AHB Lite Specification

AMBA 3 AHB-Lite Protocol
v1.0
Specification
Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM IHI 0033A
AMBA 3 AHB-Lite Protocol
Specification
Copyright © 2001, 2006, 2010 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

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Change history
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06 June 2006 A Non-Confidential First release for v1.0
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Contents
AMBA 3 AHB-Lite Protocol Specification
Preface
About this book ............................................................................................. xii
Feedback ..................................................................................................... xvi
Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 About the protocol ....................................................................................... 1-2
1.2 Operation .................................................................................................... 1-5
1.3 Multi-layer AHB-Lite .................................................................................... 1-6
Chapter 2 Signal Descriptions

2.1 Global signals ............................................................................................. 2-2
2.2 Master signals ............................................................................................. 2-3
2.3 Slave signals ............................................................................................... 2-5
2.4 Decoder signals .......................................................................................... 2-6
2.5 Multiplexor signals ...................................................................................... 2-7
Chapter 3 Transfers
3.1 Basic transfers ............................................................................................ 3-2
3.2 Transfer types ............................................................................................. 3-5
3.3 Locked transfers ......................................................................................... 3-7
3.4 Transfer size ............................................................................................... 3-8
3.5 Burst operation ............................................................................................ 3-9
ARM IHI 0033A Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. v
Contents
3.6 Waited transfers ....................................................................................... 3-16

3.7 Protection control ...................................................................................... 3-22
Chapter 4 Bus Interconnection

4.1 Address decoding ....................................................................................... 4-2
4.2 Bus interconnection .................................................................................... 4-3
Chapter 5 Slave Response Signaling

5.1 Slave transfer responses ............................................................................ 5-2
Chapter 6 Data Buses

6.1 Data buses ................................................................................................. 6-2
6.2 Data bus width ............................................................................................ 6-5
Chapter 7 Clock and Reset

7.1 Clock and reset requirements ..................................................................... 7-2
Glossary
vi Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. ARM IHI 0033A
List of Tables
Change history .............................................................................................................. ii

Table 2-1 Global signals ............................................................................................................ 2-2
Table 2-2 Master signals ........................................................................................................... 2-3
Table 2-3 Slave signals ............................................................................................................. 2-5
Table 2-4 Decoder signals ........................................................................................................ 2-6
Table 2-5 Multiplexor signals ..................................................................................................... 2-7
Table 3-1 Transfer type encoding ............................................................................................. 3-5
Table 3-2 Transfer size encoding .............................................................................................. 3-8
Table 3-3 Burst signal encoding ................................................................................................ 3-9
Table 3-4 Protection signal encoding ...................................................................................... 3-22
Table 5-1 HRESP signal ........................................................................................................... 5-2
Table 5-2 Transfer response ..................................................................................................... 5-2
Table 6-1 Active byte lanes for a 32-bit little-endian data bus ................................................... 6-3
Table 6-2 Active byte lanes for a 32-bit big-endian data bus .................................................... 6-3
ARM IHI 0033A Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. vii
List of Tables
viii Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. ARM IHI 0033A
List of Figures
Key to timing diagram conventions ............................................................................ xiv

Figure 1-1 AHB-Lite block diagram ............................................................................................ 1-2
Figure 1-2 Master interface ........................................................................................................ 1-3
Figure 1-3 Slave interface .......................................................................................................... 1-4
Figure 1-4 Example multi-layer AHB-Lite block diagram ............................................................ 1-6
Figure 3-1 Read transfer ............................................................................................................ 3-2
Figure 3-2 Write transfer ............................................................................................................. 3-2
Figure 3-3 Read transfer with wait states ................................................................................... 3-3
Figure 3-4 Write transfer with wait state ..................................................................................... 3-3
Figure 3-5 Multiple transfers ....................................................................................................... 3-4
Figure 3-6 Transfer type examples ............................................................................................. 3-6
Figure 3-7 Locked transfer ......................................................................................................... 3-7
Figure 3-8 Four-beat wrapping burst ........................................................................................ 3-12
Figure 3-9 Four-beat incrementing burst .................................................................................. 3-13
Figure 3-10 Eight-beat wrapping burst ....................................................................................... 3-13
Figure 3-11 Eight-beat incrementing burst ................................................................................. 3-14
Figure 3-12 Undefined length bursts .......................................................................................... 3-15
Figure 3-13 Waited transfer, IDLE to NONSEQ ......................................................................... 3-16
Figure 3-14 Waited transfer, BUSY to SEQ for a fixed length burst ........................................... 3-17
Figure 3-15 Waited transfer, BUSY to NONSEQ for an undefined length burst ......................... 3-18
Figure 3-16 Address changes during a waited transfer, with an IDLE transfer .......................... 3-19
Figure 3-17 Address changes during a waited transfer, after an ERROR .................................. 3-20
Figure 4-1 Slave select signals ................................................................................................... 4-2
ARM IHI 0033A Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. ix
List of Figures
Figure 4-2 Multiplexor interconnection ....................................................................................... 4-3

Figure 5-1 ERROR response ..................................................................................................... 5-4
Figure 6-1 Narrow slave on a wide bus ...................................................................................... 6-5
Figure 6-2 Wide slave on a narrow bus ..................................................................................... 6-6
x Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. ARM IHI 0033A
Preface
This preface introduces the Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture (AMBA) 3

AHB-Lite Protocol Specification. It contains the following sections:
• About this book on page xii
• Feedback on page xvi.
ARM IHI 0033A Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. xi
Preface
About this book

This is the specification for the AMBA 3 AHB-Lite protocol.
Intended audience
This book is written to help hardware and software engineers design systems and
modules that are compliant with the AHB-Lite protocol.
Using this specification
This specification is organized into the following chapters:
Chapter 1 Introduction
Read this chapter for an overview of the AHB-Lite protocol.
Chapter 2 Signal Descriptions

Read this chapter for descriptions of the signals.
Chapter 3 Transfers
Read this chapter for information about the different types of transfer
initiated by an AHB-Lite compliant master.
Chapter 4 Bus Interconnection

Read this chapter for information about the additional interconnect logic
required for AHB-Lite systems.
Chapter 5 Slave Response Signaling

Read this chapter for information about the slave response signaling.
Chapter 6 Data Buses

Read this chapter for information about the read and write data buses and
how to interface to different data bus widths.
Chapter 7 Clock and Reset

Read this chapter for information about the clock and reset signals.
Glossary Read the Glossary for definitions of terms used in this specification.
Conventions
This section describes the conventions that this specification uses:

• Typographical on page xiii
xii Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. ARM IHI 0033A
Preface
• Timing diagrams
• Signals on page xiv.
Typographical
The typographical conventions are:
italic Highlights important notes, introduces special terminology,

denotes internal cross-references, and citations.
bold Highlights interface elements, such as menu names. Denotes

signal names. Also used for terms in descriptive lists, when
appropriate.
monospace Denotes text that you can enter at the keyboard, such as
commands, file and program names, and source code.
monospace Denotes a permitted abbreviation for a command or option. You

can enter the underlined text instead of the full command or option
name.
monospace italic Denotes arguments to monospace text where the argument is to be

