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XPack™

XPack is an IP packaging and delivery system developed by IPextreme as a uniform system for packaging, delivering and supporting IP. It is a modern web-based environment implemented as a Software as a Service (SaaS) model where customers interact with the IP on the IPextreme servers before securely downloading it onto their workstation. The modular nature of XPack allows for new features to be able to be quickly added.

IPextreme is licensing the XPack technology to semiconductor and systems companies interested in creating their own internal IP repositories and distribution systems.  For more information regarding licensing, please email us at info@ip-extreme.com.

The key features provided by XPack for managing an IP business are:

  • Parameter configuration and checking
  • Timing configuration, checking, and automated EDA script generation
  • License management
  • Contact management, bulletin notifications to licensees
  • Support management, including ticket handling and support hour tracking
  • Secure file sharing

Let’s go on a brief tour of XPack. Below is a user’s home page which lists all the IP they are authorized to use.

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XPack Home Page - Lists the IP authorized to use

IP packaged in XPack allows IP integrators to configure IP to their specification. That configuration is automatically checked by XPack against a set of valid configurations as specified by the original IP developer. As shown below, integrators are alerted to invalid configurations with errors highlighted (in red) along with an explanation of why the configuration is not valid.

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Configuration Page - Allows Users to Enter Configuration Options

IP packaged in XPack allows IP integrators to specify the timing constraints for the IP in a spreadsheet that checks those constraints against the original intent of the IP developer. Timing which is outside the expected performance of the IP is highlighted as a warning (yellow) or an error (red) depending on the gap between the desired and expected timing. When the timing specification is complete, XPack will automatically generate scripts for all the major EDA tools.

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Timing Page - Allows Users to Enter Timing Constraints

XPack provides a facility for IP suppliers to manage their IP repository by adding new products and releases to the XPack database. From this page, the IP administrator can see all of the products and view the number of customers and open tickets associated with each IP.

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Product Management Page - Allow IP suppliers to manage their products

XPack provides a facility for IP suppliers to manage their customer contact information and keep track of which IP they are authorized to access.

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Contact Management Page - Keeping Track of Customers

XPack provides a facility for IP suppliers to manage their customer contact information and keep track of which IP they are authorized to access, when that license may expire, and how much support hours are remaining on their contract.

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License Management Page - Keeping Track of Licenses

XPack provides a facility for file sharing, allowing customers and the supplier to securely share files with each other. For example, to share test cases and other information outside the scope of normal IP deliverables.

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File Share Page - Allowing Test Cases to be securely shared