Keysight Engineering Data Management (SOS) Core: Integration with Synopsys Custom Compiler

This application note explores the importance of robust design data management within the Synopsys Custom Compiler environment, a modern platform widely used for custom IC, analog, and mixed-signal design. As engineering teams become more distributed and projects grow in complexity, reliable data management is essential to maintain design integrity, support predictable tapeout schedules, and ensure consistent engineering productivity.

Keysight Engineering Data Management (SOS) Core provides a native, deeply integrated data management layer within Custom Compiler. This application note explains how SOS Core embeds critical version control operations — such as check-in/check-out, update, diff reporting, tagging, hierarchical operations, and audit trails — directly into the Custom Compiler Library Manager and editor interfaces. By enabling engineers to manage data without leaving their primary design environment, SOS Core reduces workflow friction and minimizes the risk of errors.

The note also examines the underlying integration architecture and outlines typical day-to-day designer workflows. Advanced capabilities, including hierarchical operations and Revision Search Order (RSO) management, are highlighted for their role in simplifying complex design structures and ensuring correct data referencing across projects. The Labels/RSO system further enhances cross-functional collaboration by automating key handoffs in analog and mixed-signal design flows.

Additionally, it also describes the Links-to-Cache architecture, which delivers high-performance access to design data with minimal storage overhead. This approach ensures local-speed performance regardless of team size or geographic distribution. Customization options allow CAD teams to tailor the integration to align with specific organizational processes and design methodologies.

Ultimately, this application note demonstrates how SOS Core transforms Synopsys Custom Compiler into a fully data-managed platform. By combining deep integration, scalability, and proven reliability, SOS Core enables semiconductor design teams to improve collaboration, ensure traceability, and effectively manage the increasing complexity of modern IC design in the AI era.