NCS DFU Supported External Flash Devices

[Bryan]

OS: Windows

NCS: 2.2.0

We have discovered that we do not have enough internal flash space to support BLE DFU and need to add an external flash to our nRF52833-based design.

The nRF52840 DK board has an external flash (MX25R64) and BLE DFU is shown to work with the bus configured as SPI or QSPI.

 https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/82430/ncs-external-flash-ota-change-qspi-to-spi/345238

Our board is very small, so the MX25R64 is simply too physically large, so we are looking at the Gigadevices GD25WD40E/20E.  It is tiny at 1.2x1.2mm and supports SPI bus.

https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/870/gd25wd40e_gd25wd20e_datasheet_rev1_1_20221019-3081635.pdf

We have no way of verifying this device without doing another version of the board.  That is a big risk.

1.  Is there a specific memory layout of the flash for NCS DFU to work?  For example, the Gigadevices part's memory layout looks like:

2. Is there a specific list of SPI/QSPI flash devices that work with NCS DFU?

[Kenneth]

I think getting a breakout board as suggested is a good option to debug/verify this works. The breakout board can be done with a different package type.

That said, I do believe you should be able to make this work. The spi_nor driver is pretty generic.

In terms of how to switch between internal flash, spi flash and qspi flash you can find the driver test for the flash module useful:
https://github.com/nrfconnect/sdk-zephyr/tree/main/tests/drivers/flash

In your case that want to use spi you can find these two files relevant:
boards/nrf52840dk_flash_spi.conf
boards/nrf52840dk_mx25r_high_perf.overlay

By modifying the .overlay file you should hopefully relatively quickly find configuration that works.

Edit, here are the properties that can be set:
https://github.com/nrfconnect/sdk-zephyr/blob/main/dts/bindings/mtd/jedec%2Cspi-nor.yaml 
https://github.com/nrfconnect/sdk-zephyr/blob/main/dts/bindings/mtd/jedec%2Cspi-nor-common.yaml 

"Properties supporting Zephyr spi-nor flash driver (over the Zephyr SPI API) control of serial flash memories using the standard M25P80-based command set."

Kenneth

[Bryan]

Thanks for the feedback.  I think spinning a breakout board and testing with the nRF52833 DK is the best way to go, too.  

[Bryan]

I finally am getting back to this ticket.  Here is what I have done.

1.  The "hello world" DFU over BLE using internal flash is working on the nRF52833 DK.

2. I then ported the project to the nRF52840 DK to use it's external QSPI flash.  This is also working.

3. Now I am trying to add an external SPI flash device on a breakout board to the nRF52833 DK to prove it will work.  The SPI NOR flash I am using is the ISSI IS25LP080D.
www.issi.com/.../25LP-WP080D-040D-020D.pdf

From item #2 above I modified...

Both of these overlay files update the SPI bus (identical content in both files)

• /boards/nrf52833dk_nrf52833.overlay
• /child_image/mcuboot/boards/nrf52833dk_nrf52833.overlay

Both of the these conf files have these lines added to switch from QSPI to SPI

• prj.conf
• /child_image/mcuboot/boards/nrf52833dk_nrf52833.conf

# Additions for DFU external flash

CONFIG_FLASH=y

CONFIG_SPI=y

CONFIG_SPI_NOR=y

 

---

I am seeing two things that are odd.  CONFIG_SPI_NOR in both .conf files has the red/orange squiggly lines under it.  When I highlight it says:

CONFIG_SPI_NOR was assigned the value y, but got the value n. Missing dependencies:
DT_HAS_JEDEC_SPI_NOR_ENABLED

 https://developer.nordicsemi.com/nRF_Connect_SDK/doc/latest/kconfig/index.html  and searching for "CONFIG_SPI_NOR" shows does have DT_HAS_JEDEC_SPI_NOR_ENABLED as a dependency.

