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+========================
+libATA Developer's Guide
+========================
+
+:Author: Jeff Garzik
+
+Introduction
+============
+
+libATA is a library used inside the Linux kernel to support ATA host
+controllers and devices. libATA provides an ATA driver API, class
+transports for ATA and ATAPI devices, and SCSI<->ATA translation for ATA
+devices according to the T10 SAT specification.
+
+This Guide documents the libATA driver API, library functions, library
+internals, and a couple sample ATA low-level drivers.
+
+libata Driver API
+=================
+
+:c:type:`struct ata_port_operations <ata_port_operations>`
+is defined for every low-level libata
+hardware driver, and it controls how the low-level driver interfaces
+with the ATA and SCSI layers.
+
+FIS-based drivers will hook into the system with ``->qc_prep()`` and
+``->qc_issue()`` high-level hooks. Hardware which behaves in a manner
+similar to PCI IDE hardware may utilize several generic helpers,
+defining at a bare minimum the bus I/O addresses of the ATA shadow
+register blocks.
+
+:c:type:`struct ata_port_operations <ata_port_operations>`
+----------------------------------------------------------
+
+Post-IDENTIFY device configuration
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ void (*dev_config) (struct ata_port *, struct ata_device *);
+
+
+Called after IDENTIFY [PACKET] DEVICE is issued to each device found.
+Typically used to apply device-specific fixups prior to issue of SET
+FEATURES - XFER MODE, and prior to operation.
+
+This entry may be specified as NULL in ata_port_operations.
+
+Set PIO/DMA mode
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ void (*set_piomode) (struct ata_port *, struct ata_device *);
+ void (*set_dmamode) (struct ata_port *, struct ata_device *);
+ void (*post_set_mode) (struct ata_port *);
+ unsigned int (*mode_filter) (struct ata_port *, struct ata_device *, unsigned int);
+
+
+Hooks called prior to the issue of SET FEATURES - XFER MODE command. The
+optional ``->mode_filter()`` hook is called when libata has built a mask of
+the possible modes. This is passed to the ``->mode_filter()`` function
+which should return a mask of valid modes after filtering those
+unsuitable due to hardware limits. It is not valid to use this interface
+to add modes.
+
+``dev->pio_mode`` and ``dev->dma_mode`` are guaranteed to be valid when
+``->set_piomode()`` and when ``->set_dmamode()`` is called. The timings for
+any other drive sharing the cable will also be valid at this point. That
+is the library records the decisions for the modes of each drive on a
+channel before it attempts to set any of them.
+
+``->post_set_mode()`` is called unconditionally, after the SET FEATURES -
+XFER MODE command completes successfully.
+
+``->set_piomode()`` is always called (if present), but ``->set_dma_mode()``
+is only called if DMA is possible.
+
+Taskfile read/write
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ void (*sff_tf_load) (struct ata_port *ap, struct ata_taskfile *tf);
+ void (*sff_tf_read) (struct ata_port *ap, struct ata_taskfile *tf);
+
+
+``->tf_load()`` is called to load the given taskfile into hardware
+registers / DMA buffers. ``->tf_read()`` is called to read the hardware
+registers / DMA buffers, to obtain the current set of taskfile register
+values. Most drivers for taskfile-based hardware (PIO or MMIO) use
+:c:func:`ata_sff_tf_load` and :c:func:`ata_sff_tf_read` for these hooks.
+
+PIO data read/write
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ void (*sff_data_xfer) (struct ata_device *, unsigned char *, unsigned int, int);
+
+
+All bmdma-style drivers must implement this hook. This is the low-level
+operation that actually copies the data bytes during a PIO data
+transfer. Typically the driver will choose one of
+:c:func:`ata_sff_data_xfer`, or :c:func:`ata_sff_data_xfer32`.
+
+ATA command execute
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ void (*sff_exec_command)(struct ata_port *ap, struct ata_taskfile *tf);
+
+
+causes an ATA command, previously loaded with ``->tf_load()``, to be
+initiated in hardware. Most drivers for taskfile-based hardware use
+:c:func:`ata_sff_exec_command` for this hook.
+
+Per-cmd ATAPI DMA capabilities filter
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ int (*check_atapi_dma) (struct ata_queued_cmd *qc);
+
+
+Allow low-level driver to filter ATA PACKET commands, returning a status
+indicating whether or not it is OK to use DMA for the supplied PACKET
+command.
+
+This hook may be specified as NULL, in which case libata will assume
+that atapi dma can be supported.
+
+Read specific ATA shadow registers
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ u8 (*sff_check_status)(struct ata_port *ap);
+ u8 (*sff_check_altstatus)(struct ata_port *ap);
+
+
+Reads the Status/AltStatus ATA shadow register from hardware. On some
+hardware, reading the Status register has the side effect of clearing
+the interrupt condition. Most drivers for taskfile-based hardware use
+:c:func:`ata_sff_check_status` for this hook.
