Falcon Mode
Introduction
This document provides an overview of how to add support for Falcon Mode to a board.
Falcon Mode is introduced to speed up the booting process, allowing to boot a Linux kernel (or whatever image) without a full blown U-Boot.
Falcon Mode relies on the SPL framework. In fact, to make booting faster, U-Boot is split into two parts: the SPL (Secondary Program Loader) and U-Boot image. In most implementations, SPL is used to start U-Boot when booting from a mass storage, such as NAND or SD-Card. SPL has now support for other media, and can generally be seen as a way to start an image performing the minimum required initialization. SPL mainly initializes the RAM controller, and then copies U-Boot image into the memory.
The Falcon Mode extends this way allowing to start the Linux kernel directly from SPL. A new command is added to U-Boot to prepare the parameters that SPL must pass to the kernel, using ATAGS or Device Tree.
In normal mode, these parameters are generated each time before loading the kernel, passing to Linux the address in memory where the parameters can be read. With Falcon Mode, this snapshot can be saved into persistent storage and SPL is informed to load it before running the kernel.
To boot the kernel, these steps under a Falcon-aware U-Boot are required:
- Boot the board into U-Boot.
After loading the desired legacy-format kernel image into memory (and DT as well, if used), use the “spl export” command to generate the kernel parameters area or the DT. U-Boot runs as when it boots the kernel, but stops before passing the control to the kernel.
- Save the prepared snapshot into persistent media.
The address where to save it must be configured into board configuration file (CONFIG_CMD_SPL_NAND_OFS for NAND).
- Boot the board into Falcon Mode. SPL will load the kernel and copy
the parameters which are saved in the persistent area to the required address. If a valid uImage is not found at the defined location, U-Boot will be booted instead.
It is required to implement a custom mechanism to select if SPL loads U-Boot or another image.
The value of a GPIO is a simple way to operate the selection, as well as reading a character from the SPL console if CONFIG_SPL_CONSOLE is set.
Falcon Mode is generally activated by setting CONFIG_SPL_OS_BOOT. This tells SPL that U-Boot is not the only available image that SPL is able to start.
Configuration
- CONFIG_CMD_SPL
Enable the “spl export” command. The command “spl export” is then available in U-Boot mode.
- CONFIG_SPL_PAYLOAD_ARGS_ADDR
Address in RAM where the parameters must be copied by SPL. In most cases, it is <start_of_ram> + 0x100.
- CONFIG_SYS_NAND_SPL_KERNEL_OFFS
Offset in NAND where the kernel is stored
- CONFIG_CMD_SPL_NAND_OFS
Offset in NAND where the parameters area was saved.
- CONFIG_CMD_SPL_NOR_OFS
Offset in NOR where the parameters area was saved.
- CONFIG_CMD_SPL_WRITE_SIZE
Size of the parameters area to be copied
- CONFIG_SPL_OS_BOOT
Activate Falcon Mode.
Function that a board must implement
- void spl_board_prepare_for_linux(void)
optional, called from SPL before starting the kernel
- spl_start_uboot()
required, returns “0” if SPL should start the kernel, “1” if U-Boot must be started.
Environment variables
A board may chose to look at the environment for decisions about falcon mode. In this case the following variables may be supported:
- boot_os
Set to yes/Yes/true/True/1 to enable booting to OS, any other value to fall back to U-Boot (including unset)
- falcon_args_file
Filename to load as the ‘args’ portion of falcon mode rather than the hard-coded value.
- falcon_image_file
Filename to load as the OS image portion of falcon mode rather than the hard-coded value.
Using spl command
spl - SPL configuration
Usage:
spl export <img=atags|fdt> [kernel_addr] [initrd_addr] [fdt_addr ]
- img
“atags” or “fdt”
- kernel_addr
kernel is loaded as part of the boot process, but it is not started. This is the address where a kernel image is stored.
- initrd_addr
Address of initial ramdisk can be set to “-” if fdt_addr without initrd_addr is used
- fdt_addr
in case of fdt, the address of the device tree.
The spl export command does not write to a storage media. The user is responsible to transfer the gathered information (assembled ATAGS list or prepared FDT) from temporary storage in RAM into persistent storage after each run of spl export. Unfortunately the position of temporary storage can not be predicted nor provided at command line, it depends highly on your system setup and your provided data (ATAGS or FDT). However at the end of an successful spl export run it will print the RAM address of temporary storage. The RAM address of FDT will also be set in the environment variable fdtargsaddr, the new length of the prepared FDT will be set in the environment variable fdtargslen. These environment variables can be used in scripts for writing updated FDT to persistent storage.
Now the user have to save the generated BLOB from that printed address to the pre-defined address in persistent storage (CONFIG_CMD_SPL_NAND_OFS in case of NAND). The following example shows how to prepare the data for Falcon Mode on twister board with ATAGS BLOB.
The spl export command is prepared to work with ATAGS and FDT. However, using FDT is at the moment untested. The ppc port (see a3m071 example later) prepares the fdt blob with the fdt command instead.