replaced by a specific value.
monospace bold Denotes language keywords when used outside example code.
< and > Angle brackets enclose replaceable terms for assembler syntax
where they appear in code or code fragments. They appear in
normal font in running text. For example:
• MRC p15, 0 <Rd>, <CRn>, <CRm>, <Opcode_2>
• The Opcode_2 value selects which register is accessed.
Timing diagrams
The figure named Key to timing diagram conventions on page xiv explains the
components used in timing diagrams. Variations, when they occur, have clear labels.
You must not assume any timing information that is not explicit in the diagrams.
Shaded bus and signal areas are undefined so the bus or signal can assume any value
that the shaded area represents. The actual level is unimportant and does not affect
normal operation.
ARM IHI 0033A Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. xiii
Preface
&ORFN
+,*+WR/2:
7UDQVLHQW
+,*+/2:WR+,*+
%XVVWDEOH
%XVWRKLJKLPSHGDQFH
%XVFKDQJH
+LJKLPSHGDQFHWRVWDEOHEXV
Key to timing diagram conventions
Note
Single-bit signals are sometimes shown as HIGH and LOW at the same time and they
look similar to the bus change shown in Key to timing diagram conventions. If a
single-bit signal is shown like this then its value does not affect the accompanying
description.
Signals
The signal conventions are:
Lower-case n Denotes an active-LOW signal.
Prefix H Denotes Advanced High-performance Bus (AHB) signals.
Prefix P Denotes Advanced Peripheral Bus (APB) signals.
Signal level The level of an asserted signal depends on whether the signal is
active-HIGH or active-LOW. Asserted means HIGH for
active-HIGH signals and LOW for active-LOW signals.
xiv Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. ARM IHI 0033A
Preface
Further reading
This section lists publications by ARM Limited, and by third parties.
ARM Limited periodically provides updates and corrections to its documentation. See
http://www.arm.com for current errata sheets, addenda, and the Frequently Asked
Questions list.
ARM publications
This specification contains information that is specific to the protocol. See the following
documents for other relevant information:
• AMBA 3 APB Protocol Specification (ARM IHI 0024)
• AMBA AXI Protocol Specification (ARM IHI 0022)
• Multi-layer AHB Overview (ARM DVI 0045B).
ARM IHI 0033A Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. xv
Preface
Feedback
ARM Limited welcomes feedback on the AHB-Lite protocol and its documentation.
Feedback on the protocol
Contact ARM Limited if you have any comments or suggestions about the AHB-Lite
protocol.
Feedback on this specification
If you have any comments on this specification, send email to [email protected] giving:
• the title
• the number
• the relevant page number(s) to which your comments apply
• a concise explanation of your comments.
ARM Limited also welcomes general suggestions for additions and improvements.
xvi Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. ARM IHI 0033A
Chapter 1
Introduction
This chapter provides an overview of the AHB-Lite protocol. It contains the following
sections:
• About the protocol on page 1-2
• Operation on page 1-5
• Multi-layer AHB-Lite on page 1-6.
Note
For illustrative purposes, a 32-bit data bus is used in this specification. Additional data
bus widths are permitted, as Data bus width on page 6-5 shows.
ARM IHI 0033A Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. 1-1
Introduction
1.1 About the protocol

AMBA AHB-Lite addresses the requirements of high-performance synthesizable
designs. It is a bus interface that supports a single bus master and provides
high-bandwidth operation.
Note
See Multi-layer AHB-Lite on page 1-6 for information about how to implement a
multi-master system based on the AHB-Lite bus interface.
AHB-Lite implements the features required for high-performance, high clock

frequency systems including:
• burst transfers
• single-clock edge operation
• non-tristate implementation
• wide data bus configurations, 64, 128, 256, 512, and 1024 bits.
The most common AHB-Lite slaves are internal memory devices, external memory
interfaces, and high bandwidth peripherals. Although low-bandwidth peripherals can be
included as AHB-Lite slaves, for system performance reasons they typically reside on
the AMBA Advanced Peripheral Bus (APB). Bridging between this higher level of bus
and APB is done using a AHB-Lite slave, known as an APB bridge.
Figure 1-1 shows a single master AHB-Lite system design with one AHB-Lite master
and three AHB-Lite slaves. The bus interconnect logic consists of one address decoder
and a slave-to-master multiplexor. The decoder monitors the address from the master so
that the appropriate slave is selected and the multiplexor routes the corresponding slave
output data back to the master.
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+5'$7$>@ +5'$7$B
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Figure 1-1 AHB-Lite block diagram
1-2 Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. ARM IHI 0033A
Introduction
Note
Figure 1-1 on page 1-2 does not show the master control signals. This is for clarity.
The main component types of an AHB-Lite system are described in:

• Master
• Slave
• Decoder on page 1-4.
• Multiplexor on page 1-4.
1.1.1 Master
An AHB-Lite master provides address and control information to initiate read and write
operations. Figure 1-2 shows an AHB-Lite master interface.
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Figure 1-2 Master interface
1.1.2 Slave
An AHB-Lite slave responds to transfers initiated by masters in the system. The slave
uses the HSELx select signal from the decoder to control when it responds to a bus
transfer. The slave signals back to the master:
• the success
• failure
• or waiting of the data transfer.
Figure 1-3 on page 1-4 shows an AHB-Lite slave interface.
Introduction
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+$''5>@
+:5,7(
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+5($'<
'DWD +:'$7$>@ +5'$7$>@ 'DWD
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Figure 1-3 Slave interface
1.1.3 Decoder
This component decodes the address of each transfer and provides a select signal for the
slave that is involved in the transfer. It also provides a control signal to the multiplexor.
A single centralized decoder is required in all AHB-Lite implementations that use two
or more slaves. See Address decoding on page 4-2 for more information.
Note
In multi-layer AHB-Lite implementations, the decoder function is usually included in
the multi-layer interconnect component.
1.1.4 Multiplexor
A slave-to-master multiplexor is required to multiplex the read data bus and response
signals from the slaves to the master. The decoder provides control for the multiplexor.
A single centralized multiplexor is required in all AHB-Lite implementations that use

two or more slaves. See Bus interconnection on page 4-3 for more information.
Note
In multi-layer AHB-Lite implementations, the multiplexor function is typically
included in the multi-layer interconnect component.
Introduction
1.2 Operation
The master starts a transfer by driving the address and control signals. These signals
provide information about the address, direction, width of the transfer, and indicate if
the transfer forms part of a burst. Transfers can be:
• single
• incrementing bursts that do not wrap at address boundaries
• wrapping bursts that wrap at particular address boundaries.
The write data bus moves data from the master to a slave, and the read data bus moves
data from a slave to the master.
Every transfer consists of:
Address phase one address and control cycle
Data phase one or more cycles for the data.
A slave cannot request that the address phase is extended and therefore all slaves must
be capable of sampling the address during this time. However, a slave can request that
the master extends the data phase by using HREADY. This signal, when LOW, causes
wait states to be inserted into the transfer and enables the slave to have extra time to
provide or sample data.
The slave uses HRESP to indicate the success or failure of a transfer.
Introduction
1.3 Multi-layer AHB-Lite

Because AHB-Lite is a single master bus interface then if a multi-master system is
required, the system designer must include a component that isolates all masters from
each other. To achieve this isolation function, each master can be considered to be on its
own layer, therefore the component must create a multi-layer interconnect where all
masters are isolated from each other, but can share access to the slaves. Slave arbitration
must be performed by the multi-layer interconnect component.
Figure 1-4 shows an example multi-layer AHB-Lite system.
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Figure 1-4 Example multi-layer AHB-Lite block diagram
In Figure 1-4, master 1 and master 2 each have access to slaves 1, 2, and 3. The
multi-layer interconnect must prevent simultaneous access to a single slave by
implementing an arbitration scheme for the three shared slaves. Master 1 does not
require access to slaves 4 and 5, so these two slaves are kept local to master 2. This
reduces the complexity of the multi-layer interconnect component.
The design of a multi-layer interconnect component is outside the scope of this

specification. See the Multi-layer AHB Overview for more information about
implementing a multi-layer AHB-Lite interconnect.
Chapter 2
Signal Descriptions
This chapter describes the protocol signals. It contains the following sections:
• Global signals on page 2-2
• Master signals on page 2-3
• Slave signals on page 2-5
• Decoder signals on page 2-6
• Multiplexor signals on page 2-7.
Note
All AHB-Lite signals are prefixed with the letter H to differentiate them from other
similarly named signals in a system design.
Signal Descriptions
2.1 Global signals

Table 2-1 lists the protocol global signals.
Table 2-1 Global signals
Name Source Description
HCLK Clock source The bus clock times all bus transfers. All signal timings are related to the rising edge of
HCLK.
See Clock on page 7-2 for more information.
HRESETn Reset controller The bus reset signal is active LOW and resets the system and the bus. This is the only
active LOW AHB-Lite signal.
See Reset on page 7-2 for more information.
Signal Descriptions
2.2 Master signals

