Evaluation of Coverage Metrics for Assessing Test Suite Effectiveness in RISC-V Core Verification

Abstract

RISC-V is a popular open-source Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) that is gaining widespread adoption in the industry. The verification of a RISC-V core involves a rigorous testing process to ensure that it meets the functional requirements of the ISA. To validate the test suite of a RISC-V core verification, the following coverage metrics can be used:

1. Instruction Coverage: This metric measures the percentage of instructions in the RISC-V ISA that are exercised during the verification process. It ensures that all instructions are tested and validated, and there are no instruction-level bugs in the design.


2. Functional Coverage: This metric captures the functional requirements of the RISC-V ISA and ensures that all functionality of the core is validated. It is defined in terms of a set of properties that must be tested during the verification process.


3. Code Coverage: This metric measures the percentage of code that is executed during the verification process. It includes both the instructions that are executed and the code paths that are covered.


4. Assertion Coverage: This metric measures the percentage of assertions in the design that are exercised during the verification process. It ensures that all assertions are tested and validated, and there are no design-level bugs in the RISC-V core.

By using these coverage metrics, the verification team can ensure that the test suite for the RISC-V core verification is comprehensive and thorough, and all functional requirements are met.