Usage on the twister board
Using mtd names with the following (default) configuration for mtdparts:
device nand0 <omap2-nand.0>, # parts = 9
#: name size offset mask_flags
0: MLO 0x00080000 0x00000000 0
1: u-boot 0x00100000 0x00080000 0
2: env1 0x00040000 0x00180000 0
3: env2 0x00040000 0x001c0000 0
4: kernel 0x00600000 0x00200000 0
5: bootparms 0x00040000 0x00800000 0
6: splashimg 0x00200000 0x00840000 0
7: mini 0x02800000 0x00a40000 0
8: rootfs 0x1cdc0000 0x03240000 0
twister => nand read 82000000 kernel
NAND read: device 0 offset 0x200000, size 0x600000
6291456 bytes read: OK
Now the kernel is in RAM at address 0x82000000:
twister => spl export atags 0x82000000
## Booting kernel from Legacy Image at 82000000 ...
Image Name: Linux-3.5.0-rc4-14089-gda0b7f4
Image Type: ARM Linux Kernel Image (uncompressed)
Data Size: 3654808 Bytes = 3.5 MiB
Load Address: 80008000
Entry Point: 80008000
Verifying Checksum ... OK
Loading Kernel Image ... OK
OK
cmdline subcommand not supported
bdt subcommand not supported
Argument image is now in RAM at: 0x80000100
The result can be checked at address 0x80000100:
twister => md 0x80000100
80000100: 00000005 54410001 00000000 00000000 ......AT........
80000110: 00000000 00000067 54410009 746f6f72 ....g.....ATroot
80000120: 65642f3d 666e2f76 77722073 73666e20 =/dev/nfs rw nfs
The parameters generated with this step can be saved into NAND at the offset 0x800000 (value for twister for CONFIG_CMD_SPL_NAND_OFS):
nand erase.part bootparms
nand write 0x80000100 bootparms 0x4000
Now the parameters are stored into the NAND flash at the address CONFIG_CMD_SPL_NAND_OFS (=0x800000).
Next time, the board can be started into Falcon Mode moving the setting the GPIO (on twister GPIO 55 is used) to kernel mode.
The kernel is loaded directly by the SPL without passing through U-Boot.
Example with FDT: a3m071 board
To boot the Linux kernel from the SPL, the DT blob (fdt) needs to get prepared/patched first. U-Boot usually inserts some dynamic values into the DT binary (blob), e.g. autodetected memory size, MAC addresses, clocks speeds etc. To generate this patched DT blob, you can use the following command:
Load fdt blob to SDRAM:
=> tftp 1800000 a3m071/a3m071.dtb
Set bootargs as desired for Linux booting (e.g. flash_mtd):
=> run mtdargs addip2 addtty
Use “fdt” commands to patch the DT blob:
=> fdt addr 1800000 => fdt boardsetup => fdt chosen
Display patched DT blob (optional):
=> fdt print
Save fdt to NOR flash:
=> erase fc060000 fc07ffff => cp.b 1800000 fc060000 10000 ...
Falcon Mode was presented at the RMLL 2012. Slides are available at:
http://schedule2012.rmll.info/IMG/pdf/LSM2012_UbootFalconMode_Babic.pdf
Falcon Mode Boot on RISC-V
Introduction
In the RISC-V environment, OpenSBI is required to enable a supervisor mode binary to execute certain privileged operations. The typical boot sequence on RISC-V is SPL -> OpenSBI -> U-Boot -> Linux kernel. SPL will load and start the OpenSBI initializations, then OpenSBI will bring up the next image, U-Boot proper. The OpenSBI binary must be prepared in advance of the U-Boot build process and it will be packed together with U-Boot into a file called u-boot.itb.
The Falcon Mode on RISC-V platforms is a distinct boot sequence. Borrowing ideas from the U-Boot Falcon Mode on ARM, it skips the U-Boot proper phase in the normal boot process and allows OpenSBI to load and start the Linux kernel. Its boot sequence is SPL -> OpenSBI -> Linux kernel. The OpenSBI binary and Linux kernel binary must be prepared prior to the U-Boot build process and they will be packed together as a FIT image named linux.itb in this process.
CONFIG_SPL_LOAD_FIT_OPENSBI_OS_BOOT enables the Falcon Mode boot on RISC-V. This configuration setting tells OpenSBI that Linux kernel is its next OS image and makes it load and start the kernel afterwards.
Note that the Falcon Mode boot bypasses a lot of initializations by U-Boot. If the Linux kernel expects hardware initializations by U-Boot, make sure to port the relevant code to the SPL build process.
Configuration
- CONFIG_SPL_LOAD_FIT_ADDRESS
Specifies the address to load u-boot.itb in a normal boot. When the Falcon Mode boot is enabled, it specifies the load address of linux.itb.
- CONFIG_SYS_TEXT_BASE
Specifies the address of the text section for a u-boot proper in a normal boot. When the Falcon Mode boot is enabled, it specifies the text section address for the Linux kernel image.
