Hello,
I have Torizon running on the Cortex A53 and freeRTOS running on the Cortex M4. Currently the timestamp generated on the Cortex M4 through xTaskGetTickCount() is different from the timestamp I generate on the Cortex A53.
does the Cortex M4 use a different RTC from the Cortex A53? I thought they were both using the svns-rtc-lp
on the IMX8MM reference manual , SNVS section it explains that we have two submodules HP and LP, with two different RTC. RTC_LP is the one exposed in the device tree and is not accessible by the entire system; the RTC_HP instead is in a different (non-secure) domain and can be access by all the system.
Interestingly paragraph 6.4.3.1.1 states:
does it means :
- the M4 can’t access directly the RTC_LP?
- do I need to “mirror” the RTC_LP on the RTC_HP?
- are RTC_HP and RTC_LP two independent counters running with the same clock source or once RTC_HP is synchronized with RTC_LP it will automatically mirror it?
- is it possible to access RTC_HP from Torizon?
do you now other strategies to synchronize the timestamps on Cortex A and Cortex M?
thanks for any help!
Hi @RoccoBr ,
we’re looking into it.
We reach out to you as soon as possible.
Best Regards
Kevin
Hi @RoccoBr !
Taking a look at the documentation for xTaskGetTickCount(), it simply returns the interruption counter from FreeRTOS. It is not related to RTC. In other words, it does not give you a timestamp. From the documentation, the value can even overflow.
From the Linux side, could you please elaborate on how you are obtaining the timestamp?
Also, could you please specify:
- BSP version
- Linux Kernel version
- Verdin iMX8M Mini version
- MCUXpresso version
Reference: https://freertos.org/fr-content-src/uploads/2018/07/FreeRTOS_Reference_Manual_V10.0.0.pdf
Best regards,
Hi @henrique.tx
thank you for your replying
these are my info from VS code:
we use MCUXpresso SDK v2.11.0
the timestamp on the Linux side is generated in the python application by datetime.datetime.now()
what do you reckon is the best way to get the timestamp on the M4
Regards,
Rocco
Hi @RoccoBr !
To convert the output from xTaskGetTickCount() to time, please refer to FreeRTOS’s documentation: specifically section 2.11 of https://freertos.org/fr-content-src/uploads/2018/07/FreeRTOS_Reference_Manual_V10.0.0.pdf
Which Verdin iMX8MM are you using?
Best regards,
Hi @henrique.tx ,
we are using Verdin iMX8MM Q 2GB IT v1.1A.
I’m trying to access rtc1 from the M4 as SVNS device, but RTC_LP is always 0. This is the dump of all registers:
SNVS_HP Command Register: 80002100
SNVS_HP Status Register: 80009b00
SNVS_HP Control Register: 0
SNVS_HP Real Time Counter MSB Register: 0
SNVS_HP Real Time Counter LSB Register: 0
SNVS_LP Control Register: 21
SNVS_LP Status Register: 40000000
SNVS_LP Lock Register: 0
SNVS_LP Real Time Counter MSB Register: 0
SNVS_LP Real Time Counter LSB Register: 0
I can enable SNVS_HP RTC writing 1 to SNVS_HP Control Register, but then I have just another independent real timer counter running.
reading SNVS_LP Real Time Counter always return zero on the M4, while if I read it on Linux side as cat /sys/class/rtc/rtc1/time I can see the time since power up.
according to the reference manual bit 31 (NPSWA_EN) in SNVS_HP Status Register allows non-privileged software to access all SNVS registers, including those that are privileged
software read/write access only. As you can see from the values above, that bit is set in my configuration, but I cant read the SNVS_LP Real Time Counter.
as I was saying in my first post, my ultimate goal is to read the same time/counter on both processors.
any suggestions?
Regards,
Rocco
Hi @RoccoBr !
Unfortunately, we are not aware of how to deal with it.
I recommend you ask at NXP forum if you want/need to specifically do it.
(I found this question that seems related, but there is no answer until now: Access to RTC from Cortex-M4 on i.MX8M Mini - NXP Community)
On the other hand, you could share the time from Linux to Cortex-M upon boot (via RPMsg) and after that, make use of the tick counter to keep track of time from the Cortex-M side. If it is suitable for you, of course.
Best regards,
