1 .. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
7 This document describes SCSI midlayer error handling infrastructure.
8 Please refer to Documentation/scsi/scsi_mid_low_api.rst for more
9 information regarding SCSI midlayer.
13 [1] How SCSI commands travel through the midlayer and to EH
14 [1-1] struct scsi_cmnd
15 [1-2] How do scmd's get completed?
16 [1-2-1] Completing a scmd w/ scsi_done
17 [1-2-2] Completing a scmd w/ timeout
18 [1-3] How EH takes over
20 [2-1] EH through fine-grained callbacks
22 [2-1-2] Flow of scmds through EH
23 [2-1-3] Flow of control
24 [2-2] EH through transportt->eh_strategy_handler()
25 [2-2-1] Pre transportt->eh_strategy_handler() SCSI midlayer conditions
26 [2-2-2] Post transportt->eh_strategy_handler() SCSI midlayer conditions
27 [2-2-3] Things to consider
30 1. How SCSI commands travel through the midlayer and to EH
31 ==========================================================
36 Each SCSI command is represented with struct scsi_cmnd (== scmd). A
37 scmd has two list_head's to link itself into lists. The two are
38 scmd->list and scmd->eh_entry. The former is used for free list or
39 per-device allocated scmd list and not of much interest to this EH
40 discussion. The latter is used for completion and EH lists and unless
41 otherwise stated scmds are always linked using scmd->eh_entry in this
45 1.2 How do scmd's get completed?
46 --------------------------------
48 Once LLDD gets hold of a scmd, either the LLDD will complete the
49 command by calling scsi_done callback passed from midlayer when
50 invoking hostt->queuecommand() or the block layer will time it out.
53 1.2.1 Completing a scmd w/ scsi_done
54 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
56 For all non-EH commands, scsi_done() is the completion callback. It
57 just calls blk_complete_request() to delete the block layer timer and
60 SCSI_SOFTIRQ handler scsi_softirq calls scsi_decide_disposition() to
61 determine what to do with the command. scsi_decide_disposition()
62 looks at the scmd->result value and sense data to determine what to do
67 scsi_finish_command() is invoked for the command. The
68 function does some maintenance chores and then calls
69 scsi_io_completion() to finish the I/O.
70 scsi_io_completion() then notifies the block layer on
71 the completed request by calling blk_end_request and
72 friends or figures out what to do with the remainder
73 of the data in case of an error.
79 scmd is requeued to blk queue.
83 scsi_eh_scmd_add(scmd) is invoked for the command. See
84 [1-3] for details of this function.
87 1.2.2 Completing a scmd w/ timeout
88 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
90 The timeout handler is scsi_timeout(). When a timeout occurs, this function
92 1. invokes optional hostt->eh_timed_out() callback. Return value can
96 This indicates that more time is required to finish the
97 command. Timer is restarted.
100 eh_timed_out() callback did not handle the command.
103 2. scsi_abort_command() is invoked to schedule an asynchronous abort which may
104 issue a retry scmd->allowed + 1 times. Asynchronous aborts are not invoked
105 for commands for which the SCSI_EH_ABORT_SCHEDULED flag is set (this
106 indicates that the command already had been aborted once, and this is a
107 retry which failed), when retries are exceeded, or when the EH deadline is
108 expired. In these cases Step #3 is taken.
110 3. scsi_eh_scmd_add(scmd, SCSI_EH_CANCEL_CMD) is invoked for the
111 command. See [1-4] for more information.
113 1.3 Asynchronous command aborts
114 -------------------------------
116 After a timeout occurs a command abort is scheduled from
117 scsi_abort_command(). If the abort is successful the command
118 will either be retried (if the number of retries is not exhausted)
119 or terminated with DID_TIME_OUT.
121 Otherwise scsi_eh_scmd_add() is invoked for the command.
122 See [1-4] for more information.
124 1.4 How EH takes over
125 ---------------------
127 scmds enter EH via scsi_eh_scmd_add(), which does the following.
129 1. Links scmd->eh_entry to shost->eh_cmd_q
131 2. Sets SHOST_RECOVERY bit in shost->shost_state
133 3. Increments shost->host_failed
135 4. Wakes up SCSI EH thread if shost->host_busy == shost->host_failed
137 As can be seen above, once any scmd is added to shost->eh_cmd_q,
138 SHOST_RECOVERY shost_state bit is turned on. This prevents any new
139 scmd to be issued from blk queue to the host; eventually, all scmds on
140 the host either complete normally, fail and get added to eh_cmd_q, or
141 time out and get added to shost->eh_cmd_q.
