Implementing And Managing a CAD System Based on Vendor-Supplied Tools

Abstract

The VLSI CAD system built and supported by Western Digital Corporation since 1981 is composed primarily of vendor-supplied tools; a number of in-house tools, mostly translators, have been developed to tie the system together. The main criteria for selecting tools are ease of use and performance; tool selection is supported by a committee that includes users as well as providers. New tools are introduced through a close Partnership between the CAD Systems Department and the users. To support the system, a skilled staff of CAD software applications engineers is on hand, consulting with users, augmenting the documentation, interfacing with the vendors, installing new releases, preparing user interfaces and standard files, managing the hardware system, and developing the soft-ware required to integrate the vendor tools. The disadvantages to using a vendor-oriented system are that (1) tools are too general purpose and may be poorly adapted to the company's environment and (2) new and possibly more beneficial tools and techniques may not be available on the commercial market.