+
+Write specific ATA shadow register
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ void (*sff_set_devctl)(struct ata_port *ap, u8 ctl);
+
+
+Write the device control ATA shadow register to the hardware. Most
+drivers don't need to define this.
+
+Select ATA device on bus
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ void (*sff_dev_select)(struct ata_port *ap, unsigned int device);
+
+
+Issues the low-level hardware command(s) that causes one of N hardware
+devices to be considered 'selected' (active and available for use) on
+the ATA bus. This generally has no meaning on FIS-based devices.
+
+Most drivers for taskfile-based hardware use :c:func:`ata_sff_dev_select` for
+this hook.
+
+Private tuning method
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ void (*set_mode) (struct ata_port *ap);
+
+
+By default libata performs drive and controller tuning in accordance
+with the ATA timing rules and also applies blacklists and cable limits.
+Some controllers need special handling and have custom tuning rules,
+typically raid controllers that use ATA commands but do not actually do
+drive timing.
+
+ **Warning**
+
+ This hook should not be used to replace the standard controller
+ tuning logic when a controller has quirks. Replacing the default
+ tuning logic in that case would bypass handling for drive and bridge
+ quirks that may be important to data reliability. If a controller
+ needs to filter the mode selection it should use the mode_filter
+ hook instead.
+
+Control PCI IDE BMDMA engine
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ void (*bmdma_setup) (struct ata_queued_cmd *qc);
+ void (*bmdma_start) (struct ata_queued_cmd *qc);
+ void (*bmdma_stop) (struct ata_port *ap);
+ u8 (*bmdma_status) (struct ata_port *ap);
+
+
+When setting up an IDE BMDMA transaction, these hooks arm
+(``->bmdma_setup``), fire (``->bmdma_start``), and halt (``->bmdma_stop``) the
+hardware's DMA engine. ``->bmdma_status`` is used to read the standard PCI
+IDE DMA Status register.
+
+These hooks are typically either no-ops, or simply not implemented, in
+FIS-based drivers.
+
+Most legacy IDE drivers use :c:func:`ata_bmdma_setup` for the
+:c:func:`bmdma_setup` hook. :c:func:`ata_bmdma_setup` will write the pointer
+to the PRD table to the IDE PRD Table Address register, enable DMA in the DMA
+Command register, and call :c:func:`exec_command` to begin the transfer.
+
+Most legacy IDE drivers use :c:func:`ata_bmdma_start` for the
+:c:func:`bmdma_start` hook. :c:func:`ata_bmdma_start` will write the
+ATA_DMA_START flag to the DMA Command register.
+
+Many legacy IDE drivers use :c:func:`ata_bmdma_stop` for the
+:c:func:`bmdma_stop` hook. :c:func:`ata_bmdma_stop` clears the ATA_DMA_START
+flag in the DMA command register.
+
+Many legacy IDE drivers use :c:func:`ata_bmdma_status` as the
+:c:func:`bmdma_status` hook.
+
+High-level taskfile hooks
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ enum ata_completion_errors (*qc_prep) (struct ata_queued_cmd *qc);
+ int (*qc_issue) (struct ata_queued_cmd *qc);
+
+
+Higher-level hooks, these two hooks can potentially supersede several of
+the above taskfile/DMA engine hooks. ``->qc_prep`` is called after the
+buffers have been DMA-mapped, and is typically used to populate the
+hardware's DMA scatter-gather table. Some drivers use the standard
+:c:func:`ata_bmdma_qc_prep` and :c:func:`ata_bmdma_dumb_qc_prep` helper
+functions, but more advanced drivers roll their own.
+
+``->qc_issue`` is used to make a command active, once the hardware and S/G
+tables have been prepared. IDE BMDMA drivers use the helper function
+:c:func:`ata_sff_qc_issue` for taskfile protocol-based dispatch. More
+advanced drivers implement their own ``->qc_issue``.
+
+:c:func:`ata_sff_qc_issue` calls ``->sff_tf_load()``, ``->bmdma_setup()``, and
+``->bmdma_start()`` as necessary to initiate a transfer.
+
+Exception and probe handling (EH)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ void (*freeze) (struct ata_port *ap);
+ void (*thaw) (struct ata_port *ap);
+
+
+:c:func:`ata_port_freeze` is called when HSM violations or some other
+condition disrupts normal operation of the port. A frozen port is not
+allowed to perform any operation until the port is thawed, which usually
+follows a successful reset.
+
+The optional ``->freeze()`` callback can be used for freezing the port
+hardware-wise (e.g. mask interrupt and stop DMA engine). If a port
+cannot be frozen hardware-wise, the interrupt handler must ack and clear
+interrupts unconditionally while the port is frozen.
+
+The optional ``->thaw()`` callback is called to perform the opposite of
+``->freeze()``: prepare the port for normal operation once again. Unmask
+interrupts, start DMA engine, etc.
+
+::
+
+ void (*error_handler) (struct ata_port *ap);
+
+
+``->error_handler()`` is a driver's hook into probe, hotplug, and recovery
+and other exceptional conditions. The primary responsibility of an
+implementation is to call :c:func:`ata_do_eh` or :c:func:`ata_bmdma_drive_eh`
+with a set of EH hooks as arguments:
+
+'prereset' hook (may be NULL) is called during an EH reset, before any
+other actions are taken.
+
+'postreset' hook (may be NULL) is called after the EH reset is
+performed. Based on existing conditions, severity of the problem, and
+hardware capabilities,
+
+Either 'softreset' (may be NULL) or 'hardreset' (may be NULL) will be
+called to perform the low-level EH reset.
+
+::
+
+ void (*post_internal_cmd) (struct ata_queued_cmd *qc);
+
+
+Perform any hardware-specific actions necessary to finish processing
+after executing a probe-time or EH-time command via
+:c:func:`ata_exec_internal`.
+
+Hardware interrupt handling
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ irqreturn_t (*irq_handler)(int, void *, struct pt_regs *);
+ void (*irq_clear) (struct ata_port *);
+
+
+``->irq_handler`` is the interrupt handling routine registered with the
+system, by libata. ``->irq_clear`` is called during probe just before the
+interrupt handler is registered, to be sure hardware is quiet.
+
+The second argument, dev_instance, should be cast to a pointer to
+:c:type:`struct ata_host_set <ata_host_set>`.
+
+Most legacy IDE drivers use :c:func:`ata_sff_interrupt` for the irq_handler
+hook, which scans all ports in the host_set, determines which queued
+command was active (if any), and calls ata_sff_host_intr(ap,qc).
+
+Most legacy IDE drivers use :c:func:`ata_sff_irq_clear` for the
+:c:func:`irq_clear` hook, which simply clears the interrupt and error flags
+in the DMA status register.
+
+SATA phy read/write
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ int (*scr_read) (struct ata_port *ap, unsigned int sc_reg,
+ u32 *val);
+ int (*scr_write) (struct ata_port *ap, unsigned int sc_reg,
+ u32 val);
+
+
+Read and write standard SATA phy registers.
+sc_reg is one of SCR_STATUS, SCR_CONTROL, SCR_ERROR, or SCR_ACTIVE.
+
+Init and shutdown
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+::
+
+ int (*port_start) (struct ata_port *ap);
+ void (*port_stop) (struct ata_port *ap);
+ void (*host_stop) (struct ata_host_set *host_set);
+
+
+``->port_start()`` is called just after the data structures for each port
+are initialized. Typically this is used to alloc per-port DMA buffers /
+tables / rings, enable DMA engines, and similar tasks. Some drivers also
+use this entry point as a chance to allocate driver-private memory for
+``ap->private_data``.
+
+Many drivers use :c:func:`ata_port_start` as this hook or call it from their
+own :c:func:`port_start` hooks. :c:func:`ata_port_start` allocates space for
+a legacy IDE PRD table and returns.
+
+``->port_stop()`` is called after ``->host_stop()``. Its sole function is to
+release DMA/memory resources, now that they are no longer actively being
+used. Many drivers also free driver-private data from port at this time.
+
+``->host_stop()`` is called after all ``->port_stop()`` calls have completed.
+The hook must finalize hardware shutdown, release DMA and other
+resources, etc. This hook may be specified as NULL, in which case it is
+not called.
+
+Error handling
+==============
+
+This chapter describes how errors are handled under libata. Readers are
+advised to read SCSI EH (Documentation/scsi/scsi_eh.rst) and ATA
+exceptions doc first.
+
+Origins of commands
+-------------------
+
+In libata, a command is represented with
+:c:type:`struct ata_queued_cmd <ata_queued_cmd>` or qc.
+qc's are preallocated during port initialization and repetitively used
+for command executions. Currently only one qc is allocated per port but
+yet-to-be-merged NCQ branch allocates one for each tag and maps each qc
+to NCQ tag 1-to-1.
+
+libata commands can originate from two sources - libata itself and SCSI
+midlayer. libata internal commands are used for initialization and error
+handling. All normal blk requests and commands for SCSI emulation are
+passed as SCSI commands through queuecommand callback of SCSI host
+template.
