuration Parameters

When you create a Simulink^® model that includes one or more HDL Verifier™ Cosimulation blocks, you might want to adjust certain Simulink parameter settings to best meet the needs of HDL modeling. For example, you might want to adjust the value of the Stop time parameter in the Solver pane of the Model Configuration Parameters dialog box.

You can adjust the parameters individually or you can use DSP System Toolbox™ Simulink model templates to automatically configure the Simulink environment with the recommended settings for digital signal processing modeling.

Parameter	Default Setting
'SingleTaskRateTransMsg'	'error'
'Solver'	'fixedstepdiscrete'
'EnableMultiTasking'	'off'
'StartTime'	'0.0'
'StopTime'	'inf'
'FixedStep'	'auto'
'SaveTime'	'off'
'SaveOutput'	'off'
'AlgebraicLoopMsg'	'error'

The default settings for SaveTime and SaveOutput improve simulation performance.

For more information on DSP System Toolbox Simulink model templates, see the DSP System Toolbox documentation.

Determine Available Socket Port Number

To determine an available socket number enter this in a MATLAB^® command prompt:

getAvailableSocketPort

Check Connection Status

To check the connection status, on the Modeling tab, in the Compile section, click Update Model. If you have an error in the connection, Simulink will notify you.

The MATLAB command pingHdlSim can also be used to check the connection status. If a -1 is returned, then there is no connection with the HDL simulator.

Run and Test Cosimulation Model

In general, the last stage of cosimulation is to run and test your model. There are some steps you must be aware of when changing your model during or between cosimulation sessions. You can run the cosimulation in one of three ways:

• Cosimulation Using the Simulink and HDL Simulator GUIs

• Cosimulation with Simulink Using the Command Line Interface (CLI)

• Cosimulation with Simulink Using Batch Mode

Cosimulation Using the Simulink and HDL Simulator GUIs

Start the HDL simulator and load your HDL design. For testbench cosimulation, begin simulation first in the HDL simulator. Then, in Simulink, in the Simulation tab, click Run. Simulink runs the model and displays any errors that it detects. You can alternate between the HDL simulator and Simulink GUIs to monitor the cosimulation results.

For component cosimulation, start the simulation in Simulink first, then begin simulation in the HDL simulator.

You can specify "GUI" as the property value for the run mode parameter of the HDL Verifier HDL simulator launch command, but since using the GUI is the default mode for HDL Verifier, you do not have to.

Cosimulation with Simulink Using the Command Line Interface (CLI)

Running your cosimulation session using the command-line interface allows you to interact with the HDL simulator during cosimulation, which can be helpful for debugging.

To use the CLI, specify "CLI" as the property value for the run mode parameter of the HDL Verifier HDL simulator launch command.

Caution

Close the terminal window by entering quit -f at the command prompt. Do not close the terminal window by clicking the "X" in the upper right-hand corner. This causes a memory-type error to be issued from the system. This is not a bug with HDL Verifier but just the way the HDL simulator behaves in this context.

You can type CTRL+C to interrupt and terminate the simulation in the HDL simulator but this action also causes the memory-type error to be displayed.

 Specify CLI mode with nclaunch (Cadence Xcelium)

Issue the nclaunch command with "CLI" as the runmode property value, as follows (example entered into the MATLAB editor):

 tclcmd = { ['cd ',unixprojdir],...
            ['exec xmvlog -64bit -linedebug ',unixsrcfile1],...
             'exec xmelab -64bit -access +wc work.inverter_vl',...
             'hdlsimulink -gui work.inverter_vl'
          };

nclaunch('tclstart',tclcmd,'runmode','CLI');

 Specify CLI mode with vsim (Siemens ModelSim)

Issue the vsim command with "CLI" as the runmode property value, as follows (example entered into the MATLAB editor):

tclcmd = {'vlib work',...
    'vlog addone_vlog.v add_vlog.v top_frame.v',...
    'vsimulink top =socket 5002'};

vsim('tclstart',tclcmd,'runmode','CLI');

Cosimulation with Simulink Using Batch Mode

Running your cosimulation session in batch mode allows you to keep the process in the background, reducing demand on memory by disengaging the GUI.

