xref: /rk3399_ARM-atf/docs/design/firmware-design.rst (revision 7256cf0ab7d539b134798b699aff4e2753d3f0cf)
1Firmware Design
2===============
3
4Trusted Firmware-A (TF-A) implements a subset of the Trusted Board Boot
5Requirements (TBBR) Platform Design Document (PDD) for Arm reference
6platforms.
7
8The TBB sequence starts when the platform is powered on and runs up
9to the stage where it hands-off control to firmware running in the normal
10world in DRAM. This is the cold boot path.
11
12TF-A also implements the `PSCI`_ as a runtime service. PSCI is the interface
13from normal world software to firmware implementing power management use-cases
14(for example, secondary CPU boot, hotplug and idle). Normal world software can
15access TF-A runtime services via the Arm SMC (Secure Monitor Call) instruction.
16The SMC instruction must be used as mandated by the SMC Calling Convention
17(`SMCCC`_).
18
19TF-A implements a framework for configuring and managing interrupts generated
20in either security state. The details of the interrupt management framework
21and its design can be found in :ref:`Interrupt Management Framework`.
22
23TF-A also implements a library for setting up and managing the translation
24tables. The details of this library can be found in
25:ref:`Translation (XLAT) Tables Library`.
26
27TF-A can be built to support either AArch64 or AArch32 execution state.
28
29.. note::
30    The descriptions in this chapter are for the Arm TrustZone architecture.
31    For changes to the firmware design for the `Arm Confidential Compute
32    Architecture (Arm CCA)`_ please refer to the chapter :ref:`Realm Management
33    Extension (RME)`.
34
35Cold boot
36---------
37
38The cold boot path starts when the platform is physically turned on. If
39``COLD_BOOT_SINGLE_CPU=0``, one of the CPUs released from reset is chosen as the
40primary CPU, and the remaining CPUs are considered secondary CPUs. The primary
41CPU is chosen through platform-specific means. The cold boot path is mainly
42executed by the primary CPU, other than essential CPU initialization executed by
43all CPUs. The secondary CPUs are kept in a safe platform-specific state until
44the primary CPU has performed enough initialization to boot them.
45
46Refer to the :ref:`CPU Reset` for more information on the effect of the
47``COLD_BOOT_SINGLE_CPU`` platform build option.
48
49The cold boot path in this implementation of TF-A depends on the execution
50state. For AArch64, it is divided into five steps (in order of execution):
51
52-  Boot Loader stage 1 (BL1) *AP Trusted ROM*
53-  Boot Loader stage 2 (BL2) *Trusted Boot Firmware*
54-  Boot Loader stage 3-1 (BL31) *EL3 Runtime Software*
55-  Boot Loader stage 3-2 (BL32) *Secure-EL1 Payload* (optional)
56-  Boot Loader stage 3-3 (BL33) *Non-trusted Firmware*
57
58For AArch32, it is divided into four steps (in order of execution):
59
60-  Boot Loader stage 1 (BL1) *AP Trusted ROM*
61-  Boot Loader stage 2 (BL2) *Trusted Boot Firmware*
62-  Boot Loader stage 3-2 (BL32) *EL3 Runtime Software*
63-  Boot Loader stage 3-3 (BL33) *Non-trusted Firmware*
64
65Arm development platforms (Fixed Virtual Platforms (FVPs) and Juno) implement a
66combination of the following types of memory regions. Each bootloader stage uses
67one or more of these memory regions.
68
69-  Regions accessible from both non-secure and secure states. For example,
70   non-trusted SRAM, ROM and DRAM.
71-  Regions accessible from only the secure state. For example, trusted SRAM and
72   ROM. The FVPs also implement the trusted DRAM which is statically
73   configured. Additionally, the Base FVPs and Juno development platform
74   configure the TrustZone Controller (TZC) to create a region in the DRAM
75   which is accessible only from the secure state.
76
77The sections below provide the following details:
78
79-  dynamic configuration of Boot Loader stages
80-  initialization and execution of the first three stages during cold boot
81-  specification of the EL3 Runtime Software (BL31 for AArch64 and BL32 for
82   AArch32) entrypoint requirements for use by alternative Trusted Boot
83   Firmware in place of the provided BL1 and BL2
84
85Dynamic Configuration during cold boot
86~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
87
88Each of the Boot Loader stages may be dynamically configured if required by the
89platform. The Boot Loader stage may optionally specify a firmware
90configuration file and/or hardware configuration file as listed below:
91
92-  FW_CONFIG - The firmware configuration file. Holds properties shared across
93   all BLx images.
94   An example is the "dtb-registry" node, which contains the information about
95   the other device tree configurations (load-address, size, image_id).
96-  HW_CONFIG - The hardware configuration file. Can be shared by all Boot Loader
97   stages and also by the Normal World Rich OS.
98-  TB_FW_CONFIG - Trusted Boot Firmware configuration file. Shared between BL1
99   and BL2.
100-  SOC_FW_CONFIG - SoC Firmware configuration file. Used by BL31.
101-  TOS_FW_CONFIG - Trusted OS Firmware configuration file. Used by Trusted OS
102   (BL32).
103-  NT_FW_CONFIG - Non Trusted Firmware configuration file. Used by Non-trusted
104   firmware (BL33).
105
106The Arm development platforms use the Flattened Device Tree format for the
107dynamic configuration files.
108
109Each Boot Loader stage can pass up to 4 arguments via registers to the next
110stage.  BL2 passes the list of the next images to execute to the *EL3 Runtime
111Software* (BL31 for AArch64 and BL32 for AArch32) via `arg0`. All the other
112arguments are platform defined. The Arm development platforms use the following
113convention:
114
115-  BL1 passes the address of a meminfo_t structure to BL2 via ``arg1``. This
116   structure contains the memory layout available to BL2.
117-  When dynamic configuration files are present, the firmware configuration for
118   the next Boot Loader stage is populated in the first available argument and
119   the generic hardware configuration is passed the next available argument.
120   For example,
121
122   -  FW_CONFIG is loaded by BL1, then its address is passed in ``arg0`` to BL2.
123   -  TB_FW_CONFIG address is retrieved by BL2 from FW_CONFIG device tree.
124   -  If HW_CONFIG is loaded by BL1, then its address is passed in ``arg2`` to
125      BL2. Note, ``arg1`` is already used for meminfo_t.
126   -  If SOC_FW_CONFIG is loaded by BL2, then its address is passed in ``arg1``
127      to BL31. Note, ``arg0`` is used to pass the list of executable images.
128   -  Similarly, if HW_CONFIG is loaded by BL1 or BL2, then its address is
129      passed in ``arg2`` to BL31.
130   -  For other BL3x images, if the firmware configuration file is loaded by
131      BL2, then its address is passed in ``arg0`` and if HW_CONFIG is loaded
132      then its address is passed in ``arg1``.
133   -  In case SPMC_AT_EL3 is enabled, populate the BL32 image base, size and max
134      limit in the entry point information, since there is no platform function
135      to retrieve these in generic code. We choose ``arg2``, ``arg3`` and
136      ``arg4`` since the generic code uses ``arg1`` for stashing the SP manifest
137      size. The SPMC setup uses these arguments to update SP manifest with
138      actual SP's base address and it size.
139   -  In case of the Arm FVP platform, FW_CONFIG address passed in ``arg1`` to
140      BL31/SP_MIN, and the SOC_FW_CONFIG and HW_CONFIG details are retrieved
141      from FW_CONFIG device tree.
142
143BL1
144~~~
145
146This stage begins execution from the platform's reset vector at EL3. The reset
147address is platform dependent but it is usually located in a Trusted ROM area.
148The BL1 data section is copied to trusted SRAM at runtime.
149
150On the Arm development platforms, BL1 code starts execution from the reset
151vector defined by the constant ``BL1_RO_BASE``. The BL1 data section is copied
152to the top of trusted SRAM as defined by the constant ``BL1_RW_BASE``.
153
154The functionality implemented by this stage is as follows.
155
156Determination of boot path
157^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
158
159Whenever a CPU is released from reset, BL1 needs to distinguish between a warm
160boot and a cold boot. This is done using platform-specific mechanisms (see the
161``plat_get_my_entrypoint()`` function in the :ref:`Porting Guide`). In the case
162of a warm boot, a CPU is expected to continue execution from a separate
163entrypoint. In the case of a cold boot, the secondary CPUs are placed in a safe
164platform-specific state (see the ``plat_secondary_cold_boot_setup()`` function in
165the :ref:`Porting Guide`) while the primary CPU executes the remaining cold boot
166path as described in the following sections.
167
168This step only applies when ``PROGRAMMABLE_RESET_ADDRESS=0``. Refer to the
169:ref:`CPU Reset` for more information on the effect of the
170``PROGRAMMABLE_RESET_ADDRESS`` platform build option.
171
172Architectural initialization
173^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
174
175BL1 performs minimal architectural initialization as follows.
176
177-  Exception vectors
178
179   BL1 sets up simple exception vectors for both synchronous and asynchronous
180   exceptions. The default behavior upon receiving an exception is to populate
181   a status code in the general purpose register ``X0/R0`` and call the
182   ``plat_report_exception()`` function (see the :ref:`Porting Guide`). The
183   status code is one of:
184
185   For AArch64:
186
187   ::
188
189       0x0 : Synchronous exception from Current EL with SP_EL0
190       0x1 : IRQ exception from Current EL with SP_EL0
191       0x2 : FIQ exception from Current EL with SP_EL0
192       0x3 : System Error exception from Current EL with SP_EL0
193       0x4 : Synchronous exception from Current EL with SP_ELx
194       0x5 : IRQ exception from Current EL with SP_ELx
195       0x6 : FIQ exception from Current EL with SP_ELx
196       0x7 : System Error exception from Current EL with SP_ELx
197       0x8 : Synchronous exception from Lower EL using aarch64
198       0x9 : IRQ exception from Lower EL using aarch64
199       0xa : FIQ exception from Lower EL using aarch64
200       0xb : System Error exception from Lower EL using aarch64
201       0xc : Synchronous exception from Lower EL using aarch32
202       0xd : IRQ exception from Lower EL using aarch32
203       0xe : FIQ exception from Lower EL using aarch32
204       0xf : System Error exception from Lower EL using aarch32
205
206   For AArch32:
207
208   ::
209
210       0x10 : User mode
211       0x11 : FIQ mode
212       0x12 : IRQ mode
213       0x13 : SVC mode
214       0x16 : Monitor mode
215       0x17 : Abort mode
216       0x1a : Hypervisor mode
217       0x1b : Undefined mode
218       0x1f : System mode
219
220   The ``plat_report_exception()`` implementation on the Arm FVP port programs
221   the Versatile Express System LED register in the following format to
222   indicate the occurrence of an unexpected exception:
223
224   ::
225
226       SYS_LED[0]   - Security state (Secure=0/Non-Secure=1)
227       SYS_LED[2:1] - Exception Level (EL3=0x3, EL2=0x2, EL1=0x1, EL0=0x0)
228                      For AArch32 it is always 0x0
229       SYS_LED[7:3] - Exception Class (Sync/Async & origin). This is the value
230                      of the status code
231
232   A write to the LED register reflects in the System LEDs (S6LED0..7) in the
233   CLCD window of the FVP.
234
235   BL1 does not expect to receive any exceptions other than the SMC exception.
236   For the latter, BL1 installs a simple stub. The stub expects to receive a
237   limited set of SMC types (determined by their function IDs in the general
238   purpose register ``X0/R0``):
239
240   -  ``BL1_SMC_RUN_IMAGE``: This SMC is raised by BL2 to make BL1 pass control
241      to EL3 Runtime Software.
242   -  All SMCs listed in section "BL1 SMC Interface" in the :ref:`Firmware Update (FWU)`
243      Design Guide are supported for AArch64 only. These SMCs are currently
244      not supported when BL1 is built for AArch32.
245
246   Any other SMC leads to an assertion failure.
247
248-  CPU initialization
249
250   BL1 calls the ``reset_handler`` macro/function which in turn calls the CPU
251   specific reset handler function (see the section: "CPU specific operations
252   framework").
253
254Platform initialization
255^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
256
257On Arm platforms, BL1 performs the following platform initializations:
258
259-  Enable the Trusted Watchdog.
260-  Initialize the console.
261-  Configure the Interconnect to enable hardware coherency.
262-  Enable the MMU and map the memory it needs to access.
263-  Configure any required platform storage to load the next bootloader image
264   (BL2).
265-  If the BL1 dynamic configuration file, ``TB_FW_CONFIG``, is available, then
266   load it to the platform defined address and make it available to BL2 via
267   ``arg0``.
268-  Configure the system timer and program the `CNTFRQ_EL0` for use by NS-BL1U
269   and NS-BL2U firmware update images.
270
271Firmware Update detection and execution
272^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
273
274After performing platform setup, BL1 common code calls
275``bl1_plat_get_next_image_id()`` to determine if :ref:`Firmware Update (FWU)` is
276required or to proceed with the normal boot process. If the platform code
277returns ``BL2_IMAGE_ID`` then the normal boot sequence is executed as described
278in the next section, else BL1 assumes that :ref:`Firmware Update (FWU)` is
279required and execution passes to the first image in the
280:ref:`Firmware Update (FWU)` process. In either case, BL1 retrieves a descriptor
281of the next image by calling ``bl1_plat_get_image_desc()``. The image descriptor
282contains an ``entry_point_info_t`` structure, which BL1 uses to initialize the
283execution state of the next image.
284
285BL2 image load and execution
286^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
287
288In the normal boot flow, BL1 execution continues as follows:
289
290#. BL1 prints the following string from the primary CPU to indicate successful
291   execution of the BL1 stage:
292
293   ::
294
295       "Booting Trusted Firmware"
296
297#. BL1 loads a BL2 raw binary image from platform storage, at a
298   platform-specific base address. Prior to the load, BL1 invokes
299   ``bl1_plat_handle_pre_image_load()`` which allows the platform to update or
300   use the image information. If the BL2 image file is not present or if
301   there is not enough free trusted SRAM the following error message is
302   printed:
303
304   ::
305
306       "Failed to load BL2 firmware."
307
308#. BL1 invokes ``bl1_plat_handle_post_image_load()`` which again is intended
309   for platforms to take further action after image load. This function must
310   populate the necessary arguments for BL2, which may also include the memory
311   layout. Further description of the memory layout can be found later
312   in this document.
313
314#. BL1 passes control to the BL2 image at Secure EL1 (for AArch64) or at
315   Secure SVC mode (for AArch32), starting from its load address.
316
317BL2
318~~~
319
320BL1 loads and passes control to BL2 at Secure-EL1 (for AArch64) or at Secure
321SVC mode (for AArch32) . BL2 is linked against and loaded at a platform-specific
322base address (more information can be found later in this document).
323The functionality implemented by BL2 is as follows.
324
325Architectural initialization
326^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
327
328For AArch64, BL2 performs the minimal architectural initialization required
329for subsequent stages of TF-A and normal world software. EL1 and EL0 are given
330access to Floating Point and Advanced SIMD registers by setting the
331``CPACR.FPEN`` bits.
332
333For AArch32, the minimal architectural initialization required for subsequent
334stages of TF-A and normal world software is taken care of in BL1 as both BL1
335and BL2 execute at PL1.
336
337Platform initialization
338^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
339
340On Arm platforms, BL2 performs the following platform initializations:
341
342-  Initialize the console.
343-  Configure any required platform storage to allow loading further bootloader
344   images.
345-  Enable the MMU and map the memory it needs to access.
346-  Perform platform security setup to allow access to controlled components.
