Littlefs file system on external SPI flash memory with non-secure build

[ANDRIJ GRABCZAK]

In my project, I am planning to use LTE modem and an external flash memory with a file system. I have problems to run code for the non-secure build type. A similar problem occurs when trying to use the shell/fs example (developer.nordicsemi.com/.../README.html) on the nrf9160dk_nrf9160_ns target. Building for the secure nrf9160dk_nrf9160 target works well.

Here is my "prj.conf":

CONFIG_FLASH=y
CONFIG_LOG=y
#CONFIG_FS_LOG_LEVEL_DBG=y
CONFIG_HEAP_MEM_POOL_SIZE=16384
CONFIG_SHELL=y
CONFIG_SHELL_LOG_LEVEL_INF=y
CONFIG_FILE_SYSTEM=y
CONFIG_FILE_SYSTEM_SHELL=y
CONFIG_FILE_SYSTEM_LITTLEFS=y
CONFIG_FLASH_MAP=y
CONFIG_FLASH_PAGE_LAYOUT=y
CONFIG_SPI=y
CONFIG_SPI_NOR=y
CONFIG_SPI_NOR_FLASH_LAYOUT_PAGE_SIZE=4096

and here is my "app.overlay":

/delete-node/ &storage_partition;

&mx25r64  {
  // spi-max-frequency = <1000000>;
  partitions {
    compatible = "fixed-partitions";
    #address-cells = <1>;
    #size-cells = <1>;

    storage_partition: partition@0 {
      label = "storage";
      reg = <0x00000000 0x00800000>;
    };
  };
};

For nrf9160dk_nrf9160 target there is usual shell:

uart:~$ *** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.0.99-ncs1  ***

uart:~$ fs mount littlefs /lfs
[00:00:24.930,999] <inf> littlefs: LittleFS version 2.4, disk version 2.0
[00:00:24.932,769] <inf> littlefs: FS at MX25R64:0x0 is 2048 0x1000-byte blocks with 512 cycle
[00:00:24.932,800] <inf> littlefs: sizes: rd 16 ; pr 16 ; ca 64 ; la 32
[00:00:24.935,363] <inf> littlefs: /lfs mounted
uart:~$ fs cd /lfs
uart:~$ fs ls
file.bin
uart:~$ fs read file.bin
File size: 9
00000000  11 22 33 44 55 BA DC 0F FE                       ."3DU....
uart:~$ fs statvfs /lfs
bsize 16, frsize 4096, blocks 2048, bfree 2046
uart:~$

But for nrf9160dk_nrf9160_ns target nothing happens. I can run with the debugger and see that everything stops somewhere here:

My question is: what additional settings are required for the example to work in non-secure mode?

[Sigurd Hellesvik]

Hi,

I am able to reproduce this.
I will investigate it and return with an answer tomorrow.

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik

[Sigurd Hellesvik]

Hi,

This seems like an issue related to Trusted Firmware-M (TF-M).

I have reported this to our developers as a bug, and will keep you updated in this case.

As a workaround, you can use SPM instead of TF-M by setting "CONFIG_BUILD_WITH_TFM=n" in prj.conf.

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik

[ANDRIJ GRABCZAK]

Well, actually I can not. It seems that in SPM mode external flash is not visible at all:

*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.0.99-ncs1  ***
Flash regions           Domain          Permissions
00 01 0x00000 0x10000   Secure          rwxl
02 31 0x10000 0x100000  Non-Secure      rwxl

Non-secure callable region 0 placed in flash region 1 with size 32.

SRAM region             Domain          Permissions
00 03 0x00000 0x08000   Secure          rwxl
04 31 0x08000 0x40000   Non-Secure      rwxl

Peripheral              Domain          Status
00 NRF_P0               Non-Secure      OK
01 NRF_CLOCK            Non-Secure      OK
02 NRF_RTC0             Non-Secure      OK
03 NRF_RTC1             Non-Secure      OK
04 NRF_NVMC             Non-Secure      OK
05 NRF_UARTE1           Non-Secure      OK
06 NRF_UARTE2           Secure          SKIP
07 NRF_TWIM2            Non-Secure      OK
08 NRF_SPIM3            Non-Secure      OK
09 NRF_TIMER0           Non-Secure      OK
10 NRF_TIMER1           Non-Secure      OK
11 NRF_TIMER2           Non-Secure      OK
12 NRF_SAADC            Non-Secure      OK
13 NRF_PWM0             Non-Secure      OK
14 NRF_PWM1             Non-Secure      OK
15 NRF_PWM2             Non-Secure      OK
16 NRF_PWM3             Non-Secure      OK
17 NRF_WDT              Non-Secure      OK
18 NRF_IPC              Non-Secure      OK
19 NRF_VMC              Non-Secure      OK
20 NRF_FPU              Non-Secure      OK
21 NRF_EGU0             Non-Secure      OK
22 NRF_EGU1             Non-Secure      OK
23 NRF_EGU2             Non-Secure      OK
24 NRF_EGU3             Non-Secure      OK
25 NRF_EGU4             Non-Secure      OK
26 NRF_EGU5             Non-Secure      OK
27 NRF_DPPIC            Non-Secure      OK
28 NRF_REGULATORS       Non-Secure      OK
29 NRF_PDM              Non-Secure      OK
30 NRF_I2S              Non-Secure      OK
31 NRF_GPIOTE1          Non-Secure      OK

