Author: System on Chips

ARM Cortex-A RAS Error Injection: SError Exception Not Triggering for CE/DE Errors The ARM Cortex-A architecture, particularly when utilizing the FEAT_RASv1p1 (Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability) extension, provides mechanisms for error injection and containment. However, a common issue arises when attempting to inject Corrected Errors (CE) and Deferred Errors (DE) using the Pseudo-fault Generation Control Register…

ARM Cortex-A7 Shared L2 Cache Configuration and Real-Time Performance Optimization The ARM Cortex-A7 processor, often used in dual-core configurations, is designed for energy efficiency and is commonly found in embedded systems requiring a balance between performance and power consumption. One of the key features of the Cortex-A7 is its shared L2 cache, which is typically…

ARM TrustZone-M Secure to Non-Secure State Transition Violation The core issue revolves around a Secure Fault triggered by an Invalid Transaction (INVTRAN) when attempting to call a Non-Secure (NS) function from a Non-Secure Callable (NSCallable) section in an ARM TrustZone-M implementation. TrustZone-M, a security extension for ARMv8-M architectures, enforces strict isolation between Secure and Non-Secure…

AMBA CHI Chip-to-Chip TxnID Pass-Through and Remapping Ambiguity The AMBA CHI (Coherent Hub Interface) protocol is a critical component in modern ARM-based systems, enabling efficient communication between multiple chips in a coherent system. One of the key aspects of this protocol is the handling of transaction identifiers (TxnIDs) and source identifiers (SrcIDs) across chip-to-chip (C2C)…

ARM Cortex-A53 Instruction Per Cycle (IPC) Analysis for CRC32 Workloads The ARM Cortex-A53 is a widely used in-order processor core designed for efficiency and low power consumption. It features a dual-issue pipeline, meaning it can theoretically execute up to two instructions per cycle under optimal conditions. However, achieving this peak IPC is highly dependent on…

Understanding the SC000 Anti-Tampering Feature and Its Importance The SC000 processor, part of Arm’s SecurCore family, is designed for secure embedded applications, particularly in environments where resistance to physical and logical attacks is critical. One of its standout features is the anti-tampering mechanism, which is essential for safeguarding sensitive data and ensuring the integrity of…

ARM Cortex-M MVE and Cortex-A Neon Intrinsics: Functional Overlap and Divergence The ARM Cortex-M series, particularly those supporting the M-profile Vector Extension (MVE), and the Cortex-A series, which leverages Advanced SIMD (Neon) intrinsics, are both designed to accelerate vectorized operations in embedded systems. However, their architectural goals, use cases, and implementation details differ significantly, despite…

ARM Corstone SSE-700 MHU v2.1 R2NR Interrupt Trigger Mechanism The ARM Corstone SSE-700 subsystem integrates the Message Handling Unit (MHU) v2.1, a critical component for inter-processor communication (IPC) via mailbox mechanisms. The MHU v2.1 supports multiple interrupt types, including the Receiver-to-Non-Receiver (R2NR) interrupt. The R2NR interrupt is triggered when the ACC_RDY signal transitions from HIGH…

External SRAM Burst Waveform Errors with Cacheable Memory and Disabled Data Cache The core issue revolves around accessing external SRAM regions marked as cacheable in the MMU page tables while the data cache is disabled. This configuration leads to errors in the burst waveform during memory access. The system in question has the MMU enabled,…

ARM Cortex-A Virtual IRQ and IRQ Routing in EL2 and EL1 The ARM architecture, particularly when virtualization is involved, introduces complexities in interrupt handling that can be challenging to understand, especially for those new to ARM virtualization. The core issue revolves around how physical interrupts (IRQs) and virtual interrupts (vIRQs) are routed and handled in…