1 The Linux RapidIO Subsystem
3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5 The RapidIO standard is a packet-based fabric interconnect standard designed for
6 use in embedded systems. Development of the RapidIO standard is directed by the
7 RapidIO Trade Association (RTA). The current version of the RapidIO specification
8 is publicly available for download from the RTA web-site [1].
10 This document describes the basics of the Linux RapidIO subsystem and provides
11 information on its major components.
16 Because the RapidIO subsystem follows the Linux device model it is integrated
17 into the kernel similarly to other buses by defining RapidIO-specific device and
18 bus types and registering them within the device model.
20 The Linux RapidIO subsystem is architecture independent and therefore defines
21 architecture-specific interfaces that provide support for common RapidIO
27 A typical RapidIO network is a combination of endpoints and switches.
28 Each of these components is represented in the subsystem by an associated data
29 structure. The core logical components of the RapidIO subsystem are defined
30 in include/linux/rio.h file.
34 A master port (or mport) is a RapidIO interface controller that is local to the
35 processor executing the Linux code. A master port generates and receives RapidIO
36 packets (transactions). In the RapidIO subsystem each master port is represented
37 by a rio_mport data structure. This structure contains master port specific
38 resources such as mailboxes and doorbells. The rio_mport also includes a unique
39 host device ID that is valid when a master port is configured as an enumerating
42 RapidIO master ports are serviced by subsystem specific mport device drivers
43 that provide functionality defined for this subsystem. To provide a hardware
44 independent interface for RapidIO subsystem operations, rio_mport structure
45 includes rio_ops data structure which contains pointers to hardware specific
46 implementations of RapidIO functions.
50 A RapidIO device is any endpoint (other than mport) or switch in the network.
51 All devices are presented in the RapidIO subsystem by corresponding rio_dev data
52 structure. Devices form one global device list and per-network device lists
53 (depending on number of available mports and networks).
57 A RapidIO switch is a special class of device that routes packets between its
58 ports towards their final destination. The packet destination port within a
59 switch is defined by an internal routing table. A switch is presented in the
60 RapidIO subsystem by rio_dev data structure expanded by additional rio_switch
61 data structure, which contains switch specific information such as copy of the
62 routing table and pointers to switch specific functions.
64 The RapidIO subsystem defines the format and initialization method for subsystem
65 specific switch drivers that are designed to provide hardware-specific
66 implementation of common switch management routines.
70 A RapidIO network is a combination of interconnected endpoint and switch devices.
71 Each RapidIO network known to the system is represented by corresponding rio_net
72 data structure. This structure includes lists of all devices and local master
73 ports that form the same network. It also contains a pointer to the default
74 master port that is used to communicate with devices within the network.
78 RapidIO device-specific drivers follow Linux Kernel Driver Model and are
79 intended to support specific RapidIO devices attached to the RapidIO network.
81 2.6 Subsystem Interfaces
83 RapidIO interconnect specification defines features that may be used to provide
84 one or more common service layers for all participating RapidIO devices. These
85 common services may act separately from device-specific drivers or be used by
86 device-specific drivers. Example of such service provider is the RIONET driver
87 which implements Ethernet-over-RapidIO interface. Because only one driver can be
88 registered for a device, all common RapidIO services have to be registered as
89 subsystem interfaces. This allows to have multiple common services attached to
90 the same device without blocking attachment of a device-specific driver.
92 3. Subsystem Initialization
93 ---------------------------
95 In order to initialize the RapidIO subsystem, a platform must initialize and
96 register at least one master port within the RapidIO network. To register mport
97 within the subsystem controller driver's initialization code calls function
98 rio_register_mport() for each available master port.
100 After all active master ports are registered with a RapidIO subsystem,
101 an enumeration and/or discovery routine may be called automatically or
102 by user-space command.
104 RapidIO subsystem can be configured to be built as a statically linked or
105 modular component of the kernel (see details below).
107 4. Enumeration and Discovery
108 ----------------------------
113 RapidIO subsystem configuration options allow users to build enumeration and
114 discovery methods as statically linked components or loadable modules.
115 An enumeration/discovery method implementation and available input parameters
116 define how any given method can be attached to available RapidIO mports:
117 simply to all available mports OR individually to the specified mport device.
119 Depending on selected enumeration/discovery build configuration, there are
120 several methods to initiate an enumeration and/or discovery process:
122 (a) Statically linked enumeration and discovery process can be started
123 automatically during kernel initialization time using corresponding module
124 parameters. This was the original method used since introduction of RapidIO
125 subsystem. Now this method relies on enumerator module parameter which is
126 'rio-scan.scan' for existing basic enumeration/discovery method.
127 When automatic start of enumeration/discovery is used a user has to ensure
128 that all discovering endpoints are started before the enumerating endpoint
129 and are waiting for enumeration to be completed.