143 If all scmds either complete or fail, the number of in-flight scmds
144 becomes equal to the number of failed scmds - i.e. shost->host_busy ==
145 shost->host_failed. This wakes up SCSI EH thread. So, once woken up,
146 SCSI EH thread can expect that all in-flight commands have failed and
147 are linked on shost->eh_cmd_q.
149 Note that this does not mean lower layers are quiescent. If a LLDD
150 completed a scmd with error status, the LLDD and lower layers are
151 assumed to forget about the scmd at that point. However, if a scmd
152 has timed out, unless hostt->eh_timed_out() made lower layers forget
153 about the scmd, which currently no LLDD does, the command is still
154 active as long as lower layers are concerned and completion could
155 occur at any time. Of course, all such completions are ignored as the
156 timer has already expired.
158 We'll talk about how SCSI EH takes actions to abort - make LLDD
159 forget about - timed out scmds later.
165 LLDD's can implement SCSI EH actions in one of the following two
168 - Fine-grained EH callbacks
169 LLDD can implement fine-grained EH callbacks and let SCSI
170 midlayer drive error handling and call appropriate callbacks.
171 This will be discussed further in [2-1].
173 - eh_strategy_handler() callback
174 This is one big callback which should perform whole error
175 handling. As such, it should do all chores the SCSI midlayer
176 performs during recovery. This will be discussed in [2-2].
178 Once recovery is complete, SCSI EH resumes normal operation by
179 calling scsi_restart_operations(), which
181 1. Checks if door locking is needed and locks door.
183 2. Clears SHOST_RECOVERY shost_state bit
185 3. Wakes up waiters on shost->host_wait. This occurs if someone
186 calls scsi_block_when_processing_errors() on the host.
187 (*QUESTION* why is it needed? All operations will be blocked
188 anyway after it reaches blk queue.)
190 4. Kicks queues in all devices on the host in the asses
193 2.1 EH through fine-grained callbacks
194 -------------------------------------
199 If eh_strategy_handler() is not present, SCSI midlayer takes charge
200 of driving error handling. EH's goals are two - make LLDD, host and
201 device forget about timed out scmds and make them ready for new
202 commands. A scmd is said to be recovered if the scmd is forgotten by
203 lower layers and lower layers are ready to process or fail the scmd
206 To achieve these goals, EH performs recovery actions with increasing
207 severity. Some actions are performed by issuing SCSI commands and
208 others are performed by invoking one of the following fine-grained
209 hostt EH callbacks. Callbacks may be omitted and omitted ones are
210 considered to fail always.
214 int (* eh_abort_handler)(struct scsi_cmnd *);
215 int (* eh_device_reset_handler)(struct scsi_cmnd *);
216 int (* eh_bus_reset_handler)(struct scsi_cmnd *);
217 int (* eh_host_reset_handler)(struct scsi_cmnd *);
219 Higher-severity actions are taken only when lower-severity actions
220 cannot recover some of failed scmds. Also, note that failure of the
221 highest-severity action means EH failure and results in offlining of
222 all unrecovered devices.
224 During recovery, the following rules are followed
226 - Recovery actions are performed on failed scmds on the to do list,
227 eh_work_q. If a recovery action succeeds for a scmd, recovered
228 scmds are removed from eh_work_q.
230 Note that single recovery action on a scmd can recover multiple
231 scmds. e.g. resetting a device recovers all failed scmds on the
234 - Higher severity actions are taken iff eh_work_q is not empty after
235 lower severity actions are complete.
237 - EH reuses failed scmds to issue commands for recovery. For
238 timed-out scmds, SCSI EH ensures that LLDD forgets about a scmd
239 before reusing it for EH commands.
