4.1.2. K3 Resource Partitioning Tool

The Keystone3 Resource Partitioning tool partitions various system resources among different software components in a multi-core SoC. Texas Instruments developed this tool based on their SysConfig tool.

System integrators typically use this tool to assign resources to different software parts. These resources include Direct Memory Access (DMA) channels, rings, proxies, interrupts, and more.

The tool also supports Quality of Service (QoS) and firewall settings to help partition peripheral devices for different software components.

4.1.2.1. Getting started

The K3 Resource Partitioning Tool is available on the TI Developer Zone as K3 Resource Configuration. You can use the tool online and locally within the SDK.

4.1.2.1.1. Accessing the tool online

Note

We recommend using this method.

To access the tool, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Tool: Go to https://dev.ti.com/sysconfig/?product=K3-RESOURCE-CONFIGURATION to open the tool. Log in to your TI account if needed.

    ../../../_images/k3_resource_config_startpage.png

  2. Select Your Device: Choose your device from the list.

    ../../../_images/k3_resource_config_device_selection.png

  3. Start Configuring Resources: Click Latest Baseline Design to set up resources using the latest baseline for your device. Or pick a Processor SDK version-specific Baseline Design to match a specific SDK release.

    ../../../_images/k3_resource_config_device_selected.png
    ../../../_images/am62px_respart_tool_main.png

4.1.2.1.2. Accessing the tool locally

To use the tool locally, follow these instructions:

  1. Download and Install SysConfig: Download and install the latest SysConfig tool from the SysConfig release download link

  2. Locate the Tool: Find the k3-respart-tool folder in your SDK.

  3. Open SysConfig GUI: Start the SysConfig. In the GUI, select the software product by browsing to your k3-respart-tool location.

    ../../../_images/k3_resource_config_product_selection_local.png
    ../../../_images/k3_resource_config_product_selected_local.png

  4. Select Your Device: Pick your target device from the list.

    ../../../_images/k3_resource_config_device_selection_local.png

  5. Start Configuring Resources: Click Latest Baseline Design to set up resources using the latest baseline for your device. Or pick a Processor SDK version-specific Baseline Design to match a specific SDK release.

    ../../../_images/k3_resource_config_device_selected_local.png
    ../../../_images/am62px_respart_tool_main_local.png

4.1.2.2. Usage

After the design loads, you can use the Resource Partitioning, Bandwidth (BW) Limiter, and Quality of Service (QoS) Configuration modules.

4.1.2.2.1. Resource partitioning

The resource partitioning module divides resources among different hosts in the system. A host is a software part that communicates with System Firmware (SYSFW) using its own context. The module create a Resource Management Board Configuration file, which defines the resource partitioning. The boot loader passes this file to System Firmware during boot.

In the left pane of GUI, you see the available hosts and what resources each one has. There are different resource groups, where you set the required count for each resource. The tool assigns resources based on the counts you set for all hosts. Besides allocating resources, you can configure different host capabilities. Click the ? next to a host’s name to read the detailed documentation for that host module.

4.1.2.2.2. Review resource allocation

You can check the current resource split at any time. Select the Resource Allocation Table from the three dots at the top right of the tool. This section shows an HTML table of hosts and their allocated resources. Each row shows a certain resource. Each column shows the resource ranges assigned to a certain host.

4.1.2.2.3. Resource totals

The last column, labeled ALL, represents the total number of resources available to all hosts. This column is for the HOST_ID_ALL value.

Certain hardware have some resources, such as GPIO interrupts and Virtual interrupts, tied to them. For example, DMASS Interrupt Aggregator Virtual Interrupts connect directly to specific cores, so those interrupts cannot go to just any core. The tool only assign resources in ways that match the hardware.

The tool does not adjust the ALL column for host-specific resources.

4.1.2.2.4. Bandwidth limiters configuration

This BW limiters configuration module helps you set up rate limiters for the SoC. Each rate limiter connects to a source VBUSM interface. You can set limits for reads, writes, and outstanding transactions. You can set these limits separately.

In the GUI, pick a device and turn on bandwidth or transaction limits as needed. The tool creates an address-value pair data structure in the <soc>_qos_uboot.c file. Software (usually the boot loader) uses this file to set the limits in the correct registers.

4.1.2.2.5. Quality of service configuration

This QoS configuration module helps you set up Central Bus Architecture Subsystem (CBASS) QoS endpoints. QoS configuration includes two types of parameters. QoS settings include parameters that tune DMA performance in the interconnect and set up Input/Output Memory Management Unit (IOMMU) paths for masters. Each device can use different Channel IDs for DMA requests. You can set a unique QoS for each channel.

