Architectures and Processors

AXI3 Slave Sampling Behavior Verification Challenge In the context of ARM AMBA AXI3 protocol compliance, ensuring that an AXI3 slave samples signals exclusively on the positive edge of the clock is critical for maintaining system timing integrity. The AXI3 protocol mandates that all signals be sampled on the rising edge of the clock to ensure…

Coresight Device Registration Failure on ARM64 Juno Board The issue at hand involves the failure of Coresight devices to register in the /sys/bus/coresight/devices directory on an ARM64 Juno board after compiling and flashing the kernel image. Coresight is a sophisticated debugging and trace technology integrated into ARM-based SoCs, enabling developers to trace and debug complex…

BVALID and BREADY Handshake Protocol in AXI Write Response Channel The AXI (Advanced eXtensible Interface) protocol, part of the ARM AMBA (Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture) family, is widely used in SoC designs for high-performance data transfer between components. The protocol defines five independent channels: Read Address, Read Data, Write Address, Write Data, and Write Response….

Missing Configuration Files During Coresight SoC-400 Installation When attempting to install the Coresight SoC-400 tool, users often encounter errors related to missing configuration files. The specific error message in this case is: "ERROR: check_file: could not locate file in the file-system: /proj/reference/ARM/CoreSight_SoC-400M/TM100-BU-50000-r3p2-50rel2/coresight_soc/logical/cssys_m3_v6m/logical/config/cxapbic_1sx2mas_m3_v6m_config/cxapbic_1sx2mas_m3_v6m_config.xml.user". This error indicates that the installation script is unable to locate a critical…

Peripheral Integration Challenges with AXI4 SystemC Models When integrating a peripheral into an ARM-based SoC, one of the critical requirements is the availability of a pin-accurate and bit-accurate AXI4 SystemC model. The AXI4 protocol, part of the ARM AMBA specification, is widely used for high-performance on-chip communication. However, creating or sourcing a SystemC model that…

PL131 Internal Authenticate Command Hangs Without Expected Response The PL131, a widely used USIM card controller, is designed to handle secure communication between the host system and the USIM card. One of its critical functions is executing the Internal Authenticate command, which is essential for authentication and secure data exchange. However, in this scenario, the…

Custom Accelerator Integration Challenges with ARM CoreLink CMN-600 Integrating a custom accelerator with ARM CoreLink CMN-600 using the CHI (Coherent Hub Interface) or ACE-Lite (AXI Coherency Extensions Lite) interface presents several technical challenges. The CoreLink CMN-600 is a highly configurable interconnect designed for high-performance SoCs, supporting both coherent and non-coherent transactions. The CHI protocol is…

ARM Cryptocell 310 Side Channel Attack Vulnerabilities The ARM Cryptocell 310 is a hardware-based security subsystem designed to provide cryptographic operations and secure key storage for ARM-based SoCs. One of the critical concerns in cryptographic implementations is protection against side channel attacks, particularly timing analysis and differential power analysis (DPA). Timing analysis exploits variations in…

Byte Invariance in AXI: Definition and Functional Significance Byte invariance is a fundamental concept in the AXI (Advanced eXtensible Interface) protocol, which is widely used in ARM-based SoC designs. It refers to the property that ensures data bytes are mapped to the same byte lanes on the data bus, regardless of the system’s endianness. This…

APB 2.0 Continuous Transfer Protocol and State Transition Requirements The Advanced Peripheral Bus (APB) 2.0 protocol is a low-cost, low-power interface designed for peripheral communication in ARM-based SoCs. It is a part of the AMBA (Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture) family and is widely used for connecting low-bandwidth peripherals. A key feature of APB 2.0 is…