- CONFIG_SPL_PAYLOAD_ARGS_ADDR
The address in the RAM to which the FDT blob is to be moved by the SPL. SPL places the FDT blob right after the kernel. As the kernel does not include the BSS section in its size calculation, SPL ends up placing the FDT blob within the BSS section of the kernel. This may cause the FDT blob to be cleared during kernel BSS initialization. To avoid the issue, be sure to move the FDT blob out of the kernel first.
- CONFIG_SPL_LOAD_FIT_OPENSBI_OS_BOOT
Activates the Falcon Mode boot on RISC-V.
Example for Andes AE350 Board
A FDT blob is required to boot the Linux kernel from the SPL. Andes AE350 platforms generally come with a builtin dtb. To load a custom DTB, follow these steps:
Load the custom DTB to SDRAM:
=> fatload mmc 0:1 0x20000000 user_custom.dtb
Set the SPI speed:
=> sf probe 0:0 50000000 0
Erase sectors from the SPI Flash:
=> sf erase 0xf0000 0x10000
Write the FDT blob to the erased sectors of the Flash:
=> sf write 0x20000000 0xf0000 0x10000
Console Log of AE350 Falcon Mode Boot
U-Boot SPL 2023.01-00031-g777ecdea66 (Oct 31 2023 - 18:41:36 +0800)
Trying to boot from RAM
OpenSBI v1.2-51-g7304e42
____ _____ ____ _____
/ __ \ / ____| _ \_ _|
| | | |_ __ ___ _ __ | (___ | |_) || |
| | | | '_ \ / _ \ '_ \ \___ \| _ < | |
| |__| | |_) | __/ | | |____) | |_) || |_
\____/| .__/ \___|_| |_|_____/|____/_____|
| |
|_|
Platform Name : andestech,ax25
Platform Features : medeleg
Platform HART Count : 1
Platform IPI Device : andes_plicsw
Platform Timer Device : andes_plmt @ 60000000Hz
Platform Console Device : uart8250
Platform HSM Device : andes_smu
Platform PMU Device : andes_pmu
Platform Reboot Device : atcwdt200
Platform Shutdown Device : ---
Firmware Base : 0x0
Firmware Size : 196 KB
Runtime SBI Version : 1.0
Domain0 Name : root
Domain0 Boot HART : 0
Domain0 HARTs : 0*
Domain0 Region00 : 0x0000000000000000-0x000000000003ffff ()
Domain0 Region01 : 0x00000000e6000000-0x00000000e60fffff (I,R)
Domain0 Region02 : 0x00000000e6400000-0x00000000e67fffff (I)
Domain0 Region03 : 0x0000000000000000-0xffffffffffffffff (R,W,X)
Domain0 Next Address : 0x0000000001800000
Domain0 Next Arg1 : 0x0000000001700000
Domain0 Next Mode : S-mode
Domain0 SysReset : yes
Boot HART ID : 0
Boot HART Domain : root
Boot HART Priv Version : v1.11
Boot HART Base ISA : rv64imafdcx
Boot HART ISA Extensions : none
Boot HART PMP Count : 8
Boot HART PMP Granularity : 4
Boot HART PMP Address Bits: 31
Boot HART MHPM Count : 4
Boot HART MHPM Bits : 64
Boot HART MIDELEG : 0x0000000000000222
Boot HART MEDELEG : 0x000000000000b109
[ 0.000000] Linux version 6.1.47-09019-g0584b09ad862-dirty
[ 0.000000] OF: fdt: Ignoring memory range 0x0 - 0x1800000
[ 0.000000] Machine model: andestech,ax25
[ 0.000000] earlycon: sbi0 at I/O port 0x0 (options '')
[ 0.000000] printk: bootconsole [sbi0] enabled
[ 0.000000] Disabled 4-level and 5-level paging
[ 0.000000] efi: UEFI not found.
[ 0.000000] Zone ranges:
[ 0.000000] DMA32 [mem 0x0000000001800000-0x000000003fffffff]
[ 0.000000] Normal empty
[ 0.000000] Movable zone start for each node
[ 0.000000] Early memory node ranges
[ 0.000000] node 0: [mem 0x0000000001800000-0x000000003fffffff]
[ 0.000000] Initmem setup node 0 [mem 0x0000000001800000-0x000000003fffffff]
[ 0.000000] SBI specification v1.0 detected
[ 0.000000] SBI implementation ID=0x1 Version=0x10002
[ 0.000000] SBI TIME extension detected
[ 0.000000] SBI IPI extension detected
[ 0.000000] SBI RFENCE extension detected
[ 0.000000] SBI SRST extension detected
[ 0.000000] SBI HSM extension detected
[ 0.000000] riscv: base ISA extensions acim
[ 0.000000] riscv: ELF capabilities acim
[ 0.000000] percpu: Embedded 18 pages/cpu s35000 r8192 d30536 u73728
[ 0.000000] Built 1 zonelists, mobility grouping on. Total pages: 252500