+
+How commands are issued
+-----------------------
+
+Internal commands
+ Once allocated qc's taskfile is initialized for the command to be
+ executed. qc currently has two mechanisms to notify completion. One
+ is via ``qc->complete_fn()`` callback and the other is completion
+ ``qc->waiting``. ``qc->complete_fn()`` callback is the asynchronous path
+ used by normal SCSI translated commands and ``qc->waiting`` is the
+ synchronous (issuer sleeps in process context) path used by internal
+ commands.
+
+ Once initialization is complete, host_set lock is acquired and the
+ qc is issued.
+
+SCSI commands
+ All libata drivers use :c:func:`ata_scsi_queuecmd` as
+ ``hostt->queuecommand`` callback. scmds can either be simulated or
+ translated. No qc is involved in processing a simulated scmd. The
+ result is computed right away and the scmd is completed.
+
+ ``qc->complete_fn()`` callback is used for completion notification. ATA
+ commands use :c:func:`ata_scsi_qc_complete` while ATAPI commands use
+ :c:func:`atapi_qc_complete`. Both functions end up calling ``qc->scsidone``
+ to notify upper layer when the qc is finished. After translation is
+ completed, the qc is issued with :c:func:`ata_qc_issue`.
+
+ Note that SCSI midlayer invokes hostt->queuecommand while holding
+ host_set lock, so all above occur while holding host_set lock.
+
+How commands are processed
+--------------------------
+
+Depending on which protocol and which controller are used, commands are
+processed differently. For the purpose of discussion, a controller which
+uses taskfile interface and all standard callbacks is assumed.
+
+Currently 6 ATA command protocols are used. They can be sorted into the
+following four categories according to how they are processed.
+
+ATA NO DATA or DMA
+ ATA_PROT_NODATA and ATA_PROT_DMA fall into this category. These
+ types of commands don't require any software intervention once
+ issued. Device will raise interrupt on completion.
+
+ATA PIO
+ ATA_PROT_PIO is in this category. libata currently implements PIO
+ with polling. ATA_NIEN bit is set to turn off interrupt and
+ pio_task on ata_wq performs polling and IO.
+
+ATAPI NODATA or DMA
+ ATA_PROT_ATAPI_NODATA and ATA_PROT_ATAPI_DMA are in this
+ category. packet_task is used to poll BSY bit after issuing PACKET
+ command. Once BSY is turned off by the device, packet_task
+ transfers CDB and hands off processing to interrupt handler.
+
+ATAPI PIO
+ ATA_PROT_ATAPI is in this category. ATA_NIEN bit is set and, as
+ in ATAPI NODATA or DMA, packet_task submits cdb. However, after
+ submitting cdb, further processing (data transfer) is handed off to
+ pio_task.
+
+How commands are completed
+--------------------------
+
+Once issued, all qc's are either completed with :c:func:`ata_qc_complete` or
+time out. For commands which are handled by interrupts,
+:c:func:`ata_host_intr` invokes :c:func:`ata_qc_complete`, and, for PIO tasks,
+pio_task invokes :c:func:`ata_qc_complete`. In error cases, packet_task may
+also complete commands.
+
+:c:func:`ata_qc_complete` does the following.
+
+1. DMA memory is unmapped.
+
+2. ATA_QCFLAG_ACTIVE is cleared from qc->flags.
+
+3. :c:expr:`qc->complete_fn` callback is invoked. If the return value of the
+ callback is not zero. Completion is short circuited and
+ :c:func:`ata_qc_complete` returns.
+
+4. :c:func:`__ata_qc_complete` is called, which does
+
+ 1. ``qc->flags`` is cleared to zero.
+
+ 2. ``ap->active_tag`` and ``qc->tag`` are poisoned.
+
+ 3. ``qc->waiting`` is cleared & completed (in that order).
+
+ 4. qc is deallocated by clearing appropriate bit in ``ap->qactive``.
+
+So, it basically notifies upper layer and deallocates qc. One exception
+is short-circuit path in #3 which is used by :c:func:`atapi_qc_complete`.
+
+For all non-ATAPI commands, whether it fails or not, almost the same
+code path is taken and very little error handling takes place. A qc is
+completed with success status if it succeeded, with failed status
+otherwise.
+
+However, failed ATAPI commands require more handling as REQUEST SENSE is
+needed to acquire sense data. If an ATAPI command fails,
+:c:func:`ata_qc_complete` is invoked with error status, which in turn invokes
+:c:func:`atapi_qc_complete` via ``qc->complete_fn()`` callback.
+
+This makes :c:func:`atapi_qc_complete` set ``scmd->result`` to
+SAM_STAT_CHECK_CONDITION, complete the scmd and return 1. As the
+sense data is empty but ``scmd->result`` is CHECK CONDITION, SCSI midlayer
+will invoke EH for the scmd, and returning 1 makes :c:func:`ata_qc_complete`
+to return without deallocating the qc. This leads us to
+:c:func:`ata_scsi_error` with partially completed qc.