SPM: NS image at 0x10000
SPM: NS MSP at 0x200104b8
SPM: NS reset vector at 0x16585
SPM: prepare to jump to Non-Secure image.


uart:~$ *** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.0.99-ncs1  ***

uart:~$ fs mount littlefs /lfs
[00:00:15.987,915] <inf> littlefs: LittleFS version 2.4, disk version 2.0
[00:00:15.988,159] <inf> littlefs: FS at NRF_FLASH_DRV_NAME:0xfa000 is 6 0x1000-byte blocks with 512 cycle
[00:00:15.988,159] <inf> littlefs: sizes: rd 16 ; pr 16 ; ca 64 ; la 32
[00:00:15.988,311] <err> littlefs: WEST_TOPDIR/modules/fs/littlefs/lfs.c:1077: Corrupted dir pair at {0x0, 0x1}
[00:00:15.988,311] <wrn> littlefs: can't mount (LFS -84); formatting
[00:00:16.164,703] <inf> littlefs: /lfs mounted
uart:~$

[Sigurd Hellesvik]

Hi,

I think it is usual for the filesystem samples to have some (timing?) issues when first setting up the partitions.

Try to reset the Developement Kit.

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik

[ANDRIJ GRABCZAK]

It does not help.

[Sigurd Hellesvik]

Hi,

In case it helps, here is a report of what I do to make this work.

Hardware: nRF9160DK 1.0.0
nRF Connect SDK: v2.0.2
Sample: zephyr/samples/subsys/fs/littlefs
Build target: nrf9160dk_nrf9160_ns

I used the sample as is, except that I added "CONFIG_BUILD_WITH_TFM=n" to prj.conf.

Flash with erase, and log right after flash:

*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.0.99-ncs1-1  ***
Sample program to r/w files on littlefs
Area 2 at 0xfa000 on NRF_FLASH_DRV_NAME for 24576 bytes
I: LittleFS version 2.4, disk version 2.0
I: FS at NRF_FLASH_DRV_NAME:0xfa000 is 6 0x1000-byte blocks with 512 cycle
I: sizes: rd 16 ; pr 16 ; ca 64 ; la 32
E: WEST_TOPDIR/modules/fs/littlefs/lfs.c:1077: Corrupted dir pair at {0x0, 0x1}
W: can't mount (LFS -84); formatting
I: /lfs mounted
/lfs mount: 0
/lfs: bsize = 16 ; frsize = 4096 ; blocks = 6 ; bfree = 4

Listing dir /lfs ...
/lfs/boot_count read count:0 (bytes: 0)
/lfs/boot_count write new boot count 1: [wr:1]
I: Test file: /lfs/pattern.bin not found, create one!
------ FILE: /lfs/pattern.bin ------
01 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 02 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
03 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 04 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
05 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 06 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
07 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 08 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
09 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 0a 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
0b 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 0c 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
0d 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 0e 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
0f 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 10 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
11 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 12 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
13 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 14 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
15 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 16 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
17 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 18 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
19 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 1a 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
1b 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 1c 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
1d 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 1e 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
1f 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 20 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
21 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 22 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
23 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 24 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
25 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 26 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
27 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 28 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
29 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 2a 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
2b 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 2c 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
2d 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 2e 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
2f 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 30 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
31 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 32 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
33 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 34 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
35 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 36 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
37 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 38 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
39 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 3a 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
3b 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 3c 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
3d 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 3e 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
3f 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 40 55 55 55 55 55 55 55

41 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 42 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
43 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 44 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
45 55 aa 
I: /lfs unmounted
/lfs unmount: 0

Then I press the reset button on the nRF9160DK:

*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.0.99-ncs1-1  ***
Sample program to r/w files on littlefs
Area 2 at 0xfa000 on NRF_FLASH_DRV_NAME for 24576 bytes
I: LittleFS version 2.4, disk version 2.0
I: FS at NRF_FLASH_DRV_NAME:0xfa000 is 6 0x1000-byte blocks with 512 cycle
I: sizes: rd 16 ; pr 16 ; ca 64 ; la 32
I: /lfs mounted
/lfs mount: 0
/lfs: bsize = 16 ; frsize = 4096 ; blocks = 6 ; bfree = 3

Listing dir /lfs ...
[FILE] boot_count (size = 1)
[FILE] pattern.bin (size = 547)
/lfs/boot_count read count:1 (bytes: 1)
/lfs/boot_count write new boot count 2: [wr:1]
------ FILE: /lfs/pattern.bin ------
02 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 03 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
04 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 05 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
06 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 07 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
08 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 09 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
0a 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 0b 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
0c 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 0d 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
0e 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 0f 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
10 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 11 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
12 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 13 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
14 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 15 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
16 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 17 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
18 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 19 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
1a 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 1b 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
1c 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 1d 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
1e 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 1f 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
20 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 21 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
22 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 23 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
24 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 25 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
26 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 27 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
28 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 29 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
2a 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 2b 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
2c 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 2d 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
2e 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 2f 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
30 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 31 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
32 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 33 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
34 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 35 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
36 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 37 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
38 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 39 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
3a 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 3b 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
3c 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 3d 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
3e 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 3f 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
40 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 41 55 55 55 55 55 55 55

42 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 43 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
44 55 55 55 55 55 55 55 45 55 55 55 55 55 55 55
46 55 ab 
I: /lfs unmounted
/lfs unmount: 0

Is this what you are trying to do?

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik