ac6-training, un département d'Ac6 SAS
 
Site displayed in English (USA)
View the site in FrenchSite affiché en English (USA)Voir le site en English (GB)
+ +
- -
Online Training
 
Calendar  Details
Operating Systems
 
Calendar  Details
Programming
Calendar  Details
Processors
 
Calendar  Details
Communication
 
 
 
Calendar  Details
+ +
> >
- -

ac6 >> ac6-training >> Processors >> ARM Cores >> Cortex-A5 implementation Download Catalog Download as PDF Write us Printable version

RA0 Cortex-A5 implementation

This course covers the ARM Cortex-A5 CPU

formateur
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
PREREQUISITES
  • 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.

First day
INTRODUCTION TO CORTEX-A5
  • Cortex-A5 variants: single core vs multicore
  • The 4 instruction sets
  • Configurable options
ARM BASICS
  • States and modes
  • Exception mechanism
  • Instruction sets
INSTRUCTION PIPELINE
  • In-order pipeline operation
  • Branch prediction mechanism
  • Return stack
TRUSTZONE
  • TrustZone conceptual view
  • Secure to non secure permitted transitions
  • Memory partitioning
  • Interrupt management
  • Boot sequence
INTRODUCTION TO MULTI-CORE SYSTEMS
  • AMP vs SMP
  • Boot sequence
  • Exclusive access monitor
  • Global monitor
  • Spin-lock implementation
  • Using events
  • Basic concepts of RTOS supporting A5 SMP architecture
Second day
THUMB-2 INSTRUCTION SET (V7-A)
  • 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
MEMORY MANAGEMENT UNIT
  • 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
LEVEL 1 MEMORY SYSTEM
  • 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
HARDWARE COHERENCY
  • 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
Third day
AMBA 3
  • 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
HARDWARE IMPLEMENTATION
  • Clock domains
  • Reset domains
  • Power control, dynamic power management
  • Wait For Interrupt architecture
  • Level 2 memory interface
  • Exclusive L2 cache
PL310 LEVEL 2 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
PERFORMANCE MONITOR
  • Event counting
  • Debugging a multi-core system with the assistance of the PMU
Fourth day
INTERRUPT CONTROLLER
  • 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
LOW POWER MODES
  • Voltage domains
  • Communication to the power management controller
  • Standby and wait for event signals
  • SCU power status register
CORESIGHT DEBUG UNITS
  • 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