Table 2-2 lists the protocol signals generated by a master.
Table 2-2 Master signals
Name Destination Description
HADDR[31:0] Slave and The 32-bit system address bus.

decoder
HBURST[2:0] Slave The burst type indicates if the transfer is a single transfer or forms part of a burst.
Fixed length bursts of 4, 8, and 16 beats are supported. The burst can be
incrementing or wrapping. Incrementing bursts of undefined length are also
supported.
See Burst operation on page 3-9 for more information.
HMASTLOCK Slave When HIGH, this signal indicates that the current transfer is part of a locked
sequence. It has the same timing as the address and control signals.
See Locked transfers on page 3-7 for more information.
HPROT[3:0] Slave The protection control signals provide additional information about a bus access
and are primarily intended for use by any module that wants to implement some
level of protection.
The signals indicate if the transfer is an opcode fetch or data access, and if the
transfer is a privileged mode access or user mode access. For masters with a
memory management unit these signals also indicate whether the current access is
cacheable or bufferable.
See Protection control on page 3-22 for more information.
HSIZE[2:0] Slave Indicates the size of the transfer, that is typically byte, halfword, or word. The
protocol allows for larger transfer sizes up to a maximum of 1024 bits.
See Transfer size on page 3-8 for more information.
Signal Descriptions
Table 2-2 Master signals (continued)
HTRANS[1:0] Slave Indicates the transfer type of the current transfer. This can be:
• IDLE
• BUSY
• NONSEQUENTIAL
• SEQUENTIAL.
See Transfer types on page 3-5 for more information.
HWDATA[31:0]a Slave The write data bus transfers data from the master to the slaves during write
operations. A minimum data bus width of 32 bits is recommended. However, this
can be extended to enable higher bandwidth operation.
See Data buses on page 6-2 for more information.
HWRITE Slave Indicates the transfer direction. When HIGH this signal indicates a write transfer
and when LOW a read transfer. It has the same timing as the address signals,
however, it must remain constant throughout a burst transfer.
See Basic transfers on page 3-2 for more information.
a. The write data bus width is not restricted to 32bits. Data bus width on page 6-5 lists the other permitted data widths.
Signal Descriptions
2.3 Slave signals

Table 2-3 lists the protocol signals generated by a slave.
Table 2-3 Slave signals
HRDATA[31:0]a Multiplexor During read operations, the read data bus transfers data from the selected slave to the
multiplexor. The multiplexor then transfers the data to the master.
A minimum data bus width of 32 bits is recommended. However, this can be
extended to enable higher bandwidth operation.
See Data buses on page 6-2 for more information.
HREADYOUT Multiplexor When HIGH, the HREADYOUT signal indicates that a transfer has finished on the
bus. This signal can be driven LOW to extend a transfer.
See Bus interconnection on page 4-3 for more information.
HRESP Multiplexor The transfer response, after passing through the multiplexor, provides the master
with additional information on the status of a transfer.
When LOW, the HRESP signal indicates that the transfer status is OKAY.
When HIGH, the HRESP signal indicates that the transfer status is ERROR.
See Slave transfer responses on page 5-2 for more information.
a. The read data bus width is not restricted to 32bits. Data bus width on page 6-5 lists the other permitted data widths.
Signal Descriptions
2.4 Decoder signals

Table 2-4 lists the protocol signals generated by the decoder.
Table 2-4 Decoder signals
HSELxa Slave Each AHB-Lite slave has its own slave select signal HSELx and this signal indicates that the
current transfer is intended for the selected slave. When the slave is initially selected, it must
also monitor the status of HREADY to ensure that the previous bus transfer has completed,
before it responds to the current transfer.
The HSELx signal is a combinatorial decode of the address bus.
See Address decoding on page 4-2 for more information.
a. The letter x used in HSELx must be changed to a unique identifier for each AHB-Lite slave in a system. For example,
HSEL_S1, HSEL_S2, and HSEL_Memory.
Note
Usually the decoder also provides the multiplexor with the HSELx signals, or a
signal/bus derived from the HSELx signals, to enable the multiplexor to route the
appropriate signals, from the selected slave to the master. It is important that these
additional multiplexor control signals are retimed to the data phase.
Signal Descriptions
2.5 Multiplexor signals

Table 2-5 lists the protocol signals generated by the multiplexor.
Table 2-5 Multiplexor signals
HRDATA[31:0] Master Read data bus, selected by the decoder.a
HREADY Master and When HIGH, the HREADY signal indicates to the master and all slaves, that the
slave previous transfer is complete.
See Bus interconnection on page 4-3 for more information.
HRESP Master Transfer response, selected by the decoder.a

a. Because the HRDATA[31:0] and HRESP signals pass through the multiplexor and retain the same signal naming, the full
signal description for these two signals are provided in Table 2-3 on page 2-5.
Signal Descriptions
Chapter 3
Transfers
This chapter describes AHB-Lite read and write transfers. It contains the following
sections:
• Basic transfers on page 3-2
• Transfer types on page 3-5
• Locked transfers on page 3-7
• Transfer size on page 3-8
• Burst operation on page 3-9
• Waited transfers on page 3-16
• Protection control on page 3-22.
Transfers
3.1 Basic transfers

An AHB-Lite transfer consists of two phases:
Address Lasts for a single HCLK cycle unless its extended by the previous bus
transfer.
Data That might require several HCLK cycles. Use the HREADY signal to
control the number of clock cycles required to complete the transfer.
HWRITE controls the direction of data transfer to or from the master. Therefore, when:
• HWRITE is HIGH, it indicates a write transfer and the master broadcasts data on
the write data bus, HWDATA[31:0]
• HWRITE is LOW, a read transfer is performed and the slave must generate the
data on the read data bus, HRDATA[31:0].
The simplest transfer is one with no wait states, so the transfer consists of one address
cycle and one data cycle. Figure 3-1 shows a simple read transfer and Figure 3-2 shows
a simple write transfer.
$GGUHVVSKDVH 'DWDSKDVH
+&/.
+$''5>@ $ %
+:5,7(
+5'$7$>@ 'DWD$
+5($'<
Figure 3-1 Read transfer
+&/.
+$''5>@ $ %
+:5,7(
+:'$7$>@ 'DWD$
+5($'<
Figure 3-2 Write transfer
Transfers
In a simple transfer with no wait states:
1. The master drives the address and control signals onto the bus after the rising edge
of HCLK.
2. The slave then samples the address and control information on the next rising
edge of HCLK.
3. After the slave has sampled the address and control it can start to drive the
appropriate HREADY response. This response is sampled by the master on the
third rising edge of HCLK.
This simple example demonstrates how the address and data phases of the transfer occur
during different clock cycles. The address phase of any transfer occurs during the data
phase of the previous transfer. This overlapping of address and data is fundamental to
the pipelined nature of the bus and enables high performance operation while still
providing adequate time for a slave to provide the response to a transfer.
A slave can insert wait states into any transfer to enable additional time for completion.
Figure 3-3 shows a read transfer with two wait states.
+&/.
+$''5>@ $ %
+:5,7(
+5'$7$>@ 'DWD$
+5($'<
Figure 3-3 Read transfer with wait states
Figure 3-4 shows a write transfer with one wait state.
+&/.
+$''5>@ $ %
+:5,7(
+:'$7$>@ 'DWD$
+5($'<
Figure 3-4 Write transfer with wait state
Transfers
Note
For write operations the master holds the data stable throughout the extended cycles.
For read transfers the slave does not have to provide valid data until the transfer is about
to complete.
When a transfer is extended in this way it has the side-effect of extending the address
phase of the next transfer. Figure 3-5 shows three transfers to unrelated addresses, A, B,
and C with an extended address phase for address C.
7 7 7 7 7 7
+&/.
+$''5>@ $ % &
+:5,7( :ULWH$ 5HDG% :ULWH&
+5'$7$>@ 'DWD%
+5($'<
+:'$7$>@ 'DWD$ 'DWD&
Figure 3-5 Multiple transfers
In Figure 3-5:
• the transfers to addresses A and C are zero wait state
• the transfer to address B is one wait state
• extending the data phase of the transfer to address B has the effect of extending
the address phase of the transfer to address C.
Transfers
3.2 Transfer types

Transfers can be classified into one of four types, as controlled by HTRANS[1:0].
Table 3-1 lists these.
Table 3-1 Transfer type encoding
HTRANS[1:0] Type Description
b00 IDLE Indicates that no data transfer is required. A master uses an IDLE transfer when it does
not want to perform a data transfer. It is recommended that the master terminates a locked
transfer with an IDLE transfer.
Slaves must always provide a zero wait state OKAY response to IDLE transfers and the
transfer must be ignored by the slave.
b01 BUSY The BUSY transfer type enables masters to insert idle cycles in the middle of a burst. This
transfer type indicates that the master is continuing with a burst but the next transfer
cannot take place immediately.
When a master uses the BUSY transfer type the address and control signals must reflect
the next transfer in the burst.
Only undefined length bursts can have a BUSY transfer as the last cycle of a burst. See
Burst termination after a BUSY transfer on page 3-10 for more information.
Slaves must always provide a zero wait state OKAY response to BUSY transfers and the
transfer must be ignored by the slave.
b10 NONSEQ Indicates a single transfer or the first transfer of a burst.

