The Nexus 5001™ Forum

c/o IEEE-ISTO
445 Hoes Lane
Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA

voice: +1.732.465.6466
fax: +1.732.981.9473
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Mission

The mission of the Nexus 5001™ Forum is to rapidly define a global, open embedded processor development interface standard for all embedded controller applications.

To fulfill its mission, the Nexus 5001™ Forum set goals to:

• Form a small consortium to rapidly define a specification
• Accelerate the process by leveraging existing technology
• Publish a public domain standard
• Solicit endorsement of other embedded processor and tools companies
• Establish a validation methodology and process
• Establish a governing body for ongoing management of the specification

Although the initial focus of the effort was based on the stringent requirements of the automotive powertrain applications, the goal emerged to develop a general purpose standard, encompassing all industries that will benefit from this standard interface, such as data communications and computer peripherals, wireless systems and other embedded control applications.

Overview

The Nexus 5001™ Forum, formerly known as the Global Embedded Processor Debug Interface Standard Consortium, was formed in April 1998 to define and develop a much-needed embedded processor debug interface standard for embedded control applications. In September 1999, the group chose the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (IEEE-ISTO) for its unique forum and support services to facilitate its efforts to advance the development, marketing, validation, and implementation initiatives in support of IEEE-ISTO 5001™-1999.

IEEE-ISTO 5001™-1999, The Nexus 5001™ Forum Standard for a Global Embedded Processor Debug Interface is an open industry standard that provides a general-purpose interface for the software development and debug of embedded processors. As advances in semiconductor and system design continue, embedded applications are using higher-performance embedded processors. Efficient use of these embedded processors requires software and hardware development tools that can easily access critical processor functionality. Standardization on this interface benefits customers' reuse of their Nexus 5001™ compliant development tools on compliant processor architectures. The Forum is currently defining methods and a process by which Nexus 5001™ compliance can be validated to further support the global implementation goals of the organization.

Nexus Overview - Makin' Multi-Core Work

The Nexus 5001™ Forum membership spans across all regions and stages of the development process, and represents a large part of the industry and customer market share globally. The Nexus 5001™ Forum members, including top microcontrollers suppliers, technology leaders, and independent tool providers, from software development to engine emulation, rapid prototyping, calibration and simulation, combined their proven experience in embedded processor control systems and long-term embedded processor focus to develop a standard with multiple benefits.

The automotive industry is now using MCU's that may no longer have non-obtrusive access for S/W and H/W development tools. Benefits of IEEE-ISTO 5001™-1999 implementation apply to all segments of the industry:

• For DEVELOPERS: with a standard development port, there will be commercially available standard tools with consistent functionality available with the introduction of new embedded processors and reduced customization and development time.
• For INDUSTRY, it will enable verification of the tools & embedded processor capabilities, prior to customer applications reducing risk & improving quality.
• For TOOLS COMPANIES, this standard will allow them to focus investments at solving more customer problems and not at the embedded processor connection point.
• For SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURERS, it will be much easier to get tool vendor support for new embedded processors.

The Evolution of Powertrain Microcontrollers and Its Impact on Development Processes and Tools is a comprehensive white paper which provides additional information about the Nexus technology.

In September 1999, the Nexus 5001™ Forum became a program of the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (IEEE-ISTO). The IEEE-ISTO will manage the administrative details of the organization, to enable the membership to focus on the technical, rather than administrative, issues at hand. Additionally, the IEEE-ISTO will play a key role in the rollout and administration of the future Nexus 5001™ validation program. The IEEE-ISTO is affiliated with the IEEE and the IEEE Standards Association.

© 1999 - 2003, IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization. All rights reserved. The IEEE-ISTO is affiliated with the IEEE and the IEEE Standards Association. IEEE-ISTO 5001 and Nexus 5001 Forum are trademarks of the IEEE-ISTO.