Arm Application Note

for MXC Chips

Release 09.2022

MANUAL
Arm Application Note for MXC Chips

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Arm Application Note for MXC Chips .............................................................................. 1

NEXUS Preprocessors ................................................................................................... 3

Basic NEXUS Handling .................................................................................................. 5

Settings of the SYStem Window 5
Troubleshooting of Nexus Adapter for Argon+ 7
Automatic NEXUS Setup of Nexus Adapter for Argon+ 9
Trigger Settings 10

Further NEXUS Trace Analysis ..................................................................................... 12

Display of the T-Bit in the Trace.List Window 12
OS Kernel related Trace Analysis 13
Setup Analysis 13
Analysis Functions 14
Benchmark Counter Analysis using DPU Counters 15
Export DPU Counters 15
Display Settings 15

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 2

Arm Application Note for MXC Chips

Version 26-Oct-2022

NEXUS Preprocessors

Different NEXUS preprocessors exists that have different capabilities and require different settings. The
NEXUS Preprocessor revision can be evaluated in PRACTICE scripts by the PRACTICE function
A.PROBEREVISION().

if A.PROBEREVISION()>=7.&&A.PROBEREVISION()<16.
(
A.THRESHOLD VCC
SYStem.Option.SAMPLE +2
)

Following table informs about the existing NEXUS preprocessor revisions:

Revision Features Order

Number

Nexus Adapter for Argon+ LA-7606

5. Initial revision can handle 3.3 V signals

6. New input buffers that can handle 1.8 V to 2.8 V signals

7. MCKO PLL
• support DDR mode by the option SYStem.Option.HalfRate
• support variable sample point by the option SYS-
tem.Option.Sample
• allows to bypass the PLL by internal jumper if MCKO signal
• frequency too low or PLL can’t follow MCKO signal frequency
shift Input buffer with variable threshold can detect if VTREF
falls below certain level
• new command Analyzer.THRESHOLD to set up the threshold
for input buffers

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 3

 StarCore AUTOFOCUS II LA-7999/
LA-7999A

16. AutoFocus II Preprocessor

• variable sample point per signal
• graphical analysis of data eyes
• data / clock threshold

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 4

Basic NEXUS Handling

This chapter explains the settings that define how the NEXUS probe records data.

Settings of the SYStem Window

If a NEXUS Trace is attached a column with setting dedicated to NEXUS will appear in the SYStem window.

Commands to set up a filter on the target side to specify which message types are produced

• With SYStem.Option.WTM set to ON Watchpoint Trace Messages will be produced. Watchpoint

Messages will be generated at on-chip breakpoints with action TraceTrigger, BusTrigger or
BusCount.

• SYStem.Option.DTM specify which type of Data Trace Messages (read access, write access,
both, none) will be generated. The messages can be filtered by the TraceData On-Chip Break
action. Data Trace Messages can be suppressed if the SYStem.Option.OVC is set.

Port Bandwidth related options

• If the target internal trace buffer is full Program Trace Messages will get lost and further analysis
show wrong results indicating a FIFO FULL error. SYStem.Option.OVC defines the behavior in
case the Trace Buffer content reached a critical amount. The options are to stall the core to have
additional time to release messages or to suppress Data Trace Messages. Watchpoint Trace
Messages are not suppressed as well as Vendor Defined Messages (e.g. DPU counter values)

• Another opportunity to avoid FIFO FULL errors is to use a high MCKO ratio, but the settings
depends also to electrical conditions.

• SYStem.Option.NEXUS allows to specify the amount of used data lines. The current probe can
handle 8-Bit and 16-Bit wide NEXUS ports. If possible, use the 16-Bit wide port to avoid FIFO
FULLs.

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 5

 Signal related options

• Signal related options are necessary to avoid FLOW ERRORs that results of bad signal quality.
With FLOW ERRORs any further analysis may show wrong results but indication the type of
error.

• The MCKO setting defines how much data is transferred through the MDO data lines in ratio to
the StarCore core clock. Since the settings does not allow fine tuning it would be necessary to
fine-tune the core clock to reach optimum results.

• If supported by the NEXUS probe SYStem.Option.HalfRate can reduce the MCKO clock by two
while the data bandwidth remains at the same level. The setting should be used if the bandwidth
of the MCKO line is too low.

• If the NEXUS probe supports it, the SYStem.Option.Sample option will allow to move the data
sample point relative to the MCKO signal. The StarCore AUTOFOCUS II probe handles the
sample by the Analyzer.ShowFocus command.

• Probes with Revision 7. support HalfRate and Sample, but have only a limited support to
dynamic core frequencies since they use a PLL internally which can be bypassed through a
jumper inside the probe. Also if the core frequency is constant the PLL needs to be set up by the
setting SYStem.Clock.

• Another important setting is Trace.THRESHOLD, that defines the comparator voltage. This
setting has influence to the signal sample timing and a right setting can reduce FLOW ERRORs.
The threshold should be set to 1/2 of the signal voltage level.

