Comprehensive Verification of the RISC-V Memory Management Unit: Challenges and Solutions

Abstract

The Memory Management Unit (MMU), critical for virtual memory translation and protection, demands rigorous verification due to its inherent complexity. This work details a two-step methodology to ensure MMU compliance with RISC-V Privileged ISA specification. First, a test suite was developed using the RISCOF framework, leveraging RISC-V ISAC for coverage analysis. Second, the suite was executed on the OpenHW Core-V Wally processor, employing ImperasDV as a reference model and riscvISACOV for functional coverage development. This approach identified a critical architectural bug in Core-V Wally’s MMU implementation, demonstrating the methodology’s effectiveness in validating memory management units.

Publication
RISC-V Summit Europe, Paris, France