To use the batch mode, specify "Batch" as the property value for the run mode parameter of the HDL Verifier HDL simulator launch command. After you issue the HDL Verifier HDL simulator launch command with batch mode specified, start the simulation in Simulink. To stop the HDL simulator before the simulation is completed, issue the breakHdlSim command.

 Specify Batch mode with nclaunch (Cadence Xcelium)

Issue the nclaunch command with 'Batch' as the runmode parameter, as follows:

nclaunch('tclstart',manchestercmds,'runmode','Batch')

You can also set the runmode parameter to 'Batch with Xterm', which starts the HDL simulator in the background but shows the session in an Xterm.

 Specify Batch mode with vsim (Siemens ModelSim)

On Windows^®, specifying batch mode causes ModelSim™ to be run in a non-interactive command window. On Linux^®, specifying batch mode causes ModelSim to be run in the background with no window.

Issue the vsim command with 'Batch' as the runmode parameter, as follows:

>> vsim('tclstart',manchestercmds,'runmode','Batch')

Test Cosimulation

If you wish to reset a clock during a cosimulation, you can do so in one of these ways:

• By entering HDL simulator force commands at the HDL simulator command prompt

• By specifying HDL simulator force commands in the Post- simulation command text field on the Simulation pane of the HDL Verifier Cosimulation block parameters dialog box.

See also Clock, Reset, and Enable Signals.

If you change any part of the Simulink model, including the HDL Cosimulation block parameters, update the model to reflect those changes. You can do this update in one of the following ways:

• Rerun the simulation

• On the Modeling tab, in the Compile section, click Update Model.

Set Parameters from a Tcl Script

You can create a Tcl script that lists the Tcl commands you want to execute on the HDL simulator, either pre- or post-simulation.

Tcl Scripts for ModelSim Users

You can create a ModelSim DO file that lists Tcl commands and then specify that file with the ModelSim do command as follows:

do mycosimstartup.do

or

do mycosimcleanup.do

You can include the quit -f command in an after-simulation Tcl command or DO file to force ModelSim to shut down at the end of a cosimulation session. Specify all after-simulation Tcl commands in a single cosimulation block, and place quit at the end of the command or DO file.

Except for quit, the command or DO file that you specify cannot include commands that load a ModelSim project or modify simulator state. For example, they cannot include commands such as start, stop, or restart.

Tcl Scripts for Xcelium™ Users

You can create an HDL simulator Tcl script that lists Tcl commands, and then specify that file with the HDL simulator source command as follows:

source mycosimstartup.script_extension

or

source mycosimcleanup.script_extension

You can include the exit command in an after-simulation Tcl script to force the HDL simulator to shut down at the end of a cosimulation session. Specify all after-simulation Tcl commands in a single cosimulation block and place exit at the end of the command or Tcl script.

Except for exit, the command or Tcl script that you specify cannot include commands that load an HDL simulator project or modify simulator state. For example, they cannot include commands such as run, stop, or reset.

This example shows a Tcl script when the -gui argument was used with hdlsimmatlab or hdlsimulink:

after 1000 {xmsim -submit exit}

This example shows a Tcl exit script to use when the -tcl argument was used with hdlsimmatlab or hdlsimulink:

after 1000 {exit}

Avoid Race Conditions in HDL Simulation with Testbench Cosimulation and the HDL Verifier HDL Cosimulation Block

In the HDL simulator, you cannot control the order in which clock signals (rising-edge or falling-edge) defined in the HDL Cosimulation block are applied, relative to the data inputs driven by these clocks. If you are careful to verify the relationship between the data and active edges of the clock, you can avoid race conditions that could create differing cosimulation results. See Race Conditions in HDL Simulators.