+
+:c:func:`ata_scsi_error`
+------------------------
+
+:c:func:`ata_scsi_error` is the current ``transportt->eh_strategy_handler()``
+for libata. As discussed above, this will be entered in two cases -
+timeout and ATAPI error completion. This function will check if a qc is active
+and has not failed yet. Such a qc will be marked with AC_ERR_TIMEOUT such that
+EH will know to handle it later. Then it calls low level libata driver's
+:c:func:`error_handler` callback.
+
+When the :c:func:`error_handler` callback is invoked it stops BMDMA and
+completes the qc. Note that as we're currently in EH, we cannot call
+scsi_done. As described in SCSI EH doc, a recovered scmd should be
+either retried with :c:func:`scsi_queue_insert` or finished with
+:c:func:`scsi_finish_command`. Here, we override ``qc->scsidone`` with
+:c:func:`scsi_finish_command` and calls :c:func:`ata_qc_complete`.
+
+If EH is invoked due to a failed ATAPI qc, the qc here is completed but
+not deallocated. The purpose of this half-completion is to use the qc as
+place holder to make EH code reach this place. This is a bit hackish,
+but it works.
+
+Once control reaches here, the qc is deallocated by invoking
+:c:func:`__ata_qc_complete` explicitly. Then, internal qc for REQUEST SENSE
+is issued. Once sense data is acquired, scmd is finished by directly
+invoking :c:func:`scsi_finish_command` on the scmd. Note that as we already
+have completed and deallocated the qc which was associated with the
+scmd, we don't need to/cannot call :c:func:`ata_qc_complete` again.
+
+Problems with the current EH
+----------------------------
+
+- Error representation is too crude. Currently any and all error
+ conditions are represented with ATA STATUS and ERROR registers.
+ Errors which aren't ATA device errors are treated as ATA device
+ errors by setting ATA_ERR bit. Better error descriptor which can
+ properly represent ATA and other errors/exceptions is needed.
+
+- When handling timeouts, no action is taken to make device forget
+ about the timed out command and ready for new commands.
+
+- EH handling via :c:func:`ata_scsi_error` is not properly protected from
+ usual command processing. On EH entrance, the device is not in
+ quiescent state. Timed out commands may succeed or fail any time.
+ pio_task and atapi_task may still be running.
+
+- Too weak error recovery. Devices / controllers causing HSM mismatch
+ errors and other errors quite often require reset to return to known
+ state. Also, advanced error handling is necessary to support features
+ like NCQ and hotplug.
+
+- ATA errors are directly handled in the interrupt handler and PIO
+ errors in pio_task. This is problematic for advanced error handling
+ for the following reasons.
+
+ First, advanced error handling often requires context and internal qc
+ execution.
+
+ Second, even a simple failure (say, CRC error) needs information
+ gathering and could trigger complex error handling (say, resetting &
+ reconfiguring). Having multiple code paths to gather information,
+ enter EH and trigger actions makes life painful.
+
+ Third, scattered EH code makes implementing low level drivers
+ difficult. Low level drivers override libata callbacks. If EH is
+ scattered over several places, each affected callbacks should perform
+ its part of error handling. This can be error prone and painful.
+
+libata Library
+==============
+
+.. kernel-doc:: drivers/ata/libata-core.c
+ :export:
+
+libata Core Internals
+=====================
+
+.. kernel-doc:: drivers/ata/libata-core.c
+ :internal:
+
+.. kernel-doc:: drivers/ata/libata-eh.c
+
+libata SCSI translation/emulation
+=================================
+
+.. kernel-doc:: drivers/ata/libata-scsi.c
+ :export:
+
+.. kernel-doc:: drivers/ata/libata-scsi.c
+ :internal:
+
+ATA errors and exceptions
+=========================
+
+This chapter tries to identify what error/exception conditions exist for
+ATA/ATAPI devices and describe how they should be handled in
+implementation-neutral way.
+
+The term 'error' is used to describe conditions where either an explicit
+error condition is reported from device or a command has timed out.
+
+The term 'exception' is either used to describe exceptional conditions
+which are not errors (say, power or hotplug events), or to describe both
+errors and non-error exceptional conditions. Where explicit distinction
+between error and exception is necessary, the term 'non-error exception'
+is used.
+
+Exception categories
+--------------------
+
+Exceptions are described primarily with respect to legacy taskfile + bus
+master IDE interface. If a controller provides other better mechanism
+for error reporting, mapping those into categories described below
+shouldn't be difficult.