In the GUI, pick a device, endpoints, and channels to set their QoS. You can add more than one QoS module for the same device provided that endpoints and channels do not overlap. The tool creates a simple address-value pair data structure in the <soc>_qos_uboot.c file. Software (such as the boot loader) uses this file to set all QoS settings.

4.1.2.2.6. Firewall configuration

Note

Currently u-boot cannot use the generated firewall files directly. The firewall support in u-boot is not added officially.

The Firewall configuration module creates the data you need to control firewalls. Firewalls control a host’s access to a peripheral. Each firewall has a region. Pick a firewall and set the address range for the rules. Each region can have up to three permission slots. Each slot takes a name, Priv ID, and permissions. Many CPUs can share a Priv ID, so one slot can cover several CPUs. These slots decide what each CPU can do based on security level, privilege, and transaction type. For example, allow secure reads and writes but block insecure writes from A72 to Multimedia Card (MMC).

By default, the tool sets the start and end addresses in the region, but you can set a custom region if needed. You can also pick a host’s name and the tool fills in the Priv ID. With this data, the tool creates an array of Texas Instruments System Controller Interface (TISCI) message data to send to SYSFW for firewall setup.

4.1.2.2.7. Generating output files

The tool creates different files with RM board config data, QoS settings, and firewall settings. Here is how you use these files:

Filename

Used by

Output destination

Comments

rm-cfg.c

k3-image-gen

soc/<soc>/<profile>/

e.g. - k3-image-gen/soc/j721e/evm/rm-cfg.c

sciclient_defaultBoardcfg_rm.c

PDK sciclient

packages/ti/drv/sciclient/soc/V<X>/

e.g. - pdk/packages/ti/drv/sciclient/soc/V1/sciclient_defaultBoardcfg_rm.c

sciclient_defaultBoardcfg_rm_mcusdk.c

MCU+ SDK sciclient

source/drivers/sciclient/sciclient_default_boardcfg/am62x/

e.g. - mcu_plus_sdk/source/drivers/sciclient/sciclient_default_boardcfg/am62x/sciclient_defaultBoardcfg_rm.c (Drop _mcusdk from filename)

sciclient_defaultBoardcfg_tifs_rm.c

PDK sciclient

packages/ti/drv/sciclient/soc/V<X>/

e.g. - pdk/packages/ti/drv/sciclient/soc/V2/sciclient_defaultBoardcfg_tifs_rm.c

tifs-rm-cfg.c

k3-image-gen

soc/<soc>/<profile>/

e.g. - k3-image-gen/soc/j721e/evm/tifs-rm-cfg.c

<soc>_qos.h

U-boot

ti-u-boot/arch/arm/mach-k3/r5/<soc>/<soc>_qos.h

e.g. - ti-u-boot/arch/arm/mach-k3/r5/am62ax/am62a_qos.h

<soc>_qos_uboot.c

U-boot

ti-u-boot/arch/arm/mach-k3/r5/<soc>/

e.g. - ti-u-boot/arch/arm/mach-k3/r5/am62ax/am62a_qos_uboot.c

<soc>_qos_data.c

MCU+ SDK / PDK QoS

source/drivers/qos/v0/soc/<soc>/qos_data.h and packages/ti/boot/sbl/soc/k3/<soc>_qos_data.c

e.g. - source/drivers/qos/v0/soc/am62ax/qos_data.h and packages/ti/boot/sbl/soc/k3/j721s2_qos_data.c

<soc>-firewall-config.c

U-boot

Not yet supported

<soc>-firewall-config.c

SBL

Not yet supported

sciclient_defaultBoardcfg.c

PDK sciclient

packages/ti/drv/sciclient/soc/V<X>/

e.g. - pdk/packages/ti/drv/sciclient/soc/V1/sciclient_defaultBoardcfg.c

sysfw_img_cfg.h

k3-image-gen

soc/<soc>/<profile>/

e.g. - k3-image-gen/soc/j721e/evm/sysfw_img_cfg.h

rm-cfg.yaml

U-boot

ti-u-boot/board/ti/<soc>/

e.g. - ti-u-boot/board/ti/am62ax/rm-cfg.yaml

tifs-rm-cfg.yaml

U-boot

ti-u-boot/board/ti/<soc>/

e.g. - ti-u-boot/board/ti/am62ax/tifs-rm-cfg.yaml

4.1.2.3. Troubleshooting

  • If you see No product with name “K3-Respart-Tool” and version 1.0.0 found, you likely missed the step to select the software product.

  • If you get error XYZ is not generated when configuration errors exist, your resource split has errors. Adjust the allocation to fix them, then generate the output files.

  • If you remove resources from a core and the ALL column in the “Resource Allocation Table” does not change, those resources belong only to that core. See “Resource Totals” under “Review Resource Allocation” for more details.