130 Configuration option CONFIG_RAPIDIO_DISC_TIMEOUT defines time that discovering
131 endpoint waits for enumeration to be completed. If the specified timeout
132 expires the discovery process is terminated without obtaining RapidIO network
133 information. NOTE: a timed out discovery process may be restarted later using
134 a user-space command as it is described below (if the given endpoint was
135 enumerated successfully).
137 (b) Statically linked enumeration and discovery process can be started by
138 a command from user space. This initiation method provides more flexibility
139 for a system startup compared to the option (a) above. After all participating
140 endpoints have been successfully booted, an enumeration process shall be
141 started first by issuing a user-space command, after an enumeration is
142 completed a discovery process can be started on all remaining endpoints.
144 (c) Modular enumeration and discovery process can be started by a command from
145 user space. After an enumeration/discovery module is loaded, a network scan
146 process can be started by issuing a user-space command.
147 Similar to the option (b) above, an enumerator has to be started first.
149 (d) Modular enumeration and discovery process can be started by a module
150 initialization routine. In this case an enumerating module shall be loaded
153 When a network scan process is started it calls an enumeration or discovery
154 routine depending on the configured role of a master port: host or agent.
156 Enumeration is performed by a master port if it is configured as a host port by
157 assigning a host destination ID greater than or equal to zero. The host
158 destination ID can be assigned to a master port using various methods depending
159 on RapidIO subsystem build configuration:
161 (a) For a statically linked RapidIO subsystem core use command line parameter
162 "rapidio.hdid=" with a list of destination ID assignments in order of mport
163 device registration. For example, in a system with two RapidIO controllers
164 the command line parameter "rapidio.hdid=-1,7" will result in assignment of
165 the host destination ID=7 to the second RapidIO controller, while the first
166 one will be assigned destination ID=-1.
168 (b) If the RapidIO subsystem core is built as a loadable module, in addition
169 to the method shown above, the host destination ID(s) can be specified using
170 traditional methods of passing module parameter "hdid=" during its loading:
171 - from command line: "modprobe rapidio hdid=-1,7", or
172 - from modprobe configuration file using configuration command "options",
173 like in this example: "options rapidio hdid=-1,7". An example of modprobe
174 configuration file is provided in the section below.
177 (i) if "hdid=" parameter is omitted all available mport will be assigned
179 (ii) the "hdid=" parameter in systems with multiple mports can have
180 destination ID assignments omitted from the end of list (default = -1).
182 If the host device ID for a specific master port is set to -1, the discovery
183 process will be performed for it.
185 The enumeration and discovery routines use RapidIO maintenance transactions
186 to access the configuration space of devices.
188 NOTE: If RapidIO switch-specific device drivers are built as loadable modules
189 they must be loaded before enumeration/discovery process starts.
190 This requirement is cased by the fact that enumeration/discovery methods invoke
191 vendor-specific callbacks on early stages.
193 4.2 Automatic Start of Enumeration and Discovery
194 ------------------------------------------------
196 Automatic enumeration/discovery start method is applicable only to built-in
197 enumeration/discovery RapidIO configuration selection. To enable automatic
198 enumeration/discovery start by existing basic enumerator method set use boot
199 command line parameter "rio-scan.scan=1".
201 This configuration requires synchronized start of all RapidIO endpoints that
202 form a network which will be enumerated/discovered. Discovering endpoints have
203 to be started before an enumeration starts to ensure that all RapidIO
204 controllers have been initialized and are ready to be discovered. Configuration
205 parameter CONFIG_RAPIDIO_DISC_TIMEOUT defines time (in seconds) which
206 a discovering endpoint will wait for enumeration to be completed.
208 When automatic enumeration/discovery start is selected, basic method's
209 initialization routine calls rio_init_mports() to perform enumeration or
210 discovery for all known mport devices.
212 Depending on RapidIO network size and configuration this automatic
213 enumeration/discovery start method may be difficult to use due to the
214 requirement for synchronized start of all endpoints.
216 4.3 User-space Start of Enumeration and Discovery
217 -------------------------------------------------
219 User-space start of enumeration and discovery can be used with built-in and
220 modular build configurations. For user-space controlled start RapidIO subsystem
221 creates the sysfs write-only attribute file '/sys/bus/rapidio/scan'. To initiate
222 an enumeration or discovery process on specific mport device, a user needs to
223 write mport_ID (not RapidIO destination ID) into that file. The mport_ID is a
224 sequential number (0 ... RIO_MAX_MPORTS) assigned during mport device
225 registration. For example for machine with single RapidIO controller, mport_ID
226 for that controller always will be 0.
228 To initiate RapidIO enumeration/discovery on all available mports a user may
229 write '-1' (or RIO_MPORT_ANY) into the scan attribute file.
231 4.4 Basic Enumeration Method
232 ----------------------------
234 This is an original enumeration/discovery method which is available since
235 first release of RapidIO subsystem code. The enumeration process is
236 implemented according to the enumeration algorithm outlined in the RapidIO
237 Interconnect Specification: Annex I [1].
239 This method can be configured as statically linked or loadable module.
240 The method's single parameter "scan" allows to trigger the enumeration/discovery
241 process from module initialization routine.
