SmartXplorer and Xplorer

SmartXplorer and Xplorer maximize design performance.

Both SmartXplorer and Xplorer automatically help you find the ideal design results through multiple implementation runs using different place and route settings and constraints.

In a Linux environment, SmartXplorer leverages distributed processing to manage multiple implementation runs in an effort to achieve these ideal design results. Through parallel efforts, SmartXplorer investigates the results of implementation runs to close in on optimal settings in far less time. SmartXplorer can be used make better use of multiple compute platforms to more quickly achieve timing closure or in a single platform environment.

SmartXplorer and Xplorer, in combination with retiming in synthesis, help designers improve performance by an average 10%. Beginning with an initial frequency, SmartXplorer and Xplorer run multiple Place and Route (PAR) iterations with different optimization options. In addition, Xplorer adjusts timing constraints for the specified clock such that PAR is neither under nor over constrained. If a clock is not provided, the existing User Constraint File (UCF) is used. The difference between these two technologies is the ability of SmartXplorer to launch the implementation runs across multiple Linux computers.

SmartXplorer and Xplorer are enabled from within the properties of the project properties. Using user constraints together with optimization strategies, such as Global Optimization, Timing Driven Packing and Placement, Register Duplication, and Cost Tables, SmartXplorer and Xplorer implement the design in multiple ways to meet desired performance goals.