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/drivers/clocksource/arm_arch_timer.c b/drivers/clocksource/arm_arch_timer.c
index 55256e4fb64..6967cb026b9 100644
--- a/drivers/clocksource/arm_arch_timer.c
+++ b/drivers/clocksource/arm_arch_timer.c
@@ -705,6 +705,14 @@ static void __init arch_timer_init(struct device_node *np)
 	arch_timer_detect_rate(NULL, np);
 
 	/*
+	 * If we cannot rely on firmware initializing the timer registers then
+	 * we should use the physical timers instead.
+	 */
+	if (IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_ARM) &&
+	    of_property_read_bool(np, "arm,cpu-registers-not-fw-configured"))
+			arch_timer_use_virtual = false;
+
+	/*
 	 * If HYP mode is available, we know that the physical timer
 	 * has been configured to be accessible from PL1. Use it, so
 	 * that a guest can use the virtual timer instead.