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Scalable reachability analysis via automated dynamic netlist-based hint generation

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Abstract

While SAT-based algorithms have largely displaced BDD-based verification techniques due to their typically higher scalability, there are classes of problems for which BDD-based reachability analysis is the only existing method for an automated solution. Nonetheless, reachability engines require a high degree of tuning to perform well on challenging benchmarks. In addition to clever partitioning and scheduling techniques, the use of hints has been proposed to decompose an otherwise breadth-first fixedpoint computation into a series of underapproximate computations, requiring a larger number of (pre-)image iterations though often significantly reducing peak BDD size and thus resource requirements. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach to boost the scalability of reachability computation: automated netlist-based hint generation. Experiments confirm that this approach can yield significant resource reductions; often over an order of magnitude on complex problems compared to reachability analysis without hints, and even compared to SAT-based proof techniques.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Systems and Technology Group, IBM Corporation 2070 Route 52, Hopewell Junction, NY, 12533-6683, USA

    Jiazhao Xu & Mark Williams

  2. Systems and Technology Group, IBM Corporation, 11400 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX, 78758-3493, USA

    Hari Mony & Jason Baumgartner

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  1. Jiazhao Xu
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  2. Mark Williams
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  3. Hari Mony
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  4. Jason Baumgartner
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Correspondence to Jiazhao Xu.

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Xu, J., Williams, M., Mony, H. et al. Scalable reachability analysis via automated dynamic netlist-based hint generation. Form Methods Syst Des 45, 144–164 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10703-014-0213-0

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