Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS), the world leader in semiconductor design software, today announced that Realtek Semiconductor, a leading network and multimedia IC supplier, used Synopsys' DesignWare® intellectual property (IP) core for PCI Express™ to develop Realtek's RTL8168L Gigabit Ethernet Controller. The collaboration between the two companies has enabled Realtek to be one of the first to offer a single-chip Gigabit Ethernet solution with a PCI Express interface.

With its higher performance and low pin-count interface, PCI Express is replacing PCI and PCI-X® in today's system-on-chip (SoC) designs. For Realtek's PCI Express-based Gigabit Ethernet Controller, Realtek's engineers were able to utilize the Transaction Layer, Data Link and MAC Layers of Synopsys' DesignWare Endpoint Controller for PCI Express to streamline their design process and quickly achieve tapeout success.

"Realtek is the world's leading Ethernet and Fast Ethernet provider. In light of Synopsys' leadership in PCI IP, we cooperated with them to accelerate development of our PCI Express Ethernet solutions," said Niccolo Chen, vice president of Research and Development at Realtek. "When we were looking for a partner to provide the PCI Express IP for our RTL8168L Gigabit Ethernet Controller, Synopsys was the obvious choice due to their dependability and commitment to quality and support."

"PCI Express is an emerging technology that is much more complicated than PCI," said Guri Stark, vice president of marketing, Synopsys Solutions Group. "Designers are finding that it is important to work with a dependable IP vendor that is committed to quality and the success of their products. With our commitment to compliance and third-party interoperability testing, we are taking an active role in the PCI Express IP market enabling Realtek to leverage this work to the benefit of their customers."

Pricing and Availability

The DesignWare Endpoint Controller for PCI Express is available now. Also available now is the DesignWare Verification IP for PCI Express. For more information on DesignWare IP please visit www.designware.com.

About DesignWare Cores

DesignWare Cores provide system designers with silicon proven, digital and analog connectivity IP for some of the world's most recognized products ranging from communications processors to routers and switches to game consoles, digital cameras, computers and computer peripherals. Provided as synthesizable RTL source code or in GDS format, these cores enable designers to create innovative, cost-effective systems-on-chip and embedded systems. Synopsys provides flexible licensing options for the DesignWare Cores. Each Core can be licensed individually, on a fee-per-project basis or users can opt for the Volume Purchase Agreement, which enables them to license all the cores under one simple agreement.

About Synopsys

Synopsys, Inc. is the world leader in electronic design automation (EDA) software for semiconductor design. The company delivers technology-leading semiconductor design and verification platforms and IC manufacturing software products to the global electronics market, enabling the development and production of complex systems-on-chips (SoCs). Synopsys also provides intellectual property and design services to simplify the design process and accelerate time-to-market for its customers. Synopsys is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and has more than 60 offices located throughout North America, Europe, Japan and Asia. Visit Synopsys online at http://www.synopsys.com/ .

NOTE: Synopsys and DesignWare are registered trademarks of Synopsys, Inc. PCI-SIG, PCI-Express and PCI-X are registered trademarks of PCI-SIG. All other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.

SOURCE: Synopsys, Inc.

CONTACT: Troy Wood of Synopsys, Inc., +1-650-584-5717, or
twood@synopsys.com; or Andrea Zils of Edelman, +1-650-429-2731, or
andrea.zils@edelman.com, for Synopsys, Inc.

Web site: http://www.synopsys.com/