243 This enumeration/discovery method can be started only once and does not support
244 unloading if it is built as a module.
246 The enumeration process traverses the network using a recursive depth-first
247 algorithm. When a new device is found, the enumerator takes ownership of that
248 device by writing into the Host Device ID Lock CSR. It does this to ensure that
249 the enumerator has exclusive right to enumerate the device. If device ownership
250 is successfully acquired, the enumerator allocates a new rio_dev structure and
251 initializes it according to device capabilities.
253 If the device is an endpoint, a unique device ID is assigned to it and its value
254 is written into the device's Base Device ID CSR.
256 If the device is a switch, the enumerator allocates an additional rio_switch
257 structure to store switch specific information. Then the switch's vendor ID and
258 device ID are queried against a table of known RapidIO switches. Each switch
259 table entry contains a pointer to a switch-specific initialization routine that
260 initializes pointers to the rest of switch specific operations, and performs
261 hardware initialization if necessary. A RapidIO switch does not have a unique
262 device ID; it relies on hopcount and routing for device ID of an attached
263 endpoint if access to its configuration registers is required. If a switch (or
264 chain of switches) does not have any endpoint (except enumerator) attached to
265 it, a fake device ID will be assigned to configure a route to that switch.
266 In the case of a chain of switches without endpoint, one fake device ID is used
267 to configure a route through the entire chain and switches are differentiated by
268 their hopcount value.
270 For both endpoints and switches the enumerator writes a unique component tag
271 into device's Component Tag CSR. That unique value is used by the error
272 management notification mechanism to identify a device that is reporting an
273 error management event.
275 Enumeration beyond a switch is completed by iterating over each active egress
276 port of that switch. For each active link, a route to a default device ID
277 (0xFF for 8-bit systems and 0xFFFF for 16-bit systems) is temporarily written
278 into the routing table. The algorithm recurs by calling itself with hopcount + 1
279 and the default device ID in order to access the device on the active port.
281 After the host has completed enumeration of the entire network it releases
282 devices by clearing device ID locks (calls rio_clear_locks()). For each endpoint
283 in the system, it sets the Discovered bit in the Port General Control CSR
284 to indicate that enumeration is completed and agents are allowed to execute
285 passive discovery of the network.
287 The discovery process is performed by agents and is similar to the enumeration
288 process that is described above. However, the discovery process is performed
289 without changes to the existing routing because agents only gather information
290 about RapidIO network structure and are building an internal map of discovered
291 devices. This way each Linux-based component of the RapidIO subsystem has
292 a complete view of the network. The discovery process can be performed
293 simultaneously by several agents. After initializing its RapidIO master port
294 each agent waits for enumeration completion by the host for the configured wait
295 time period. If this wait time period expires before enumeration is completed,
296 an agent skips RapidIO discovery and continues with remaining kernel
299 4.5 Adding New Enumeration/Discovery Method
300 -------------------------------------------
302 RapidIO subsystem code organization allows addition of new enumeration/discovery
303 methods as new configuration options without significant impact to the core
306 A new enumeration/discovery method has to be attached to one or more mport
307 devices before an enumeration/discovery process can be started. Normally,
308 method's module initialization routine calls rio_register_scan() to attach
309 an enumerator to a specified mport device (or devices). The basic enumerator
310 implementation demonstrates this process.
312 4.6 Using Loadable RapidIO Switch Drivers
313 -----------------------------------------
315 In the case when RapidIO switch drivers are built as loadable modules a user
316 must ensure that they are loaded before the enumeration/discovery starts.
317 This process can be automated by specifying pre- or post- dependencies in the
318 RapidIO-specific modprobe configuration file as shown in the example below.
320 File /etc/modprobe.d/rapidio.conf:
321 ----------------------------------
323 # Configure RapidIO subsystem modules
325 # Set enumerator host destination ID (overrides kernel command line option)
326 options rapidio hdid=-1,2
328 # Load RapidIO switch drivers immediately after rapidio core module was loaded
329 softdep rapidio post: idt_gen2 idtcps tsi57x
333 # Load RapidIO switch drivers just before rio-scan enumerator module is loaded
334 softdep rio-scan pre: idt_gen2 idtcps tsi57x
336 --------------------------
338 NOTE: In the example above, one of "softdep" commands must be removed or
339 commented out to keep required module loading sequence.
344 [1] RapidIO Trade Association. RapidIO Interconnect Specifications.
345 http://www.rapidio.org.
346 [2] Rapidio TA. Technology Comparisons.
347 http://www.rapidio.org/education/technology_comparisons/
348 [3] RapidIO support for Linux.
349 http://lwn.net/Articles/139118/
350 [4] Matt Porter. RapidIO for Linux. Ottawa Linux Symposium, 2005
351 http://www.kernel.org/doc/ols/2005/ols2005v2-pages-43-56.pdf