However in my build directory both of the .config files shows CONFIG_DT_HAS_JEDEC_SPI_NOR_ENABLED=y 

• build_nrf52833dk_nrf52833/mcuboot/zephyr/.config
• build_nrf52833dk_nrf52833/zephyr/.config

I suspect this is the root cause of the build error I am getting, but the message doesn't give any real detail.
c:/users/bryan/ncs/toolchains/v2.2.0/opt/zephyr-sdk/arm-zephyr-eabi/bin/../lib/gcc/arm-zephyr-eabi/12.1.0/../../../../arm-zephyr-eabi/bin/ld.exe: zephyr/drivers/spi/libdrivers__spi.a(spi_nrfx_spi.c.obj): in function `k_sem_give':
C:\Virtuix\nordic\myapps\hello_world_dfu\build_nrf52833dk_nrf52833\mcuboot\zephyr\include\generated\syscalls\kernel.h:1071: undefined reference to `z_impl_k_sem_give'

I have attached my hello_world_dfu project for reference.  The build output log is saved in the root directory (build_output.txt).  I appreciate any help!

hello_world_dfu.zip

[Kenneth]

I did not have time to look into this today, and I am out of office tomorrow. The undefined reference to `z_impl_k_sem_give' error seems to be related to MULTITHREADING is not enabled? Maybe try to delete your build folder and build again.

Kenneth

[Bryan]

Kenneth,

You are a genius!  I started digging when you focused me on MULTITHREADING and I found this reference online in a prj.conf file.  This resolved the error.

# If you don't add this when setting CONFIG_SPI=y, you'll get a lot of undefined references 
# from the nrfx spim driver E.G. "undefined reference to `z_impl_k_sleep'"
CONFIG_MULTITHREADING=y

[Bryan]

I have wired up the SPI NOR flash and added the sfdp-bfp into both overlay files

* boards\nrf52833dk_nrf52833.overlay

* child_image\mcuboot\boards\nrf52833dk_nrf52833.overlay

However, I am still seeing issues around the conf settings in prj.conf and child_image\mcuboot\boards\nrf52833dk_nrf52833.conf

CONFIG_FLASH=y

CONFIG_SPI=y

CONFIG_SPI_NOR=y

warning: SPI_NOR (defined at drivers/flash/Kconfig.nor:4) was assigned the value 'y' but got the
value 'n'. Check these unsatisfied dependencies: DT_HAS_JEDEC_SPI_NOR_ENABLED (=n). See
docs.zephyrproject.org/.../kconfig.html and/or look up SPI_NOR in the
menuconfig/guiconfig interface. The Application Development Primer, Setting Configuration Values,
and Kconfig - Tips and Best Practices sections of the manual might be helpful too.

It still builds, but when it boots...

*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***
I: Starting bootloader
W: Failed reading sectors; BOOT_MAX_IMG_SECTORS=256 - too small?
W: Cannot upgrade: not a compatible amount of sectors
E: Unable to determine flash sector of the image trailer
E: Image in the primary slot is not valid!
E: Unable to find bootable image

[Kenneth]

For testing can you first try to make the flash test driver to work?

https://github.com/nrfconnect/sdk-zephyr/tree/main/tests/drivers/flash

In your case that want to use spi you can find these two files relevant:
boards/nrf52840dk_flash_spi.conf
boards/nrf52840dk_mx25r_high_perf.overlay
(remove the mxicy,mx25r-power-mode = "high-performance"; in your case from the .overlay)

By modifying the .overlay file you should hopefully relatively quickly find configuration that works.

[Bryan]

Kenneth,

I took the flash app you provided and modified it for the nRF52833DK with the ISSI is25lp080d SPI NOR flash.  After a lot of experimental changes it is now passing.  This shows that the flash is connected properly and can be read/written.  I attached flash.zip for reference for everyone.

https://github.com/nrfconnect/sdk-zephyr/tree/main/tests/drivers/flash

ncs\v2.2.0\zephyr\tests\drivers\flash

The key modifications were:

* delete testcase.yaml

* Modify the contents of the overlay file.