347-  Reserve some memory for passing information to the next bootloader image
348   EL3 Runtime Software and populate it.
349-  Define the extents of memory available for loading each subsequent
350   bootloader image.
351-  If BL1 has passed TB_FW_CONFIG dynamic configuration file in ``arg0``,
352   then parse it.
353
354Image loading in BL2
355^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
356
357BL2 generic code loads the images based on the list of loadable images
358provided by the platform. BL2 passes the list of executable images
359provided by the platform to the next handover BL image.
360
361The list of loadable images provided by the platform may also contain
362dynamic configuration files. The files are loaded and can be parsed as
363needed in the ``bl2_plat_handle_post_image_load()`` function. These
364configuration files can be passed to next Boot Loader stages as arguments
365by updating the corresponding entrypoint information in this function.
366
367SCP_BL2 (System Control Processor Firmware) image load
368^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
369
370Some systems have a separate System Control Processor (SCP) for power, clock,
371reset and system control. BL2 loads the optional SCP_BL2 image from platform
372storage into a platform-specific region of secure memory. The subsequent
373handling of SCP_BL2 is platform specific. For example, on the Juno Arm
374development platform port the image is transferred into SCP's internal memory
375using the Boot Over MHU (BOM) protocol after being loaded in the trusted SRAM
376memory. The SCP executes SCP_BL2 and signals to the Application Processor (AP)
377for BL2 execution to continue.
378
379EL3 Runtime Software image load
380^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
381
382BL2 loads the EL3 Runtime Software image from platform storage into a platform-
383specific address in trusted SRAM. If there is not enough memory to load the
384image or image is missing it leads to an assertion failure.
385
386AArch64 BL32 (Secure-EL1 Payload) image load
387^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
388
389BL2 loads the optional BL32 image from platform storage into a platform-
390specific region of secure memory. The image executes in the secure world. BL2
391relies on BL31 to pass control to the BL32 image, if present. Hence, BL2
392populates a platform-specific area of memory with the entrypoint/load-address
393of the BL32 image. The value of the Saved Processor Status Register (``SPSR``)
394for entry into BL32 is not determined by BL2, it is initialized by the
395Secure-EL1 Payload Dispatcher (see later) within BL31, which is responsible for
396managing interaction with BL32. This information is passed to BL31.
397
398BL33 (Non-trusted Firmware) image load
399^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
400
401BL2 loads the BL33 image (e.g. UEFI or other test or boot software) from
402platform storage into non-secure memory as defined by the platform.
403
404BL2 relies on EL3 Runtime Software to pass control to BL33 once secure state
405initialization is complete. Hence, BL2 populates a platform-specific area of
406memory with the entrypoint and Saved Program Status Register (``SPSR``) of the
407normal world software image. The entrypoint is the load address of the BL33
408image. The ``SPSR`` is determined as specified in Section 5.13 of the
409`PSCI`_. This information is passed to the EL3 Runtime Software.
410
411AArch64 BL31 (EL3 Runtime Software) execution
412^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
413
414BL2 execution continues as follows:
415
416#. BL2 passes control back to BL1 by raising an SMC, providing BL1 with the
417   BL31 entrypoint. The exception is handled by the SMC exception handler
418   installed by BL1.
419
420#. BL1 turns off the MMU and flushes the caches. It clears the
421   ``SCTLR_EL3.M/I/C`` bits, flushes the data cache to the point of coherency
422   and invalidates the TLBs.
423
424#. BL1 passes control to BL31 at the specified entrypoint at EL3.
425
426Running BL2 at EL3 execution level
427~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
428
429Some platforms have a non-TF-A Boot ROM that expects the next boot stage
430to execute at EL3. On these platforms, TF-A BL1 is a waste of memory
431as its only purpose is to ensure TF-A BL2 is entered at S-EL1. To avoid
432this waste, a special mode enables BL2 to execute at EL3, which allows
433a non-TF-A Boot ROM to load and jump directly to BL2. This mode is selected
434when the build flag RESET_TO_BL2 is enabled.
435The main differences in this mode are:
436
437#. BL2 includes the reset code and the mailbox mechanism to differentiate
438   cold boot and warm boot. It runs at EL3 doing the arch
439   initialization required for EL3.
440
441#. BL2 does not receive the meminfo information from BL1 anymore. This
442   information can be passed by the Boot ROM or be internal to the
443   BL2 image.
444
445#. Since BL2 executes at EL3, BL2 jumps directly to the next image,
446   instead of invoking the RUN_IMAGE SMC call.
447
448
449We assume 3 different types of BootROM support on the platform:
450
451#. The Boot ROM always jumps to the same address, for both cold
452   and warm boot. In this case, we will need to keep a resident part
453   of BL2 whose memory cannot be reclaimed by any other image. The
454   linker script defines the symbols __TEXT_RESIDENT_START__ and
455   __TEXT_RESIDENT_END__ that allows the platform to configure
456   correctly the memory map.
457#. The platform has some mechanism to indicate the jump address to the
458   Boot ROM. Platform code can then program the jump address with
459   psci_warmboot_entrypoint during cold boot.
460#. The platform has some mechanism to program the reset address using
461   the PROGRAMMABLE_RESET_ADDRESS feature. Platform code can then
462   program the reset address with psci_warmboot_entrypoint during
463   cold boot, bypassing the boot ROM for warm boot.
464
465In the last 2 cases, no part of BL2 needs to remain resident at
466runtime. In the first 2 cases, we expect the Boot ROM to be able to
467differentiate between warm and cold boot, to avoid loading BL2 again
468during warm boot.
469
470This functionality can be tested with FVP loading the image directly
471in memory and changing the address where the system jumps at reset.
472For example:
473
474	-C cluster0.cpu0.RVBAR=0x4022000
475	--data cluster0.cpu0=bl2.bin@0x4022000
476
477With this configuration, FVP is like a platform of the first case,
478where the Boot ROM jumps always to the same address. For simplification,
479BL32 is loaded in DRAM in this case, to avoid other images reclaiming
480BL2 memory.
481
482
483AArch64 BL31
484~~~~~~~~~~~~
485
486The image for this stage is loaded by BL2 and BL1 passes control to BL31 at
487EL3. BL31 executes solely in trusted SRAM. BL31 is linked against and
488loaded at a platform-specific base address (more information can be found later
489in this document). The functionality implemented by BL31 is as follows.
490
491Architectural initialization
492^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
493
494Currently, BL31 performs a similar architectural initialization to BL1 as
495far as system register settings are concerned. Since BL1 code resides in ROM,
496architectural initialization in BL31 allows override of any previous
497initialization done by BL1.
498
499BL31 initializes the per-CPU data framework, which provides a cache of
500frequently accessed per-CPU data optimised for fast, concurrent manipulation
501on different CPUs. This buffer includes pointers to per-CPU contexts, crash
502buffer, CPU reset and power down operations, PSCI data, platform data and so on.
503
504It then replaces the exception vectors populated by BL1 with its own. BL31
505exception vectors implement more elaborate support for handling SMCs since this
506is the only mechanism to access the runtime services implemented by BL31 (PSCI
507for example). BL31 checks each SMC for validity as specified by the
508`SMC Calling Convention`_ before passing control to the required SMC
509handler routine.
510
511BL31 programs the ``CNTFRQ_EL0`` register with the clock frequency of the system
512counter, which is provided by the platform.
513
514Platform initialization
515^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
516
517BL31 performs detailed platform initialization, which enables normal world
518software to function correctly.
519
520On Arm platforms, this consists of the following:
521
522-  Initialize the console.
523-  Configure the Interconnect to enable hardware coherency.
524-  Enable the MMU and map the memory it needs to access.
525-  Initialize the generic interrupt controller.
526-  Initialize the power controller device.
527-  Detect the system topology.
528
529Runtime services initialization
530^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
531
532BL31 is responsible for initializing the runtime services. One of them is PSCI.
533
534As part of the PSCI initializations, BL31 detects the system topology. It also
535initializes the data structures that implement the state machine used to track
536the state of power domain nodes. The state can be one of ``OFF``, ``RUN`` or
537``RETENTION``. All secondary CPUs are initially in the ``OFF`` state. The cluster
538that the primary CPU belongs to is ``ON``; any other cluster is ``OFF``. It also
539initializes the locks that protect them. BL31 accesses the state of a CPU or
540cluster immediately after reset and before the data cache is enabled in the
541warm boot path. It is not currently possible to use 'exclusive' based spinlocks,
542therefore BL31 uses locks based on Lamport's Bakery algorithm instead.
543
544The runtime service framework and its initialization is described in more
545detail in the "EL3 runtime services framework" section below.
546
547Details about the status of the PSCI implementation are provided in the
548"Power State Coordination Interface" section below.
549
550AArch64 BL32 (Secure-EL1 Payload) image initialization
551^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
552
553If a BL32 image is present then there must be a matching Secure-EL1 Payload
554Dispatcher (SPD) service (see later for details). During initialization
555that service must register a function to carry out initialization of BL32
556once the runtime services are fully initialized. BL31 invokes such a
557registered function to initialize BL32 before running BL33. This initialization
558is not necessary for AArch32 SPs.
559
560Details on BL32 initialization and the SPD's role are described in the
561:ref:`firmware_design_sel1_spd` section below.
562
563BL33 (Non-trusted Firmware) execution
564^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
565
566EL3 Runtime Software initializes the EL2 or EL1 processor context for normal-
567world cold boot, ensuring that no secure state information finds its way into
568the non-secure execution state. EL3 Runtime Software uses the entrypoint
569information provided by BL2 to jump to the Non-trusted firmware image (BL33)
570at the highest available Exception Level (EL2 if available, otherwise EL1).
571
572Using alternative Trusted Boot Firmware in place of BL1 & BL2 (AArch64 only)
573~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
574
575Some platforms have existing implementations of Trusted Boot Firmware that
576would like to use TF-A BL31 for the EL3 Runtime Software. To enable this
577firmware architecture it is important to provide a fully documented and stable
578interface between the Trusted Boot Firmware and BL31.
579
580Future changes to the BL31 interface will be done in a backwards compatible
581way, and this enables these firmware components to be independently enhanced/
582updated to develop and exploit new functionality.
583
584Required CPU state when calling ``bl31_entrypoint()`` during cold boot
585^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
586
587This function must only be called by the primary CPU.
588
589On entry to this function the calling primary CPU must be executing in AArch64
590EL3, little-endian data access, and all interrupt sources masked:
591
592::
593
594    PSTATE.EL = 3
595    PSTATE.RW = 1
596    PSTATE.DAIF = 0xf
597    SCTLR_EL3.EE = 0
598
599X0 and X1 can be used to pass information from the Trusted Boot Firmware to the
600platform code in BL31:
601
602::
603
604    X0 : Reserved for common TF-A information
605    X1 : Platform specific information
606
607BL31 zero-init sections (e.g. ``.bss``) should not contain valid data on entry,
608these will be zero filled prior to invoking platform setup code.
609
610Use of the X0 and X1 parameters
611'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
612
613The parameters are platform specific and passed from ``bl31_entrypoint()`` to
614``bl31_early_platform_setup()``. The value of these parameters is never directly
615used by the common BL31 code.
616
617The convention is that ``X0`` conveys information regarding the BL31, BL32 and
618BL33 images from the Trusted Boot firmware and ``X1`` can be used for other
619platform specific purpose. This convention allows platforms which use TF-A's
620BL1 and BL2 images to transfer additional platform specific information from
621Secure Boot without conflicting with future evolution of TF-A using ``X0`` to
622pass a ``bl31_params`` structure.
623
624BL31 common and SPD initialization code depends on image and entrypoint
625information about BL33 and BL32, which is provided via BL31 platform APIs.
626This information is required until the start of execution of BL33. This
627information can be provided in a platform defined manner, e.g. compiled into
628the platform code in BL31, or provided in a platform defined memory location
629by the Trusted Boot firmware, or passed from the Trusted Boot Firmware via the
630Cold boot Initialization parameters. This data may need to be cleaned out of
631the CPU caches if it is provided by an earlier boot stage and then accessed by
632BL31 platform code before the caches are enabled.
633
634TF-A's BL2 implementation passes a ``bl31_params`` structure in
635``X0`` and the Arm development platforms interpret this in the BL31 platform
636code.
637
638MMU, Data caches & Coherency
639''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
640
641BL31 does not depend on the enabled state of the MMU, data caches or
642interconnect coherency on entry to ``bl31_entrypoint()``. If these are disabled
643on entry, these should be enabled during ``bl31_plat_arch_setup()``.
644
645Data structures used in the BL31 cold boot interface
646''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
647
648In the cold boot flow, ``entry_point_info`` is used to represent the execution
649state of an image; that is, the state of general purpose registers, PC, and
650SPSR.
651
652There are two variants of this structure, for AArch64:
653
654.. code:: c
655
656   typedef struct entry_point_info {
657        param_header_t h;
658        uintptr_t pc;
659        uint32_t spsr;
660
661        aapcs64_params_t args;
662   }
663
664and, AArch32:
665
666.. code:: c
667
668   typedef struct entry_point_info {
669      param_header_t h;
670      uintptr_t pc;
671      uint32_t spsr;
672
673      uintptr_t lr_svc;
674      aapcs32_params_t args;
675   } entry_point_info_t;
676
677These structures are designed to support compatibility and independent
678evolution of the structures and the firmware images. For example, a version of
679BL31 that can interpret the BL3x image information from different versions of
680BL2, a platform that uses an extended entry_point_info structure to convey
681additional register information to BL31, or a ELF image loader that can convey
682more details about the firmware images.
683
684To support these scenarios the structures are versioned and sized, which enables
685BL31 to detect which information is present and respond appropriately. The
686``param_header`` is defined to capture this information:
687
688.. code:: c
689
690    typedef struct param_header {
691        uint8_t type;       /* type of the structure */
692        uint8_t version;    /* version of this structure */
693        uint16_t size;      /* size of this structure in bytes */
694        uint32_t attr;      /* attributes */
695    } param_header_t;
696
697In `entry_point_info`, Bits 0 and 5 of ``attr`` field are used to encode the
698security state; in other words, whether the image is to be executed in Secure,
699Non-Secure, or Realm mode.
700
701Other structures using this format are ``image_info`` and ``bl31_params``. The
702code that allocates and populates these structures must set the header fields
703appropriately, the ``SET_PARAM_HEAD()`` macro is defined to simplify this
704action.
705
706Required CPU state for BL31 Warm boot initialization
707^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
708
709When requesting a CPU power-on, or suspending a running CPU, TF-A provides
710the platform power management code with a Warm boot initialization
711entry-point, to be invoked by the CPU immediately after the reset handler.
712On entry to the Warm boot initialization function the calling CPU must be in
713AArch64 EL3, little-endian data access and all interrupt sources masked:
714
715::
716
717    PSTATE.EL = 3
718    PSTATE.RW = 1
719    PSTATE.DAIF = 0xf
720    SCTLR_EL3.EE = 0
721
722The PSCI implementation will initialize the processor state and ensure that the
723platform power management code is then invoked as required to initialize all
724necessary system, cluster and CPU resources.
725
726AArch32 EL3 Runtime Software entrypoint interface
727~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
728
729To enable this firmware architecture it is important to provide a fully
730documented and stable interface between the Trusted Boot Firmware and the
731AArch32 EL3 Runtime Software.
732
733Future changes to the entrypoint interface will be done in a backwards
734compatible way, and this enables these firmware components to be independently
735enhanced/updated to develop and exploit new functionality.
736
737Required CPU state when entering during cold boot
738^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
739
740This function must only be called by the primary CPU.
