RA0 Cortex-A5 implementation

This course covers the ARM Cortex-A5 CPU

OBJECTIVES
  • This course is split into 3 important parts:
    • Cortex-A5 architecture
    • Cortex-A5 software implementation and debug
    • Cortex-A5 hardware implementation.
  • MMU operation under Linux is described.
  • Interaction between level 1 caches, level 2 cache and main memory is studied through sequences.
  • The exception mechanism is detailed, indicating how virtualization enables the support of several operating systems.
  • The course also details the hardware implementation and provides some guidelines to design a SoC based on Cortex-A5.
  • An overview of the Coresight specification is provided prior to describing the debug related units.
  • The course explains the mechanisms dedicated to SMP implementation, exclusive resource management, snooping, software generated interrupt.
A more detailed course description is available on request at training@ac6-training.com
  • Knowledge of ARM7/9 or having attended our course ARM fundamentals.
  • This course does not include chapters on low level programming.
    • ACSYS offers a large set of tutorials to become familiar with RVDS, assembly level programming, compiler hints and tips.
  • More than 12 correct answers to our Cortex-A5 prerequisites questionnaire.
  • Theoretical course
    • PDF course material (in English) supplemented by a printed version for face-to-face courses.
    • Online courses are dispensed using the Teams video-conferencing system.
    • The trainer answers trainees' questions during the training and provide technical and pedagogical assistance.
  • At the start of each session the trainer will interact with the trainees to ensure the course fits their expectations and correct if needed
  • Any embedded systems engineer or technician with the above prerequisites.
  • The prerequisites indicated above are assessed before the training by the technical supervision of the traineein his company, or by the trainee himself in the exceptional case of an individual trainee.
  • Trainee progress is assessed by quizzes offered at the end of various sections to verify that the trainees have assimilated the points presented
  • At the end of the training, each trainee receives a certificate attesting that they have successfully completed the course.
    • In the event of a problem, discovered during the course, due to a lack of prerequisites by the trainee a different or additional training is offered to them, generally to reinforce their prerequisites,in agreement with their company manager if applicable.

Course Outline

  • Cortex-A5 variants: single core vs multicore
  • The 4 instruction sets
  • Configurable options
  • States and modes
  • Exception mechanism
  • Instruction sets
  • In-order pipeline operation
  • Branch prediction mechanism
  • Return stack
  • TrustZone conceptual view
  • Secure to non secure permitted transitions
  • Memory partitioning
  • Interrupt management
  • Boot sequence
  • AMP vs SMP
  • Boot sequence
  • Exclusive access monitor
  • Global monitor
  • Spin-lock implementation
  • Using events
  • Basic concepts of RTOS supporting A5 SMP architecture
  • General points on syntax
  • Branch and control flow instructions
  • Memory access instructions
  • Exception generating instructions
  • If…then conditional blocks
  • Stack in operation
  • Interworking ARM and Thumb states
    • Demonstration of assembly sequences aimed to understand this new instruction set
  • MMU objectives
  • Address translation
  • Page access permission, domain and page protection
  • Utilization of memory barrier instructions
  • Format of the external page descriptor table
  • Tablewalk
  • TLB organization
  • Utilization of microTLBs
  • Abort exception, on-demand page mechanism
  • MMU maintenance operations
  • Maintaining coherency of multiple TLBs
  • Cache organization
  • Supported maintenance operations
  • Memory hint instructions
  • Describing transient cache related transactions: line fills and line eviction
  • 64-bit merging store buffer
  • PMU related events
  • Snooping basics
  • Snoop Control Unit: cache-to-cache transfers
  • MOESI state machine
  • Address filtering
  • Understanding through sequences how data coherency is maintained between L2 memory and L1 caches
  • Accelerator Coherency Port
  • Enabling coherency mode
  • AXI
    • Topology
    • PL301 AXI interconnect
    • AXI channels, channel handshake
    • Support for unaligned data transfers
    • Transaction ordering, out of order transaction completion
    • Cortex-A5 external memory interface, ID encoding
  • APB 3
  • Clock domains
  • Reset domains
  • Power control, dynamic power management
  • Wait For Interrupt architecture
  • Level 2 memory interface
  • Exclusive L2 cache
  • Cache configurability
  • Understanding through sequences how cacheable information is copied from memory to level 1 and level 2 caches
  • Transient operations, utilization of line buffers LFBs, LRBs, EBs and STBs
  • Cache event monitoring
  • Describing each maintenance operation
  • Cache lockdown
  • Initialization sequence
  • Event counting
  • Debugging a multi-core system with the assistance of the PMU
  • Cortex-A5 exception management
  • Interrupt virtualization
  • Integrated timer and watchdog unit in MPCore
  • Interrupt groups: SGI, PPI, SPI, LSPI
  • Prioritization of the interrupt sources
  • Distribution of the interrupts to the Cortex-A5 cores
  • Generation of interrupts by software
  • Detailing the interrupt sequence, purpose of Interrupt Acknowledge register and End-Of-Interrupt register
  • Voltage domains
  • Communication to the power management controller
  • Standby and wait for event signals
  • SCU power status register
  • Benefits of CoreSight
  • Invasive debug, non-invasive debug, taking into account the secure attribute
  • Connection to the Debug Access Port
  • Debug facilities offered by Cortex-A5
  • Event catching
  • Debug Communication Channel
  • ETM interface
  • Cross-Trigger Interface, debugging a multi-core SoC