Design For Performance
Design For Performance
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Accelerate Development
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Scale Testing
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Increase Developer Productivity

You can do virtually everything better with VLAB


Imagine a virtual environment with your embedded hardware all in software on your desktop or in the cloud. With the tools and automation possible only in software. Where you can continuously build, integrate and test, analyse and optimise, in a way not possible in hardware.

VLAB VDMs
VDM user space

What is a VLAB VDM?

Embedded computer in software on a desktop, server or in the cloud
  • High performance, multi threaded, virtual machine with built-in tools
  • Configurable hardware system architecture, memory, and IO
  • Off the shelf OS/BSP for immediate load and run of user software
  • I/Os for connection to other VDMs or to third party test environments
  • APIs for integration with third party tools for interactive or batch use
  • Fast on-the-fly run time tools for debug, data log, test, and analysis
  • Script programmable engine for command, control and automation
  • Virtual platform plugins for other third party embedded architectures

What is a VLAB VDM for?

Development of embedded software on desktops, servers or cloud
  • Run and test unmodified target compiled embedded software
  • Accelerate and scale development, freed from hardware limitations
  • Continuous integration and test
  • Reduce development costs and time to market
  • Advanced debug, test, analysis, not possible on embedded hardware
  • Improve product software performance and quality
  • Collaboration between engineers, teams, partners, and customers
  • Virtual prototyping, virtual platforms, hardware simulation

VIRTUALIZE, AUTOMATE AND COLLABORATE

ACCELERATE, ITERATE AND SCALE

CONTINUOUSLY DEVELOP AND TEST

Start

Improving how you develop and test your software is made much easier with VLAB.

Find out how…

Shop

Find the latest VLAB and VDM products in the store that you need to start powering your development and test.

Talk

Still looking for answers? Let us know and we will be happy to talk it through.

Learn

New to virtualization and VLAB and wondering how it all could work in your environment? Our blogs are a great place to start.

VLAB Virtual Platforms extend the range of hardware architectures provided by VLAB VDMs with support for the hardware specifications of market leading embedded semiconductors and boards. VLAB Virtual Platforms enable the development and test of low level BSP/SDK packages specific to particular semiconductor vendor specifications or of user software which requires specific BSP/SDK software as part of the integrated software under test.

VLAB Works and ASTC have a long history of partnering with industry leading embedded semiconductor providers to create and supply specific VLAB Virtual Platforms for their devices. Systems/OEM or Tier 1 customers, sometimes in collaboration, regularly work with ASTC in the integration and/or creation and use of their own VLAB Virtual Platforms.

Why Choose VLAB?

Ready to go

Get started developing, running and testing your software quickly without the worry of complicated installation and setup.

Proven

All Virtual Machines of Embedded Devices come packaged and validated to work with the same RTOS used in industry.

Swap In & Out

VLAB connects and works with many of the same debuggers, analysis tools and test harnesses that developers already use with hardware equivalents.

Always Available

An all in software solution doesn’t suffer from equipment failure. It can be easily multiplied on demand. Transport between facilities and users is instant.

Upscale

Flexible pricing and licensing models allow a small upfront investment that can scale as you need, along with the savings in time and costs.

Value Proposition

For every VLAB deployment, there will be different factors to consider.

There are however, many common compelling reasons why customers choose VLAB.

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Improve Quality

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Reduce Time to Market

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Real Savings

Improve Quality

VLAB helps improve the software itself, not just the engineering processes and costs.
  • Discover and fix, hidden or latent issues. Some issues are masked by hardware or aren’t accessible under all other software required to run and test in hardware.
  • Test better by increasing test coverage with cases not possible in hardware. VLAB makes it possible to include high resolution, fault injection and failure mode tests.
  • Scale test coverage and test continuously. Run more tests in parallel and test regressions more frequently, without limitations of hardware availability.
  • Don’t wait to improve quality. Discover and fix issues earlier and improve quality for the same or lower budget of time and cost.
  • Explore and validate software architecture alternatives early and iteratively. Trial and validate assumptions to improve software performance, with flexibility not possible in hardware.

Reduce Time to Market

VLAB boosts productivity for both individuals and teams, accelerating project schedules, giving cycle time reduction of 50% or more.

  • Start early, do not wait for hardware to be developed and supplied. VLAB can be downloaded, installed and running in a matter of minutes.
  • Reduce time in debug and fix through superior features and tools.
  • Automate and accelerate any manual repeatable tasks and processes.
  • Scale and turn around large test suites faster, without limitations of hardware availability. VLAB is available in unlimited quantities, and can scale up or down as required.
  • Run faster with Agile, all in software processes. Build, trial, learn, test, fix and adapt, early and frequently.
  • Collaborate and communicate faster. Easily copy and replicate an entire virtual environment, with anyone else worldwide.

Real Savings

Between reducing hardware, personnel, and business costs, using VLAB often results in project cost savings of 50% or more

  • Hardware availability, inventory, and scalability. VLAB is available in unlimited quantities, takes no space, can scale up, down, just in time, or to match your project schedules and demand.
  • Hardware failure and maintenance. Unlike hardware, VLAB does not wear and tear and survives even failure injection scenarios, just restart and go.
  • Reduce cost of effort and time in debug and fix through advanced VLAB features and tools not available in hardware.
  • Eliminate repeatable tasks and processes with automation. With VLAB, any task and workflow can be automated and repeatably executed with less effort and time.
  • Simplify and shorten continuous build and test. Automate the set up and execution of large test suites, along with the analysis of results.
  • Avoid the costs of Getting it Wrong. Costs associated with poor quality don’t stop once a product is deployed. Ongoing maintenance, potential recalls are all real and can accumulate rapidly.

Stay updated …

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.. using a VLAB virtual environment, from prototyping and requirements capture through to V&V has cut the normal 3-4 year cycle for a new platform down to 1.5 years.

The analysis that we have managed to achieve, running our software on a Virtual ECU in VLAB, has improved our software performance, memory footprint, and the overall software architecture .

There are no other options that offer comparable insights when trying to debug the GTM module. In VLAB we can not only debug, but use the software analysis features that we have come to rely on.

Work @ VLAB Works

VLAB Works, an ASTC company, are always looking for quality people that can build our team to deliver the products and services that our customers are seeking. We are always open to meeting and engaging with driven and talented candidates. If you think that is you then let us know