AWR®, a leader in high-frequency electronic design automation (EDA), announced Version 2008 of its Visual System Simulator (VSS) software suite for the end-to-end design and optimization of communications systems. The latest release of VSS significantly enhances the flexibility for users while adding many new features and capabilities.

VSS, an integral part of the AWR Design Environment™, allows the impact of "real-world" signal impairments and other factors to be evaluated early in the design cycle when they can be most effectively dealt with. It gives designers the ability to create the best system architecture by optimizing each of its components from the behavioral through component levels in conjunction with AWR's Microwave Office® software, and then use actual measurements to validate the final design.

Enhancement in VSS 2008 include:

• Sweeping changes to the user interface that dramatically increase designers' ability to customize the "look and feel" of the suite:

• Project, elements and status window are now fully dockable as well as "floating".

• Windows can be placed in an "auto-hide" mode that makes them disappear shortly after clicking somewhere else on the screen.

• Toolbars can be docked along any edge of the main window or floated.

• All menus are enhanced to include icons on every toolbar along with a "themed" highlighting style.

• Greater capabilities in the RF Budget Analysis™ and RF Inspector™ tools.

• Additional measurements and improved thermal noise modeling.

• Seamless co-simulation with AWR's Microwave Office design suite including APLAC® harmonic balance simulators.

Version 2008 of AWR's Visual System Simulator is available now.