1EL3 Runtime Service Writer's Guide
2=====================================================
3
4Introduction
5------------
6
7This document describes how to add a runtime service to the EL3 Runtime
8Firmware component of Trusted Firmware-A (TF-A), BL31.
9
10Software executing in the normal world and in the trusted world at exception
11levels lower than EL3 will request runtime services using the Secure Monitor
12Call (SMC) instruction. These requests will follow the convention described in
13the SMC Calling Convention PDD (`SMCCC`_). The `SMCCC`_ assigns function
14identifiers to each SMC request and describes how arguments are passed and
15results are returned.
16
17SMC Functions are grouped together based on the implementor of the service, for
18example a subset of the Function IDs are designated as "OEM Calls" (see `SMCCC`_
19for full details). The EL3 runtime services framework in BL31 enables the
20independent implementation of services for each group, which are then compiled
21into the BL31 image. This simplifies the integration of common software from
22Arm to support `PSCI`_, Secure Monitor for a Trusted OS and SoC specific
23software. The common runtime services framework ensures that SMC Functions are
24dispatched to their respective service implementation - the
25:ref:`Firmware Design` document provides details of how this is achieved.
26
27The interface and operation of the runtime services depends heavily on the
28concepts and definitions described in the `SMCCC`_, in particular SMC Function
29IDs, Owning Entity Numbers (OEN), Fast and Standard calls, and the SMC32 and
30SMC64 calling conventions. Please refer to that document for a full explanation
31of these terms.
32
33Owning Entities, Call Types and Function IDs
34--------------------------------------------
35
36The SMC Function Identifier includes a OEN field. These values and their
37meaning are described in `SMCCC`_ and summarized in table 1 below. Some entities
38are allocated a range of of OENs. The OEN must be interpreted in conjunction
39with the SMC call type, which is either *Fast* or *Yielding*. Fast calls are
40uninterruptible whereas Yielding calls can be pre-empted. The majority of
41Owning Entities only have allocated ranges for Fast calls: Yielding calls are
42reserved exclusively for Trusted OS providers or for interoperability with
43legacy 32-bit software that predates the `SMCCC`_.
44
45::
46
47    Type       OEN     Service
48    Fast        0      Arm Architecture calls
49    Fast        1      CPU Service calls
50    Fast        2      SiP Service calls
51    Fast        3      OEM Service calls
52    Fast        4      Standard Service calls
53    Fast       5-47    Reserved for future use
54    Fast      48-49    Trusted Application calls
55    Fast      50-63    Trusted OS calls
56
57    Yielding   0- 1    Reserved for existing Armv7-A calls
58    Yielding   2-63    Trusted OS Standard Calls
59
60*Table 1: Service types and their corresponding Owning Entity Numbers*
61
62Each individual entity can allocate the valid identifiers within the entity
63range as they need - it is not necessary to coordinate with other entities of
64the same type. For example, two SoC providers can use the same Function ID
65within the SiP Service calls OEN range to mean different things - as these
66calls should be specific to the SoC. The Standard Runtime Calls OEN is used for
67services defined by Arm standards, such as `PSCI`_.
68
69The SMC Function ID also indicates whether the call has followed the SMC32
70calling convention, where all parameters are 32-bit, or the SMC64 calling
71convention, where the parameters are 64-bit. The framework identifies and
72rejects invalid calls that use the SMC64 calling convention but that originate
73from an AArch32 caller.
74
75The EL3 runtime services framework uses the call type and OEN to identify a
76specific handler for each SMC call, but it is expected that an individual
77handler will be responsible for all SMC Functions within a given service type.
78
79Getting started
80---------------
81
82TF-A has a ``services`` directory in the source tree under which
83each owning entity can place the implementation of its runtime service. The
84`PSCI`_ implementation is located here in the ``lib/psci`` directory.
85
86Runtime service sources will need to include the ``runtime_svc.h`` header file.
87
88Registering a runtime service
89-----------------------------
90
91A runtime service is registered using the ``DECLARE_RT_SVC()`` macro, specifying
92the name of the service, the range of OENs covered, the type of service and
93initialization and call handler functions.
