Cadence Tips & FAQ

I am having issues with the server. Who do I contact?

Am I supposed to get a bunch of warnings and errors when starting Cadence Virtuoso?

Why am I locked out of my schematic / layout / symbol?

How do I remove lock files?

Why did my Libraries disappear?

Why are my layout layers all yellow?

How should I save my simulation state?

How do I add outputs to ADE L?

Where are instructions to run DRC and LVS?

Do you have any videos on how to do layout?

Do you have any guidance on how to use the calculator?

How can I change the default plot settings?

How do I connect the power of a standard cell?

I am having issues with the server. Who do I contact?

Jason Cook, with COEN IT, manages the ece-sim server for the department. You can reach him at coenits@cs.boisestate.edu

Am I supposed to get a bunch of warnings and errors when starting Cadence Virtuoso?

I get several errors when starting Cadence. These seem to change from year to year but they are usually harmless.

Why am I locked out of my schematic / layout / symbol?

This generally happens when you start a new virtual desktop session through NoMachine without closing your files from before.

Any time you open a file, Cadence will "lock" for revision control. You can see if a file is locked from the library manager.

How do I remove lock files?

In the terminal, go to your Cadence directory and run this command:

find . -name *cdslck* -exec rm -rf {} +

This will search for any lock files (cdslck) and remove them.

Note: you can also copy the design files in Cadence as a workaround.

Why did my Libraries disappear?

99% of the time you launched Cadence from the wrong directory and it's very hard to convince me or IT otherwise. The other 1% of the time you deleted your files. Luckily, the ece-sim server backs data up regularly so you may be able to retrieve lost (inadvertently deleted) files by contacting COEN IT.

Why are my layout layers all yellow?

You didn't attach the right technology library when you created your library.

For coursework, I recommend making a new library with the tech library attached and then copy any design files to the new library.

If you view the library properties, you should see that the 'techLibName' is set to gpdk045 if you attached the technology library properly. (See image).

How should I save my simulation state?

From the ADE L window, go to Session -> Save State. I highly recommend saving it with the cell view so you can load it easily. If you need to copy the testbench, you will now have the option to copy the simulation state as well.

As of August 2023, this functionality is fairly straight forward in Maestro.