241 When a scmd is recovered, the scmd is moved from eh_work_q to EH
242 local eh_done_q using scsi_eh_finish_cmd(). After all scmds are
243 recovered (eh_work_q is empty), scsi_eh_flush_done_q() is invoked to
244 either retry or error-finish (notify upper layer of failure) recovered
247 scmds are retried iff its sdev is still online (not offlined during
248 EH), REQ_FAILFAST is not set and ++scmd->retries is less than
252 2.1.2 Flow of scmds through EH
253 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
255 1. Error completion / time out
257 :ACTION: scsi_eh_scmd_add() is invoked for scmd
259 - add scmd to shost->eh_cmd_q
261 - shost->host_failed++
263 :LOCKING: shost->host_lock
267 :ACTION: move all scmds to EH's local eh_work_q. shost->eh_cmd_q
270 :LOCKING: shost->host_lock (not strictly necessary, just for
275 :ACTION: scsi_eh_finish_cmd() is invoked to EH-finish scmd
277 - scsi_setup_cmd_retry()
278 - move from local eh_work_q to local eh_done_q
282 :CONCURRENCY: at most one thread per separate eh_work_q to
283 keep queue manipulation lockless
287 :ACTION: scsi_eh_flush_done_q() retries scmds or notifies upper
288 layer of failure. May be called concurrently but must have
289 a no more than one thread per separate eh_work_q to
290 manipulate the queue locklessly
292 - scmd is removed from eh_done_q and scmd->eh_entry is cleared
293 - if retry is necessary, scmd is requeued using
295 - otherwise, scsi_finish_command() is invoked for scmd
296 - zero shost->host_failed
298 :LOCKING: queue or finish function performs appropriate locking
301 2.1.3 Flow of control
302 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
304 EH through fine-grained callbacks start from scsi_unjam_host().
308 1. Lock shost->host_lock, splice_init shost->eh_cmd_q into local
309 eh_work_q and unlock host_lock. Note that shost->eh_cmd_q is
310 cleared by this action.
312 2. Invoke scsi_eh_get_sense.
314 ``scsi_eh_get_sense``
316 This action is taken for each error-completed
317 (!SCSI_EH_CANCEL_CMD) commands without valid sense data. Most
318 SCSI transports/LLDDs automatically acquire sense data on
319 command failures (autosense). Autosense is recommended for
320 performance reasons and as sense information could get out of
321 sync between occurrence of CHECK CONDITION and this action.
323 Note that if autosense is not supported, scmd->sense_buffer
324 contains invalid sense data when error-completing the scmd
325 with scsi_done(). scsi_decide_disposition() always returns
326 FAILED in such cases thus invoking SCSI EH. When the scmd
327 reaches here, sense data is acquired and
328 scsi_decide_disposition() is called again.
330 1. Invoke scsi_request_sense() which issues REQUEST_SENSE
331 command. If fails, no action. Note that taking no action
332 causes higher-severity recovery to be taken for the scmd.
334 2. Invoke scsi_decide_disposition() on the scmd
337 scmd->retries is set to scmd->allowed preventing
338 scsi_eh_flush_done_q() from retrying the scmd and
339 scsi_eh_finish_cmd() is invoked.
342 scsi_eh_finish_cmd() invoked
347 3. If !list_empty(&eh_work_q), invoke scsi_eh_abort_cmds().
349 ``scsi_eh_abort_cmds``
351 This action is taken for each timed out command when
352 no_async_abort is enabled in the host template.
353 hostt->eh_abort_handler() is invoked for each scmd. The
354 handler returns SUCCESS if it has succeeded to make LLDD and
355 all related hardware forget about the scmd.
357 If a timedout scmd is successfully aborted and the sdev is
358 either offline or ready, scsi_eh_finish_cmd() is invoked for
359 the scmd. Otherwise, the scmd is left in eh_work_q for
360 higher-severity actions.
362 Note that both offline and ready status mean that the sdev is
363 ready to process new scmds, where processing also implies
364 immediate failing; thus, if a sdev is in one of the two
365 states, no further recovery action is needed.
367 Device readiness is tested using scsi_eh_tur() which issues
368 TEST_UNIT_READY command. Note that the scmd must have been
369 aborted successfully before reusing it for TEST_UNIT_READY.
371 4. If !list_empty(&eh_work_q), invoke scsi_eh_ready_devs()
373 ``scsi_eh_ready_devs``
375 This function takes four increasingly more severe measures to
376 make failed sdevs ready for new commands.
