clocksource: arch_timer: Allow the device tree to specify uninitialized timer registers

Some 32-bit (ARMv7) systems are architected like this:

* The firmware doesn't know and doesn't care about hypervisor mode and
  we don't want to add the complexity of hypervisor there.

* The firmware isn't involved in SMP bringup or resume.

* The ARCH timer come up with an uninitialized offset (CNTVOFF)
  between the virtual and physical counters.  Each core gets a
  different random offset.

* The device boots in "Secure SVC" mode.

* Nothing has touched the reset value of CNTHCTL.PL1PCEN or
  CNTHCTL.PL1PCTEN (both default to 1 at reset)

On systems like the above, it doesn't make sense to use the virtual
counter.  There's nobody managing the offset and each time a core goes
down and comes back up it will get reinitialized to some other random
value.

This adds an optional property which can inform the kernel of this
situation, and firmware is free to remove the property if it is going
to initialize the CNTVOFF registers when each CPU comes out of reset.

Currently, the best course of action in this case is to use the
physical timer, which is why it is important that CNTHCTL hasn't been
changed from its reset value and it's a reasonable assumption given
that the firmware has never entered HYP mode.

Note that it's been said that on ARMv8 systems the firmware and
kernel really can't be architected as described above.  That means
using the physical timer like this really only makes sense for ARMv7
systems.

Signed-off-by: Doug Anderson <dianders@chromium.org>
Signed-off-by: Sonny Rao <sonnyrao@chromium.org>
Reviewed-by: Mark Rutland <mark.rutland@arm.com>
Acked-by: Daniel Lezcano <daniel.lezcano@linaro.org>
Acked-by: Catalin Marinas <catalin.marinas@arm.com>
Signed-off-by: Olof Johansson <olof@lixom.net>

1 files changed, 8 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/arm/arch_timer.txt b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/arm/arch_timer.txt
index 37b2cafa4e5..256b4d8bab7 100644
--- a/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/arm/arch_timer.txt
+++ b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/arm/arch_timer.txt
@@ -22,6 +22,14 @@ to deliver its interrupts via SPIs.
 - always-on : a boolean property. If present, the timer is powered through an
   always-on power domain, therefore it never loses context.
 
+** Optional properties:
+
+- arm,cpu-registers-not-fw-configured : Firmware does not initialize
+  any of the generic timer CPU registers, which contain their
+  architecturally-defined reset values. Only supported for 32-bit
+  systems which follow the ARMv7 architected reset values.
+
+
 Example:
 
 	timer {