nrf5340 DFU with external flash

[sguitton01]

Hi all,

I am working on the nrf5340 with the ncs v2.5.0. I want to to be able to update the device with BLE and through WiFI (like the aws-iot example).

To fit all this I use also an external flash (the mx25r64) which need to work as XIP.

So I added this as overlay:

/ {

    /* Configure the partition manager to use the mx25r64 external flash memory. */

    chosen {

        nordic,pm-ext-flash = &mx25r64;

    };

};

&mx25r64 {

    status = "okay";

};

And to conf

# This must be increased to accommodate the bigger images.

CONFIG_BOOT_MAX_IMG_SECTORS=256

# Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) - Used to communicate with the mx25r64 external flash memory.

CONFIG_SPI=y

CONFIG_SPI_NOR=y

CONFIG_SPI_NOR_SFDP_DEVICETREE=y

CONFIG_PM_OVERRIDE_EXTERNAL_DRIVER_CHECK=y

CONFIG_PM_EXTERNAL_FLASH_MCUBOOT_SECONDARY=y

I am working on the 7002DK, and it seems the external flash is working as expected:

[00:00:00.290,740] <inf> spi_nor: mx25r6435f@0: 8 MiBy flash

Though when I add the DFU, I get these errors

C:/ncs/v2.5.0/zephyr/drivers/flash/nrf_qspi_nor.c:69:2: error: #error "No size specified. 'size' or 'size-in-bytes' must be set"
69 | #error "No size specified. 'size' or 'size-in-bytes' must be set"

and

Could not find memory mapped address for XIP. Generated update hex files
will not have the correct base address. Hence they can not be programmed
directly to the external flash.

Am I missing some configs? Should I add a memory partions, if yes do you have an example?

Also I would like to know can we use the same Bootloader for the DFU through Wifi and BLE, do you have any recommendation for this.

Thank you,

Sylvain

[Vidar Berg]

Hello Sylvain,

Please try the sample I included in this post:  Issues with Building MCUboot for nRF7002DK Using NCS V2.5.2 . 

C:/ncs/v2.5.0/zephyr/drivers/flash/nrf_qspi_nor.c:69:2: error: #error "No size specified. 'size' or 'size-in-bytes' must be set"
69 | #error "No size specified. 'size' or 'size-in-bytes' must be set"

The QSPI nor driver should not be enabled as the QSPI is used to interface the nRF7002 chip.

Thanks,

Vidar

[sguitton01]

Hi Vidar,

I am able to build the project you sent though the nrf7002 chip is not used in the project is it?

So if i want to use the nrf700x + a flash, the nrf700x should use the  QSPI and the Flash the classic SPI?

Sylvain

[sguitton01]

Hi Vidar, 

In the aws iot they are using the both nrf700x and external flash no? 

[Vidar Berg]

Yes. I'm not saying you can't use the nRF7002 and external Flash simultaneously. I'm saying you should not use the same QSPI/SPI instance for both.

[sguitton01]

Hi Vidar, 

Sorry for the late reply.
So I see that the MCUmgr module absolutely needs the QSPI (do you know why?).
Do you have ant example or another way to make a DFU through BLE without the MCUmgr module using DFUTarget instead?

Thank you,

Sylvain

[Vidar Berg]

Hi Sylvain,

Are you using the QSPI or SPI to communicate with the 7002? 

[sguitton01]

I am using QSPI for the nrf700x

Actually the goal here is to be able to make DFU through wi-fi and BLE on the same device. This is why I started from the aws_iot example which include FOTA and I am trying to add BLE DFU on top of that. Though for now I am stuck, any idea on how to do it?

Thank you, 

Sylvain

[Vidar Berg]

Hi Sylvain,

If you are using QSPI for the nRF7002, then you need to use SPI for the external flash. The SPIM interfaces do not support XiP. The example I referenced earlier is using the SPI NOR driver with BLE FOTA enabled.

Best regards,

Vidar