741
742On entry to this function the calling primary CPU must be executing in AArch32
743EL3, little-endian data access, and all interrupt sources masked:
744
745::
746
747    PSTATE.AIF = 0x7
748    SCTLR.EE = 0
749
750R0 and R1 are used to pass information from the Trusted Boot Firmware to the
751platform code in AArch32 EL3 Runtime Software:
752
753::
754
755    R0 : Reserved for common TF-A information
756    R1 : Platform specific information
757
758Use of the R0 and R1 parameters
759'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
760
761The parameters are platform specific and the convention is that ``R0`` conveys
762information regarding the BL3x images from the Trusted Boot firmware and ``R1``
763can be used for other platform specific purpose. This convention allows
764platforms which use TF-A's BL1 and BL2 images to transfer additional platform
765specific information from Secure Boot without conflicting with future
766evolution of TF-A using ``R0`` to pass a ``bl_params`` structure.
767
768The AArch32 EL3 Runtime Software is responsible for entry into BL33. This
769information can be obtained in a platform defined manner, e.g. compiled into
770the AArch32 EL3 Runtime Software, or provided in a platform defined memory
771location by the Trusted Boot firmware, or passed from the Trusted Boot Firmware
772via the Cold boot Initialization parameters. This data may need to be cleaned
773out of the CPU caches if it is provided by an earlier boot stage and then
774accessed by AArch32 EL3 Runtime Software before the caches are enabled.
775
776When using AArch32 EL3 Runtime Software, the Arm development platforms pass a
777``bl_params`` structure in ``R0`` from BL2 to be interpreted by AArch32 EL3 Runtime
778Software platform code.
779
780MMU, Data caches & Coherency
781''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
782
783AArch32 EL3 Runtime Software must not depend on the enabled state of the MMU,
784data caches or interconnect coherency in its entrypoint. They must be explicitly
785enabled if required.
786
787Data structures used in cold boot interface
788'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
789
790The AArch32 EL3 Runtime Software cold boot interface uses ``bl_params`` instead
791of ``bl31_params``. The ``bl_params`` structure is based on the convention
792described in AArch64 BL31 cold boot interface section.
793
794Required CPU state for warm boot initialization
795^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
796
797When requesting a CPU power-on, or suspending a running CPU, AArch32 EL3
798Runtime Software must ensure execution of a warm boot initialization entrypoint.
799If TF-A BL1 is used and the PROGRAMMABLE_RESET_ADDRESS build flag is false,
800then AArch32 EL3 Runtime Software must ensure that BL1 branches to the warm
801boot entrypoint by arranging for the BL1 platform function,
802plat_get_my_entrypoint(), to return a non-zero value.
803
804In this case, the warm boot entrypoint must be in AArch32 EL3, little-endian
805data access and all interrupt sources masked:
806
807::
808
809    PSTATE.AIF = 0x7
810    SCTLR.EE = 0
811
812The warm boot entrypoint may be implemented by using TF-A
813``psci_warmboot_entrypoint()`` function. In that case, the platform must fulfil
814the pre-requisites mentioned in the :ref:`Porting Guide`.
815
816EL3 runtime services framework
817------------------------------
818
819Software executing in the non-secure state and in the secure state at exception
820levels lower than EL3 will request runtime services using the Secure Monitor
821Call (SMC) instruction. These requests will follow the convention described in
822the SMC Calling Convention PDD (`SMCCC`_). The `SMCCC`_ assigns function
823identifiers to each SMC request and describes how arguments are passed and
824returned.
825
826The EL3 runtime services framework enables the development of services by
827different providers that can be easily integrated into final product firmware.
828The following sections describe the framework which facilitates the
829registration, initialization and use of runtime services in EL3 Runtime
830Software (BL31).
831
832The design of the runtime services depends heavily on the concepts and
833definitions described in the `SMCCC`_, in particular SMC Function IDs, Owning
834Entity Numbers (OEN), Fast and Yielding calls, and the SMC32 and SMC64 calling
835conventions. Please refer to that document for more detailed explanation of
836these terms.
837
838The following runtime services are expected to be implemented first. They have
839not all been instantiated in the current implementation.
840
841#. Standard service calls
842
843   This service is for management of the entire system. The Power State
844   Coordination Interface (`PSCI`_) is the first set of standard service calls
845   defined by Arm (see PSCI section later).
846
847#. Secure-EL1 Payload Dispatcher service
848
849   If a system runs a Trusted OS or other Secure-EL1 Payload (SP) then
850   it also requires a *Secure Monitor* at EL3 to switch the EL1 processor
851   context between the normal world (EL1/EL2) and trusted world (Secure-EL1).
852   The Secure Monitor will make these world switches in response to SMCs. The
853   `SMCCC`_ provides for such SMCs with the Trusted OS Call and Trusted
854   Application Call OEN ranges.
855
856   The interface between the EL3 Runtime Software and the Secure-EL1 Payload is
857   not defined by the `SMCCC`_ or any other standard. As a result, each
858   Secure-EL1 Payload requires a specific Secure Monitor that runs as a runtime
859   service - within TF-A this service is referred to as the Secure-EL1 Payload
860   Dispatcher (SPD).
861
862   TF-A provides a Test Secure-EL1 Payload (TSP) and its associated Dispatcher
863   (TSPD). Details of SPD design and TSP/TSPD operation are described in the
864   :ref:`firmware_design_sel1_spd` section below.
865
866#. CPU implementation service
867
868   This service will provide an interface to CPU implementation specific
869   services for a given platform e.g. access to processor errata workarounds.
870   This service is currently unimplemented.
871
872Additional services for Arm Architecture, SiP and OEM calls can be implemented.
873Each implemented service handles a range of SMC function identifiers as
874described in the `SMCCC`_.
875
876Registration
877~~~~~~~~~~~~
878
879A runtime service is registered using the ``DECLARE_RT_SVC()`` macro, specifying
880the name of the service, the range of OENs covered, the type of service and
881initialization and call handler functions. This macro instantiates a ``const struct rt_svc_desc`` for the service with these details (see ``runtime_svc.h``).
882This structure is allocated in a special ELF section ``.rt_svc_descs``, enabling
883the framework to find all service descriptors included into BL31.
884
885The specific service for a SMC Function is selected based on the OEN and call
886type of the Function ID, and the framework uses that information in the service
887descriptor to identify the handler for the SMC Call.
888
889The service descriptors do not include information to identify the precise set
890of SMC function identifiers supported by this service implementation, the
891security state from which such calls are valid nor the capability to support
89264-bit and/or 32-bit callers (using SMC32 or SMC64). Responding appropriately
893to these aspects of a SMC call is the responsibility of the service
894implementation, the framework is focused on integration of services from
895different providers and minimizing the time taken by the framework before the
896service handler is invoked.
897
898Details of the parameters, requirements and behavior of the initialization and
899call handling functions are provided in the following sections.
900
901Initialization
902~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
903
904``runtime_svc_init()`` in ``runtime_svc.c`` initializes the runtime services
905framework running on the primary CPU during cold boot as part of the BL31
906initialization. This happens prior to initializing a Trusted OS and running
907Normal world boot firmware that might in turn use these services.
908Initialization involves validating each of the declared runtime service
909descriptors, calling the service initialization function and populating the
910index used for runtime lookup of the service.
911
912The BL31 linker script collects all of the declared service descriptors into a
913single array and defines symbols that allow the framework to locate and traverse
914the array, and determine its size.
915
916The framework does basic validation of each descriptor to halt firmware
917initialization if service declaration errors are detected. The framework does
918not check descriptors for the following error conditions, and may behave in an
919unpredictable manner under such scenarios:
920
921#. Overlapping OEN ranges
922#. Multiple descriptors for the same range of OENs and ``call_type``
923#. Incorrect range of owning entity numbers for a given ``call_type``
924
925Once validated, the service ``init()`` callback is invoked. This function carries
926out any essential EL3 initialization before servicing requests. The ``init()``
927function is only invoked on the primary CPU during cold boot. If the service
928uses per-CPU data this must either be initialized for all CPUs during this call,
929or be done lazily when a CPU first issues an SMC call to that service. If
930``init()`` returns anything other than ``0``, this is treated as an initialization
931error and the service is ignored: this does not cause the firmware to halt.
932
933The OEN and call type fields present in the SMC Function ID cover a total of
934128 distinct services, but in practice a single descriptor can cover a range of
935OENs, e.g. SMCs to call a Trusted OS function. To optimize the lookup of a
936service handler, the framework uses an array of 128 indices that map every
937distinct OEN/call-type combination either to one of the declared services or to
938indicate the service is not handled. This ``rt_svc_descs_indices[]`` array is
939populated for all of the OENs covered by a service after the service ``init()``
940function has reported success. So a service that fails to initialize will never
941have it's ``handle()`` function invoked.
942
943The following figure shows how the ``rt_svc_descs_indices[]`` index maps the SMC
944Function ID call type and OEN onto a specific service handler in the
945``rt_svc_descs[]`` array.
946
947|Image 1|
948
949.. _handling-an-smc:
950
951Handling an SMC
952~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
953
954When the EL3 runtime services framework receives a Secure Monitor Call, the SMC
955Function ID is passed in W0 from the lower exception level (as per the
956`SMCCC`_). If the calling register width is AArch32, it is invalid to invoke an
957SMC Function which indicates the SMC64 calling convention: such calls are
958ignored and return the Unknown SMC Function Identifier result code ``0xFFFFFFFF``
959in R0/X0.
960
961Bit[31] (fast/yielding call) and bits[29:24] (owning entity number) of the SMC
962Function ID are combined to index into the ``rt_svc_descs_indices[]`` array. The
963resulting value might indicate a service that has no handler, in this case the
964framework will also report an Unknown SMC Function ID. Otherwise, the value is
965used as a further index into the ``rt_svc_descs[]`` array to locate the required
966service and handler.
967
968The service's ``handle()`` callback is provided with five of the SMC parameters
969directly, the others are saved into memory for retrieval (if needed) by the
970handler. The handler is also provided with an opaque ``handle`` for use with the
971supporting library for parameter retrieval, setting return values and context
972manipulation. The ``flags`` parameter indicates the security state of the caller
973and the state of the SVE hint bit per the SMCCCv1.3. The framework finally sets
974up the execution stack for the handler, and invokes the services ``handle()``
975function.
976
977On return from the handler the result registers are populated in X0-X7 as needed
978before restoring the stack and CPU state and returning from the original SMC.
979
980Exception Handling Framework
981----------------------------
982
983Please refer to the :ref:`Exception Handling Framework` document.
984
985Power State Coordination Interface
986----------------------------------
987
988TODO: Provide design walkthrough of PSCI implementation.
989
990The PSCI v1.1 specification categorizes APIs as optional and mandatory. All the
991mandatory APIs in PSCI v1.1, PSCI v1.0 and in PSCI v0.2 draft specification
992`PSCI`_ are implemented. The table lists the PSCI v1.1 APIs and their support
993in generic code.
994
995An API implementation might have a dependency on platform code e.g. CPU_SUSPEND
996requires the platform to export a part of the implementation. Hence the level
997of support of the mandatory APIs depends upon the support exported by the
998platform port as well. The Juno and FVP (all variants) platforms export all the
999required support.
1000
1001+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1002| PSCI v1.1 API               | Supported   | Comments                      |
1003+=============================+=============+===============================+
1004| ``PSCI_VERSION``            | Yes         | The version returned is 1.1   |
1005+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1006| ``CPU_SUSPEND``             | Yes\*       |                               |
1007+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1008| ``CPU_OFF``                 | Yes\*       |                               |
1009+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1010| ``CPU_ON``                  | Yes\*       |                               |
1011+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1012| ``AFFINITY_INFO``           | Yes         |                               |
1013+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1014| ``MIGRATE``                 | Yes\*\*     |                               |
1015+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1016| ``MIGRATE_INFO_TYPE``       | Yes\*\*     |                               |
1017+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1018| ``MIGRATE_INFO_CPU``        | Yes\*\*     |                               |
1019+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1020| ``SYSTEM_OFF``              | Yes\*       |                               |
1021+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1022| ``SYSTEM_RESET``            | Yes\*       |                               |
1023+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1024| ``PSCI_FEATURES``           | Yes         |                               |
1025+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1026| ``CPU_FREEZE``              | No          |                               |
1027+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1028| ``CPU_DEFAULT_SUSPEND``     | No          |                               |
1029+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1030| ``NODE_HW_STATE``           | Yes\*       |                               |
1031+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1032| ``SYSTEM_SUSPEND``          | Yes\*       |                               |
1033+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1034| ``PSCI_SET_SUSPEND_MODE``   | No          |                               |
1035+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1036| ``PSCI_STAT_RESIDENCY``     | Yes\*       |                               |
1037+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1038| ``PSCI_STAT_COUNT``         | Yes\*       |                               |
1039+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1040| ``SYSTEM_RESET2``           | Yes\*       |                               |
1041+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1042| ``MEM_PROTECT``             | Yes\*       |                               |
1043+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1044| ``MEM_PROTECT_CHECK_RANGE`` | Yes\*       |                               |
1045+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------+
1046
1047\*Note : These PSCI APIs require platform power management hooks to be
1048registered with the generic PSCI code to be supported.
1049
1050\*\*Note : These PSCI APIs require appropriate Secure Payload Dispatcher
1051hooks to be registered with the generic PSCI code to be supported.
1052
1053The PSCI implementation in TF-A is a library which can be integrated with
1054AArch64 or AArch32 EL3 Runtime Software for Armv8-A systems. A guide to
1055integrating the PSCI library for EL3 Runtime Software can be found
1056at :ref:`Porting Guide`.
1057
1058DSU driver
1059----------
1060
1061Platforms that include a DSU (DynamIQ Shared Unit) can define
1062the ``USE_DSU_DRIVER`` build flag to enable the DSU driver.
1063This driver is responsible for configuring DSU-related powerdown
1064and power feature settings, enabling access to PMU registers at EL1
1065using ``dsu_driver_init()`` and for preserving the context of DSU
1066PMU system registers.
1067
1068To support the DSU driver, platforms must define the ``plat_dsu_data``
1069structure.
1070
1071.. _firmware_design_sel1_spd:
1072
1073Secure-EL1 Payloads and Dispatchers
1074-----------------------------------
1075
1076On a production system that includes a Trusted OS running in Secure-EL1/EL0,
1077the Trusted OS is coupled with a companion runtime service in the BL31
1078firmware. This service is responsible for the initialisation of the Trusted
1079OS and all communications with it. The Trusted OS is the BL32 stage of the
1080boot flow in TF-A. The firmware will attempt to locate, load and execute a
1081BL32 image.
1082
1083TF-A uses a more general term for the BL32 software that runs at Secure-EL1 -
1084the *Secure-EL1 Payload* - as it is not always a Trusted OS.
1085
1086TF-A provides a Test Secure-EL1 Payload (TSP) and a Test Secure-EL1 Payload
1087Dispatcher (TSPD) service as an example of how a Trusted OS is supported on a
1088production system using the Runtime Services Framework. On such a system, the
1089Test BL32 image and service are replaced by the Trusted OS and its dispatcher
1090service. The TF-A build system expects that the dispatcher will define the
1091build flag ``NEED_BL32`` to enable it to include the BL32 in the build either
1092as a binary or to compile from source depending on whether the ``BL32`` build
1093option is specified or not.
