Answers Database

M1.3/M1.4: MAP -os and -oe optimization options: When to use them (XABEL, Metamor designs), why results may not improve


Record #2680

Product Family:  Software

Product Line:  Merged Core

Problem Title:
M1.3/M1.4: MAP -os and -oe optimization options:  When to use them
(XABEL, Metamor designs), why results may not improve



Problem Description:
Keywords: map, optimization, optimize, speed, area, Metamor,
XABEL

Urgency: standard

General Description:
The definition of the "optimization" operation in the context
of MAP is the process of doing Xilinx-FPGA specific two-level
and multi-level optimization, and device-specific logic
packing.  The objective is to either decrease the area
required by the combinational logic, to reduce the number of
logic levels, or both.

This solution discusses when the -os and -oe optimization
options in Map should be used.


Solution 1:


-os option (default is NO optimization):

The MAP '-os' option allows you to enable OPTX optimization
in the Mapper, and also allows you to select an optimization
style targeting maximum speed, area, or a balance of speed
and area.


-oe option (default is normal):

The -oe option specifies the optimization effort level
of the Map OPTX optimizer.  When Map is run with the -oe
option set to HIGH, the Map logic optimizer tries to do
whatever logic collapsing is possible in the design.  It then
extracts common logic (common sub-expressions) in order to
simplify the logic, followed by logic packing to decrease
area or levels of logic.

If the design is already optimized (as in the case of a
Synopsys design, or schematics entered using Xilinx Unified
Library components), running Map with optimization
turned on may give you results that are worse than the
original design.  Running optimize in Map with a HIGH
optimization effort level (-oe high) on an already-
optimized design is analogous to trying to reprocess
a Synopsys design again through the Synopsys tools--that is,
you are optimizing an already-optimized design.

On the other hand, when you specify an optimization effort
level of "NORMAL", the logic optimizer does NOT try to do
logic collapsing all over again.  Instead, it tries to
decrease area or levels of logic using area or level-reducing
algorithms.

Specifying an optimization effort level of "NORMAL" is
analogous to processing the design with a tool which runs
area- or level- reducing logic mapping algorithms.  For some
designs, processing with "NORMAL" optimization effort mode may
improve performance if the algorithms are able to reduce the
area or logic levels in the design.

The general recommendation is not to specify the HIGH
optimization effort level (-oe high) on a design that has
already been optimized.  "-oe HIGH" must be specified only if
the design is the output of a VHDL compiler that does not
run logic optimization algorithms (Metamor and Xabel, for
example).

Reference #18765 (Apriori)



End of Record #2680