How to install Cadence IC5.0.33 under Linux RedHat9

This is already a topic which has been discussed for year. With no doubt, Redhat7.2 is a classic and wide spreaded Linux distribution version, therefore it is compatible with most eda software. However Redhat7.2 is too old and it can not support the newest hardware, for example, USB 2.0. What's more on my computer(KT266A, Athlon XP 2400+), Redhat7.2 even can not be installed, the installation always stops right before the system begins to copy the files. Quite unforturnatly, RedHat 8.0 either won't be installed on my computer.

I spent almost a week to figure out whether it is possible to install the cadence IC5033 in RH9. Finally I find the solution and now this software runs quite well. Because it is a quite time-consuming job to get IC5033 work in RH9, I would like to share my experience with you.

1. Check whether the software package "ncompress" is installed by type in rpm -q -l ncompress, because the commando uncompress(origionally from Unix, and because of the license problem it is gradually replace by gzip/gunzip/zcat in the Linux distributions) is required by softload during the installation process. If the answer is no, install the "ncompress-4.2.4-33.i386.rpm" package from the RH9 installation CDROM2.

2. After the ncompress package is installed into the RH9, we can begin with the installation of IC5033. Run ./SETUP.SH in the IC5033 installation CDROM1. First,choose the installation directory for cadence software. This directory will be assumed as in the following steps. Cancel the suggestion to run softload.

3. Get into the directory /install/bin.lnx86, from where the ./softload can be invoked. Open the the c source code file io_fltr.c, go to line 68.
Change the string "/bin/zcat" to "/usr/bin/uncompress -c"; Add a new line of "#define lnx86" above the line 54 (line 54 is "#ifdef nec_ews"); Add a new line of
"#include " above line 33 (line 33 is "#include "). Save this file. And compile it with "gcc -o io_fltr io_fltr.c".

4. Locate and open the c source code file of "process_file.c". Editing line 511, by changing it from "#define PROD_NOS 1280" to "#define PROD_NOS 10000". Save
this file and compile it with "gcc -o process_file process_file.c"

5. Locate and open the file "vld". Locate line 424 and 425, which looks like "sort -u +2 -3 $allbundles | sort -n > $sortallbundles" and "sort -u +2 -3 $bundles
| sort -n > $sortbundles". Delete the string "+2 -3" so that the new lines look like "sort -u $allbundles | sort -n > $sortallbundles" and "sort -u $bundles |
sort -n > $sortbundles". Save this file.

6. Run ./softload and choose "Load available products" in the first menu.Then the program will prompt you give the location of installation CD.

7. By the menu "Where is the installation information?", select the fourth option "Cadence catalog". Decide which products you would like to install. Install
plese only the products, for which you have or will have licenses. If your CDROMs are not corrupted, you'll get the products installed(I have tried many times on
my own computer, it works quite well).

8. Configure the licenses. Go into the directory of "/share/license". Run ./configure and do whatever is asked you to do.

9. Configure user terminal preference. As an example for bash, the preference
file which located at ./.bashrc should look like:
CDS_ROOT=/usr/eda/cadence/IC5033.Base
CDS_INST_DIR=/usr/eda/cadence/IC5033.Base
CDS_INSTALL_DIR=/usr/eda/cadence/IC5033.Base/tools/dfII/
export CDS_LIC_FILE=$CDS_ROOT/share/license/license.EQUALIZER
export PATH=$CDS_ROOT/tools/bin:$CDS_INSTALL_DIR/bin:$CDS_ROOT/tools/spectre/bin:$PATH
export CDS_Netlisting_Node Analog

10. Configure Bind key. Copy all the file in directory
/tools/dfII/sample/local to /tools/dfII/local, and
rename the cdsinit to .cdsinit

11. start cadence by typing icfb& in the bash terminal.
Good luck!