1094
1095The TSP runs in Secure-EL1. It is designed to demonstrate synchronous
1096communication with the normal-world software running in EL1/EL2. Communication
1097is initiated by the normal-world software
1098
1099-  either directly through a Fast SMC (as defined in the `SMCCC`_)
1100
1101-  or indirectly through a `PSCI`_ SMC. The `PSCI`_ implementation in turn
1102   informs the TSPD about the requested power management operation. This allows
1103   the TSP to prepare for or respond to the power state change
1104
1105The TSPD service is responsible for.
1106
1107-  Initializing the TSP
1108
1109-  Routing requests and responses between the secure and the non-secure
1110   states during the two types of communications just described
1111
1112Initializing a BL32 Image
1113~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1114
1115The Secure-EL1 Payload Dispatcher (SPD) service is responsible for initializing
1116the BL32 image. It needs access to the information passed by BL2 to BL31 to do
1117so. This is provided by:
1118
1119.. code:: c
1120
1121    entry_point_info_t *bl31_plat_get_next_image_ep_info(uint32_t);
1122
1123which returns a reference to the ``entry_point_info`` structure corresponding to
1124the image which will be run in the specified security state. The SPD uses this
1125API to get entry point information for the SECURE image, BL32.
1126
1127In the absence of a BL32 image, BL31 passes control to the normal world
1128bootloader image (BL33). When the BL32 image is present, it is typical
1129that the SPD wants control to be passed to BL32 first and then later to BL33.
1130
1131To do this the SPD has to register a BL32 initialization function during
1132initialization of the SPD service. The BL32 initialization function has this
1133prototype:
1134
1135.. code:: c
1136
1137    int32_t init(void);
1138
1139and is registered using the ``bl31_register_bl32_init()`` function.
1140
1141TF-A supports two approaches for the SPD to pass control to BL32 before
1142returning through EL3 and running the non-trusted firmware (BL33):
1143
1144#. In the BL32 setup function, use ``bl31_set_next_image_type()`` to
1145   request that the exit from ``bl31_main()`` is to the BL32 entrypoint in
1146   Secure-EL1. BL31 will exit to BL32 using the asynchronous method by
1147   calling ``bl31_prepare_next_image_entry()`` and ``el3_exit()``.
1148
1149   When the BL32 has completed initialization at Secure-EL1, it returns to
1150   BL31 by issuing an SMC, using a Function ID allocated to the SPD. On
1151   receipt of this SMC, the SPD service handler should switch the CPU context
1152   from trusted to normal world and use the ``bl31_set_next_image_type()`` and
1153   ``bl31_prepare_next_image_entry()`` functions to set up the initial return to
1154   the normal world firmware BL33. On return from the handler the framework
1155   will exit to EL2 and run BL33.
1156
1157#. The BL32 setup function registers an initialization function using
1158   ``bl31_register_bl32_init()`` which provides a SPD-defined mechanism to
1159   invoke a 'world-switch synchronous call' to Secure-EL1 to run the BL32
1160   entrypoint.
1161
1162   .. note::
1163      The Test SPD service included with TF-A provides one implementation
1164      of such a mechanism.
1165
1166   On completion BL32 returns control to BL31 via a SMC, and on receipt the
1167   SPD service handler invokes the synchronous call return mechanism to return
1168   to the BL32 initialization function. On return from this function,
1169   ``bl31_main()`` will set up the return to the normal world firmware BL33 and
1170   continue the boot process in the normal world.
1171
1172Exception handling in BL31
1173--------------------------
1174
1175When exception occurs, PE must execute handler corresponding to exception. The
1176location in memory where the handler is stored is called the exception vector.
1177For ARM architecture, exception vectors are stored in a table, called the exception
1178vector table.
1179
1180Each EL (except EL0) has its own vector table, VBAR_ELn register stores the base
1181of vector table. Refer to `AArch64 exception vector table`_
1182
1183Current EL with SP_EL0
1184~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1185
1186-  Sync exception : Not expected except for BRK instruction, its debugging tool which
1187   a programmer may place at specific points in a program, to check the state of
1188   processor flags at these points in the code.
1189
1190-  IRQ/FIQ : Unexpected exception, panic
1191
1192-  SError : "plat_handle_el3_ea", defaults to panic
1193
1194Current EL with SP_ELx
1195~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1196
1197-  Sync exception : Unexpected exception, panic
1198
1199-  IRQ/FIQ : Unexpected exception, panic
1200
1201-  SError : "plat_handle_el3_ea" Except for special handling of lower EL's SError exception
1202   which gets triggered in EL3 when PSTATE.A is unmasked. Its only applicable when lower
1203   EL's EA is routed to EL3 (FFH_SUPPORT=1).
1204
1205Lower EL Exceptions
1206~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1207
1208Applies to all the exceptions in both AArch64/AArch32 mode of lower EL.
1209
1210Before handling any lower EL exception, we synchronize the errors at EL3 entry to ensure
1211that any errors pertaining to lower EL is isolated/identified. If we continue without
1212identifying these errors early on then these errors will trigger in EL3 (as SError from
1213current EL) any time after PSTATE.A is unmasked. This is wrong because the error originated
1214in lower EL but exception happened in EL3.
1215
1216To solve this problem, synchronize the errors at EL3 entry and check for any pending
1217errors (async EA). If there is no pending error then continue with original exception.
1218If there is a pending error then, handle them based on routing model of EA's. Refer to
1219:ref:`Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability (RAS) Extensions` for details about
1220routing models.
1221
1222-  KFH : Reflect it back to lower EL using **reflect_pending_async_ea_to_lower_el()**
1223
1224-  FFH : Handle the synchronized error first using **handle_pending_async_ea()** after
1225   that continue with original exception. It is the only scenario where EL3 is capable
1226   of doing nested exception handling.
1227
1228After synchronizing and handling lower EL SErrors, unmask EA (PSTATE.A) to ensure
1229that any further EA's caused by EL3 are caught.
1230
1231Crash Reporting in BL31
1232-----------------------
1233
1234BL31 implements a scheme for reporting the processor state when an unhandled
1235exception is encountered. The reporting mechanism attempts to preserve all the
1236register contents and report it via a dedicated UART (PL011 console). BL31
1237reports the general purpose, EL3, Secure EL1 and some EL2 state registers.
1238
1239A dedicated per-CPU crash stack is maintained by BL31 and this is retrieved via
1240the per-CPU pointer cache. The implementation attempts to minimise the memory
1241required for this feature. The file ``crash_reporting.S`` contains the
1242implementation for crash reporting.
1243
1244The sample crash output is shown below.
1245
1246::
1247
1248    x0             = 0x000000002a4a0000
1249    x1             = 0x0000000000000001
1250    x2             = 0x0000000000000002
1251    x3             = 0x0000000000000003
1252    x4             = 0x0000000000000004
1253    x5             = 0x0000000000000005
1254    x6             = 0x0000000000000006
1255    x7             = 0x0000000000000007
1256    x8             = 0x0000000000000008
1257    x9             = 0x0000000000000009
1258    x10            = 0x0000000000000010
1259    x11            = 0x0000000000000011
1260    x12            = 0x0000000000000012
1261    x13            = 0x0000000000000013
1262    x14            = 0x0000000000000014
1263    x15            = 0x0000000000000015
1264    x16            = 0x0000000000000016
1265    x17            = 0x0000000000000017
1266    x18            = 0x0000000000000018
1267    x19            = 0x0000000000000019
1268    x20            = 0x0000000000000020
1269    x21            = 0x0000000000000021
1270    x22            = 0x0000000000000022
1271    x23            = 0x0000000000000023
1272    x24            = 0x0000000000000024
1273    x25            = 0x0000000000000025
1274    x26            = 0x0000000000000026
1275    x27            = 0x0000000000000027
1276    x28            = 0x0000000000000028
1277    x29            = 0x0000000000000029
1278    x30            = 0x0000000088000b78
1279    scr_el3        = 0x000000000003073d
1280    sctlr_el3      = 0x00000000b0cd183f
1281    cptr_el3       = 0x0000000000000000
1282    tcr_el3        = 0x000000008080351c
1283    daif           = 0x00000000000002c0
1284    mair_el3       = 0x00000000004404ff
1285    spsr_el3       = 0x0000000060000349
1286    elr_el3        = 0x0000000088000114
1287    ttbr0_el3      = 0x0000000004018201
1288    esr_el3        = 0x00000000be000000
1289    far_el3        = 0x0000000000000000
1290    spsr_el1       = 0x0000000000000000
1291    elr_el1        = 0x0000000000000000
1292    spsr_abt       = 0x0000000000000000
1293    spsr_und       = 0x0000000000000000
1294    spsr_irq       = 0x0000000000000000
1295    spsr_fiq       = 0x0000000000000000
1296    sctlr_el1      = 0x0000000030d00800
1297    actlr_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
1298    cpacr_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
1299    csselr_el1     = 0x0000000000000000
1300    sp_el1         = 0x0000000000000000
1301    esr_el1        = 0x0000000000000000
1302    ttbr0_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
1303    ttbr1_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
1304    mair_el1       = 0x0000000000000000
1305    amair_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
1306    tcr_el1        = 0x0000000000000000
1307    tpidr_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
1308    tpidr_el0      = 0x0000000000000000
1309    tpidrro_el0    = 0x0000000000000000
1310    par_el1        = 0x0000000000000000
1311    mpidr_el1      = 0x0000000080000000
1312    afsr0_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
1313    afsr1_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
1314    contextidr_el1 = 0x0000000000000000
1315    vbar_el1       = 0x0000000000000000
1316    cntp_ctl_el0   = 0x0000000000000000
1317    cntp_cval_el0  = 0x0000000000000000
1318    cntv_ctl_el0   = 0x0000000000000000
1319    cntv_cval_el0  = 0x0000000000000000
1320    cntkctl_el1    = 0x0000000000000000
1321    sp_el0         = 0x0000000004014940
1322    isr_el1        = 0x0000000000000000
1323    dacr32_el2     = 0x0000000000000000
1324    ifsr32_el2     = 0x0000000000000000
1325    icc_hppir0_el1 = 0x00000000000003ff
1326    icc_hppir1_el1 = 0x00000000000003ff
1327    icc_ctlr_el3   = 0x0000000000080400
1328    gicd_ispendr regs (Offsets 0x200-0x278)
1329    Offset		    Value
1330    0x200:	     0x0000000000000000
1331    0x208:	     0x0000000000000000
1332    0x210:	     0x0000000000000000
1333    0x218:	     0x0000000000000000
1334    0x220:	     0x0000000000000000
1335    0x228:	     0x0000000000000000
1336    0x230:	     0x0000000000000000
1337    0x238:	     0x0000000000000000
1338    0x240:	     0x0000000000000000
1339    0x248:	     0x0000000000000000
1340    0x250:	     0x0000000000000000
1341    0x258:	     0x0000000000000000
1342    0x260:	     0x0000000000000000
1343    0x268:	     0x0000000000000000
1344    0x270:	     0x0000000000000000
1345    0x278:	     0x0000000000000000
1346
1347Guidelines for Reset Handlers
1348-----------------------------
1349
1350TF-A implements a framework that allows CPU and platform ports to perform
1351actions very early after a CPU is released from reset in both the cold and warm
1352boot paths. This is done by calling the ``reset_handler`` macro/function in both
1353the BL1 and BL31 images. It in turn calls the platform and CPU specific reset
1354handling functions.
1355
1356Details for implementing a CPU specific reset handler can be found in
1357:ref:`firmware_design_cpu_specific_reset_handling`. Details for implementing a
1358platform specific reset handler can be found in the :ref:`Porting Guide` (see
1359the``plat_reset_handler()`` function).
1360
1361When adding functionality to a reset handler, keep in mind that if a different
1362reset handling behavior is required between the first and the subsequent
1363invocations of the reset handling code, this should be detected at runtime.
1364In other words, the reset handler should be able to detect whether an action has
1365already been performed and act as appropriate. Possible courses of actions are,
1366e.g. skip the action the second time, or undo/redo it.
1367
1368.. _configuring-secure-interrupts:
1369
1370Configuring secure interrupts
1371-----------------------------
1372
1373The GIC driver is responsible for performing initial configuration of secure
1374interrupts on the platform. To this end, the platform is expected to provide the
1375GIC driver (either GICv2 or GICv3, as selected by the platform) with the
1376interrupt configuration during the driver initialisation.
1377
1378Secure interrupt configuration are specified in an array of secure interrupt
1379properties. In this scheme, in both GICv2 and GICv3 driver data structures, the
1380``interrupt_props`` member points to an array of interrupt properties. Each
1381element of the array specifies the interrupt number and its attributes
1382(priority, group, configuration). Each element of the array shall be populated
1383by the macro ``INTR_PROP_DESC()``. The macro takes the following arguments:
1384
1385- 13-bit interrupt number,
1386
1387- 8-bit interrupt priority,
1388
1389- Interrupt type (one of ``INTR_TYPE_EL3``, ``INTR_TYPE_S_EL1``,
1390  ``INTR_TYPE_NS``),
1391
1392- Interrupt configuration (either ``GIC_INTR_CFG_LEVEL`` or
1393  ``GIC_INTR_CFG_EDGE``).
1394
1395.. _firmware_design_cpu_ops_fwk:
1396
1397CPU specific operations framework
1398---------------------------------
1399
1400Certain aspects of the Armv8-A architecture are implementation defined,
1401that is, certain behaviours are not architecturally defined, but must be
1402defined and documented by individual processor implementations. TF-A
1403implements a framework which categorises the common implementation defined
1404behaviours and allows a processor to export its implementation of that
1405behaviour. The categories are:
1406
1407#. Processor specific reset sequence.
1408
1409#. Processor specific power down sequences.
1410
1411#. Processor specific register dumping as a part of crash reporting.
1412
1413#. Errata status reporting.
1414
1415Each of the above categories fulfils a different requirement.
1416
1417#. allows any processor specific initialization before the caches and MMU
1418   are turned on, like implementation of errata workarounds, entry into
1419   the intra-cluster coherency domain etc.
1420
1421#. allows each processor to implement the power down sequence mandated in
1422   its Technical Reference Manual (TRM).
1423
1424#. allows a processor to provide additional information to the developer
1425   in the event of a crash, for example Cortex-A53 has registers which
1426   can expose the data cache contents.
1427
1428#. allows a processor to define a function that inspects and reports the status
1429   of all errata workarounds on that processor.
1430
1431Please note that only 2. is mandated by the TRM.
1432
1433The CPU specific operations framework scales to accommodate a large number of
1434different CPUs during power down and reset handling. The platform can specify
1435any CPU optimization it wants to enable for each CPU. It can also specify
1436the CPU errata workarounds to be applied for each CPU type during reset
1437handling by defining CPU errata compile time macros. Details on these macros
1438can be found in the :ref:`Arm CPU Specific Build Macros` document.
1439
1440The CPU specific operations framework depends on the ``cpu_ops`` structure which
1441needs to be exported for each type of CPU in the platform. It is defined in
1442``include/lib/cpus/aarch64/cpu_macros.S`` and has the following fields : ``midr``,
1443``reset_func()``, ``cpu_pwr_down_ops`` (array of power down functions) and
1444``cpu_reg_dump()``.
1445
1446The CPU specific files in ``lib/cpus`` export a ``cpu_ops`` data structure with
1447suitable handlers for that CPU. For example, ``lib/cpus/aarch64/cortex_a53.S``
1448exports the ``cpu_ops`` for Cortex-A53 CPU. According to the platform
1449configuration, these CPU specific files must be included in the build by
1450the platform makefile. The generic CPU specific operations framework code exists
1451in ``lib/cpus/aarch64/cpu_helpers.S``.
