Initial import of modified Linux 2.6.28 tree

Original upstream URL:
git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git | branch linux-2.6.28.y

1 files changed, 100 insertions, 0 deletions

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+Purpose:
+Demonstrate the usage of the new open sourced rbu (Remote BIOS Update) driver
+for updating BIOS images on Dell servers and desktops.
+
+Scope:
+This document discusses the functionality of the rbu driver only.
+It does not cover the support needed from applications to enable the BIOS to
+update itself with the image downloaded in to the memory.
+
+Overview:
+This driver works with Dell OpenManage or Dell Update Packages for updating
+the BIOS on Dell servers (starting from servers sold since 1999), desktops
+and notebooks (starting from those sold in 2005).
+Please go to  http://support.dell.com register and you can find info on
+OpenManage and Dell Update packages (DUP).
+Libsmbios can also be used to update BIOS on Dell systems go to
+http://linux.dell.com/libsmbios/ for details.
+
+Dell_RBU driver supports BIOS update using the monolithic image and packetized
+image methods. In case of monolithic the driver allocates a contiguous chunk
+of physical pages having the BIOS image. In case of packetized the app
+using the driver breaks the image in to packets of fixed sizes and the driver
+would place each packet in contiguous physical memory. The driver also
+maintains a link list of packets for reading them back.
+If the dell_rbu driver is unloaded all the allocated memory is freed.
+
+The rbu driver needs to have an application (as mentioned above)which will
+inform the BIOS to enable the update in the next system reboot.
+
+The user should not unload the rbu driver after downloading the BIOS image
+or updating.
+
+The driver load creates the following directories under the /sys file system.
+/sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/loading
+/sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/data
+/sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/image_type
+/sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/data
+/sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/packet_size
+
+The driver supports two types of update mechanism; monolithic and packetized.
+These update mechanism depends upon the BIOS currently running on the system.
+Most of the Dell systems support a monolithic update where the BIOS image is
+copied to a single contiguous block of physical memory.
+In case of packet mechanism the single memory can be broken in smaller chunks
+of contiguous memory and the BIOS image is scattered in these packets.
+
+By default the driver uses monolithic memory for the update type. This can be
+changed to packets during the driver load time by specifying the load
+parameter image_type=packet.  This can also be changed later as below
+echo packet > /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/image_type
+
+In packet update mode the packet size has to be given before any packets can
+be downloaded. It is done as below
+echo XXXX > /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/packet_size
+In the packet update mechanism, the user needs to create a new file having
+packets of data arranged back to back. It can be done as follows
+The user creates packets header, gets the chunk of the BIOS image and
+places it next to the packetheader; now, the packetheader + BIOS image chunk
+added together should match the specified packet_size. This makes one
+packet, the user needs to create more such packets out of the entire BIOS
+image file and then arrange all these packets back to back in to one single
+file.
+This file is then copied to /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/data.
+Once this file gets to the driver, the driver extracts packet_size data from
+the file and spreads it accross the physical memory in contiguous packet_sized
+space.
+This method makes sure that all the packets get to the driver in a single operation.
+
+In monolithic update the user simply get the BIOS image (.hdr file) and copies
+to the data file as is without any change to the BIOS image itself.
+
+Do the steps below to download the BIOS image.
+1) echo 1 > /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/loading
+2) cp bios_image.hdr /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/data
+3) echo 0 > /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/loading
+
+The /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/ entries will remain till the following is
+done.
+echo -1 > /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/loading.
+Until this step is completed the driver cannot be unloaded.
+Also echoing either mono ,packet or init in to image_type will free up the
+memory allocated by the driver.
+
+If an user by accident executes steps 1 and 3 above without executing step 2;
+it will make the /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/ entries to disappear.
+The entries can be recreated by doing the following
+echo init > /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/image_type
+NOTE: echoing init in image_type does not change it original value.
+
+Also the driver provides /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/data readonly file to
+read back the image downloaded.
+
+NOTE:
+This driver requires a patch for firmware_class.c which has the modified
+request_firmware_nowait function.
+Also after updating the BIOS image a user mode application needs to execute
+code which sends the BIOS update request to the BIOS. So on the next reboot
+the BIOS knows about the new image downloaded and it updates itself.
+Also don't unload the rbu driver if the image has to be updated.
+