The address and control signals are unrelated to the previous transfer.
Single transfers on the bus are treated as bursts of length one and therefore the transfer
type is NONSEQUENTIAL.
b11 SEQ The remaining transfers in a burst are SEQUENTIAL and the address is related to the
previous transfer.
The control information is identical to the previous transfer.
The address is equal to the address of the previous transfer plus the transfer size, in bytes,
with the transfer size being signaled by the HSIZE[2:0] signals. In the case of a wrapping
burst the address of the transfer wraps at the address boundary.
Figure 3-6 on page 3-6 shows the use of the NONSEQ, BUSY, and SEQ transfer types.
Transfers
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
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+$''5>@ [ [ [ [ [&
+:5,7(
+%8567>@ ,1&5
+5($'<
+5'$7$>@ 'DWD[

'DWD[ 'DWD[ 'DWD[&
Figure 3-6 Transfer type examples
In Figure 3-6:
T0-T1 The 4-beat read starts with a NONSEQ transfer.
T1-T2 The master is unable to perform the second beat and inserts a BUSY
transfer to delay the start of the second beat.
The slave provides the read data for the first beat.
T2-T3 The master is now ready to start the second beat, so a SEQ transfer is
signaled. The master ignores any data that the slave provides on the read
data bus.
T3-T4 The master performs the third beat.

The slave provides the read data for the second beat.
T4-T5 The master performs the last beat.

The slave is unable to complete the transfer and uses HREADY to insert
a single wait state.
T5-T6 The slave provides the read data for the third beat.
T6-T7 The slave provides the read data for the last beat.
Transfers
3.3 Locked transfers

If the master requires locked accesses then it must also assert the HMASTLOCK
signal. This signal indicates to any slave that the current transfer sequence is indivisible
and must therefore be processed before any other transactions are processed.
Typically the locked transfer is used to maintain the integrity of a semaphore, by

ensuring that the slave does not perform other operations between the read and write
phases of a microprocessor SWP instruction.
Figure 3-7 shows the HMASTLOCK signal with a microprocessor SWP instruction.
+&/.
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+$''5>@ $ $
+:5,7( 5HDG$ :ULWH$
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+:'$7$>@ 'DWD$
Figure 3-7 Locked transfer
Note
After a locked transfer, it is recommended that the master inserts an IDLE transfer.
Most slaves have no requirement to implement HMASTLOCK because they are only
capable of performing transfers in the order they are received. Slaves that can be
accessed by more than one master, for example, a Multi-Port Memory Controller
(MPMC) must implement the HMASTLOCK signal.
Transfers
3.4 Transfer size

HSIZE[2:0] indicates the size of a data transfer. Table 3-2 lists the possible transfer
sizes.
Table 3-2 Transfer size encoding
Size
HSIZE[2] HSIZE[1] HSIZE[0] Description
(bits)
0 0 0 8 Byte
0 0 1 16 Halfword
0 1 0 32 Word
0 1 1 64 Doubleword
1 0 0 128 4-word line
1 0 1 256 8-word line
1 1 0 512 -
1 1 1 1024 -
Note
The transfer size set by HSIZE must be less than or equal to the width of the data bus.
For example, with a 32-bit data bus, HSIZE must only use the values b000, b001, or
b010.
Use HSIZE in conjunction with HBURST, to determine the address boundary for
wrapping bursts.
The HSIZE signals have exactly the same timing as the address bus. However, they
must remain constant throughout a burst transfer.
Transfers
3.5 Burst operation

Bursts of 4, 8, and 16-beats, undefined length bursts, and single transfers are defined in
this protocol. It supports incrementing and wrapping bursts:
• Incrementing bursts access sequential locations and the address of each transfer
in the burst is an increment of the previous address.
• Wrapping bursts wrap when they cross an address boundary. The address
boundary is calculated as the product of the number of beats in a burst and the size
of the transfer. The number of beats are controlled by HBURST and the transfer
size is controlled by HSIZE.
For example, a four-beat wrapping burst of word (4-byte) accesses wraps at
16-byte boundaries. Therefore, if the start address of the transfer is 0x34, then it
consists of four transfers to addresses 0x34, 0x38, 0x3C, and 0x30.
HBURST[2:0] controls the burst type. Table 3-3 lists the possible burst types.
Table 3-3 Burst signal encoding
HBURST[2:0] Type Description
b000 SINGLE Single burst
b001 INCR Incrementing burst of undefined length
b010 WRAP4 4-beat wrapping burst
b011 INCR4 4-beat incrementing burst
Masters must not attempt to start an incrementing burst that crosses a 1KB address
boundary.
Masters can perform single transfers using either:

• SINGLE burst
• undefined length burst that has a burst of length one.
Transfers
Note
The burst size indicates the number of beats in the burst and not the number of bytes
transferred. Calculate the total amount of data transferred in a burst by multiplying the
number of beats by the amount of data in each beat, as indicated by HSIZE[2:0].
All transfers in a burst must be aligned to the address boundary equal to the size of the
transfer. For example, you must align word transfers to word address boundaries
(HADDR[1:0] = b00), and halfword transfers to halfword address boundaries
(HADDR[0] = 0). The address for IDLE transfers must also be aligned, otherwise
during simulation it is likely that bus monitors could report spurious warnings.
3.5.1 Burst termination after a BUSY transfer
After a burst has started, the master uses BUSY transfers if it requires more time before
continuing with the next transfer in the burst.
During an undefined length burst, INCR, the master might insert BUSY transfers and
then decide that no more data transfers are required. Under these circumstances, it is
acceptable for the master to then perform a NONSEQ or IDLE transfer that then
effectively terminates the undefined length burst.
The protocol does not permit a master to end a burst with a BUSY transfer for fixed
length bursts of type:
• incrementing INCR4, INCR8, and INCR16
• or wrapping WRAP4, WRAP8, and WRAP16.
These fixed length burst types must terminate with a SEQ transfer.
The master is not permitted to perform a BUSY transfer immediately after a SINGLE
burst. SINGLE bursts must be followed by an IDLE transfer or a NONSEQ transfer.
3.5.2 Early burst termination
Bursts can be terminated by either:

• Slave error response
• Multi-layer interconnect termination on page 3-11.
Slave error response
If a slave provides an ERROR response then the master can cancel the remaining
transfers in the burst. However, this is not a strict requirement and it is also acceptable
for the master to continue the remaining transfers in the burst.
Transfers
If the master does not complete that burst then there is no requirement for it to rebuild
the burst when it next accesses that slave. For example, if a master only completes three
beats of an eight-beat burst then it does not have to complete the remaining five transfers
when it next accesses that slave.
Multi-layer interconnect termination
Although masters are not permitted to terminate a burst request early, slaves must be
designed to work correctly if the burst is not completed.
When a multi-layer interconnect component is used in a multi-master system then it can

terminate a burst so that another master can gain access to the slave. The slave must
terminate the burst from the original master and then respond appropriately to the new
master if this occurs.
3.5.3 Burst examples
Examples of various bursts are shown in the following sections:

• Four-beat wrapping burst, WRAP4
• Four-beat incrementing burst, INCR4 on page 3-12
• Eight-beat wrapping burst, WRAP8 on page 3-13
• Eight-beat incrementing burst, INCR8 on page 3-14
• Undefined length bursts, INCR on page 3-14.
Four-beat wrapping burst, WRAP4
Figure 3-8 on page 3-12 shows a write transfer using a four-beat wrapping burst, with a
wait state added for the first transfer.
Transfers
7 7 7 7 7 7 7
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+$''5>@ [ [& [ [
+:5,7(
+%8567>@ :5$3
+6,=(>@ :RUG
+3527>@
+5($'<
'DWD[
+:'$7$>@ 'DWD[
'DWD[& 'DWD[
Figure 3-8 Four-beat wrapping burst
Because the burst is a four-beat burst of word transfers, the address wraps at 16-byte
boundaries, and the transfer to address 0x3C is followed by a transfer to address 0x30.
Four-beat incrementing burst, INCR4
Figure 3-9 on page 3-13 shows a read transfer using a four-beat incrementing burst,
with a wait state added for the first transfer. In this case, the address does not wrap at a
16-byte boundary and the address 0x3C is followed by a transfer to address 0x40.
Transfers
7 7 7 7 7 7 7
+&/.
+75$16>@ 1216(4 6(4 6(4 6(4
+$''5>@ [ [& [ [
+:5,7(
+%8567>@ ,1&5
+6,=(>@ :RUG
+3527>@
+5($'<
'DWD[ 'DWD[
+5'$7$>@
'DWD[& 'DWD[
Figure 3-9 Four-beat incrementing burst
Eight-beat wrapping burst, WRAP8
Figure 3-10 shows a read transfer using an eight-beat wrapping burst.
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
+&/.
1216(4
+75$16>@ 6(4 6(4 6(4 6(4 6(4 6(4 6(4
+$''5>@ [ [ [& [ [ [ [& [
+:5,7(
+%8567>@ :5$3
+6,=(>@ :RUG
+3527>@
+5($'<
'DWD[ 'DWD[ 'DWD[ 'DWD[
+5'$7$>@
'DWD[ 'DWD[& 'DWD[ 'DWD[&
Figure 3-10 Eight-beat wrapping burst
Because the burst is an eight-beat burst of word transfers, the address wraps at 32-byte
boundaries, and the transfer to address 0x3C is followed by a transfer to address 0x20.
Transfers
Eight-beat incrementing burst, INCR8
Figure 3-11 shows a write transfer using an eight-beat incrementing burst.
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
+&/.
1216(4
+75$16>@ 6(4 6(4 6(4 6(4 6(4 6(4 6(4
+$''5>@ [ [ [ [$ [& [( [ [
+:5,7(
+%8567>@ ,1&5
+6,=(>@ +DOIZRUG
+3527>@
+5($'<
'DWD[ 'DWD[$ 'DWD[( 'DWD[
+:'$7$>@
'DWD[ 'DWD[ 'DWD[& 'DWD[
Figure 3-11 Eight-beat incrementing burst
This burst uses halfword transfers, therefore the addresses increase by two. Because the
burst is incrementing, the addresses continue to increment beyond the 16-byte address
boundary.
Undefined length bursts, INCR
Figure 3-12 on page 3-15 shows incrementing bursts of undefined length.
Transfers
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
+&/.
+75$16>@ 1216(4 6(4 1216(4 6(4 6(4
+$''5>@ [ [ [& [ [
+:5,7( :ULWH 5HDG
+%8567>@ ,1&5 ,1&5
+6,=(>@ +DOIZRUG :RUG
+3527>@
+5($'<
'DWD[
+:'$7$>@
'DWD[ 'DWD[& 'DWD[
+5'$7$>@
'DWD[
Figure 3-12 Undefined length bursts
Figure 3-12 shows two bursts:
• The first burst is a write consisting of two halfword transfers starting at address
0x20. These transfer addresses increment by two.
• The second burst is a read consisting of three word transfers starting at address
0x5C. These transfer addresses increment by four.
Transfers
3.6 Waited transfers

Slaves use HREADY to insert wait states if they require more time to provide or sample
the data. During a waited transfer, the master is restricted to what changes it can make
to the transfer type and address. These restrictions are described in the following
sections:
• Transfer type changes during wait states
• Address changes during wait states on page 3-19.
3.6.1 Transfer type changes during wait states
When the slave is requesting wait states, the master must not change the transfer type,
except as described in:
• IDLE transfer
• BUSY transfer, fixed length burst on page 3-17
• BUSY transfer, undefined length burst on page 3-18.
IDLE transfer
During a waited transfer, the master is permitted to change the transfer type from IDLE
to NONSEQ. When the HTRANS transfer type changes to NONSEQ the master must
keep HTRANS constant, until HREADY is HIGH.
Figure 3-13 shows a waited transfer for a SINGLE burst, with a transfer type change
from IDLE to NONSEQ.
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
+&/.
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+$''5>@ $ < = % %
+%8567>@ 6,1*/( ,1&5 ,1&5
+5($'<
+5'$7$>@ 'DWD$ 'DWD%
Figure 3-13 Waited transfer, IDLE to NONSEQ
In Figure 3-13:
T0-T1 The master initiates a SINGLE burst to address A.
T1-T2 The master inserts one IDLE transfer to address Y.
Transfers
The slave inserts a wait state with HREADY = LOW.
T2-T3 The master inserts one IDLE transfer to address Z.
T3-T4 The master changes the transfer type to NONSEQ and initiates an INCR4
transfer to address B.
T4-T6 With HREADY LOW, the master must keep HTRANS constant.
T5-T6 SINGLE burst to address A completes with HREADY HIGH and the
master starts the first beat to address B.
T6-T7 First beat of the INCR4 transfer to address B completes and the master
starts the next beat to address B+4.
BUSY transfer, fixed length burst
During a waited transfer for a fixed length burst, the master is permitted to change the
transfer type from BUSY to SEQ. When the HTRANS transfer type changes to SEQ
the master must keep HTRANS constant, until HREADY is HIGH.
Note
Because BUSY transfers must only be inserted between successive beats of a burst, this
does not apply to SINGLE bursts. Therefore this situation applies to the following burst
types:
• INCR4, INCR8, and INCR16
• WRAP4, WRAP8, and WRAP16.
Figure 3-14 shows a waited transfer in a fixed length burst, with a transfer type change
from BUSY to SEQ.
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
+&/.
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+$''5>@ [ [ [ [&
+%8567>@ ,1&5 ,1&5 ,1&5 ,1&5
+5($'<
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+5'$7$>@
'DWD[
Figure 3-14 Waited transfer, BUSY to SEQ for a fixed length burst
Transfers
In Figure 3-14 on page 3-17:
T0-T1 The master initiates the next beat of the INCR4 burst to address 0x24.
T1-T3 The master inserts a BUSY transfer to address 0x28.