1452
1453CPU PCS
1454~~~~~~~
1455
1456All assembly functions in CPU files are asked to follow a modified version of
1457the Procedure Call Standard (PCS) in their internals. This is done to ensure
1458calling these functions from outside the file doesn't unexpectedly corrupt
1459registers in the very early environment and to help the internals to be easier
1460to understand. Please see the :ref:`firmware_design_cpu_errata_implementation`
1461for any function specific restrictions.
1462
1463+--------------+---------------------------------+
1464|   register   | use                             |
1465+==============+=================================+
1466|   x0 - x15   | scratch                         |
1467+--------------+---------------------------------+
1468|   x16, x17   | do not use (used by the linker) |
1469+--------------+---------------------------------+
1470|     x18      | do not use (platform register)  |
1471+--------------+---------------------------------+
1472|   x19 - x28  | callee saved                    |
1473+--------------+---------------------------------+
1474|   x29, x30   | FP, LR                          |
1475+--------------+---------------------------------+
1476
1477.. _firmware_design_cpu_specific_reset_handling:
1478
1479CPU specific Reset Handling
1480~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1481
1482After a reset, the state of the CPU when it calls generic reset handler is:
1483MMU turned off, both instruction and data caches turned off, not part
1484of any coherency domain and no stack.
1485
1486The BL entrypoint code first invokes the ``plat_reset_handler()`` to allow
1487the platform to perform any system initialization required and any system
1488errata workarounds that needs to be applied. The ``get_cpu_ops_ptr()`` reads
1489the current CPU midr, finds the matching ``cpu_ops`` entry in the ``cpu_ops``
1490array and returns it. Note that only the part number and implementer fields
1491in midr are used to find the matching ``cpu_ops`` entry. The ``reset_func()`` in
1492the returned ``cpu_ops`` is then invoked which executes the required reset
1493handling for that CPU and also any errata workarounds enabled by the platform.
1494
1495It should be defined using the ``cpu_reset_func_{start,end}`` macros and its
1496body may only clobber x0 to x14 with x14 being the cpu_rev parameter. The cpu
1497file should also include a call to ``cpu_reset_prologue`` at the start of the
1498file for errata to work correctly.
1499
1500CPU specific power down sequence
1501~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1502
1503During the BL31 initialization sequence, the pointer to the matching ``cpu_ops``
1504entry is stored in per-CPU data by ``cpu_data_init_cpu_ops()`` so that it can be quickly
1505retrieved during power down sequences.
1506
1507Various CPU drivers register handlers to perform power down at certain power
1508levels for that specific CPU. The PSCI service, upon receiving a power down
1509request, determines the highest power level at which to execute power down
1510sequence for a particular CPU. It uses the ``prepare_cpu_pwr_dwn()`` function to
1511pick the right power down handler for the requested level. The function
1512retrieves ``cpu_ops`` pointer member of per-CPU data, and from that, further
1513retrieves ``cpu_pwr_down_ops`` array, and indexes into the required level. If the
1514requested power level is higher than what a CPU driver supports, the handler
1515registered for highest level is invoked.
1516
1517At runtime the platform hooks for power down are invoked by the PSCI service to
1518perform platform specific operations during a power down sequence, for example
1519turning off CCI coherency during a cluster power down.
1520
1521Newer CPUs include a feature called "powerdown abandon". The feature is based on
1522the observation that events like GIC wakeups have a high likelihood of happening
1523while the core is in the middle of its powerdown sequence (at ``wfi``). Older
1524cores will powerdown and immediately power back up when this happens. To save on
1525the work and latency involved, the newer cores will "give up" mid way through if
1526no context has been lost yet. This is possible as the powerdown operation is
1527lengthy and a large part of it does not lose context.
1528
1529To cater for this possibility, the powerdown hook will be called a second time
1530after a wakeup. The expectation is that the first call will operate as before,
1531while the second call will undo anything the first call did. This should be done
1532statelessly, for example by toggling the relevant bits.
1533
1534CPU specific register reporting during crash
1535~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1536
1537If the crash reporting is enabled in BL31, when a crash occurs, the crash
1538reporting framework calls ``do_cpu_reg_dump`` which retrieves the matching
1539``cpu_ops`` using ``get_cpu_ops_ptr()`` function. The ``cpu_reg_dump()`` in
1540``cpu_ops`` is invoked, which then returns the CPU specific register values to
1541be reported and a pointer to the ASCII list of register names in a format
1542expected by the crash reporting framework.
1543
1544.. _firmware_design_cpu_errata_implementation:
1545
1546CPU errata implementation
1547~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1548
1549Errata workarounds for CPUs supported in TF-A are applied during both cold and
1550warm boots, shortly after reset. Individual Errata workarounds are enabled as
1551build options. Some errata workarounds have potential run-time implications;
1552therefore some are enabled by default, others not. Platform ports shall
1553override build options to enable or disable errata as appropriate. The CPU
1554drivers take care of applying errata workarounds that are enabled and applicable
1555to a given CPU.
1556
1557Each erratum has a build flag in ``lib/cpus/cpu-ops.mk`` of the form:
1558``ERRATA_<cpu_num>_<erratum_id>``. It also has a short description in
1559:ref:`arm_cpu_macros_errata_workarounds` on when it should apply.
1560
1561Errata framework
1562^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1563
1564The errata framework is a convention and a small library to allow errata to be
1565automatically discovered. It enables compliant errata to be automatically
1566applied and reported at runtime (either by status reporting or the errata ABI).
1567
1568To write a compliant mitigation for erratum number ``erratum_id`` on a cpu that
1569declared itself (with ``declare_cpu_ops``) as ``cpu_name`` one needs 3 things:
1570
1571#. A CPU revision checker function: ``check_erratum_<cpu_name>_<erratum_id>``
1572
1573   It should check whether this erratum applies on this revision of this CPU.
1574   It will be called with the CPU revision as its first parameter (x0) and
1575   should return one of ``ERRATA_APPLIES`` or ``ERRATA_NOT_APPLIES``.
1576
1577   It may only clobber x0 to x4. The rest should be treated as callee-saved.
1578
1579#. A workaround function: ``erratum_<cpu_name>_<erratum_id>_wa``
1580
1581   It should obtain the cpu revision (with ``cpu_get_rev_var``), call its
1582   revision checker, and perform the mitigation, should the erratum apply.
1583
1584   It may only clobber x0 to x8. The rest should be treated as callee-saved.
1585
1586#. Register itself to the framework
1587
1588   Do this with
1589   ``add_erratum_entry <cpu_name>, ERRATUM(<erratum_id>), <errata_flag>``
1590   where the ``errata_flag`` is the enable flag in ``cpu-ops.mk`` described
1591   above.
1592
1593See the next section on how to do this easily.
1594
1595.. note::
1596
1597 CVEs have the format ``CVE_<year>_<number>``. To fit them in the framework, the
1598 ``erratum_id`` for the checker and the workaround functions become the
1599 ``number`` part of its name and the ``ERRATUM(<number>)`` part of the
1600 registration should instead be ``CVE(<year>, <number>)``. In the extremely
1601 unlikely scenario where a CVE and an erratum numbers clash, the CVE number
1602 should be prefixed with a zero.
1603
1604 Also, their build flag should be ``WORKAROUND_CVE_<year>_<number>``.
1605
1606.. note::
1607
1608 AArch32 uses the legacy convention. The checker function has the format
1609 ``check_errata_<erratum_id>`` and the workaround has the format
1610 ``errata_<cpu_number>_<erratum_id>_wa`` where ``cpu_number`` is the shortform
1611 letter and number name of the CPU.
1612
1613 For CVEs the ``erratum_id`` also becomes ``cve_<year>_<number>``.
1614
1615Errata framework helpers
1616^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1617
1618Writing these errata involves lots of boilerplate and repetitive code. On
1619AArch64 there are helpers to omit most of this. They are located in
1620``include/lib/cpus/aarch64/cpu_macros.S`` and the preferred way to implement
1621errata. Please see their comments on how to use them.
1622
1623The most common type of erratum workaround, one that just sets a "chicken" bit
1624in some arbitrary register, would have an implementation for the Cortex-A77,
1625erratum #1925769 like::
1626
1627    workaround_reset_start cortex_a77, ERRATUM(1925769), ERRATA_A77_1925769
1628        sysreg_bit_set CORTEX_A77_CPUECTLR_EL1, CORTEX_A77_CPUECTLR_EL1_BIT_8
1629    workaround_reset_end cortex_a77, ERRATUM(1925769)
1630
1631    check_erratum_ls cortex_a77, ERRATUM(1925769), CPU_REV(1, 1)
1632
1633Status reporting
1634^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1635
1636In a debug build of TF-A, on a CPU that comes out of reset, both BL1 and the
1637runtime firmware (BL31 in AArch64, and BL32 in AArch32) will invoke a generic
1638errata status reporting function. It will read the ``errata_entries`` list of
1639that cpu and will report whether each known erratum was applied and, if not,
1640whether it should have been.
1641
1642Reporting the status of errata workaround is for informational purpose only; it
1643has no functional significance.
1644
1645Memory layout of BL images
1646--------------------------
1647
1648Each bootloader image can be divided in 2 parts:
1649
1650-  the static contents of the image. These are data actually stored in the
1651   binary on the disk. In the ELF terminology, they are called ``PROGBITS``
1652   sections;
1653
1654-  the run-time contents of the image. These are data that don't occupy any
1655   space in the binary on the disk. The ELF binary just contains some
1656   metadata indicating where these data will be stored at run-time and the
1657   corresponding sections need to be allocated and initialized at run-time.
1658   In the ELF terminology, they are called ``NOBITS`` sections.
1659
1660All PROGBITS sections are grouped together at the beginning of the image,
1661followed by all NOBITS sections. This is true for all TF-A images and it is
1662governed by the linker scripts. This ensures that the raw binary images are
1663as small as possible. If a NOBITS section was inserted in between PROGBITS
1664sections then the resulting binary file would contain zero bytes in place of
1665this NOBITS section, making the image unnecessarily bigger. Smaller images
1666allow faster loading from the FIP to the main memory.
1667
1668For BL31, a platform can specify an alternate location for NOBITS sections
1669(other than immediately following PROGBITS sections) by setting
1670``SEPARATE_NOBITS_REGION`` to 1 and defining ``BL31_NOBITS_BASE`` and
1671``BL31_NOBITS_LIMIT``.
1672
1673Linker scripts and symbols
1674~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1675
1676Each bootloader stage image layout is described by its own linker script. The
1677linker scripts export some symbols into the program symbol table. Their values
1678correspond to particular addresses. TF-A code can refer to these symbols to
1679figure out the image memory layout.
1680
1681Linker symbols follow the following naming convention in TF-A.
1682
1683-  ``__<SECTION>_START__``
1684
1685   Start address of a given section named ``<SECTION>``.
1686
1687-  ``__<SECTION>_END__``
1688
1689   End address of a given section named ``<SECTION>``. If there is an alignment
1690   constraint on the section's end address then ``__<SECTION>_END__`` corresponds
1691   to the end address of the section's actual contents, rounded up to the right
1692   boundary. Refer to the value of ``__<SECTION>_UNALIGNED_END__`` to know the
1693   actual end address of the section's contents.
1694
1695-  ``__<SECTION>_UNALIGNED_END__``
1696
1697   End address of a given section named ``<SECTION>`` without any padding or
1698   rounding up due to some alignment constraint.
1699
1700-  ``__<SECTION>_SIZE__``
1701
1702   Size (in bytes) of a given section named ``<SECTION>``. If there is an
1703   alignment constraint on the section's end address then ``__<SECTION>_SIZE__``
1704   corresponds to the size of the section's actual contents, rounded up to the
1705   right boundary. In other words, ``__<SECTION>_SIZE__ = __<SECTION>_END__ - _<SECTION>_START__``. Refer to the value of ``__<SECTION>_UNALIGNED_SIZE__``
1706   to know the actual size of the section's contents.
1707
1708-  ``__<SECTION>_UNALIGNED_SIZE__``
1709
1710   Size (in bytes) of a given section named ``<SECTION>`` without any padding or
1711   rounding up due to some alignment constraint. In other words,
1712   ``__<SECTION>_UNALIGNED_SIZE__ = __<SECTION>_UNALIGNED_END__ - __<SECTION>_START__``.
1713
1714Some of the linker symbols are mandatory as TF-A code relies on them to be
1715defined. They are listed in the following subsections. Some of them must be
1716provided for each bootloader stage and some are specific to a given bootloader
1717stage.
1718
1719The linker scripts define some extra, optional symbols. They are not actually
1720used by any code but they help in understanding the bootloader images' memory
1721layout as they are easy to spot in the link map files.
1722
1723Common linker symbols
1724^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1725
1726All BL images share the following requirements:
1727
1728-  The BSS section must be zero-initialised before executing any C code.
1729-  The coherent memory section (if enabled) must be zero-initialised as well.
1730-  The MMU setup code needs to know the extents of the coherent and read-only
1731   memory regions to set the right memory attributes. When
1732   ``SEPARATE_CODE_AND_RODATA=1``, it needs to know more specifically how the
1733   read-only memory region is divided between code and data.
1734
1735The following linker symbols are defined for this purpose:
1736
1737-  ``__BSS_START__``
1738-  ``__BSS_SIZE__``
1739-  ``__COHERENT_RAM_START__`` Must be aligned on a page-size boundary.
1740-  ``__COHERENT_RAM_END__`` Must be aligned on a page-size boundary.
1741-  ``__COHERENT_RAM_UNALIGNED_SIZE__``
1742-  ``__RO_START__``
1743-  ``__RO_END__``
1744-  ``__TEXT_START__``
1745-  ``__TEXT_END_UNALIGNED__``
1746-  ``__TEXT_END__``
1747-  ``__RODATA_START__``
1748-  ``__RODATA_END_UNALIGNED__``
1749-  ``__RODATA_END__``
1750
1751BL1's linker symbols
1752^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1753
1754BL1 being the ROM image, it has additional requirements. BL1 resides in ROM and
1755it is entirely executed in place but it needs some read-write memory for its
1756mutable data. Its ``.data`` section (i.e. its allocated read-write data) must be
1757relocated from ROM to RAM before executing any C code.
1758
1759The following additional linker symbols are defined for BL1:
1760
1761-  ``__BL1_ROM_END__`` End address of BL1's ROM contents, covering its code
1762   and ``.data`` section in ROM.
1763-  ``__DATA_ROM_START__`` Start address of the ``.data`` section in ROM. Must be
1764   aligned on a 16-byte boundary.
1765-  ``__DATA_RAM_START__`` Address in RAM where the ``.data`` section should be
1766   copied over. Must be aligned on a 16-byte boundary.
1767-  ``__DATA_SIZE__`` Size of the ``.data`` section (in ROM or RAM).
1768-  ``__BL1_RAM_START__`` Start address of BL1 read-write data.
1769-  ``__BL1_RAM_END__`` End address of BL1 read-write data.
1770
1771How to choose the right base addresses for each bootloader stage image
1772~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1773
1774There is currently no support for dynamic image loading in TF-A. This means
1775that all bootloader images need to be linked against their ultimate runtime
1776locations and the base addresses of each image must be chosen carefully such
1777that images don't overlap each other in an undesired way. As the code grows,
1778the base addresses might need adjustments to cope with the new memory layout.
1779
1780The memory layout is completely specific to the platform and so there is no
1781general recipe for choosing the right base addresses for each bootloader image.
1782However, there are tools to aid in understanding the memory layout. These are
1783the link map files: ``build/<platform>/<build-type>/bl<x>/bl<x>.map``, with ``<x>``
1784being the stage bootloader. They provide a detailed view of the memory usage of
1785each image. Among other useful information, they provide the end address of
1786each image.
