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diff --git a/Documentation/pcieaer-howto.txt b/Documentation/pcieaer-howto.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..16c2512 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/pcieaer-howto.txt @@ -0,0 +1,253 @@ + The PCI Express Advanced Error Reporting Driver Guide HOWTO + T. Long Nguyen <tom.l.nguyen@intel.com> + Yanmin Zhang <yanmin.zhang@intel.com> + 07/29/2006 + + +1. Overview + +1.1 About this guide + +This guide describes the basics of the PCI Express Advanced Error +Reporting (AER) driver and provides information on how to use it, as +well as how to enable the drivers of endpoint devices to conform with +PCI Express AER driver. + +1.2 Copyright © Intel Corporation 2006. + +1.3 What is the PCI Express AER Driver? + +PCI Express error signaling can occur on the PCI Express link itself +or on behalf of transactions initiated on the link. PCI Express +defines two error reporting paradigms: the baseline capability and +the Advanced Error Reporting capability. The baseline capability is +required of all PCI Express components providing a minimum defined +set of error reporting requirements. Advanced Error Reporting +capability is implemented with a PCI Express advanced error reporting +extended capability structure providing more robust error reporting. + +The PCI Express AER driver provides the infrastructure to support PCI +Express Advanced Error Reporting capability. The PCI Express AER +driver provides three basic functions: + +- Gathers the comprehensive error information if errors occurred. +- Reports error to the users. +- Performs error recovery actions. + +AER driver only attaches root ports which support PCI-Express AER +capability. + + +2. User Guide + +2.1 Include the PCI Express AER Root Driver into the Linux Kernel + +The PCI Express AER Root driver is a Root Port service driver attached +to the PCI Express Port Bus driver. If a user wants to use it, the driver +has to be compiled. Option CONFIG_PCIEAER supports this capability. It +depends on CONFIG_PCIEPORTBUS, so pls. set CONFIG_PCIEPORTBUS=y and +CONFIG_PCIEAER = y. + +2.2 Load PCI Express AER Root Driver +There is a case where a system has AER support in BIOS. Enabling the AER +Root driver and having AER support in BIOS may result unpredictable +behavior. To avoid this conflict, a successful load of the AER Root driver +requires ACPI _OSC support in the BIOS to allow the AER Root driver to +request for native control of AER. See the PCI FW 3.0 Specification for +details regarding OSC usage. Currently, lots of firmwares don't provide +_OSC support while they use PCI Express. To support such firmwares, +forceload, a parameter of type bool, could enable AER to continue to +be initiated although firmwares have no _OSC support. To enable the +walkaround, pls. add aerdriver.forceload=y to kernel boot parameter line +when booting kernel. Note that forceload=n by default. + +2.3 AER error output +When a PCI-E AER error is captured, an error message will be outputed to +console. If it's a correctable error, it is outputed as a warning. +Otherwise, it is printed as an error. So users could choose different +log level to filter out correctable error messages. + +Below shows an example. ++------ PCI-Express Device Error -----+ +Error Severity : Uncorrected (Fatal) +PCIE Bus Error type : Transaction Layer +Unsupported Request : First +Requester ID : 0500 +VendorID=8086h, DeviceID=0329h, Bus=05h, Device=00h, Function=00h +TLB Header: +04000001 00200a03 05010000 00050100 + +In the example, 'Requester ID' means the ID of the device who sends +the error message to root port. Pls. refer to pci express specs for +other fields. + + +3. Developer Guide + +To enable AER aware support requires a software driver to configure +the AER capability structure within its device and to provide callbacks. + +To support AER better, developers need understand how AER does work +firstly. + +PCI Express errors are classified into two types: correctable errors +and uncorrectable errors. This classification is based on the impacts +of those errors, which may result in degraded performance or function +failure. + +Correctable errors pose no impacts on the functionality of the +interface. The PCI Express protocol can recover without any software +intervention or any loss of data. These errors are detected and +corrected by hardware. Unlike correctable errors, uncorrectable +errors impact functionality of the interface. Uncorrectable errors +can cause a particular transaction or a particular PCI Express link +to be unreliable. Depending on those error conditions, uncorrectable +errors are further classified into non-fatal errors and fatal errors. +Non-fatal errors cause the particular transaction to be unreliable, +but the PCI Express link itself is fully functional. Fatal errors, on +the other hand, cause the link to be unreliable. + +When AER is enabled, a PCI Express device will automatically send an +error message to the PCIE root port above it when the device captures +an error. The Root Port, upon receiving an error reporting message, +internally processes and logs the error message in its PCI Express +capability structure. Error information being logged includes storing +the error reporting agent's requestor ID into the Error Source +Identification Registers and setting the error bits of the Root Error +Status Register accordingly. If AER error reporting is enabled in Root +Error Command Register, the Root Port generates an interrupt if an +error is detected. + +Note that the errors as described above are related to the PCI Express +hierarchy