+
+In the following sections, two recovery actions - reset and
+reconfiguring transport - are mentioned. These are described further in
+`EH recovery actions <#exrec>`__.
+
+HSM violation
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+This error is indicated when STATUS value doesn't match HSM requirement
+during issuing or execution any ATA/ATAPI command.
+
+- ATA_STATUS doesn't contain !BSY && DRDY && !DRQ while trying to
+ issue a command.
+
+- !BSY && !DRQ during PIO data transfer.
+
+- DRQ on command completion.
+
+- !BSY && ERR after CDB transfer starts but before the last byte of CDB
+ is transferred. ATA/ATAPI standard states that "The device shall not
+ terminate the PACKET command with an error before the last byte of
+ the command packet has been written" in the error outputs description
+ of PACKET command and the state diagram doesn't include such
+ transitions.
+
+In these cases, HSM is violated and not much information regarding the
+error can be acquired from STATUS or ERROR register. IOW, this error can
+be anything - driver bug, faulty device, controller and/or cable.
+
+As HSM is violated, reset is necessary to restore known state.
+Reconfiguring transport for lower speed might be helpful too as
+transmission errors sometimes cause this kind of errors.
+
+ATA/ATAPI device error (non-NCQ / non-CHECK CONDITION)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+These are errors detected and reported by ATA/ATAPI devices indicating
+device problems. For this type of errors, STATUS and ERROR register
+values are valid and describe error condition. Note that some of ATA bus
+errors are detected by ATA/ATAPI devices and reported using the same
+mechanism as device errors. Those cases are described later in this
+section.
+
+For ATA commands, this type of errors are indicated by !BSY && ERR
+during command execution and on completion.
+
+For ATAPI commands,
+
+- !BSY && ERR && ABRT right after issuing PACKET indicates that PACKET
+ command is not supported and falls in this category.
+
+- !BSY && ERR(==CHK) && !ABRT after the last byte of CDB is transferred
+ indicates CHECK CONDITION and doesn't fall in this category.
+
+- !BSY && ERR(==CHK) && ABRT after the last byte of CDB is transferred
+ \*probably\* indicates CHECK CONDITION and doesn't fall in this
+ category.
+
+Of errors detected as above, the following are not ATA/ATAPI device
+errors but ATA bus errors and should be handled according to
+`ATA bus error <#excatATAbusErr>`__.
+
+CRC error during data transfer
+ This is indicated by ICRC bit in the ERROR register and means that
+ corruption occurred during data transfer. Up to ATA/ATAPI-7, the
+ standard specifies that this bit is only applicable to UDMA
+ transfers but ATA/ATAPI-8 draft revision 1f says that the bit may be
+ applicable to multiword DMA and PIO.
+
+ABRT error during data transfer or on completion
+ Up to ATA/ATAPI-7, the standard specifies that ABRT could be set on
+ ICRC errors and on cases where a device is not able to complete a
+ command. Combined with the fact that MWDMA and PIO transfer errors
+ aren't allowed to use ICRC bit up to ATA/ATAPI-7, it seems to imply
+ that ABRT bit alone could indicate transfer errors.
+
+ However, ATA/ATAPI-8 draft revision 1f removes the part that ICRC
+ errors can turn on ABRT. So, this is kind of gray area. Some
+ heuristics are needed here.
+
+ATA/ATAPI device errors can be further categorized as follows.
+
+Media errors
+ This is indicated by UNC bit in the ERROR register. ATA devices
+ reports UNC error only after certain number of retries cannot
+ recover the data, so there's nothing much else to do other than
+ notifying upper layer.
+
+ READ and WRITE commands report CHS or LBA of the first failed sector
+ but ATA/ATAPI standard specifies that the amount of transferred data
+ on error completion is indeterminate, so we cannot assume that
+ sectors preceding the failed sector have been transferred and thus
+ cannot complete those sectors successfully as SCSI does.
+
+Media changed / media change requested error
+ <<TODO: fill here>>
+
+Address error
+ This is indicated by IDNF bit in the ERROR register. Report to upper
+ layer.
+
+Other errors
+ This can be invalid command or parameter indicated by ABRT ERROR bit
+ or some other error condition. Note that ABRT bit can indicate a lot
+ of things including ICRC and Address errors. Heuristics needed.
+
+Depending on commands, not all STATUS/ERROR bits are applicable. These
+non-applicable bits are marked with "na" in the output descriptions but
+up to ATA/ATAPI-7 no definition of "na" can be found. However,
+ATA/ATAPI-8 draft revision 1f describes "N/A" as follows.
+
+ 3.2.3.3a N/A
+ A keyword the indicates a field has no defined value in this
+ standard and should not be checked by the host or device. N/A
+ fields should be cleared to zero.