1787
1788-  ``bl1.map`` link map file provides ``__BL1_RAM_END__`` address.
1789-  ``bl2.map`` link map file provides ``__BL2_END__`` address.
1790-  ``bl31.map`` link map file provides ``__BL31_END__`` address.
1791-  ``bl32.map`` link map file provides ``__BL32_END__`` address.
1792
1793For each bootloader image, the platform code must provide its start address
1794as well as a limit address that it must not overstep. The latter is used in the
1795linker scripts to check that the image doesn't grow past that address. If that
1796happens, the linker will issue a message similar to the following:
1797
1798::
1799
1800    aarch64-none-elf-ld: BLx has exceeded its limit.
1801
1802Additionally, if the platform memory layout implies some image overlaying like
1803on FVP, BL31 and TSP need to know the limit address that their PROGBITS
1804sections must not overstep. The platform code must provide those.
1805
1806TF-A does not provide any mechanism to verify at boot time that the memory
1807to load a new image is free to prevent overwriting a previously loaded image.
1808The platform must specify the memory available in the system for all the
1809relevant BL images to be loaded.
1810
1811For example, in the case of BL1 loading BL2, ``bl1_plat_sec_mem_layout()`` will
1812return the region defined by the platform where BL1 intends to load BL2. The
1813``load_image()`` function performs bounds check for the image size based on the
1814base and maximum image size provided by the platforms. Platforms must take
1815this behaviour into account when defining the base/size for each of the images.
1816
1817Memory layout on Arm development platforms
1818^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1819
1820The following list describes the memory layout on the Arm development platforms:
1821
1822-  A 4KB page of shared memory is used for communication between Trusted
1823   Firmware and the platform's power controller. This is located at the base of
1824   Trusted SRAM. The amount of Trusted SRAM available to load the bootloader
1825   images is reduced by the size of the shared memory.
1826
1827   The shared memory is used to store the CPUs' entrypoint mailbox. On Juno,
1828   this is also used for the MHU payload when passing messages to and from the
1829   SCP.
1830
1831-  Another 4 KB page is reserved for passing memory layout between BL1 and BL2
1832   and also the dynamic firmware configurations.
1833
1834-  On FVP, BL1 is originally sitting in the Trusted ROM at address ``0x0``. On
1835   Juno, BL1 resides in flash memory at address ``0x0BEC0000``. BL1 read-write
1836   data are relocated to the top of Trusted SRAM at runtime.
1837
1838-  BL2 is loaded below BL1 RW
1839
1840-  EL3 Runtime Software, BL31 for AArch64 and BL32 for AArch32 (e.g. SP_MIN),
1841   is loaded at the top of the Trusted SRAM, such that its NOBITS sections will
1842   overwrite BL1 R/W data and BL2. This implies that BL1 global variables
1843   remain valid only until execution reaches the EL3 Runtime Software entry
1844   point during a cold boot.
1845
1846-  On Juno, SCP_BL2 is loaded temporarily into the EL3 Runtime Software memory
1847   region and transferred to the SCP before being overwritten by EL3 Runtime
1848   Software.
1849
1850-  BL32 (for AArch64) can be loaded in one of the following locations:
1851
1852   -  Trusted SRAM
1853   -  Trusted DRAM (FVP only)
1854   -  Secure region of DRAM (top 16MB of DRAM configured by the TrustZone
1855      controller)
1856
1857   When BL32 (for AArch64) is loaded into Trusted SRAM, it is loaded below
1858   BL31.
1859
1860The location of the BL32 image will result in different memory maps. This is
1861illustrated for both FVP and Juno in the following diagrams, using the TSP as
1862an example.
1863
1864.. note::
1865   Loading the BL32 image in TZC secured DRAM doesn't change the memory
1866   layout of the other images in Trusted SRAM.
1867
1868CONFIG section in memory layouts shown below contains:
1869
1870::
1871
1872    +--------------------+
1873    |bl2_mem_params_descs|
1874    |--------------------|
1875    |     fw_configs     |
1876    +--------------------+
1877
1878``bl2_mem_params_descs`` contains parameters passed from BL2 to next the
1879BL image during boot.
1880
1881``fw_configs`` includes soc_fw_config, tos_fw_config, tb_fw_config and fw_config.
1882
1883**FVP with TSP in Trusted SRAM with firmware configs :**
1884(These diagrams only cover the AArch64 case)
1885
1886::
1887
1888                   DRAM
1889    0xffffffff +----------+
1890               | EL3 TZC  |
1891    0xffe00000 |----------| (secure)
1892               | AP TZC   |
1893    0xff000000 +----------+
1894               :          :
1895    0x82100000 |----------|
1896               |HW_CONFIG |
1897    0x82000000 |----------|  (non-secure)
1898               |          |
1899    0x80000000 +----------+
1900
1901               Trusted DRAM
1902    0x08000000 +----------+
1903               |HW_CONFIG |
1904    0x07f00000 |----------|
1905               :          :
1906               |          |
1907    0x06000000 +----------+
1908
1909               Trusted SRAM
1910    0x04040000 +----------+  loaded by BL2  +----------------+
1911               | BL1 (rw) |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |                |
1912               |----------|  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |  BL31 NOBITS   |
1913               |   BL2    |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |                |
1914               |----------|  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |----------------|
1915               |          |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  | BL31 PROGBITS  |
1916               |          |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |----------------|
1917               |          |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |     BL32       |
1918    0x04003000 +----------+                 +----------------+
1919               |  CONFIG  |
1920    0x04001000 +----------+
1921               |  Shared  |
1922    0x04000000 +----------+
1923
1924               Trusted ROM
1925    0x04000000 +----------+
1926               | BL1 (ro) |
1927    0x00000000 +----------+
1928
1929**FVP with TSP in Trusted DRAM with firmware configs (default option):**
1930
1931::
1932
1933                     DRAM
1934    0xffffffff +--------------+
1935               |   EL3 TZC    |
1936    0xffe00000 |--------------|  (secure)
1937               |   AP TZC     |
1938    0xff000000 +--------------+
1939               :              :
1940    0x82100000 |--------------|
1941               |  HW_CONFIG   |
1942    0x82000000 |--------------|  (non-secure)
1943               |              |
1944    0x80000000 +--------------+
1945
1946                 Trusted DRAM
1947    0x08000000 +--------------+
1948               |  HW_CONFIG   |
1949    0x07f00000 |--------------|
1950               :              :
1951               |    BL32      |
1952    0x06000000 +--------------+
1953
1954                 Trusted SRAM
1955    0x04040000 +--------------+  loaded by BL2  +----------------+
1956               |   BL1 (rw)   |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |                |
1957               |--------------|  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |  BL31 NOBITS   |
1958               |     BL2      |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |                |
1959               |--------------|  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |----------------|
1960               |              |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  | BL31 PROGBITS  |
1961               |              |                 +----------------+
1962    0x04003000 +--------------+
1963               |    CONFIG    |
1964    0x04001000 +--------------+
1965               |    Shared    |
1966    0x04000000 +--------------+
1967
1968                 Trusted ROM
1969    0x04000000 +--------------+
1970               |   BL1 (ro)   |
1971    0x00000000 +--------------+
1972
1973**FVP with TSP in TZC-Secured DRAM with firmware configs :**
1974
1975::
1976
1977                   DRAM
1978    0xffffffff +----------+
1979               |  EL3 TZC |
1980    0xffe00000 |----------|  (secure)
1981               |  AP TZC  |
1982               |  (BL32)  |
1983    0xff000000 +----------+
1984               |          |
1985    0x82100000 |----------|
1986               |HW_CONFIG |
1987    0x82000000 |----------|  (non-secure)
1988               |          |
1989    0x80000000 +----------+
1990
1991               Trusted DRAM
1992    0x08000000 +----------+
1993               |HW_CONFIG |
1994    0x7f000000 |----------|
1995               :          :
1996               |          |
1997    0x06000000 +----------+
1998
1999               Trusted SRAM
2000    0x04040000 +----------+  loaded by BL2  +----------------+
2001               | BL1 (rw) |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |                |
2002               |----------|  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |  BL31 NOBITS   |
2003               |   BL2    |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |                |
2004               |----------|  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |----------------|
2005               |          |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  | BL31 PROGBITS  |
2006               |          |                 +----------------+
2007    0x04003000 +----------+
2008               |  CONFIG  |
2009    0x04001000 +----------+
2010               |  Shared  |
2011    0x04000000 +----------+
2012
2013               Trusted ROM
2014    0x04000000 +----------+
2015               | BL1 (ro) |
2016    0x00000000 +----------+
2017
2018**Juno with BL32 in Trusted SRAM :**
2019
2020::
2021
2022                  DRAM
2023    0xFFFFFFFF +----------+
2024               |  SCP TZC |
2025    0xFFE00000 |----------|
2026               |  EL3 TZC |
2027    0xFFC00000 |----------|  (secure)
2028               |  AP TZC  |
2029    0xFF000000 +----------+
2030               |          |
2031               :          :  (non-secure)
2032               |          |
2033    0x80000000 +----------+
2034
2035
2036                  Flash0
2037    0x0C000000 +----------+
2038               :          :
2039    0x0BED0000 |----------|
2040               | BL1 (ro) |
2041    0x0BEC0000 |----------|
2042               :          :
2043    0x08000000 +----------+                  BL31 is loaded
2044                                             after SCP_BL2 has
2045               Trusted SRAM                  been sent to SCP
2046    0x04040000 +----------+  loaded by BL2  +----------------+
2047               | BL1 (rw) |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |                |
2048               |----------|  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |  BL31 NOBITS   |
2049               |   BL2    |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |                |
2050               |----------|  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |----------------|
2051               | SCP_BL2  |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  | BL31 PROGBITS  |
2052               |          |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |----------------|
2053               |          |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |     BL32       |
2054               |          |                 +----------------+
2055               |          |
2056    0x04001000 +----------+
2057               |   MHU    |
2058    0x04000000 +----------+
2059
2060**Juno with BL32 in TZC-secured DRAM :**
2061
2062::
2063
2064                   DRAM
2065    0xFFFFFFFF +----------+
2066               |  SCP TZC |
2067    0xFFE00000 |----------|
2068               |  EL3 TZC |
2069    0xFFC00000 |----------|  (secure)
2070               |  AP TZC  |
2071               |  (BL32)  |
2072    0xFF000000 +----------+
2073               |          |
2074               :          :  (non-secure)
2075               |          |
2076    0x80000000 +----------+
2077
2078                  Flash0
2079    0x0C000000 +----------+
2080               :          :
2081    0x0BED0000 |----------|
2082               | BL1 (ro) |
2083    0x0BEC0000 |----------|
2084               :          :
2085    0x08000000 +----------+                  BL31 is loaded
2086                                             after SCP_BL2 has
2087               Trusted SRAM                  been sent to SCP
2088    0x04040000 +----------+  loaded by BL2  +----------------+
2089               | BL1 (rw) |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |                |
2090               |----------|  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |  BL31 NOBITS   |
2091               |   BL2    |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |                |
2092               |----------|  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  |----------------|
2093               | SCP_BL2  |  <<<<<<<<<<<<<  | BL31 PROGBITS  |
2094               |          |                 +----------------+
2095    0x04001000 +----------+
2096               |   MHU    |
2097    0x04000000 +----------+
2098
2099.. _firmware_design_fip:
2100
2101Firmware Image Package (FIP)
2102----------------------------
2103
2104Using a Firmware Image Package (FIP) allows for packing bootloader images (and
2105potentially other payloads) into a single archive that can be loaded by TF-A
2106from non-volatile platform storage. A driver to load images from a FIP has
2107been added to the storage layer and allows a package to be read from supported
2108platform storage. A tool to create Firmware Image Packages is also provided
2109and described below.
2110
2111Firmware Image Package layout
2112~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2113
2114The FIP layout consists of a table of contents (ToC) followed by payload data.
2115The ToC itself has a header followed by one or more table entries. The ToC is
2116terminated by an end marker entry, and since the size of the ToC is 0 bytes,
2117the offset equals the total size of the FIP file. All ToC entries describe some
2118payload data that has been appended to the end of the binary package. With the
2119information provided in the ToC entry the corresponding payload data can be
2120retrieved.
2121
2122::
2123
2124    ------------------
2125    | ToC Header     |
2126    |----------------|
2127    | ToC Entry 0    |
2128    |----------------|
2129    | ToC Entry 1    |
2130    |----------------|
2131    | ToC End Marker |
2132    |----------------|
2133    |                |
2134    |     Data 0     |
2135    |                |
2136    |----------------|
2137    |                |
2138    |     Data 1     |
2139    |                |
2140    ------------------
2141
2142The ToC header and entry formats are described in the header file
2143``include/tools_share/firmware_image_package.h``. This file is used by both the
2144tool and TF-A.
2145
2146The ToC header has the following fields:
2147
2148::
2149
2150    `name`: The name of the ToC. This is currently used to validate the header.
2151    `serial_number`: A non-zero number provided by the creation tool
2152    `flags`: Flags associated with this data.
2153        Bits 0-31: Reserved
2154        Bits 32-47: Platform defined
2155        Bits 48-63: Reserved
2156
2157A ToC entry has the following fields:
2158
2159::
2160
2161    `uuid`: All files are referred to by a pre-defined Universally Unique
2162        IDentifier [UUID] . The UUIDs are defined in
2163        `include/tools_share/firmware_image_package.h`. The platform translates
2164        the requested image name into the corresponding UUID when accessing the
2165        package.
2166    `offset_address`: The offset address at which the corresponding payload data
2167        can be found. The offset is calculated from the ToC base address.
2168    `size`: The size of the corresponding payload data in bytes.
2169    `flags`: Flags associated with this entry. None are yet defined.
2170
2171Firmware Image Package creation tool
2172~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2173
2174The FIP creation tool can be used to pack specified images into a binary
2175package that can be loaded by TF-A from platform storage. The tool currently
2176only supports packing bootloader images. Additional image definitions can be
2177added to the tool as required.
2178
2179The tool can be found in ``tools/fiptool``.
2180
2181Loading from a Firmware Image Package (FIP)
2182~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2183
2184The Firmware Image Package (FIP) driver can load images from a binary package on
2185non-volatile platform storage. For the Arm development platforms, this is
2186currently NOR FLASH.
2187
2188Bootloader images are loaded according to the platform policy as specified by
2189the function ``plat_get_image_source()``. For the Arm development platforms, this
2190means the platform will attempt to load images from a Firmware Image Package
2191located at the start of NOR FLASH0.
2192
2193The Arm development platforms' policy is to only allow loading of a known set of
2194images. The platform policy can be modified to allow additional images.
2195
2196Use of coherent memory in TF-A
2197------------------------------
2198
2199There might be loss of coherency when physical memory with mismatched
2200shareability, cacheability and memory attributes is accessed by multiple CPUs
2201(refer to section B2.9 of `Arm ARM`_ for more details). This possibility occurs
2202in TF-A during power up/down sequences when coherency, MMU and caches are
2203turned on/off incrementally.
2204
2205TF-A defines coherent memory as a region of memory with Device nGnRE attributes
2206in the translation tables. The translation granule size in TF-A is 4KB. This
2207is the smallest possible size of the coherent memory region.