94
95.. code:: c
96
97    #define DECLARE_RT_SVC(_name, _start, _end, _type, _setup, _smch)
98
99-  ``_name`` is used to identify the data structure declared by this macro, and
100   is also used for diagnostic purposes
101
102-  ``_start`` and ``_end`` values must be based on the ``OEN_*`` values defined in
103   ``smccc.h``
104
105-  ``_type`` must be one of ``SMC_TYPE_FAST`` or ``SMC_TYPE_YIELD``
106
107-  ``_setup`` is the initialization function with the ``rt_svc_init`` signature:
108
109   .. code:: c
110
111       typedef int32_t (*rt_svc_init)(void);
112
113-  ``_smch`` is the SMC handler function with the ``rt_svc_handle`` signature:
114
115   .. code:: c
116
117       typedef uintptr_t (*rt_svc_handle_t)(uint32_t smc_fid,
118                                         u_register_t x1, u_register_t x2,
119                                         u_register_t x3, u_register_t x4,
120                                         void *cookie,
121                                         void *handle,
122                                         u_register_t flags);
123
124Details of the requirements and behavior of the two callbacks is provided in
125the following sections.
126
127During initialization the services framework validates each declared service
128to ensure that the following conditions are met:
129
130#. The ``_start`` OEN is not greater than the ``_end`` OEN
131#. The ``_end`` OEN does not exceed the maximum OEN value (63)
132#. The ``_type`` is one of ``SMC_TYPE_FAST`` or ``SMC_TYPE_YIELD``
133#. ``_setup`` and ``_smch`` routines have been specified
134
135``std_svc_setup.c`` provides an example of registering a runtime service:
136
137.. code:: c
138
139    /* Register Standard Service Calls as runtime service */
140    DECLARE_RT_SVC(
141            std_svc,
142            OEN_STD_START,
143            OEN_STD_END,
144            SMC_TYPE_FAST,
145            std_svc_setup,
146            std_svc_smc_handler
147    );
148
149Initializing a runtime service
150------------------------------
151
152Runtime services are initialized once, during cold boot, by the primary CPU
153after platform and architectural initialization is complete. The framework
154performs basic validation of the declared service before calling
155the service initialization function (``_setup`` in the declaration). This
156function must carry out any essential EL3 initialization prior to receiving a
157SMC Function call via the handler function.
158
159On success, the initialization function must return ``0``. Any other return value
160will cause the framework to issue a diagnostic:
161
162::
163
164    Error initializing runtime service <name of the service>
165
166and then ignore the service - the system will continue to boot but SMC calls
167will not be passed to the service handler and instead return the *Unknown SMC
168Function ID* result ``0xFFFFFFFF``.
169
170If the system must not be allowed to proceed without the service, the
171initialization function must itself cause the firmware boot to be halted.
172
173If the service uses per-CPU data this must either be initialized for all CPUs
174during this call, or be done lazily when a CPU first issues an SMC call to that
175service.
176
177Handling runtime service requests
178---------------------------------
179
180SMC calls for a service are forwarded by the framework to the service's SMC
181handler function (``_smch`` in the service declaration). This function must have
182the following signature:
183
184.. code:: c
185
186    typedef uintptr_t (*rt_svc_handle_t)(uint32_t smc_fid,
187                                       u_register_t x1, u_register_t x2,
188                                       u_register_t x3, u_register_t x4,
189                                       void *cookie,
190                                       void *handle,
191                                       u_register_t flags);
192
193The handler is responsible for:
194
195#. Determining that ``smc_fid`` is a valid and supported SMC Function ID,
196   otherwise completing the request with the *Unknown SMC Function ID*:
197
198   .. code:: c
199
200       SMC_RET1(handle, SMC_UNK);
201
202#. Determining if the requested function is valid for the calling security
203   state. SMC Calls can be made from Non-secure, Secure or Realm worlds and
204   the framework will forward all calls to the service handler.
205
206   The ``flags`` parameter to this function indicates the caller security state
207   in bits 0 and 5. The ``is_caller_secure(flags)``, ``is_caller_non_secure(flags)``
208   and ``is_caller_realm(flags)`` helper functions can be used to determine whether
209   the caller's security state is Secure, Non-secure or Realm respectively.
210
211   If invalid, the request should be completed with:
212
213   .. code:: c
214
215       SMC_RET1(handle, SMC_UNK);
216
217#. Truncating parameters for calls made using the SMC32 calling convention.
218   Such calls can be determined by checking the CC field in bit[30] of the
219   ``smc_fid`` parameter, for example by using:
220
221   ::
222
223       if (GET_SMC_CC(smc_fid) == SMC_32) ...
224
225   For such calls, the upper bits of the parameters x1-x4 and the saved
226   parameters X5-X7 are UNDEFINED and must be explicitly ignored by the
227   handler. This can be done by truncating the values to a suitable 32-bit
228   integer type before use, for example by ensuring that functions defined
229   to handle individual SMC Functions use appropriate 32-bit parameters.
