Practical methods in coverage-oriented verification of the Merom microprocessor

Functional coverage is a well known means of measuring verification progress. However, approaches to coverage, such as coverage driven and coverage oriented approaches, are often difficult or impractical to implement. This paper presents the coverage methodology used in the verification of Merom, Intel's first converged-core microprocessor. We describe practical methods and applied techniques which enabled a high return on a significantly reduced investment in coverage measurement and analysis. Given the tight schedule, this approach provided a clear metric for measuring verification progress and for effectively steering resources to improve the quality of the design under test.