The slave inserts wait states with HREADY = LOW.
T3-T4 The master changes the transfer type to SEQ and initiates the next beat of
the burst to address 0x28.
T5-T6 Beat to address 0x24 completes with HREADY HIGH.
T6-T7 Third beat of the INCR4 transfer to address 0x28 completes and the
master starts the final beat to address 0x2C.
BUSY transfer, undefined length burst
During a waited transfer for an undefined length burst, INCR, the master is permitted to
change from BUSY to any other transfer type, when HREADY is LOW. The burst
continues if a SEQ transfer is performed but terminates if an IDLE or NONSEQ transfer
is performed.
Figure 3-15 shows a waited transfer during an undefined length burst, with a transfer
type change from BUSY to NONSEQ.
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
+&/.
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+$''5>@ [ [ [ [
+%8567>@ ,1&5 ,1&5 ,1&5 ,1&5
+5($'<
'DWD[
+5'$7$>@
'DWD[
Figure 3-15 Waited transfer, BUSY to NONSEQ for an undefined length burst
In Figure 3-15:
T0-T1 The master initiates the next beat of the INCR burst to address 0x64.
T1-T3 The master inserts a BUSY transfer to address 0x68.
Transfers
The slave inserts wait states with HREADY = LOW.
T3-T4 The master changes the transfer type to NONSEQ and initiates a new
burst to address 0x10.
T5-T6 Undefined length burst completes with HREADY HIGH and the master
starts the first beat to address 0x10.
T6-T7 First beat of the INCR4 transfer to address 0x10 completes and the master
starts the next beat to address 0x14.
3.6.2 Address changes during wait states
When the slave is requesting wait states, the master can only change the address once,
except as described in:
• During an IDLE transfer
• After an ERROR response on page 3-20.
During an IDLE transfer
During a waited transfer, the master is permitted to change the address for IDLE
transfers. When the HTRANS transfer type changes to NONSEQ the master must keep
the address constant, until HREADY is HIGH.
Figure 3-16 shows a waited transfer for a SINGLE burst, with the address changing
during the IDLE transfers.
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
+&/.
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+$''5>@ $ < = % %
+%8567>@ 6,1*/( ,1&5 ,1&5
+5($'<
+5'$7$>@ 'DWD$ 'DWD%
Figure 3-16 Address changes during a waited transfer, with an IDLE transfer
In Figure 3-16:
T0-T1 The master initiates a SINGLE burst to address A.
Transfers
T1-T2 The master inserts one IDLE transfer to address Y.

The slave inserts a wait state with HREADY = LOW.
T2-T3 The master inserts one IDLE transfer to address Z.
T3-T4 The master changes the transfer type to NONSEQ and initiates an INCR4
transfer to address B. Until HREADY goes HIGH, no more address
changes are permitted.
T5-T6 SINGLE burst to address A completes with HREADY HIGH and the
master starts the first beat to address B.
T6-T7 First beat of the INCR4 transfer to address B completes and the master
starts the next beat to address B+4.
After an ERROR response
During a waited transfer, if the slave responds with an ERROR response then the master
is permitted to change the address when HREADY is LOW. See ERROR response on
page 5-3 for more information about the ERROR response.
Figure 3-17 shows a waited transfer, with the address changing following an ERROR
response from the slave.
7 7 7 7 7 7 7
+&/.
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+$''5>@ [ [ [&
+%8567>@ ,1&5 ,1&5
+5($'<
+5(63 2.$< 2.$< 2.$< (5525 (5525 2.$<
Figure 3-17 Address changes during a waited transfer, after an ERROR
In Figure 3-17:
T0-T1 The master initiates the next beat of the burst to address 0x24.
T1-T3 The master initiates the next beat of the burst to address 0x28.
The slave responds with OKAY.
T3-T4 The slave responds with ERROR.
Transfers
T4-T5 The master changes the transfer type to IDLE and is permitted to change
the address while HREADY is LOW.
The slave completes the ERROR response.
T5-T6 The slave at address 0xC0 responds with OKAY.
Transfers
3.7 Protection control

The protection control signals, HPROT[3:0], provide additional information about a
bus access and are primarily intended for use by any module that implements some level
of protection.
The signals indicate if the transfer is:

• an opcode fetch or data access
• a privileged mode access or user mode access.
For masters with a memory management unit these signals also indicate if the current
access is cacheable or bufferable. Table 3-4 lists the HPROT signal encoding.
Table 3-4 Protection signal encoding
HPROT[3] HPROT[2] HPROT[1] HPROT[0]

Description
Cacheable Bufferable Privileged Data/Opcode
- - - 0 Opcode fetch
- - - 1 Data access
- - 0 - User access
- - 1 - Privileged access
- 0 - - Non-bufferable
- 1 - - Bufferable
0 - - - Non-cacheable
1 - - - Cacheable
Note
Many masters are not capable of generating accurate protection information. If a master
is not capable of generating accurate protection information, ARM Limited
recommends that:
• the master sets HPROT to b0011 to correspond to a non-cacheable,

non-bufferable, privileged, data access
• slaves do not use HPROT unless absolutely necessary.
The HPROT control signals have exactly the same timing as the address bus. However,
they must remain constant throughout a burst transfer.
Chapter 4
Bus Interconnection
This chapter describes the additional interconnect logic required for AHB-Lite systems.
It contains the following sections:
• Address decoding on page 4-2
• Bus interconnection on page 4-3.
Bus Interconnection
4.1 Address decoding

A central address decoder provides a select signal, HSELx, for each slave on the bus.
The select signal is a combinatorial decode of the high-order address signals. Simple
address decoding schemes are encouraged to avoid complex decode logic and to ensure
high-speed operation.
A slave must only sample the HSELx, address, and control signals when HREADY is
HIGH, indicating that the current transfer is completing. Under certain circumstances it
is possible that HSELx is asserted when HREADY is LOW, but the selected slave has
changed by the time the current transfer completes.
The minimum address space that can be allocated to a single slave is 1KB. All masters
are designed so that they do not perform incrementing transfers over a 1KB address
boundary. This ensures that a burst never crosses an address decode boundary.
Figure 4-1 shows the HSELx slave select signals generated by the decoder.
+$''5>@
6ODYH
+6(/B6
0DVWHU 6ODYH
'HFRGHU +6(/B6
+6(/B6
6ODYH
Figure 4-1 Slave select signals
4.1.1 Default slave
If a system design does not contain a completely filled memory map then you must
implement an additional default slave to provide a response when any of the nonexistent
address locations are accessed.
If a NONSEQUENTIAL or SEQUENTIAL transfer is attempted to a nonexistent

address location then the default slave provides an ERROR response.
IDLE or BUSY transfers to nonexistent locations result in a zero wait state OKAY
response.
Bus Interconnection
4.2 Bus interconnection

The AHB-Lite protocol is used with a central read data multiplexor interconnection
scheme. The master drives out the address and control signals to all the slaves, with the
decoder selecting the appropriate slave. Any response data from the selected slave,
passes through the read data multiplexor to the master.
Figure 4-2 shows the multiplexor interconnection structure required to implement an

AHB-Lite design with three slaves.
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; +5'$7$B
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; +5'$7$B
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= +5($'<287B +5($'<,1
; +5'$7$B
+5($'< = < +5(63B 6ODYH
= +5($'<287B +5($'<,1
Figure 4-2 Multiplexor interconnection
Bus Interconnection
Chapter 5
Slave Response Signaling
This chapter describes the slave response signaling. It contains the following section:
• Slave transfer responses on page 5-2.
5.1 Slave transfer responses

After a master has started a transfer, the slave controls how the transfer progresses. A
master cannot cancel a transfer after it has commenced.
A slave must provide a response that indicates the status of the transfer when it is
accessed. The transfer status is provided by the HRESP signal. Table 5-1 lists the
HRESP states.
Table 5-1 HRESP signal
HRESP Response Description
0 OKAY The transfer has either completed successfully or additional cycles are required for the slave
to complete the request.
The HREADY signal indicates whether the transfer is pending or complete.
1 ERROR An error has occurred during the transfer. The error condition must be signaled to the master
so that it is aware the transfer has been unsuccessful.
A two-cycle response is required for an error condition with HREADY being asserted in the
second cycle.
Table 5-1 shows that the complete transfer response is a combination of the HRESP and
HREADY signals. Table 5-2 lists the complete transfer response based on the status of
these two signals.
Table 5-2 Transfer response
HREADY
HRESP 0 1
0 Transfer pending Successful transfer completed
1 ERROR response, first cycle ERROR response, second cycle
This means the slave can complete the transfer in the following three ways:
• immediately complete the transfer
• insert one or more wait states to enable time to complete the transfer
• signal an error to indicate that the transfer has failed.
These three slave transfer responses are described in:

• Transfer done on page 5-3
• Transfer pending on page 5-3
• ERROR response on page 5-3.
5.1.1 Transfer done
A successful completed transfer is signaled when HREADY is HIGH and HRESP is

