SEGGER SystemView is a very cool graphical tool for embedded systems that enables the visualisation of run-time behaviour in an application by the recording on configurable events. These events can be recorded using J-Link, IP, or UART communication. A huge plus for using SystemView is that it is totally free to use, provided that in one event recording session you do not exceed one million recorded events. This limit is actually very easy to exceed in larger applications, but still renders the free version of the software very useful.

I recently setup SystemView to work with a STM32 Nucleo based development board to debug the behaviour of FreeRTOS in a visual manner. In this setup I was also using System Workbench for STM32 with SEGGER J-Link debugging. This particular setup was pretty neat because it provided multiple methods for debugging the system, and was entirely free. The STM32 Nucleo and Discovery boards are very well suited for this use case as they contain an on-board ST-LINK programmer/debugger, and SEGGER provide a free way to convert the ST-LINK module to a J-Link module.

The entire setup was a little protracted so I kept notes on everything I did to get everything work. It is these notes that I will share in this post. It is not meant to be an exhaustive guide and will not provide any kind of in depth information about how SystemView works, but is provided here in the hope that it may save someone else time somewhere down the track.

It is assumed that you already have System Workbench for STM32 installed. Beyond that, I completed each tasks in the following order:

1. Converting ST-LINK into J-Link
2. GNU MCU Eclipse install
3. SEGGER J-Link Install
4. J-Link debug configuration setup in System Workbench
5. SystemView Install
6. Adding SystemView Module to System Workbench project

Converting ST-LINK into J-Link

Instructions are here.

• Install ST-LINK USB drivers (should already be done): Download
• Install J-Link software package V5.12b or later : Download
• Install SEGGER STLinkReflash utility: Download
• Start the STLinkReflash utility (STLinkReflash.exe)
  • Agree to the license terms (enter “A”)
  • Connect ST-LINK on-board to PC 
  • Select “Upgrade to J-Link” (Enter “1”)
  • Wait for operation to complete

GNU MCU Eclipse Install

Open System Workbench for STM32 (Eclipse) and do the following:

• Open Eclipse Marketplace
• Search for GNU MCU Eclipse and install
• Confirm all features
• Agree to the license terms
• Wait for operation to complete
• Restart Eclipse

SEGGER J-Link Install

Instructions are here.

• Install J-Link: Download
• Test install with connected converted J-Link board by running JLinkGDBServerCL with CMD. On my system this is located at “C:\Program Files (x86)\SEGGER\JLink\JLinkGDBServerCL.exe”. 
  • Accept the terms of use as they pop up.
  • Select the correct target device. For me it is STM32F429ZI. This will differ depending on the development board you are using.

J-Link Debug Configuration Setup in System Workbench

Instructions are here.

• Define the path in Eclipse for J-Link folder. Window→Preferences→MCU→Global SEGGER J-Link Path
  • Create new J-Link Debug Configuration (Run→Debug Configurations→GDB SEGGER J-Link Debugging)
  • On Debugger tab add Device name (see Supported Device names for precise names). For my project it is STM32F429ZI. This will differ depending on the development board you are using.
  • On Startup tab add CPU freq and SWO freq (must be a sub-multiple of 6Mhz). On my board CPU freq is 180Mhz
  • On Common tab, change the Save as option to Shared file.
  • Add {cross_prefix} and {cross_suffix} build variables (Window→Preferences→C/C++/Build Variables)
    • cross_prefix=”arm-none-eabi-
    • cross_suffix=””
    • These may already exist, if they do not, do not added them again.

SystemView Install

• Download installer: Download
• Follow the prompts and install

Adding SystemView Module to System Workbench project

• Add the SystemView module to the project (it is architecture independent). It can be found in C:\Program Files (x86)\SEGGER\SystemView_V252d on my system. It includes the following files:
  • SEGGER
    • SEGGER.h
    • SEGGER_RTT.h
    • SEGGER_SYSVIEW.h
    • SEGGER_SYSVIEW_ConfDefaults.h
    • SEGGER_SYSVIEW_Int.h
    • SEGGER_SYSVIEW.c
    • SEGGER_RTT.c
  • Config
    • Global.h
    • SEGGER_RTT_Conf.h
    • SEGGER_SYSVIEW_Conf.h
• Inside main() function (or other startup function) add the SEGGER_SYSVIEW_Conf() initialisation function. 

Conclusion

If all is well, everything is ready to start debugging with J-Link, SystemView and System Workbench for STM32.