and links. These errors do not include any device specific +errors because device specific errors will still get sent directly to +the device driver. + +3.1 Configure the AER capability structure + +AER aware drivers of PCI Express component need change the device +control registers to enable AER. They also could change AER registers, +including mask and severity registers. Helper function +pci_enable_pcie_error_reporting could be used to enable AER. See +section 3.3. + +3.2. Provide callbacks + +3.2.1 callback reset_link to reset pci express link + +This callback is used to reset the pci express physical link when a +fatal error happens. The root port aer service driver provides a +default reset_link function, but different upstream ports might +have different specifications to reset pci express link, so all +upstream ports should provide their own reset_link functions. + +In struct pcie_port_service_driver, a new pointer, reset_link, is +added. + +pci_ers_result_t (*reset_link) (struct pci_dev *dev); + +Section 3.2.2.2 provides more detailed info on when to call +reset_link. + +3.2.2 PCI error-recovery callbacks + +The PCI Express AER Root driver uses error callbacks to coordinate +with downstream device drivers associated with a hierarchy in question +when performing error recovery actions. + +Data struct pci_driver has a pointer, err_handler, to point to +pci_error_handlers who consists of a couple of callback function +pointers. AER driver follows the rules defined in +pci-error-recovery.txt except pci express specific parts (e.g. +reset_link). Pls. refer to pci-error-recovery.txt for detailed +definitions of the callbacks. + +Below sections specify when to call the error callback functions. + +3.2.2.1 Correctable errors + +Correctable errors pose no impacts on the functionality of +the interface. The PCI Express protocol can recover without any +software intervention or any loss of data. These errors do not +require any recovery actions. The AER driver clears the device's +correctable error status register accordingly and logs these errors. + +3.2.2.2 Non-correctable (non-fatal and fatal) errors + +If an error message indicates a non-fatal error, performing link reset +at upstream is not required. The AER driver calls error_detected(dev, +pci_channel_io_normal) to all drivers associated within a hierarchy in +question. for example, +EndPoint<==>DownstreamPort B<==>UpstreamPort A<==>RootPort. +If Upstream port A captures an AER error, the hierarchy consists of +Downstream port B and EndPoint. + +A driver may return PCI_ERS_RESULT_CAN_RECOVER, +PCI_ERS_RESULT_DISCONNECT, or PCI_ERS_RESULT_NEED_RESET, depending on +whether it can recover or the AER driver calls mmio_enabled as next. + +If an error message indicates a fatal error, kernel will broadcast +error_detected(dev, pci_channel_io_frozen) to all drivers within +a hierarchy in question. Then, performing link reset at upstream is +necessary. As different kinds of devices might use different approaches +to reset link, AER port service driver is required to provide the +function to reset link. Firstly, kernel looks for if the upstream +component has an aer driver. If it has, kernel uses the reset_link +callback of the aer driver. If the upstream component has no aer driver +and the port is downstream port, we will use the aer driver of the +root port who reports the AER error. As for upstream ports, +they should provide their own aer service drivers with reset_link +function. If error_detected returns PCI_ERS_RESULT_CAN_RECOVER and +reset_link returns PCI_ERS_RESULT_RECOVERED, the error handling goes +to mmio_enabled. + +3.3 helper functions + +3.3.1 int pci_find_aer_capability(struct pci_dev *dev); +pci_find_aer_capability locates the PCI Express AER capability +in the device configuration space. If the device doesn't support +PCI-Express AER, the function returns 0. + +3.3.2 int pci_enable_pcie_error_reporting(struct pci_dev *dev); +pci_enable_pcie_error_reporting enables the device to send error +messages to root port when an error is detected. Note that devices +don't enable the error reporting by default, so device drivers need +call this function to enable it. + +3.3.3 int pci_disable_pcie_error_reporting(struct pci_dev *dev); +pci_disable_pcie_error_reporting disables the device to send error +messages to root port when an error is detected. + +3.3.4 int pci_cleanup_aer_uncorrect_error_status(struct pci_dev *dev); +pci_cleanup_aer_uncorrect_error_status cleanups the uncorrectable +error status register. + +3.4 Frequent Asked Questions + +Q: What happens if a PCI Express device driver does not provide an +error recovery handler (pci_driver->err_handler is equal to NULL)? + +A: The devices attached with the driver won't be recovered. If the +error is fatal, kernel will print out warning messages. Please refer +to section 3 for more information. + +Q: What happens if an upstream port service driver does not provide +callback reset_link? + +A: Fatal error recovery will fail if the errors are reported by the +upstream ports who are attached by the service driver. + +Q: How does this infrastructure deal with driver that is not PCI +Express aware? + +A: This infrastructure calls the error callback functions of the +driver when an error happens. But if the driver is not aware of +PCI Express, the device might not report its own errors to root +port. + +Q: What modifications will that driver need to make it compatible +with the PCI Express AER Root driver? + +A: It could call the helper functions to enable AER in devices and +cleanup uncorrectable status register. Pls. refer to section 3.3. + |