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 6

Troubleshooting of Nexus Adapter for Argon+

In case of Flow Errors a first look to the MCKO signal can help to set up the NEXUS probe. The Count
window displays a frequency counter of the MCKO signal line. If all settings are correct the frequency will be

fMCKO_Display = SYStem.Clock * SYStem.Option.MCKO

for all possible MCKO settings.

The real MCKO frequency at the MCKO line depends to the HalfRate option, too. If HalfRate is true, the
MCKO frequency will be divided by two. In this case the value in the Count window will not change since it is
multiplied by the internal PLL by two automatically.

Minimum Frequencies

Probes with internal MCKO PLL show a frequency below the minimum PLL range when the real core is
below the SYStem.Clock value or the target is not connected to the probe. The PLL range will be selected
depending to the SYStem.Clock and SYStem.Option.MCKO value:

1. 24.0 MHz < (SYStem.Clock * SYStem.Option.MCKO) < 50.0 MHz

2. 50.0 MHz <= (SYStem.Clock * SYStem.Option.MCKO) < 100.0 MHz

3. 100.0 MHz <= (SYStem.Clock * SYStem.Option.MCKO) < 200.0 MHz

PLL Range Showed MCKO Frequency if the probe is not connected or MCKO signal
cannot be sampled
1 around 12 MHz
2 around 24 MHz
3 around 49 MHz
probe without PLL 0 … 2 MHz

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 7

 Disable/Enable Probe PLL for MCKO

In certain cases (DVFS etc.) the MCKO PLL does not work correctly and must be disabled.

To disable/enable the PLL on the probe, one has to open the plastic box of the probe (there is no need to
open the PowerTrace unit) . The box part apart the blue ribon cables is the right part.

After the PCB is visible, there is a jumper which allows to bypass the PLL. Refer to the picture below.

Pos 3-2 : PLL is active and not bypassed

Pos 1-2 : PLL is inactive and bypassed.

If the PLL is bypassed, all settings for the PLL are not effective

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 8

Automatic NEXUS Setup of Nexus Adapter for Argon+

The command Analyzer.TestFocus can test the reliability of a setup by a pin stress test. Therefore it loads a
small test program into the Program RAM, executes it and compares the output with the expected pattern. A
search algorithm started by the command Analyzer.AutoFocus uses Analyzer.TestFocus to evaluate
different parameters sets. Analyzer.AutoFocus will set up the following values:

• detects if VTREF is greater zero (probe connected to target)

• setup Analyzer.THreshold to 1/2 VTREF

• detects if there is any MCKO signal (I/O-MUX settings are correct for MCKO)

• measure MCKO clock and detects if PLL is bypassed, finally setup SYStem.Clock

• Set HalfRate to ON if PLL is not bypassed to get better MCKO signal

• tries to find fastest reliable MCKO clock setting by increasing MCKO clock step by step until test
fails

• finds the best Analyzer.THreshold value by using the mean of the reliable Threshold minimum
and Threshold maximum

• finds the best SYStem.Option.Sample by the widest range of reliable Threshold minimum and
Threshold maximum

If a probe does not support certain features, these features are not set by the algorithm.

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 9

Trigger Settings

NEXUS dedicated On-chip Breakpoint Trigger actions

The OCE/EOnce trigger unit can be used to control the trace message generator or to produce Watchpoint
Messages which can trigger actions within the debug tools. The actions can be selected in the Break dialog
or just in the context menu in a Data.List window:

Examples:

b.s main /TRACEON ; Enabled program Trace at main

b.s sieve /TRACEOFF ; Disabled program Trace at sieve

b.s flags /TRACEDATA ; Set up a filter for Data Trace (only NEXUS
; withDTM option set to on)

b.s main /TRACETRIGGER ; Set Watchpoint message or/and EVTO pin to

; generate Trigger

b.s main /BUSTRIGGER ; Set Watchpoint message or/and EVTO pin to

; generate a trigger pulse on the PodBus

b.s main /BUSCOUNT ; Set Watchpoint message or/and EVTO pin to

; allow frequency counter feature

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 10

 BusCount Watchpoints

BusCount Watchpoints can be enabled by the /BUSCOUNT action of an On-Chip breakpoints. Once a
BusCount Watchpoint is set, the debugger will set up the Count window with the right OCE/EOnce event
detection unit enabled. BusCount Watchpoints are not supported by StarCore AUTOFOCUS II, yet.

BusTrigger Watchpoints

BusTrigger Watchpoints can be set by the /BusTrigger action in the Break dialog. If a BusTrigger Watchpoint
is detected a trigger pulse will be generated to the PodBus. Every debugger box with the connected through
a system wide PodBus. Actions derived from the PodBus can be defined in the Trigger window. BusTrigger
Watchpoints are not supported by StarCore AUTOFOCUS II, yet.

The command Trigger.Set.Break ON would stop the StarCore if a PodBus trigger pulse is detected. The
Set.ATrigger option will generate a Trace Trigger when a PodBus Trigger occurs.