+
+So, it seems reasonable to assume that "na" bits are cleared to zero by
+devices and thus need no explicit masking.
+
+ATAPI device CHECK CONDITION
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+ATAPI device CHECK CONDITION error is indicated by set CHK bit (ERR bit)
+in the STATUS register after the last byte of CDB is transferred for a
+PACKET command. For this kind of errors, sense data should be acquired
+to gather information regarding the errors. REQUEST SENSE packet command
+should be used to acquire sense data.
+
+Once sense data is acquired, this type of errors can be handled
+similarly to other SCSI errors. Note that sense data may indicate ATA
+bus error (e.g. Sense Key 04h HARDWARE ERROR && ASC/ASCQ 47h/00h SCSI
+PARITY ERROR). In such cases, the error should be considered as an ATA
+bus error and handled according to `ATA bus error <#excatATAbusErr>`__.
+
+ATA device error (NCQ)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+NCQ command error is indicated by cleared BSY and set ERR bit during NCQ
+command phase (one or more NCQ commands outstanding). Although STATUS
+and ERROR registers will contain valid values describing the error, READ
+LOG EXT is required to clear the error condition, determine which
+command has failed and acquire more information.
+
+READ LOG EXT Log Page 10h reports which tag has failed and taskfile
+register values describing the error. With this information the failed
+command can be handled as a normal ATA command error as in
+`ATA/ATAPI device error (non-NCQ / non-CHECK CONDITION) <#excatDevErr>`__
+and all other in-flight commands must be retried. Note that this retry
+should not be counted - it's likely that commands retried this way would
+have completed normally if it were not for the failed command.
+
+Note that ATA bus errors can be reported as ATA device NCQ errors. This
+should be handled as described in `ATA bus error <#excatATAbusErr>`__.
+
+If READ LOG EXT Log Page 10h fails or reports NQ, we're thoroughly
+screwed. This condition should be treated according to
+`HSM violation <#excatHSMviolation>`__.
+
+ATA bus error
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+ATA bus error means that data corruption occurred during transmission
+over ATA bus (SATA or PATA). This type of errors can be indicated by
+
+- ICRC or ABRT error as described in
+ `ATA/ATAPI device error (non-NCQ / non-CHECK CONDITION) <#excatDevErr>`__.
+
+- Controller-specific error completion with error information
+ indicating transmission error.
+
+- On some controllers, command timeout. In this case, there may be a
+ mechanism to determine that the timeout is due to transmission error.
+
+- Unknown/random errors, timeouts and all sorts of weirdities.
+
+As described above, transmission errors can cause wide variety of
+symptoms ranging from device ICRC error to random device lockup, and,
+for many cases, there is no way to tell if an error condition is due to
+transmission error or not; therefore, it's necessary to employ some kind
+of heuristic when dealing with errors and timeouts. For example,
+encountering repetitive ABRT errors for known supported command is
+likely to indicate ATA bus error.
+
+Once it's determined that ATA bus errors have possibly occurred,
+lowering ATA bus transmission speed is one of actions which may
+alleviate the problem. See `Reconfigure transport <#exrecReconf>`__ for
+more information.
+
+PCI bus error
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Data corruption or other failures during transmission over PCI (or other
+system bus). For standard BMDMA, this is indicated by Error bit in the
+BMDMA Status register. This type of errors must be logged as it
+indicates something is very wrong with the system. Resetting host
+controller is recommended.
+
+Late completion
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+This occurs when timeout occurs and the timeout handler finds out that
+the timed out command has completed successfully or with error. This is
+usually caused by lost interrupts. This type of errors must be logged.
+Resetting host controller is recommended.
+
+Unknown error (timeout)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+This is when timeout occurs and the command is still processing or the
+host and device are in unknown state. When this occurs, HSM could be in
+any valid or invalid state. To bring the device to known state and make
+it forget about the timed out command, resetting is necessary. The timed
+out command may be retried.
+
+Timeouts can also be caused by transmission errors. Refer to
+`ATA bus error <#excatATAbusErr>`__ for more details.
+
+Hotplug and power management exceptions
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+<<TODO: fill here>>
+
+EH recovery actions
+-------------------
+
+This section discusses several important recovery actions.
+
+Clearing error condition
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Many controllers require its error registers to be cleared by error
+handler. Different controllers may have different requirements.
+
+For SATA, it's strongly recommended to clear at least SError register
+during error handling.
+
+Reset
+~~~~~
+
+During EH, resetting is necessary in the following cases.
+
+- HSM is in unknown or invalid state
+
+- HBA is in unknown or invalid state
+
+- EH needs to make HBA/device forget about in-flight commands
+
+- HBA/device behaves weirdly
+
+Resetting during EH might be a good idea regardless of error condition
+to improve EH robustness. Whether to reset both or either one of HBA and
+device depends on situation but the following scheme is recommended.