230
231#. Providing the service requested by the SMC Function, utilizing the
232   immediate parameters x1-x4 and/or the additional saved parameters X5-X7.
233   The latter can be retrieved using the ``SMC_GET_GP(handle, ref)`` function,
234   supplying the appropriate ``CTX_GPREG_Xn`` reference, e.g.
235
236   .. code:: c
237
238       uint64_t x6 = SMC_GET_GP(handle, CTX_GPREG_X6);
239
240#. Implementing the standard SMC32 Functions that provide information about
241   the implementation of the service. These are the Call Count, Implementor
242   UID and Revision Details for each service documented in section 6 of the
243   `SMCCC`_.
244
245   TF-A expects owning entities to follow this recommendation.
246
247#. Returning the result to the caller. Based on `SMCCC`_ spec, results are
248   returned in W0-W7(X0-X7) registers for SMC32(SMC64) calls from AArch64
249   state. Results are returned in R0-R7 registers for SMC32 calls from AArch32
250   state. The framework provides a family of macros to set the multi-register
251   return value and complete the handler:
252
253   .. code:: c
254
255       AArch64 state:
256
257       SMC_RET1(handle, x0);
258       SMC_RET2(handle, x0, x1);
259       SMC_RET3(handle, x0, x1, x2);
260       SMC_RET4(handle, x0, x1, x2, x3);
261       SMC_RET5(handle, x0, x1, x2, x3, x4);
262       SMC_RET6(handle, x0, x1, x2, x3, x4, x5);
263       SMC_RET7(handle, x0, x1, x2, x3, x4, x5, x6);
264       SMC_RET8(handle, x0, x1, x2, x3, x4, x5, x6, x7);
265
266       AArch32 state:
267
268       SMC_RET1(handle, r0);
269       SMC_RET2(handle, r0, r1);
270       SMC_RET3(handle, r0, r1, r2);
271       SMC_RET4(handle, r0, r1, r2, r3);
272       SMC_RET5(handle, r0, r1, r2, r3, r4);
273       SMC_RET6(handle, r0, r1, r2, r3, r4, r5);
274       SMC_RET7(handle, r0, r1, r2, r3, r4, r5, r6);
275       SMC_RET8(handle, r0, r1, r2, r3, r4, r5, r6, r7);
276
277The ``cookie`` parameter to the handler is reserved for future use and can be
278ignored. The ``handle`` is returned by the SMC handler - completion of the
279handler function must always be via one of the ``SMC_RETn()`` macros.
280
281.. note::
282   The PSCI and Test Secure-EL1 Payload Dispatcher services do not follow
283   all of the above requirements yet.
284
285Services that contain multiple sub-services
286-------------------------------------------
287
288It is possible that a single owning entity implements multiple sub-services. For
289example, the Standard calls service handles ``0x84000000``-``0x8400FFFF`` and
290``0xC4000000``-``0xC400FFFF`` functions. Within that range, the `PSCI`_ service
291handles the ``0x84000000``-``0x8400001F`` and ``0xC4000000``-``0xC400001F`` functions.
292In that respect, `PSCI`_ is a 'sub-service' of the Standard calls service. In
293future, there could be additional such sub-services in the Standard calls
294service which perform independent functions.
295
296In this situation it may be valuable to introduce a second level framework to
297enable independent implementation of sub-services. Such a framework might look
298very similar to the current runtime services framework, but using a different
299part of the SMC Function ID to identify the sub-service. TF-A does not provide
300such a framework at present.
301
302Secure-EL1 Payload Dispatcher service (SPD)
303-------------------------------------------
304
305Services that handle SMC Functions targeting a Trusted OS, Trusted Application,
306or other Secure-EL1 Payload are special. These services need to manage the
307Secure-EL1 context, provide the *Secure Monitor* functionality of switching
308between the normal and secure worlds, deliver SMC Calls through to Secure-EL1
309and generally manage the Secure-EL1 Payload through CPU power-state transitions.
310
311TODO: Provide details of the additional work required to implement a SPD and
312the BL31 support for these services. Or a reference to the document that will
313provide this information....
314
315--------------
316
317*Copyright (c) 2014-2021, Arm Limited and Contributors. All rights reserved.*
318
319.. _SMCCC: https://developer.arm.com/docs/den0028/latest
320.. _PSCI: http://infocenter.arm.com/help/topic/com.arm.doc.den0022c/DEN0022C_Power_State_Coordination_Interface.pdf
321