The section describes the CMSIS-Zone Utility which is currently a stand-alone Eclipse implementation that allows you to:

View the memory and peripheral resources of a complete system or sub-system.
Partition memory blocks into smaller regions and define access permissions for these regions.
Define access permissions for peripherals.
Configure access rights of peripheral slots (for example for DMA channels or I/O pins).
Split memory and peripheral resources into zones (used for sub-projects or process separation in RTOS systems).
Generate configuration files for tool and hardware setup, as well as
Generate resource files for sub-systems that allow further partitioning.

This section describes:

Installation shows how to install the utility.
User Interface introduces the GUI of the CMSIS-Zone Utility.
Interactive Mode explains how to create projects and zones using the GUI.
Command Line Mode demonstrates how to work with the command line interface.
Examples contains ready-to-use projects for various devices.

Note: It is assumed that you are familiar with Eclipse and Open-CMSIS-Packs . The relevant device family packs for your target device need to be installed on your computer.

Installation

The CMSIS-Zone utility is part of the CMSIS-Pack Eclipse Plug-ins.

Follow the instructions on the release page to install the tool.

User Interface

The CMSIS-Zone Utility user interface offers menus, toolbars, dialog boxes, and windows to manage the various aspects of your project.

The utility's GUI provides menus for selecting commands and toolbar buttons in the Zone Editor window:

CMSIS-Zone Interface

Project Explorer

Projects that are currently available in the Eclipse workspace are shown in the Project Explorer. When creating a new project, you will first find the .rzone and the .azone files here. Later, generator files and generated files are shown as well:

Project Explorer window showing a complex project

In the Project Explorer window, you manage the project files. The following files are shown:

File name	Description
`project.azone`	Project-level .azone file
`project.rzone`	Project-level .rzone file
`zone.azone`	Zone-level .azone file
`zone.rzone`	Zone-level .rzone file
`*.ftl`	Freemarker template file used to generate output
`helper.ftlinc`	Helper file to generate Freemarker output
`.sct`, `partition_.h`	Generated output files

Zone Editor

The Zone Editor shows .azone files in two different views: Resource map and Zone map.

The Resource map shows all resources available to that system or sub-system. By default, it shows the selected device, as well as lists of memories and peripherals:

Resource map

The Zone map shows the same resources, but mapped to zones that have been created for the device:

Zone map

Resources assigned to a zone are marked with colors:

Color	Meaning
Green	Resource is assigned to one zone
Amber	Resource is assigned to multiple zones

Toolbar Buttons

The Zone Editor window contains toolbar buttons that offer direct access to functionality of the utility:

CMSIS-Zone toolbar

Button	Description
Tree View	Shows the resources as a tree
List View	Shows the resources as a simple list
Arrange memory regions	Arranges memory regions according to their sizes
Add new zone	Adds a new zone to the zone map
Generate	Generates CMSIS-Zone output files