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Using ULINKpro with PowerScale

ULINKpro and the energy profiling tool PowerScale can be combined to:

  • Tune the target system for the lowest possible power configuration.
  • Evaluate the best clock frequency for the processor and peripherals.
  • Analyze and reduce the overall energy consumption of the application.

Connecting the target hardware to ULINKpro and PowerScale allows analyzing the impact of the user-software on energy consumption. Instructions that consume most of the system's energy can be detected and optimized.

Connect Measurement System

The picture above shows a typical setup, where:

  • Keil µVision Debugger windows show the executed and traced instructions. A mouse-click on an instruction displayed in the µVision Instruction Trace window updates the cursor position in the energy diagram of the PowerScale GUI.
  • Hitex PowerScale GUI displays voltage-, current-, or energy diagrams. A mouse-click in the PowerScale GUI diagram highlights the corresponding instruction in the µVision Debugger windows.
  • ULINKpro delivers debugging and instruction trace information.
  • PowerScale and the ACM Probe measure the voltage- and current consumption.
  • Isolation Adapter synchronizes the energy measurements with the traced instructions.

Setup the environment

  • Connect the Isolation Adapter to the target hardware.
  • Connect ULINKpro to the Isolation Adapter and the PC.
  • Connect the ACM Probes to the target hardware.
  • Connect PowerScale to the ACM Probes, the Isolation Adapter, and the PC.

Configure the environment

Set the following configuration options in µVision:

  • Ensure the TPIU TRACECLKIN signal is equal to the core clock.
  • Disable Run to main() in the dialog Options for Target - Debug.
  • Set the field Reset to HW RESET in the dialog Options for Target - Debug - Settings - Debug. Refer to Debug for details.
  • Enable Unlimited Trace in the dialog Options for Target - Debug - Settings - Trace and follow the instructions described in Configure Cortex-M Devices for Tracing, section Enable 4-Pin Trace (ETM) of the device in use.

    Low power modes powering down the debug domain (trace components) will break the solution.

Note

  • This setup requires a high-performance PC, for example with an Intel i7, Quad Core. Refer to test results in PC Performance Requirements.
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