TRACETRIGGER

The Trace Trigger can be used to stop the record of trace messages. The Trace.TDelay option can delay the
Analyzer Break relative to the amount of messages stored in the host trace buffer. The Trace Trigger is not
supported by StarCore AUTOFOCUS II, yet.

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 11

Further NEXUS Trace Analysis

Display of the T-Bit in the Trace.List Window

The option LIST.EXEC or the command TRACE.LIST will show an additional column indicating the T-Bit for
every instruction. The command TRACE.LIST DEF LIST.EXEC would show the following window:

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 12

OS Kernel related Trace Analysis

Setup Analysis

To provide information about the used Operating System the matching OS Awareness must be configured:

Task.Config quadros.t32

The trace record should contain any write access to the current task ID (Magic) caused by the Kernel. This
can be set up by an on-chip breakpoint which selects the right range:

Break.Set task.config(magic) /ONCHIP /TRACEDATA

Operating System Kernels can include code where a general function analysis can not be done, because
there are code sections where the program flow does not follow a call - return pattern. Many advanced
analysis and statistic functions are based a complete function analysis of the trace, that’s why the debugger
must be aware of kernel entry and exit code sections by setting kentry and kexit markers:

; set a kentry Marker to all tvec* functions

sYmbol.ForEach "sYmbol.NEW.MARKER kentry *" tvec*

; set a kentry Marker to all tvec* functions

sYmbol.ForEach "sYmbol.NEW.MARKER kentry *" ivec*

; set a kexit marker to all RTE instructions

Data.Find symbol.range(RTXCProlog) %w 0x9f73
WHILE FOUND()
(
sYmbol.NEW.MARKER kexit track.address()
Data.Find
)

If the setup is wrong the function analysis based windows will indicate an
OVERFLOW error, because they can’t reconstruct the function nesting.

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 13

Analysis Functions

Command Analyzer.STATistic.Tree shows the runtime statistics of the function nesting sorted by tasks:

• A diamond indicates a jump into a trap.

• An arrow indicates a jump to an interrupt.

Command Analyzer.STATistic.Task shows a complete overview about the task runtime.

• A task gets active when it is switched inside the kernel by a write to the Task ID variable

Command Analyzer.STATistic.TaskFunc shows the runtime of the functions sorted by tasks.

Command Analyzer.STATistic.TASKKERNEL is analog to Analyzer.Statistic.Task, but the task is switched

when the kexit marker is passed. The time between kentry and kexit is summarized to the entry (kernel).

Command Analyzer.CHART.TASKKERNEL shows a timing diagram of the active task sorted by task, kernel
or root.

CTS based analysis windows will pop up faster once CTS is activated:

CTS.USEMEMORY OFF
CTS.USEREGISTER OFF
CTS.INCREMENTAT OFF
CTS.ON
CTS.STATistic.TREE
CTS.STATistic.Func
CTS.STATistic.TASKKERNEL
CTS.PROFILECHART.TASKKERNEL
CTS.CHART.TASKKERNEL
CTS.List

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 14

Benchmark Counter Analysis using DPU Counters

Export DPU Counters

The command Analyzer.Export can export a binary file containing the DPU counter values, too. The format
of a data record containing a DPU counter set is:
0x80 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 <block> <c0> <c1> <c2> <ts>
with:
<block>: 0x01 for DPUA and 0x02 for DPUB
<cn>: counter, 32bit, little endian
<ts>: timestamp, 64bit, little endian

Display Settings
• The command Trace.List DEFault DPUA0 DPUA1 DPUA2 DPUB0 DPUB1 DPUB2 shows the
flow trace and displays the counter value derived from the vendor trace message. The counters
will appear between the HLL lines after every function call and return statement. To see the six
counters click on More and scroll to a function entry or exit. With the command Trace.List
DEFault NEXUS the original NEXUS messages can be displayed. Use the More button in this
case, too.

• The command BMC.SELect selects one of the six DPU counters for further analysis.

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 15

 • The BMC.STATistic.TREE ALL analysis shows how many counter ticks a function contributed.

The value behind funcs show how many different function participate to the analysis. Total
shows how many counter ticks the counter was increased while the whole record.

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 16

 Meaning of Columns

range The full symbol path of the function.

tree The nested functions derived from the trace record.

total Counter ticks contributed by the function and its sub functions accumulated
over the total runtime.

min The minimum counter ticks contributed by a single call of the function.

max The maximum counter ticks. Analog to min.

avr The average counter ticks. Analog to min.

count Amount of functions calls. The negative value in brackets identifies how many
return statements are missing for a complete analysis. If the trace is stopped at
a certain time at least all functions in the call stack should have such a value.

internal Counter ticks contributed by the function without its sub functions accumulated
over the total runtime.

iavr The average counter ticks contributed by a single call of the function without
counting the sub functions.

external Counter ticks contributed by the function without its internal code accumulated
over the total runtime.

eavr The average counter ticks contributed by a single call of the function without
counting the internal code.

own no meaning here

oavr no meaning here

maxintr no meaning here

maxtask no meaning here

©1989-2022 Lauterbach Arm Application Note for MXC Chips | 17