+
+- When it's known that HBA is in ready state but ATA/ATAPI device is in
+ unknown state, reset only device.
+
+- If HBA is in unknown state, reset both HBA and device.
+
+HBA resetting is implementation specific. For a controller complying to
+taskfile/BMDMA PCI IDE, stopping active DMA transaction may be
+sufficient iff BMDMA state is the only HBA context. But even mostly
+taskfile/BMDMA PCI IDE complying controllers may have implementation
+specific requirements and mechanism to reset themselves. This must be
+addressed by specific drivers.
+
+OTOH, ATA/ATAPI standard describes in detail ways to reset ATA/ATAPI
+devices.
+
+PATA hardware reset
+ This is hardware initiated device reset signalled with asserted PATA
+ RESET- signal. There is no standard way to initiate hardware reset
+ from software although some hardware provides registers that allow
+ driver to directly tweak the RESET- signal.
+
+Software reset
+ This is achieved by turning CONTROL SRST bit on for at least 5us.
+ Both PATA and SATA support it but, in case of SATA, this may require
+ controller-specific support as the second Register FIS to clear SRST
+ should be transmitted while BSY bit is still set. Note that on PATA,
+ this resets both master and slave devices on a channel.
+
+EXECUTE DEVICE DIAGNOSTIC command
+ Although ATA/ATAPI standard doesn't describe exactly, EDD implies
+ some level of resetting, possibly similar level with software reset.
+ Host-side EDD protocol can be handled with normal command processing
+ and most SATA controllers should be able to handle EDD's just like
+ other commands. As in software reset, EDD affects both devices on a
+ PATA bus.
+
+ Although EDD does reset devices, this doesn't suit error handling as
+ EDD cannot be issued while BSY is set and it's unclear how it will
+ act when device is in unknown/weird state.
+
+ATAPI DEVICE RESET command
+ This is very similar to software reset except that reset can be
+ restricted to the selected device without affecting the other device
+ sharing the cable.
+
+SATA phy reset
+ This is the preferred way of resetting a SATA device. In effect,
+ it's identical to PATA hardware reset. Note that this can be done
+ with the standard SCR Control register. As such, it's usually easier
+ to implement than software reset.
+
+One more thing to consider when resetting devices is that resetting
+clears certain configuration parameters and they need to be set to their
+previous or newly adjusted values after reset.
+
+Parameters affected are.
+
+- CHS set up with INITIALIZE DEVICE PARAMETERS (seldom used)
+
+- Parameters set with SET FEATURES including transfer mode setting
+
+- Block count set with SET MULTIPLE MODE
+
+- Other parameters (SET MAX, MEDIA LOCK...)
+
+ATA/ATAPI standard specifies that some parameters must be maintained
+across hardware or software reset, but doesn't strictly specify all of
+them. Always reconfiguring needed parameters after reset is required for
+robustness. Note that this also applies when resuming from deep sleep
+(power-off).
+
+Also, ATA/ATAPI standard requires that IDENTIFY DEVICE / IDENTIFY PACKET
+DEVICE is issued after any configuration parameter is updated or a
+hardware reset and the result used for further operation. OS driver is
+required to implement revalidation mechanism to support this.
+
+Reconfigure transport
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+For both PATA and SATA, a lot of corners are cut for cheap connectors,
+cables or controllers and it's quite common to see high transmission
+error rate. This can be mitigated by lowering transmission speed.
+
+The following is a possible scheme Jeff Garzik suggested.
+
+ If more than $N (3?) transmission errors happen in 15 minutes,
+
+ - if SATA, decrease SATA PHY speed. if speed cannot be decreased,
+
+ - decrease UDMA xfer speed. if at UDMA0, switch to PIO4,
+
+ - decrease PIO xfer speed. if at PIO3, complain, but continue
+
+ata_piix Internals
+===================
+
+.. kernel-doc:: drivers/ata/ata_piix.c
+ :internal:
+
+sata_sil Internals
+===================
+
+.. kernel-doc:: drivers/ata/sata_sil.c
+ :internal:
+
+Thanks
+======
+
+The bulk of the ATA knowledge comes thanks to long conversations with
+Andre Hedrick (www.linux-ide.org), and long hours pondering the ATA and
+SCSI specifications.
+
+Thanks to Alan Cox for pointing out similarities between SATA and SCSI,
+and in general for motivation to hack on libata.
+
+libata's device detection method, ata_pio_devchk, and in general all
+the early probing was based on extensive study of Hale Landis's
+probe/reset code in his ATADRVR driver (www.ata-atapi.com).