Arm Fixed Virtual Platforms (FVPs) and Fast Models

Arm Fixed Virtual Platforms (FVPs) are software models of Arm processor cores, full-system simulators that execute real firmware binaries with cycle-approximate or instruction-accurate fidelity. Together with Fast Models (Arm’s modelling library used to build FVPs and custom virtual platforms), they make pre-silicon firmware development and CI without hardware practical for Indian Cortex-M / Cortex-R / Cortex-A / Neoverse engineering teams.

GSAS Micro Systems is Arm’s authorized partner in India for Arm Development Tools. We quote on-premise FVPs and Fast Models run-time under the standard Arm User-Based Licensing model, with INR procurement and local engineering support across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, and Visakhapatnam.

What FVPs and Fast Models actually do

Tool	What it is	Who uses it
Fixed Virtual Platforms (FVPs)	Pre-built software models of specific Arm processor cores (Cortex-M0 / M0+ / M3 / M4 / M7 / M23 / M33 / M52 / M55 / M85 / R52 / A53 / A55 / A78 / A78AE / Neoverse-V2 / etc.). Run real firmware binaries directly on the developer’s host machine.	Embedded firmware teams developing on Arm cores, for pre-silicon bring-up, regression testing, and CI.
Fast Models (run-time)	The simulation engine that powers FVPs. Provided as a run-time library bundled with FVPs in the MDK Professional / Dev Studio Gold tiers.	Firmware teams; the simulation library is what makes the FVP go.
Fast Models (System Creation)	The modelling environment for building custom virtual platforms, used by SoC design teams to create models of yet-to-be-fabbed silicon.	SoC design centres; out of standard GSAS embedded-tools scope.

For Indian embedded teams the practical scope is Fast Models run-time + FVPs: you get a pre-built model of your target Cortex core, you point your firmware build at it, and you run.

Use case 1: Pre-silicon firmware development

For Indian SoC programmes, particularly fabless silicon companies and customer engineering teams in Bengaluru and Hyderabad working alongside the silicon design, FVPs are the only way to start serious firmware work before tape-out. The pattern:

1. Silicon team commits to a Cortex-M / R / A core selection.
2. Firmware team installs the matching FVP.
3. Driver teams, RTOS porting teams, and application engineers all bring up firmware on the FVP in parallel with silicon design.
4. When silicon arrives, the firmware is already mostly working, bring-up week becomes bring-up day.

The economics are hard to argue with: every quarter you compress out of “wait for silicon → start firmware” gets directly added to product revenue.

Use case 2: CI without hardware

For commercial product teams already past tape-out, FVPs solve a different problem: scaling firmware regression tests in CI. Physical-board-attached CI doesn’t scale past a small number of agents, board failures, dongle re-flashing, JTAG flakes, and physical maintenance are all real costs. FVPs run headlessly in any standard CI runner (GitHub Actions, GitLab Runner, Jenkins, Azure DevOps).

The natural pattern Indian teams settle into:

• Per-commit / per-PR builds run on FVPs, fast, parallel, no hardware bottleneck.
• Nightly / pre-release builds run on a smaller pool of physical boards, for the things FVPs don’t model perfectly (peripheral timing, real RF, real motor torque).
• Release builds run on full physical-board test rigs, the full hardware-in-the-loop validation suite.

This three-layer cake (FVP → physical → HIL) is how mature Indian product teams get fast feedback in CI without giving up the realism of the physical-board final pass.

Use case 3: Shift-left for safety-critical programmes

For Indian Tier-1 / Tier-2 ECU programmes on ISO 26262 ASIL-D: regression tests need to run continuously throughout the qualification cycle, not just at the end. FVPs let safety teams run the regression suite on every change without burning physical-board time. The qualified FuSa Compiler (AC6 FuSa) targets the same firmware, so the FVP execution path is representative for safety-evidence purposes, the FVP isn’t itself qualified, but the firmware it runs is, and the test results feed the safety case.

How FVPs are licensed

FVPs are not a separate purchase, they are bundled into specific Arm tools tiers:

• Keil MDK Professional: includes the Cortex-M FVPs. Sold by GSAS in India under UBL.
• Arm Development Studio Gold edition: includes Cortex-A / Cortex-R / Neoverse FVPs. Sold by GSAS in India under UBL.
• Arm Hardware Success Kit: includes the broadest FVP set across architectures, plus Fast Models run-time. Sold direct by Arm to SoC design centres through Arm’s IP commercial channel.

Indian Cortex-M teams that want FVPs typically standardise on MDK Professional for the Cortex-M coverage; teams working on Cortex-A / Cortex-R / Neoverse standardise on Arm Development Studio Gold. MDK Essential does not include FVPs: you would upgrade to MDK Professional. The bundled Hardware Success Kit is the broadest option but is sold direct by Arm; GSAS does not distribute that bundle.

FVPs vs Arm Virtual Hardware (AVH)

A common Indian-customer question: “isn’t AVH the same thing as FVPs?” The answer is more nuanced.

Property	FVP / Fast Models (on-prem)	Arm Virtual Hardware (AVH)
Where it runs	Developer machine / on-prem CI	Arm-hosted SaaS (cloud-only)
Licensing	UBL, bundled in MDK Pro / Dev Studio Gold	Arm-direct subscription
Best for	Teams with regulated networks, air-gapped programmes, on-prem CI	Cloud-first teams without on-prem infra preference
Indian customer fit	Most Indian Tier-1 / defence / safety teams (network policies favour on-prem)	Indian SaaS-native startups; specific cloud-CI use cases
GSAS sells	✅ on-prem FVP / Fast Models via MDK Pro and Arm Development Studio Gold	❌ AVH is cloud-only and out of GSAS’s authorised scope

For most Indian engineering teams, especially in regulated industries (automotive, aerospace, medical, defence) and security-conscious enterprise environments, the on-prem FVP path is the right answer. AVH is a separate Arm-direct offering for teams whose CI is already cloud-native and who want zero on-prem licensing infrastructure. GSAS does not resell AVH; we quote the on-prem FVP path.

When to choose FVPs

Scenario	Recommendation
Pre-silicon Cortex-M firmware bring-up at a Bengaluru / Hyderabad SoC house	FVP via MDK Pro or Success Kit
Cortex-A SoC bring-up at a chip-design centre	FVP via Arm DS Gold or Success Kit
Scaling firmware regression CI for a Tier-1 automotive ECU programme	FVP via MDK Pro (per-PR builds) + physical boards (release validation)
ASIL-D safety-critical firmware regression suite	FVP via MDK Pro + AC6 FuSa for shift-left + physical HIL for sign-off
Cloud-CI-native Indian SaaS startup, no on-prem CI infra	AVH: Arm-direct, not via GSAS

Why Indian teams buy FVPs from GSAS

• INR procurement: GeM, SAP Ariba, Coupa, TReDS supported. GST-compliant invoicing.
• UBL provisioning: entitlement set up; CI bots configured to claim FVP seats.
• Pre-silicon engineering support: for SoC houses bringing up firmware before tape-out, we help calibrate the FVP boundary (what’s worth simulating, what’s worth waiting for silicon).
• CI integration: practical patterns for csolution.yml + GitHub Actions / GitLab CI / Jenkins integration with FVPs in the build matrix.
• Authorized Arm engineering partner since 2018: a long-standing Arm tools partner across India.

Get an FVP / Fast Models quote for your team →