/ {

        aliases {

                spi-flash0 = &is25lp080d;

        };

};

&pinctrl {

    spi1_default: spi1_default {

            group1 {

                    psels = <NRF_PSEL(SPIM_SCK, 0, 23)>,

                            <NRF_PSEL(SPIM_MOSI, 0, 21)>,

                            <NRF_PSEL(SPIM_MISO, 0, 22)>;

            };

    };

    spi1_sleep: spi1_sleep {

            group1 {

                    psels = <NRF_PSEL(SPIM_SCK, 0, 23)>,

                            <NRF_PSEL(SPIM_MOSI, 0, 21)>,

                            <NRF_PSEL(SPIM_MISO, 0, 22)>;

                    low-power-enable;

            };

    };

};

&spi1 {

        compatible = "nordic,nrf-spim";     <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< added

        status = "okay";

        cs-gpios = <&gpio0 20 GPIO_ACTIVE_LOW>;

        pinctrl-0 = <&spi1_default>;

        pinctrl-1 = <&spi1_sleep>;

        pinctrl-names = "default", "sleep";

        is25lp080d:is25lp080d@0 {

                // developer.nordicsemi.com/.../jedec,spi-nor.html

                compatible = "jedec,spi-nor";

                reg = <0>;

                spi-max-frequency = <0x50000000>;

                // see is25lp080d datasheet Section 8.29 for jedec-id

                jedec-id = [ 9D 60 14 ];             <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<  added

                size = <8388608>;     // 8 Mbits

        };

};

Notes from getting it working.

1.  Required added  compatible = "nordic,nrf-spim";

2.  The jedec-id is required.  I modified it to an incorrect value and the test fails.  Confirm it is correct.

3.  The sfdp-bfp field (used on the nRF52840DK external flash example) is not required (at least for this part) and is grossly over complex to implement.  If you get a single bit incorrect, it won't work.

*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***
Running TESTSUITE flash_driver
===================================================================
START - test_read_unaligned_address
PASS - test_read_unaligned_address in 0.047 seconds
===================================================================
TESTSUITE flash_driver succeeded

------ TESTSUITE SUMMARY START ------

SUITE PASS - 100.00% [flash_driver]: pass = 1, fail = 0, skip = 0, total = 1 duration = 0.047 seconds
- PASS - [flash_driver.test_read_unaligned_address] duration = 0.047 seconds

------ TESTSUITE SUMMARY END ------

===================================================================
PROJECT EXECUTION SUCCESSFUL

=================================================================

Now that I know the flash is hooked up correctly and can talk to it, I integrated they overlay file it into my nRF52833 DK -based "hello world dfu" project.  

The only modification I did was to both (/boards and /child_image/mcuboot/boards) both nrf52833dk_nrf52833.overlay files to use the below for dfu

/ {

        chosen {

                nordic,pm-ext-flash = &is25lp080d;

        };

};

Instead of the below used for the flash test

/ {

        aliases {

                spi-flash0 = &is25lp080d;

        };

};

When I flash the board, I got this error.

*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***
I: Starting bootloader
W: Failed reading sectors; BOOT_MAX_IMG_SECTORS=256 - too small?
W: Cannot upgrade: not a compatible amount of sectors
I: Bootloader chainload address offset: 0xf000
*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***
Hello World 1! nrf52833dk_nrf52833

If I increase CONFIG_BOOT_MAX_IMG_SECTORS=512, one error goes away.

*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***
I: Starting bootloader
W: Cannot upgrade: not a compatible amount of sectors
I: Bootloader chainload address offset: 0xf000
*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***
Hello World 1! nrf52833dk_nrf52833

CONFIG_BOOT_MAX_IMG_SECTORS is a setting from the nrf52840 DK serial DFU  external flash example that I based this project on.

https://github.com/simon-iversen/sdk-zephyr/tree/serial_dfu_ext_flash_hello_world/samples/hello_world

1.  I can not find a reference to what CONFIG_BOOT_MAX_IMG_SECTORS  does and how it interacts with other settings.  

2.  "not a compatible amount of sectors".  What is a "compatible amount of sectors"?  Please explain. 