2208
2209By default, all data structures which are susceptible to accesses with
2210mismatched attributes from various CPUs are allocated in a coherent memory
2211region (refer to section 2.1 of :ref:`Porting Guide`). The coherent memory
2212region accesses are Outer Shareable, non-cacheable and they can be accessed with
2213the Device nGnRE attributes when the MMU is turned on. Hence, at the expense of
2214at least an extra page of memory, TF-A is able to work around coherency issues
2215due to mismatched memory attributes.
2216
2217The alternative to the above approach is to allocate the susceptible data
2218structures in Normal WriteBack WriteAllocate Inner shareable memory. This
2219approach requires the data structures to be designed so that it is possible to
2220work around the issue of mismatched memory attributes by performing software
2221cache maintenance on them.
2222
2223Disabling the use of coherent memory in TF-A
2224~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2225
2226It might be desirable to avoid the cost of allocating coherent memory on
2227platforms which are memory constrained. TF-A enables inclusion of coherent
2228memory in firmware images through the build flag ``USE_COHERENT_MEM``.
2229This flag is enabled by default. It can be disabled to choose the second
2230approach described above.
2231
2232The below sections analyze the data structures allocated in the coherent memory
2233region and the changes required to allocate them in normal memory.
2234
2235Coherent memory usage in PSCI implementation
2236~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2237
2238The ``psci_non_cpu_pd_nodes`` data structure stores the platform's power domain
2239tree information for state management of power domains. By default, this data
2240structure is allocated in the coherent memory region in TF-A because it can be
2241accessed by multiple CPUs, either with caches enabled or disabled.
2242
2243.. code:: c
2244
2245    typedef struct non_cpu_pwr_domain_node {
2246        /*
2247         * Index of the first CPU power domain node level 0 which has this node
2248         * as its parent.
2249         */
2250        unsigned int cpu_start_idx;
2251
2252        /*
2253         * Number of CPU power domains which are siblings of the domain indexed
2254         * by 'cpu_start_idx' i.e. all the domains in the range 'cpu_start_idx
2255         * -> cpu_start_idx + ncpus' have this node as their parent.
2256         */
2257        unsigned int ncpus;
2258
2259        /*
2260         * Index of the parent power domain node.
2261         */
2262        unsigned int parent_node;
2263
2264        plat_local_state_t local_state;
2265
2266        unsigned char level;
2267
2268        /* For indexing the psci_lock array*/
2269        unsigned char lock_index;
2270    } non_cpu_pd_node_t;
2271
2272In order to move this data structure to normal memory, the use of each of its
2273fields must be analyzed. Fields like ``cpu_start_idx``, ``ncpus``, ``parent_node``
2274``level`` and ``lock_index`` are only written once during cold boot. Hence removing
2275them from coherent memory involves only doing a clean and invalidate of the
2276cache lines after these fields are written.
2277
2278The field ``local_state`` can be concurrently accessed by multiple CPUs in
2279different cache states. A Lamport's Bakery lock ``psci_locks`` is used to ensure
2280mutual exclusion to this field and a clean and invalidate is needed after it
2281is written.
2282
2283Bakery lock data
2284~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2285
2286The bakery lock data structure ``bakery_lock_t`` is allocated in coherent memory
2287and is accessed by multiple CPUs with mismatched attributes. ``bakery_lock_t`` is
2288defined as follows:
2289
2290.. code:: c
2291
2292    typedef struct bakery_lock {
2293        /*
2294         * The lock_data is a bit-field of 2 members:
2295         * Bit[0]       : choosing. This field is set when the CPU is
2296         *                choosing its bakery number.
2297         * Bits[1 - 15] : number. This is the bakery number allocated.
2298         */
2299        volatile uint16_t lock_data[BAKERY_LOCK_MAX_CPUS];
2300    } bakery_lock_t;
2301
2302It is a characteristic of Lamport's Bakery algorithm that the volatile per-CPU
2303fields can be read by all CPUs but only written to by the owning CPU.
2304
2305Depending upon the data cache line size, the per-CPU fields of the
2306``bakery_lock_t`` structure for multiple CPUs may exist on a single cache line.
2307These per-CPU fields can be read and written during lock contention by multiple
2308CPUs with mismatched memory attributes. Since these fields are a part of the
2309lock implementation, they do not have access to any other locking primitive to
2310safeguard against the resulting coherency issues. As a result, simple software
2311cache maintenance is not enough to allocate them in coherent memory. Consider
2312the following example.
2313
2314CPU0 updates its per-CPU field with data cache enabled. This write updates a
2315local cache line which contains a copy of the fields for other CPUs as well. Now
2316CPU1 updates its per-CPU field of the ``bakery_lock_t`` structure with data cache
2317disabled. CPU1 then issues a DCIVAC operation to invalidate any stale copies of
2318its field in any other cache line in the system. This operation will invalidate
2319the update made by CPU0 as well.
2320
2321To use bakery locks when ``USE_COHERENT_MEM`` is disabled, the lock data structure
2322has been redesigned. The changes utilise the characteristic of Lamport's Bakery
2323algorithm mentioned earlier. The bakery_lock structure only allocates the memory
2324for a single CPU. The macro ``DEFINE_BAKERY_LOCK`` allocates all the bakery locks
2325needed for a CPU into a section ``.bakery_lock``. The linker allocates the memory
2326for other cores by using the total size allocated for the bakery_lock section
2327and multiplying it with (PLATFORM_CORE_COUNT - 1). This enables software to
2328perform software cache maintenance on the lock data structure without running
2329into coherency issues associated with mismatched attributes.
2330
2331The bakery lock data structure ``bakery_info_t`` is defined for use when
2332``USE_COHERENT_MEM`` is disabled as follows:
2333
2334.. code:: c
2335
2336    typedef struct bakery_info {
2337        /*
2338         * The lock_data is a bit-field of 2 members:
2339         * Bit[0]       : choosing. This field is set when the CPU is
2340         *                choosing its bakery number.
2341         * Bits[1 - 15] : number. This is the bakery number allocated.
2342         */
2343         volatile uint16_t lock_data;
2344    } bakery_info_t;
2345
2346The ``bakery_info_t`` represents a single per-CPU field of one lock and
2347the combination of corresponding ``bakery_info_t`` structures for all CPUs in the
2348system represents the complete bakery lock. The view in memory for a system
2349with n bakery locks are:
2350
2351::
2352
2353    .bakery_lock section start
2354    |----------------|
2355    | `bakery_info_t`| <-- Lock_0 per-CPU field
2356    |    Lock_0      |     for CPU0
2357    |----------------|
2358    | `bakery_info_t`| <-- Lock_1 per-CPU field
2359    |    Lock_1      |     for CPU0
2360    |----------------|
2361    | ....           |
2362    |----------------|
2363    | `bakery_info_t`| <-- Lock_N per-CPU field
2364    |    Lock_N      |     for CPU0
2365    ------------------
2366    |    XXXXX       |
2367    | Padding to     |
2368    | next Cache WB  | <--- Calculate PERCPU_BAKERY_LOCK_SIZE, allocate
2369    |  Granule       |       continuous memory for remaining CPUs.
2370    ------------------
2371    | `bakery_info_t`| <-- Lock_0 per-CPU field
2372    |    Lock_0      |     for CPU1
2373    |----------------|
2374    | `bakery_info_t`| <-- Lock_1 per-CPU field
2375    |    Lock_1      |     for CPU1
2376    |----------------|
2377    | ....           |
2378    |----------------|
2379    | `bakery_info_t`| <-- Lock_N per-CPU field
2380    |    Lock_N      |     for CPU1
2381    ------------------
2382    |    XXXXX       |
2383    | Padding to     |
2384    | next Cache WB  |
2385    |  Granule       |
2386    ------------------
2387
2388Consider a system of 2 CPUs with 'N' bakery locks as shown above. For an
2389operation on Lock_N, the corresponding ``bakery_info_t`` in both CPU0 and CPU1
2390``.bakery_lock`` section need to be fetched and appropriate cache operations need
2391to be performed for each access.
2392
2393On Arm Platforms, bakery locks are used in psci (``psci_locks``) and power controller
2394driver (``arm_lock``).
2395
2396Non Functional Impact of removing coherent memory
2397~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2398
2399Removal of the coherent memory region leads to the additional software overhead
2400of performing cache maintenance for the affected data structures. However, since
2401the memory where the data structures are allocated is cacheable, the overhead is
2402mostly mitigated by an increase in performance.
2403
2404There is however a performance impact for bakery locks, due to:
2405
2406-  Additional cache maintenance operations, and
2407-  Multiple cache line reads for each lock operation, since the bakery locks
2408   for each CPU are distributed across different cache lines.
2409
2410The implementation has been optimized to minimize this additional overhead.
2411Measurements indicate that when bakery locks are allocated in Normal memory, the
2412minimum latency of acquiring a lock is on an average 3-4 micro seconds whereas
2413in Device memory the same is 2 micro seconds. The measurements were done on the
2414Juno Arm development platform.
2415
2416As mentioned earlier, almost a page of memory can be saved by disabling
2417``USE_COHERENT_MEM``. Each platform needs to consider these trade-offs to decide
2418whether coherent memory should be used. If a platform disables
2419``USE_COHERENT_MEM`` and needs to use bakery locks in the porting layer, it can
2420optionally define macro ``PLAT_PERCPU_BAKERY_LOCK_SIZE`` (see the
2421:ref:`Porting Guide`). Refer to the reference platform code for examples.
2422
2423Isolating code and read-only data on separate memory pages
2424----------------------------------------------------------
2425
2426In the Armv8-A VMSA, translation table entries include fields that define the
2427properties of the target memory region, such as its access permissions. The
2428smallest unit of memory that can be addressed by a translation table entry is
2429a memory page. Therefore, if software needs to set different permissions on two
2430memory regions then it needs to map them using different memory pages.
2431
2432The default memory layout for each BL image is as follows:
2433
2434::
2435
2436       |        ...        |
2437       +-------------------+
2438       |  Read-write data  |
2439       +-------------------+ Page boundary
2440       |     <Padding>     |
2441       +-------------------+
2442       | Exception vectors |
2443       +-------------------+ 2 KB boundary
2444       |     <Padding>     |
2445       +-------------------+
2446       |  Read-only data   |
2447       +-------------------+
2448       |       Code        |
2449       +-------------------+ BLx_BASE
2450
2451.. note::
2452   The 2KB alignment for the exception vectors is an architectural
2453   requirement.
2454
2455The read-write data start on a new memory page so that they can be mapped with
2456read-write permissions, whereas the code and read-only data below are configured
2457as read-only.
2458
2459However, the read-only data are not aligned on a page boundary. They are
2460contiguous to the code. Therefore, the end of the code section and the beginning
2461of the read-only data one might share a memory page. This forces both to be
2462mapped with the same memory attributes. As the code needs to be executable, this
2463means that the read-only data stored on the same memory page as the code are
2464executable as well. This could potentially be exploited as part of a security
2465attack.
2466
2467TF provides the build flag ``SEPARATE_CODE_AND_RODATA`` to isolate the code and
2468read-only data on separate memory pages. This in turn allows independent control
2469of the access permissions for the code and read-only data. In this case,
2470platform code gets a finer-grained view of the image layout and can
2471appropriately map the code region as executable and the read-only data as
2472execute-never.
2473
2474This has an impact on memory footprint, as padding bytes need to be introduced
2475between the code and read-only data to ensure the segregation of the two. To
2476limit the memory cost, this flag also changes the memory layout such that the
2477code and exception vectors are now contiguous, like so:
2478
2479::
2480
2481       |        ...        |
2482       +-------------------+
2483       |  Read-write data  |
2484       +-------------------+ Page boundary
2485       |     <Padding>     |
2486       +-------------------+
2487       |  Read-only data   |
2488       +-------------------+ Page boundary
2489       |     <Padding>     |
2490       +-------------------+
2491       | Exception vectors |
2492       +-------------------+ 2 KB boundary
2493       |     <Padding>     |
2494       +-------------------+
2495       |       Code        |
2496       +-------------------+ BLx_BASE
2497
2498With this more condensed memory layout, the separation of read-only data will
2499add zero or one page to the memory footprint of each BL image. Each platform
2500should consider the trade-off between memory footprint and security.
2501
2502This build flag is disabled by default, minimising memory footprint. On Arm
2503platforms, it is enabled.
2504
2505Publish and Subscribe Framework
2506-------------------------------
2507
2508The Publish and Subscribe Framework allows EL3 components to define and publish
2509events, to which other EL3 components can subscribe.
2510
2511The following macros are provided by the framework:
2512
2513-  ``REGISTER_PUBSUB_EVENT(event)``: Defines an event, and takes one argument,
2514   the event name, which must be a valid C identifier. All calls to
2515   ``REGISTER_PUBSUB_EVENT`` macro must be placed in the file
2516   ``pubsub_events.h``.
2517
2518-  ``PUBLISH_EVENT_ARG(event, arg)``: Publishes a defined event, by iterating
2519   subscribed handlers and calling them in turn. The handlers will be passed the
2520   parameter ``arg``. The expected use-case is to broadcast an event.
2521
2522-  ``PUBLISH_EVENT(event)``: Like ``PUBLISH_EVENT_ARG``, except that the value
2523   ``NULL`` is passed to subscribed handlers.
2524
2525-  ``SUBSCRIBE_TO_EVENT(event, handler)``: Registers the ``handler`` to
2526   subscribe to ``event``. The handler will be executed whenever the ``event``
2527   is published.
2528
2529-  ``for_each_subscriber(event, subscriber)``: Iterates through all handlers
2530   subscribed for ``event``. ``subscriber`` must be a local variable of type
2531   ``pubsub_cb_t *``, and will point to each subscribed handler in turn during
2532   iteration. This macro can be used for those patterns that none of the
2533   ``PUBLISH_EVENT_*()`` macros cover.
2534
2535Publishing an event that wasn't defined using ``REGISTER_PUBSUB_EVENT`` will
2536result in build error. Subscribing to an undefined event however won't.
2537
2538Subscribed handlers must be of type ``pubsub_cb_t``, with following function
2539signature:
2540
2541.. code:: c
2542
2543   typedef void* (*pubsub_cb_t)(const void *arg);
2544
2545There may be arbitrary number of handlers registered to the same event. The
2546order in which subscribed handlers are notified when that event is published is
2547not defined. Subscribed handlers may be executed in any order; handlers should
2548not assume any relative ordering amongst them.
2549
2550Publishing an event on a PE will result in subscribed handlers executing on that
2551PE only; it won't cause handlers to execute on a different PE.
2552
2553Note that publishing an event on a PE blocks until all the subscribed handlers
2554finish executing on the PE.
2555
2556TF-A generic code publishes and subscribes to some events within. Platform
2557ports are discouraged from subscribing to them. These events may be withdrawn,
2558renamed, or have their semantics altered in the future. Platforms may however
2559register, publish, and subscribe to platform-specific events.
2560
2561Publish and Subscribe Example
2562~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2563
2564A publisher that wants to publish event ``foo`` would:
2565
2566-  Define the event ``foo`` in the ``pubsub_events.h``.
2567
2568   .. code:: c
2569
2570      REGISTER_PUBSUB_EVENT(foo);
2571
2572-  Depending on the nature of event, use one of ``PUBLISH_EVENT_*()`` macros to
2573   publish the event at the appropriate path and time of execution.
2574
2575A subscriber that wants to subscribe to event ``foo`` published above would
2576implement:
2577
2578.. code:: c
2579
2580    void *foo_handler(const void *arg)
2581    {
2582         void *result;
2583
2584         /* Do handling ... */
2585
2586         return result;
2587    }
2588
2589    SUBSCRIBE_TO_EVENT(foo, foo_handler);
2590
2591
2592Reclaiming the BL31 initialization code
2593~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2594
2595A significant amount of the code used for the initialization of BL31 is never
2596needed again after boot time. In order to reduce the runtime memory
2597footprint, the memory used for this code can be reclaimed after initialization
2598has finished and be used for runtime data.
2599
2600The build option ``RECLAIM_INIT_CODE`` can be set to mark this boot time code
2601with a ``.text.init.*`` attribute which can be filtered and placed suitably
2602within the BL image for later reclamation by the platform. The platform can
2603specify the filter and the memory region for this init section in BL31 via the
2604plat.ld.S linker script. For example, on the FVP, this section is placed
2605overlapping the secondary CPU stacks so that after the cold boot is done, this
2606memory can be reclaimed for the stacks. The init memory section is initially
2607mapped with ``RO``, ``EXECUTE`` attributes. After BL31 initialization has
2608completed, the FVP changes the attributes of this section to ``RW``,
2609``EXECUTE_NEVER`` allowing it to be used for runtime data. The memory attributes
2610are changed within the ``bl31_plat_runtime_setup`` platform hook. The init
2611section section can be reclaimed for any data which is accessed after cold
2612boot initialization and it is upto the platform to make the decision.
2613
2614Please note that this will disable inlining for any functions with the __init
2615attribute.
2616
2617.. _firmware_design_pmf:
2618
2619Performance Measurement Framework
2620---------------------------------
2621
2622The Performance Measurement Framework (PMF) facilitates collection of
2623timestamps by registered services and provides interfaces to retrieve them
2624from within TF-A. A platform can choose to expose appropriate SMCs to
2625retrieve these collected timestamps.
2626
2627By default, the global physical counter is used for the timestamp
2628value and is read via ``CNTPCT_EL0``. The framework allows to retrieve
2629timestamps captured by other CPUs.
2630
2631Timestamp identifier format
2632~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2633
2634A PMF timestamp is uniquely identified across the system via the
2635timestamp ID or ``tid``. The ``tid`` is composed as follows:
2636
2637::
2638
2639    Bits 0-7: The local timestamp identifier.
2640    Bits 8-9: Reserved.
2641    Bits 10-15: The service identifier.
2642    Bits 16-31: Reserved.
2643
2644#. The service identifier. Each PMF service is identified by a
2645   service name and a service identifier. Both the service name and
2646   identifier are unique within the system as a whole.
2647
2648#. The local timestamp identifier. This identifier is unique within a given
2649   service.
2650
2651Registering a PMF service
2652~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2653
2654To register a PMF service, the ``PMF_REGISTER_SERVICE()`` macro from ``pmf.h``
2655is used. The arguments required are the service name, the service ID,
2656the total number of local timestamps to be captured and a set of flags.
2657
2658The ``flags`` field can be specified as a bitwise-OR of the following values:
2659
2660::
2661
2662    PMF_STORE_ENABLE: The timestamp is stored in memory for later retrieval.
2663    PMF_DUMP_ENABLE: The timestamp is dumped on the serial console.
2664
2665The ``PMF_REGISTER_SERVICE()`` reserves memory to store captured
2666timestamps in a PMF specific linker section at build time.
2667Additionally, it defines necessary functions to capture and
2668retrieve a particular timestamp for the given service at runtime.
2669
2670The macro ``PMF_REGISTER_SERVICE()`` only enables capturing PMF timestamps
2671from within TF-A. In order to retrieve timestamps from outside of TF-A, the
2672``PMF_REGISTER_SERVICE_SMC()`` macro must be used instead. This macro
2673accepts the same set of arguments as the ``PMF_REGISTER_SERVICE()``
2674macro but additionally supports retrieving timestamps using SMCs.
2675
2676Capturing a timestamp
2677~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2678
2679PMF timestamps are stored in a per-service timestamp region. On a
2680system with multiple CPUs, each timestamp is captured and stored
2681in a per-CPU cache line aligned memory region.
2682
2683Having registered the service, the ``PMF_CAPTURE_TIMESTAMP()`` macro can be
2684used to capture a timestamp at the location where it is used. The macro
2685takes the service name, a local timestamp identifier and a flag as arguments.
2686
2687The ``flags`` field argument can be zero, or ``PMF_CACHE_MAINT`` which
2688instructs PMF to do cache maintenance following the capture. Cache
2689maintenance is required if any of the service's timestamps are captured
2690with data cache disabled.
2691
2692To capture a timestamp in assembly code, the caller should use
2693``pmf_calc_timestamp_addr`` macro (defined in ``pmf_asm_macros.S``) to
2694calculate the address of where the timestamp would be stored. The
2695caller should then read ``CNTPCT_EL0`` register to obtain the timestamp
2696and store it at the determined address for later retrieval.
2697
2698Retrieving a timestamp
2699~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2700
2701From within TF-A, timestamps for individual CPUs can be retrieved using either
2702``PMF_GET_TIMESTAMP_BY_MPIDR()`` or ``PMF_GET_TIMESTAMP_BY_INDEX()`` macros.
2703These macros accept the CPU's MPIDR value, or its ordinal position
2704respectively.
2705
2706From outside TF-A, timestamps for individual CPUs can be retrieved by calling
2707into ``pmf_smc_handler()``.
2708
2709::
2710
2711    Interface : pmf_smc_handler()
2712    Argument  : unsigned int smc_fid, u_register_t x1,
2713                u_register_t x2, u_register_t x3,
2714                u_register_t x4, void *cookie,
2715                void *handle, u_register_t flags
2716    Return    : uintptr_t
2717
2718    smc_fid: Holds the SMC identifier which is either `PMF_SMC_GET_TIMESTAMP_32`
2719        when the caller of the SMC is running in AArch32 mode
2720        or `PMF_SMC_GET_TIMESTAMP_64` when the caller is running in AArch64 mode.
2721    x1: Timestamp identifier.
2722    x2: The `mpidr` of the CPU for which the timestamp has to be retrieved.
2723        This can be the `mpidr` of a different core to the one initiating
2724        the SMC.  In that case, service specific cache maintenance may be
2725        required to ensure the updated copy of the timestamp is returned.
2726    x3: A flags value that is either 0 or `PMF_CACHE_MAINT`.  If
2727        `PMF_CACHE_MAINT` is passed, then the PMF code will perform a
2728        cache invalidate before reading the timestamp.  This ensures
2729        an updated copy is returned.
2730
2731The remaining arguments, ``x4``, ``cookie``, ``handle`` and ``flags`` are unused
2732in this implementation.
2733
2734PMF code structure
2735~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2736
2737#. ``pmf_main.c`` consists of core functions that implement service registration,
2738   initialization, storing, dumping and retrieving timestamps.
2739
2740#. ``pmf_smc.c`` contains the SMC handling for registered PMF services.
2741
2742#. ``pmf.h`` contains the public interface to Performance Measurement Framework.
2743
2744#. ``pmf_asm_macros.S`` consists of macros to facilitate capturing timestamps in
2745   assembly code.
2746
2747#. ``pmf_helpers.h`` is an internal header used by ``pmf.h``.
2748
2749Armv8-A Architecture Extensions
2750-------------------------------
2751
2752TF-A makes use of Armv8-A Architecture Extensions where applicable. This
2753section lists the usage of Architecture Extensions, and build flags
2754controlling them.
2755
2756Build options
2757~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2758
2759``ARM_ARCH_MAJOR`` and ``ARM_ARCH_MINOR``
2760
2761These build options serve dual purpose
2762
2763- Determine the architecture extension support in TF-A build: All the mandatory
2764  architectural features up to ``ARM_ARCH_MAJOR.ARM_ARCH_MINOR`` are included
2765  and unconditionally enabled by TF-A build system.
2766
2767- ``ARM_ARCH_MAJOR`` and ``ARM_ARCH_MINOR`` are passed to a march.mk build utility
2768  this will try to come up with an appropriate -march value to be passed to compiler
2769  by probing the compiler and checking what's supported by the compiler and what's best
2770  that can be used. But if platform provides a ``MARCH_DIRECTIVE`` then it will used
2771  directly and compiler probing will be skipped.
2772
2773The build system requires that the platform provides a valid numeric value based on
2774CPU architecture extension, otherwise it defaults to base Armv8.0-A architecture.
2775Subsequent Arm Architecture versions also support extensions which were introduced
2776in previous versions.
2777
2778.. seealso:: :ref:`Build Options`
2779
2780For details on the Architecture Extension and available features, please refer
2781to the respective Architecture Extension Supplement.
2782
2783Armv8.1-A
2784~~~~~~~~~
2785
2786This Architecture Extension is targeted when ``ARM_ARCH_MAJOR`` >= 8, or when
2787``ARM_ARCH_MAJOR`` == 8 and ``ARM_ARCH_MINOR`` >= 1.
2788
2789-  By default, a load-/store-exclusive instruction pair is used to implement
2790   spinlocks. The ``USE_SPINLOCK_CAS`` build option when set to 1 selects the
2791   spinlock implementation using the ARMv8.1-LSE Compare and Swap instruction.
2792   Notice this instruction is only available in AArch64 execution state, so
2793   the option is only available to AArch64 builds.
2794
2795Armv8.2-A
2796~~~~~~~~~
2797
2798-  The presence of ARMv8.2-TTCNP is detected at runtime. When it is present, the
2799   Common not Private (TTBRn_ELx.CnP) bit is enabled to indicate that multiple
2800   Processing Elements in the same Inner Shareable domain use the same
2801   translation table entries for a given stage of translation for a particular
2802   translation regime.
2803
2804Armv8.3-A
2805~~~~~~~~~
2806
2807-  Pointer authentication features of Armv8.3-A are unconditionally enabled in
2808   the Non-secure world so that lower ELs are allowed to use them without
2809   causing a trap to EL3.
2810
2811   In order to enable the Secure world to use it, ``CTX_INCLUDE_PAUTH_REGS``
2812   must be set to 1. This will add all pointer authentication system registers
2813   to the context that is saved when doing a world switch.
2814
2815   The TF-A itself has support for pointer authentication at runtime
2816   that can be enabled by setting ``BRANCH_PROTECTION`` option to non-zero and
2817   ``CTX_INCLUDE_PAUTH_REGS`` to 1. This enables pointer authentication in BL1,
2818   BL2, BL31, and the TSP if it is used.
2819
2820   Note that Pointer Authentication is enabled for Non-secure world irrespective
2821   of the value of these build flags if the CPU supports it.
2822
2823   If ``ARM_ARCH_MAJOR == 8`` and ``ARM_ARCH_MINOR >= 3`` the code footprint of
2824   enabling PAuth is lower because the compiler will use the optimized
2825   PAuth instructions rather than the backwards-compatible ones.
2826
2827Armv8.5-A
2828~~~~~~~~~
2829
2830-  Branch Target Identification feature is selected by ``BRANCH_PROTECTION``
2831   option set to 1. This option defaults to 0.
2832
2833-  Memory Tagging Extension feature has few variants but not all of them require
2834   enablement from EL3 to be used at lower EL. e.g. Memory tagging only at
2835   EL0(MTE) does not require EL3 configuration however memory tagging at
2836   EL2/EL1 (MTE2) does require EL3 enablement and we need to set this option
2837   ``ENABLE_FEAT_MTE2`` to 1. This option defaults to 0.
2838
2839Armv7-A
2840~~~~~~~
2841
2842This Architecture Extension is targeted when ``ARM_ARCH_MAJOR`` == 7.
2843
2844There are several Armv7-A extensions available. Obviously the TrustZone
2845extension is mandatory to support the TF-A bootloader and runtime services.
2846
2847Platform implementing an Armv7-A system can to define from its target
2848Cortex-A architecture through ``ARM_CORTEX_A<X> = yes`` in their
2849``platform.mk`` script. For example ``ARM_CORTEX_A15=yes`` for a
2850Cortex-A15 target.
2851
2852Platform can also set ``ARM_WITH_NEON=yes`` to enable neon support.
2853Note that using neon at runtime has constraints on non secure world context.
2854TF-A does not yet provide VFP context management.
2855
2856Directive ``ARM_CORTEX_A<x>`` and ``ARM_WITH_NEON`` are used to set
2857the toolchain  target architecture directive.
2858
2859Platform may choose to not define straight the toolchain target architecture
2860directive by defining ``MARCH_DIRECTIVE``.
2861I.e:
2862
2863.. code:: make
2864
2865   MARCH_DIRECTIVE := -march=armv7-a
2866
2867Code Structure
2868--------------
2869
2870TF-A code is logically divided between the three boot loader stages mentioned
2871in the previous sections. The code is also divided into the following
2872categories (present as directories in the source code):
2873
2874-  **Platform specific.** Choice of architecture specific code depends upon
2875   the platform.
2876-  **Common code.** This is platform and architecture agnostic code.
2877-  **Library code.** This code comprises of functionality commonly used by all
2878   other code. The PSCI implementation and other EL3 runtime frameworks reside
2879   as Library components.
2880-  **Stage specific.** Code specific to a boot stage.
2881-  **Drivers.**
2882-  **Services.** EL3 runtime services (eg: SPD). Specific SPD services
2883   reside in the ``services/spd`` directory (e.g. ``services/spd/tspd``).
2884
2885Each boot loader stage uses code from one or more of the above mentioned
2886categories. Based upon the above, the code layout looks like this:
2887
2888::
2889
2890    Directory    Used by BL1?    Used by BL2?    Used by BL31?
2891    bl1          Yes             No              No
2892    bl2          No              Yes             No
2893    bl31         No              No              Yes
2894    plat         Yes             Yes             Yes
2895    drivers      Yes             No              Yes
2896    common       Yes             Yes             Yes
2897    lib          Yes             Yes             Yes
2898    services     No              No              Yes
2899
2900The build system provides a non configurable build option IMAGE_BLx for each
2901boot loader stage (where x = BL stage). e.g. for BL1 , IMAGE_BL1 will be
2902defined by the build system. This enables TF-A to compile certain code only
2903for specific boot loader stages
2904
2905All assembler files have the ``.S`` extension. The linker source files for each
2906boot stage have the extension ``.ld.S``. These are processed by GCC to create the
2907linker scripts which have the extension ``.ld``.
2908
2909FDTs provide a description of the hardware platform and are used by the Linux
2910kernel at boot time. These can be found in the ``fdts`` directory.
2911
2912.. rubric:: References
2913
2914-  `Trusted Board Boot Requirements CLIENT (TBBR-CLIENT) Armv8-A (ARM DEN0006D)`_
2915
2916-  `PSCI`_
2917
2918-  `SMC Calling Convention`_
2919
2920-  :ref:`Interrupt Management Framework`
2921
2922--------------
2923
2924*Copyright (c) 2013-2025, Arm Limited and Contributors. All rights reserved.*
2925
2926.. _SMCCC: https://developer.arm.com/docs/den0028/latest
2927.. _PSCI: https://developer.arm.com/documentation/den0022/latest/
2928.. _Arm ARM: https://developer.arm.com/docs/ddi0487/latest
2929.. _SMC Calling Convention: https://developer.arm.com/docs/den0028/latest
2930.. _Trusted Board Boot Requirements CLIENT (TBBR-CLIENT) Armv8-A (ARM DEN0006D): https://developer.arm.com/docs/den0006/latest
2931.. _Arm Confidential Compute Architecture (Arm CCA): https://www.arm.com/why-arm/architecture/security-features/arm-confidential-compute-architecture
2932.. _AArch64 exception vector table: https://developer.arm.com/documentation/100933/0100/AArch64-exception-vector-table
2933
2934.. |Image 1| image:: ../resources/diagrams/rt-svc-descs-layout.png
2935