378 1. Invoke scsi_eh_stu()
382 For each sdev which has failed scmds with valid sense data
383 of which scsi_check_sense()'s verdict is FAILED,
384 START_STOP_UNIT command is issued w/ start=1. Note that
385 as we explicitly choose error-completed scmds, it is known
386 that lower layers have forgotten about the scmd and we can
389 If STU succeeds and the sdev is either offline or ready,
390 all failed scmds on the sdev are EH-finished with
391 scsi_eh_finish_cmd().
393 *NOTE* If hostt->eh_abort_handler() isn't implemented or
394 failed, we may still have timed out scmds at this point
395 and STU doesn't make lower layers forget about those
396 scmds. Yet, this function EH-finish all scmds on the sdev
397 if STU succeeds leaving lower layers in an inconsistent
398 state. It seems that STU action should be taken only when
399 a sdev has no timed out scmd.
401 2. If !list_empty(&eh_work_q), invoke scsi_eh_bus_device_reset().
403 ``scsi_eh_bus_device_reset``
405 This action is very similar to scsi_eh_stu() except that,
406 instead of issuing STU, hostt->eh_device_reset_handler()
407 is used. Also, as we're not issuing SCSI commands and
408 resetting clears all scmds on the sdev, there is no need
409 to choose error-completed scmds.
411 3. If !list_empty(&eh_work_q), invoke scsi_eh_bus_reset()
413 ``scsi_eh_bus_reset``
415 hostt->eh_bus_reset_handler() is invoked for each channel
416 with failed scmds. If bus reset succeeds, all failed
417 scmds on all ready or offline sdevs on the channel are
420 4. If !list_empty(&eh_work_q), invoke scsi_eh_host_reset()
422 ``scsi_eh_host_reset``
424 This is the last resort. hostt->eh_host_reset_handler()
425 is invoked. If host reset succeeds, all failed scmds on
426 all ready or offline sdevs on the host are EH-finished.
428 5. If !list_empty(&eh_work_q), invoke scsi_eh_offline_sdevs()
430 ``scsi_eh_offline_sdevs``
432 Take all sdevs which still have unrecovered scmds offline
433 and EH-finish the scmds.
435 5. Invoke scsi_eh_flush_done_q().
437 ``scsi_eh_flush_done_q``
439 At this point all scmds are recovered (or given up) and
440 put on eh_done_q by scsi_eh_finish_cmd(). This function
441 flushes eh_done_q by either retrying or notifying upper
442 layer of failure of the scmds.
445 2.2 EH through transportt->eh_strategy_handler()
446 ------------------------------------------------
448 transportt->eh_strategy_handler() is invoked in the place of
449 scsi_unjam_host() and it is responsible for whole recovery process.
450 On completion, the handler should have made lower layers forget about
451 all failed scmds and either ready for new commands or offline. Also,
452 it should perform SCSI EH maintenance chores to maintain integrity of
453 SCSI midlayer. IOW, of the steps described in [2-1-2], all steps
454 except for #1 must be implemented by eh_strategy_handler().
457 2.2.1 Pre transportt->eh_strategy_handler() SCSI midlayer conditions
458 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
460 The following conditions are true on entry to the handler.
462 - Each failed scmd's eh_flags field is set appropriately.
464 - Each failed scmd is linked on scmd->eh_cmd_q by scmd->eh_entry.
466 - SHOST_RECOVERY is set.
468 - shost->host_failed == shost->host_busy
471 2.2.2 Post transportt->eh_strategy_handler() SCSI midlayer conditions
472 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
474 The following conditions must be true on exit from the handler.
476 - shost->host_failed is zero.
478 - Each scmd is in such a state that scsi_setup_cmd_retry() on the
479 scmd doesn't make any difference.
481 - shost->eh_cmd_q is cleared.
483 - Each scmd->eh_entry is cleared.
485 - Either scsi_queue_insert() or scsi_finish_command() is called on
486 each scmd. Note that the handler is free to use scmd->retries and
487 ->allowed to limit the number of retries.
490 2.2.3 Things to consider
491 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
493 - Know that timed out scmds are still active on lower layers. Make
494 lower layers forget about them before doing anything else with
497 - For consistency, when accessing/modifying shost data structure,
498 grab shost->host_lock.
500 - On completion, each failed sdev must have forgotten about all
503 - On completion, each failed sdev must be ready for new commands or