OKAY.
5.1.2 Transfer pending
A typical slave uses HREADY to insert the appropriate number of wait states into the
data phase of the transfer. The transfer then completes with HREADY HIGH and an
OKAY response to indicate the successful completion of the transfer.
When a slave inserts a number of wait states prior to completing the response, it must
drive HRESP to OKAY.
Note
In general, every slave must have a predetermined maximum number of wait states that
it inserts before it backs off the bus. This enables you to calculate the latency for
accessing the bus.
It is recommended that slaves do not insert more than 16 wait states, to prevent any
single access locking the bus for a large number of clock cycles. However, this
recommendation is not applicable to some devices, for example, a serial boot ROM.
This type of device is usually only accessed during system startup and the impact on
system performance is negligible if greater than 16 wait states are used.
5.1.3 ERROR response
A slave uses the ERROR response to indicate some form of error condition with the
associated transfer. Usually this denotes a protection error such as an attempt to write
to a read-only memory location.
Although an OKAY response can be given in a single cycle, the ERROR response
requires two cycles. To start the ERROR response, the slave drives HRESP HIGH to
indicate ERROR while driving HREADY LOW to extend the transfer for one extra
cycle. In the next cycle HREADY is driven HIGH to end the transfer and HRESP
remains driven HIGH to indicate ERROR.
The two-cycle response is required because of the pipelined nature of the bus. By the
time a slave starts to issue an ERROR response then the address for the following
transfer has already been broadcast onto the bus. The two-cycle response provides
sufficient time for the master to cancel this next access and drive HTRANS[1:0] to
IDLE before the start of the next transfer.
If the slave requires more than two cycles to provide the ERROR response then
additional wait states can be inserted at the start of the transfer. During this time
HREADY is LOW and the response must be set to OKAY.
Figure 5-1 shows a transfer with an ERROR response.
7 7 7 7 7 7
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Figure 5-1 ERROR response
In Figure 5-1:
T1-T2 The slave inserts a wait state and provides an OKAY response.
T2-T3 The slave issues an ERROR response. This is the first cycle of the
ERROR response because HREADY is LOW.
T3-T4 The slave issues an ERROR response. This is the last cycle of the ERROR
response because HREADY is now HIGH.
The master changes the transfer type to IDLE. This cancels the intended
transaction to address B, that was registered by a slave at time T2.
T4-T5 Slave responds with an OKAY response.
If a slave provides an ERROR response then the master can cancel the remaining
transfers in the burst. However, this is not a strict requirement and it is also acceptable
for the master to continue the remaining transfers in the burst.
Chapter 6
Data Buses
This chapter describes the AHB-Lite data buses. It contains the following sections:
• Data buses on page 6-2
• Data bus width on page 6-5.
Data Buses
6.1 Data buses

Separate read and write data buses are required to implement an AHB-Lite system
without using tristate drivers. Although the recommended minimum data bus width is
specified as 32 bits, you can change this as described in Data bus width on page 6-5.
The data buses are described in:
• HWDATA
• HRDATA
• Endianness on page 6-3.
6.1.1 HWDATA
The master drives the write data bus during write transfers. If the transfer is extended
then the master must hold the data valid until the transfer completes, as indicated by
HREADY HIGH.
For transfers that are narrower than the width of the bus, for example a 16-bit transfer
on a 32-bit bus, the master only has to drive the appropriate byte lanes. The slave selects
the write data from the correct byte lanes.
Table 6-1 on page 6-3 and Table 6-2 on page 6-3 list which byte lanes on a 32-bit bus,
are active for a little-endian and big-endian system respectively.
The active byte lane is dependent on the endianness of the system. Because AHB-Lite
does not specify the required endianness, it is important that all masters and slaves on
the bus use the same endianness.
6.1.2 HRDATA
The appropriate slave drives the read data bus during read transfers. If the slave extends
the read transfer by holding HREADY LOW then the slave only has to provide valid
data in the final cycle of the transfer, as indicated by HREADY HIGH.
For transfers that are narrower than the width of the bus, the slave only requires to
provide valid data on the active byte lanes. The master selects the data from the correct
byte lanes.
A slave only has to provide valid data when a transfer completes with an OKAY
response. ERROR responses do not require valid read data.
Data Buses
Table 6-1 lists the byte lanes on a 32-bit bus that are active in a little-endian system.
Table 6-1 Active byte lanes for a 32-bit little-endian data bus
Transfer size Address offset DATA[31:24] DATA[23:16] DATA[15:8] DATA[7:0]
Word 0 Active Active Active Active
Halfword 0 - - Active Active
Halfword 2 Active Active - -
Byte 0 - - - Active
Byte 1 - - Active -
Byte 2 - Active - -
Byte 3 Active - - -
Table 6-2 lists the byte lanes on a 32-bit bus that are active in a big-endian system.
Table 6-2 Active byte lanes for a 32-bit big-endian data bus
Transfer size Address offset DATA[31:24] DATA[23:16] DATA[15:8] DATA[7:0]
Word 0 Active Active Active Active
Halfword 0 Active Active - -
Halfword 2 - - Active Active
Byte 0 Active - - -
Byte 1 - Active - -
Byte 2 - - Active -
Byte 3 - - - Active
If required, you can extend the 32-bit data bus listed in Table 6-1 and Table 6-2 for
wider data bus implementations. Burst transfers that have a transfer size less than the
width of the data bus have different active byte lanes for each beat of the burst.
6.1.3 Endianness
It is essential that all modules are of the same endianness and also that any data routing
or bridges are of the same endianness for the system to function correctly.
Data Buses
Dynamic endianness is not supported, because in the majority of embedded systems,

this leads to a significant redundant silicon overhead.
It is recommended that only modules designed for use in a wide variety of applications
are made bi-endian, with either a configuration pin or internal control bit to select the
endianness. For more application-specific blocks, fixing the endianness to either
little-endian or big-endian results in a smaller, lower power, higher performance
interface.
Data Buses
6.2 Data bus width

One method to improve bus bandwidth without increasing the frequency of operation is
to make the data path of the on-chip bus wider. The increased layers of metal and the
use of large on-chip memory blocks such as embedded DRAM are driving factors that
encourage the use of wider on-chip buses.
Specifying a fixed width of bus means that, in many cases, the width of the bus is not
optimal for the application. Therefore an approach has been adopted that enables
flexibility of the width of bus but still ensures that modules are highly portable between
designs.
The protocol allows the AHB-Lite data bus to be 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, or
1024-bits wide. However, it is recommended that you use a minimum bus width of 32
bits. A maximum bus width of 256 bits is adequate for almost all applications.
For read and write transfers, the receiving module must select the data from the correct
byte lane on the bus. Replication of data across all byte lanes is not required.
The following sections describe:

• Implementing a narrow slave on a wide bus
• Implementing a wide slave on a narrow bus on page 6-6
• Implementing a master on a wide bus on page 6-6.
6.2.1 Implementing a narrow slave on a wide bus
Figure 6-1 shows how a slave module that has been originally designed to operate with
a 32-bit data bus can be converted to operate on a 64-bit bus. This only requires the
addition of external logic, rather than any internal design changes, the technique is
therefore applicable to hard macrocells.
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Figure 6-1 Narrow slave on a wide bus
Data Buses
For the output, when converting a narrow bus to a wider bus, do one of the following:
• replicate the data on both halves of the wide bus as Figure 6-1 on page 6-5 shows
• use additional logic to ensure that only the appropriate half of the bus is changed.
This results in a reduction of power consumption.
A slave can only accept transfers that are as wide as its natural interface. If a master
attempts a transfer that is wider than the slave can support then the slave can use the
ERROR transfer response.
6.2.2 Implementing a wide slave on a narrow bus
You can adapt predesigned or imported slaves to work with a narrower data bus by using
external logic. Figure 6-2 shows a wide slave being implemented on a narrow bus.
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Figure 6-2 Wide slave on a narrow bus
6.2.3 Implementing a master on a wide bus
You can modify masters to work on a wider bus than originally intended in the same
way that the slave is modified to work on a wider bus. Do this by:
• multiplexing the input bus
• replicating the output bus.
Note
You cannot make masters work on a narrower bus than originally intended unless you
include some mechanism in the master to limit the width of transfers that the master
attempts. The master must never attempt a transfer where the width, as indicated by
HSIZE, is wider than the data bus that it connects to.
Chapter 7
Clock and Reset
This chapter describes the timing of the protocol clock and reset signals. It contains the
following section:
• Clock and reset requirements on page 7-2.
Clock and Reset
7.1 Clock and reset requirements