3. I thought the source of the issues is the fact that I don't have a pm_static.yaml like in the above serial dfu with external flash example I reference above.  Contents of pm_static.yaml

external_flash:
  address: 0xf4000
  end_address: 0x800000
  region: external_flash
  size: 0x70c000

mcuboot_secondary:
  address: 0x00000
  device: MX25R64
  end_address: 0xf4000
  region: external_flash
  size: 0xf4000

This matches the output of:

PS C:\Virtuix\nordic\myapps\hello_world\build> west build -t partition_manager_report
-- west build: running target partition_manager_report
[1/1] cmd.exe /C "cd /D C:\Virtuix\nordic\myapps\hello_world\b...put C:/Virtuix/nordic/myapps/hello_world/build/partitions.yml" external_flash (0x800000 - 8192kB):
+---------------------------------------------+
| 0x0: mcuboot_secondary (0xf4000 - 976kB) |
| 0xf4000: external_flash (0x70c000 - 7216kB) |
+---------------------------------------------+

flash_primary (0x100000 - 1024kB):
+-------------------------------------------------+
| 0x0: mcuboot (0xc000 - 48kB) |
+---0xc000: mcuboot_primary (0xf4000 - 976kB)-----+
| 0xc000: mcuboot_pad (0x200 - 512B) |
+---0xc200: mcuboot_primary_app (0xf3e00 - 975kB)-+
| 0xc200: app (0xf3e00 - 975kB) |
+-------------------------------------------------+

sram_primary (0x40000 - 256kB):
+--------------------------------------------+
| 0x20000000: sram_primary (0x40000 - 256kB) |
+--------------------------------------------+

I then attempted to create my own pm_static.yaml

external_flash:

  address: 0x71000

  end_address: 0x100000

  region: external_flash

  size: 0x8f000

mcuboot_secondary:

  address: 0x00000

  device: is25lp080d

  end_address: 0x8f000

  region: external_flash

  size: 0x8f000

Again based off the output of

PS C:\Virtuix\nordic\myapps\hello_world_dfu\build_nrf52833dk_nrf52833> west build -t partition_manager_report
-- west build: running target partition_manager_report
[1/1] cmd.exe /C "cd /D C:\Virtuix\nordic\myapps\hello_world_...pps/hello_world_dfu/build_nrf52833dk_nrf52833/partitions.yml"
external_flash (0x100000 - 1024kB):
+-------------------------------------------+
| 0x0: mcuboot_secondary (0x71000 - 452kB) |
PS C:\Virtuix\nordic\myapps\hello_world_dfu\build_nrf52833dk_nrf52833> west build -t partition_manager_report
-- west build: running target partition_manager_report
[1/1] cmd.exe /C "cd /D C:\Virtuix\nordic\myapps\hello_world_...pps/hello_world_dfu/build_nrf52833dk_nrf52833/partitions.yml"
external_flash (0x100000 - 1024kB):
+-------------------------------------------+
| 0x0: mcuboot_secondary (0x71000 - 452kB) |
| 0x71000: external_flash (0x8f000 - 572kB) |
+-------------------------------------------+

flash_primary (0x80000 - 512kB):
+-------------------------------------------------+
| 0x0: mcuboot (0xf000 - 60kB) |
+---0xf000: mcuboot_primary (0x71000 - 452kB)-----+
| 0xf000: mcuboot_pad (0x200 - 512B) |
+---0xf200: mcuboot_primary_app (0x70e00 - 451kB)-+
| 0xf200: app (0x70e00 - 451kB) |
+-------------------------------------------------+

sram_primary (0x20000 - 128kB):
+--------------------------------------------+
| 0x20000000: sram_primary (0x20000 - 128kB) |
+--------------------------------------------+

I still get the same output. 

*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***
I: Starting bootloader
W: Cannot upgrade: not a compatible amount of sectors
I: Bootloader chainload address offset: 0xf000
*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***
Hello World 1! nrf52833dk_nrf52833

There is something I am simply not understanding.

hello_world_dfu_13_3_23.zip
 

flash.zip