This section describes the requirements for implementing the HCLK and HRESETn
signals.
7.1.1 Clock
Each AHB-Lite component uses a single clock signal, HCLK. All input signals are
sampled on the rising edge of HCLK. All output signal changes must occur after the
rising edge of HCLK.
7.1.2 Reset
The reset signal, HRESETn, is the only active LOW signal in the AHB-Lite protocol
and is the primary reset for all bus elements. The reset can be asserted asynchronously,
but is deasserted synchronously after the rising edge of HCLK.
During reset all masters must ensure the address and control signals are at valid levels
and that HTRANS[1:0] indicates IDLE.
During reset all slaves must ensure that HREADYOUT is HIGH.
Glossary
This glossary describes some of the terms used in technical documents from ARM
Limited.
Advanced eXtensible Interface (AXI)

A bus protocol that supports separate address/control and data phases, unaligned data
transfers using byte strobes, burst-based transactions with only start address issued,
separate read and write data channels to enable low-cost DMA, ability to issue multiple
outstanding addresses, out-of-order transaction completion, and easy addition of
register stages to provide timing closure.The AXI protocol also includes optional
extensions to cover signaling for low-power operation.
AXI is targeted at high performance, high clock frequency system designs and includes
a number of features that make it very suitable for high speed sub-micron interconnect.
Advanced High-performance Bus (AHB)
A bus protocol with a fixed pipeline between address/control and data phases. It only
supports a subset of the functionality provided by the AMBA AXI protocol. The full
AMBA AHB protocol specification includes a number of features that are not
commonly required for master and slave IP developments and it is recommended that
only a subset of the protocol is used. This subset is defined as the AMBA AHB-Lite
protocol.
See also Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture and AHB-Lite.
ARM IHI 0033A Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. Glossary-1
Glossary
Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture (AMBA)

A family of protocol specifications that describe a strategy for the interconnect. AMBA
is the ARM open standard for on-chip buses. It is an on-chip bus specification that
details a strategy for the interconnection and management of functional blocks that
make up a System-on-Chip (SoC). It aids in the development of embedded processors
with one or more CPUs or signal processors and multiple peripherals. AMBA
complements a reusable design methodology by defining a common backbone for SoC
modules.
Advanced Peripheral Bus (APB)
A simpler bus protocol than AXI and AHB. It is designed for use with ancillary or
general-purpose peripherals such as timers, interrupt controllers, UARTs, and I/O ports.
Connection to the main system bus is through a system-to-peripheral bus bridge that
helps to reduce system power consumption.
AHB See Advanced High-performance Bus.
AHB-Lite A subset of the full AMBA AHB protocol specification. It provides all of the basic
functions required by the majority of AMBA AHB slave and master designs,
particularly when used with a multi-layer AMBA interconnect. In most cases, the extra
facilities provided by a full AMBA AHB interface are implemented more efficiently by
using an AMBA AXI protocol interface.
Aligned A data item stored at an address that is divisible by the number of bytes that defines the
data size is said to be aligned. Aligned words and halfwords have addresses that are
divisible by four and two respectively. The terms word-aligned and halfword-aligned
therefore stipulate addresses that are divisible by four and two respectively.
AMBA See Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture.
APB See Advanced Peripheral Bus.
AXI See Advanced eXtensible Interface.
Beat Alternative word for an individual transfer in a burst. For example, an INCR4 burst
comprises four beats.
See also Burst.

Big-endian Byte ordering scheme in which bytes of decreasing significance in a data word are
stored at increasing addresses in memory.
See also Little-endian and Endianness.

Burst A group of transfers to consecutive addresses. Bursts over AMBA are controlled using
signals to indicate the length of the burst and how the addresses are incremented.
See also Beat.
Glossary-2 Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. ARM IHI 0033A
Glossary
Byte An 8-bit data item.

Direct Memory Access (DMA)
An operation that accesses main memory directly, without the processor performing any
accesses to the data concerned.
DMA See Direct Memory Access.
Doubleword A 64-bit data item. The contents are taken as being an unsigned integer unless otherwise
stated.
Endianness Byte ordering. The scheme that determines the order that successive bytes of a data
word are stored in memory. An aspect of the system’s memory mapping.
See also Little-endian and Big-endian.

Halfword A 16-bit data item.
Little-endian Byte ordering scheme in which bytes of increasing significance in a data word are stored
at increasing addresses in memory.
See also Big-endian and Endianness.

Multi-master AHB Typically a shared, not multi-layer, AHB interconnect scheme. More than one master
connects to a single AMBA AHB link. In this case, the bus is implemented with a set of
full AMBA AHB master interfaces. Masters that use the AMBA AHB-Lite protocol
must connect through a wrapper to supply full AMBA AHB master signals to support
multi-master operation.
Processor A processor is the circuitry in a computer system required to process data using the
computer instructions. It is an abbreviation of microprocessor. A clock source, power
supplies, and main memory are also required to create a minimum complete working
computer system.
Unaligned A data item stored at an address that is not divisible by the number of bytes that defines
the data size is said to be unaligned. For example, a word stored at an address that is not
divisible by four.
Word A 32-bit data item.
ARM IHI 0033A Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. Glossary-3
Glossary
Glossary-4 Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. ARM IHI 0033A

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AMBA 3 AHB-Lite Protocol

Copyright © 2001, 2006 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2001, 2006, 2010 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Date Issue Confidentiality Change

06 June 2006 A Non-Confidential First release for v1.0

ARM AMBA Specification Licence

“LICENSEE” means You and your Subsidiaries.

4. THE RELEVANT AMBA SPECIFICATION IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITH NO WARRANTIES

ARM contract references: LEC-PRE-00490-V4.0 ARM AMBA Specification Licence.

The information in this document is final, that is for a developed product.

Chapter 2 Signal Descriptions

3.6 Waited transfers ....................................................................................... 3-16

Chapter 4 Bus Interconnection

Chapter 5 Slave Response Signaling

Chapter 6 Data Buses

Chapter 7 Clock and Reset

Change history .............................................................................................................. ii

Key to timing diagram conventions ............................................................................ xiv

Figure 4-2 Multiplexor interconnection ....................................................................................... 4-3

This preface introduces the Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture (AMBA) 3

About this book

Using this specification

This specification is organized into the following chapters:

Chapter 2 Signal Descriptions

Chapter 4 Bus Interconnection

Chapter 5 Slave Response Signaling

Chapter 6 Data Buses

Chapter 7 Clock and Reset

This section describes the conventions that this specification uses:

The typographical conventions are:

italic Highlights important notes, introduces special terminology,

bold Highlights interface elements, such as menu names. Denotes

monospace Denotes a permitted abbreviation for a command or option. You

monospace italic Denotes arguments to monospace text where the argument is to be

Key to timing diagram conventions

The signal conventions are:

Lower-case n Denotes an active-LOW signal.

Prefix H Denotes Advanced High-performance Bus (AHB) signals.

Prefix P Denotes Advanced Peripheral Bus (APB) signals.

This section lists publications by ARM Limited, and by third parties.

Feedback on the protocol

Feedback on this specification

1.1 About the protocol

AHB-Lite implements the features required for high-performance, high clock

Figure 1-1 AHB-Lite block diagram

The main component types of an AHB-Lite system are described in:

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Figure 1-2 Master interface

Figure 1-3 on page 1-4 shows an AHB-Lite slave interface.

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Figure 1-3 Slave interface

A single centralized multiplexor is required in all AHB-Lite implementations that use

Every transfer consists of:

Address phase one address and control cycle

Data phase one or more cycles for the data.

The slave uses HRESP to indicate the success or failure of a transfer.

1.3 Multi-layer AHB-Lite

Figure 1-4 shows an example multi-layer AHB-Lite system.

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