path: root/Documentation/userspace-api/ioctl/hdio.rst

==============================
Summary of `HDIO_` ioctl calls
==============================

- Edward A. Falk <efalk@google.com>

November, 2004

This document attempts to describe the ioctl(2) calls supported by
the HD/IDE layer.  These are by-and-large implemented (as of Linux 5.11)
drivers/ata/libata-scsi.c.

ioctl values are listed in <linux/hdreg.h>.  As of this writing, they
are as follows:

    ioctls that pass argument pointers to user space:

	=======================	=======================================
	HDIO_GETGEO		get device geometry
	HDIO_GET_32BIT		get current io_32bit setting
	HDIO_GET_IDENTITY	get IDE identification info
	HDIO_DRIVE_TASKFILE	execute raw taskfile
	HDIO_DRIVE_TASK		execute task and special drive command
	HDIO_DRIVE_CMD		execute a special drive command
	=======================	=======================================

    ioctls that pass non-pointer values:

	=======================	=======================================
	HDIO_SET_32BIT		change io_32bit flags
	=======================	=======================================


The information that follows was determined from reading kernel source
code.  It is likely that some corrections will be made over time.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

General:

	Unless otherwise specified, all ioctl calls return 0 on success
	and -1 with errno set to an appropriate value on error.

	Unless otherwise specified, all ioctl calls return -1 and set
	errno to EFAULT on a failed attempt to copy data to or from user
	address space.

	Unless otherwise specified, all data structures and constants
	are defined in <linux/hdreg.h>

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HDIO_GETGEO
	get device geometry


	usage::

	  struct hd_geometry geom;

	  ioctl(fd, HDIO_GETGEO, &geom);


	inputs:
		none



	outputs:
		hd_geometry structure containing:


	    =========	==================================
	    heads	number of heads
	    sectors	number of sectors/track
	    cylinders	number of cylinders, mod 65536
	    start	starting sector of this partition.
	    =========	==================================


	error returns:
	  - EINVAL

			if the device is not a disk drive or floppy drive,
			or if the user passes a null pointer


	notes:
		Not particularly useful with modern disk drives, whose geometry
		is a polite fiction anyway.  Modern drives are addressed
		purely by sector number nowadays (lba addressing), and the
		drive geometry is an abstraction which is actually subject
		to change.  Currently (as of Nov 2004), the geometry values
		are the "bios" values -- presumably the values the drive had
		when Linux first booted.

		In addition, the cylinders field of the hd_geometry is an
		unsigned short, meaning that on most architectures, this
		ioctl will not return a meaningful value on drives with more
		than 65535 tracks.

		The start field is unsigned long, meaning that it will not
		contain a meaningful value for disks over 219 Gb in size.



HDIO_GET_IDENTITY
	get IDE identification info


	usage::

	  unsigned char identity[512];

	  ioctl(fd, HDIO_GET_IDENTITY, identity);

	inputs:
		none



	outputs:
		ATA drive identity information.  For full description, see
		the IDENTIFY DEVICE and IDENTIFY PACKET DEVICE commands in
		the ATA specification.

	error returns:
	  - EINVAL	Called on a partition instead of the whole disk device
	  - ENOMSG	IDENTIFY DEVICE information not available

	notes:
		Returns information that was obtained when the drive was
		probed.  Some of this information is subject to change, and
		this ioctl does not re-probe the drive to update the
		information.

		This information is also available from /proc/ide/hdX/identify



HDIO_GET_32BIT
	get current io_32bit setting


	usage::

	  long val;

	  ioctl(fd, HDIO_GET_32BIT, &val);

	inputs:
		none



	outputs:
		The value of the current io_32bit setting



	notes:
		0=16-bit, 1=32-bit, 2,3 = 32bit+sync



HDIO_DRIVE_TASKFILE
	execute raw taskfile


	Note:
		If you don't have a copy of the ANSI ATA specification
		handy, you should probably ignore this ioctl.

	- Execute an ATA disk command directly by writing the "taskfile"
	  registers of the drive.  Requires ADMIN and RAWIO access
	  privileges.

	usage::

	  struct {

	    ide_task_request_t req_task;
	    u8 outbuf[OUTPUT_SIZE];
	    u8 inbuf[INPUT_SIZE];
	  } task;
	  memset(&task.req_task, 0, sizeof(task.req_task));
	  task.req_task.out_size = sizeof(task.outbuf);
	  task.req_task.in_size = sizeof(task.inbuf);
	  ...
	  ioctl(fd, HDIO_DRIVE_TASKFILE, &task);
	  ...

	inputs:

	  (See below for details on memory area passed to ioctl.)

	  ============	===================================================
	  io_ports[8]	values to be written to taskfile registers
	  hob_ports[8]	high-order bytes, for extended commands.
	  out_flags	flags indicating which registers are valid
	  in_flags	flags indicating which registers should be returned
	  data_phase	see below
	  req_cmd	command type to be executed
	  out_size	size of output buffer
	  outbuf	buffer of data to be transmitted to disk
	  inbuf		buffer of data to be received from disk (see [1])
	  ============	===================================================

	outputs:

	  ===========	====================================================
	  io_ports[]	values returned in the taskfile registers
	  hob_ports[]	high-order bytes, for extended commands.
	  out_flags	flags indicating which registers are valid (see [2])
	  in_flags	flags indicating which registers should be returned
	  outbuf	buffer of data to be transmitted to disk (see [1])
	  inbuf		buffer of data to be received from disk
	  ===========	====================================================

	error returns:
	  - EACCES	CAP_SYS_ADMIN or CAP_SYS_RAWIO privilege not set.
	  - ENOMSG	Device is not a disk drive.
	  - ENOMEM	Unable to allocate memory for task
	  - EFAULT	req_cmd == TASKFILE_IN_OUT (not implemented as of 2.6.8)
	  - EPERM

			req_cmd == TASKFILE_MULTI_OUT and drive
			multi-count not yet set.
	  - EIO		Drive failed the command.

	notes:

	  [1] READ THE FOLLOWING NOTES *CAREFULLY*.  THIS IOCTL IS
	  FULL OF GOTCHAS.  Extreme caution should be used with using
	  this ioctl.  A mistake can easily corrupt data or hang the
	  system.

	  [2] Both the input and output buffers are copied from the
	  user and written back to the user, even when not used.

	  [3] If one or more bits are set in out_flags and in_flags is
	  zero, the following values are used for in_flags.all and
	  written back into in_flags on completion.

	   * IDE_TASKFILE_STD_IN_FLAGS | (IDE_HOB_STD_IN_FLAGS << 8)
	     if LBA48 addressing is enabled for the drive
	   * IDE_TASKFILE_STD_IN_FLAGS
	     if CHS/LBA28

	  The association between in_flags.all and each enable
	  bitfield flips depending on endianness; fortunately, TASKFILE
	  only uses inflags.b.data bit and ignores all other bits.
	  The end result is that, on any endian machines, it has no
	  effect other than modifying in_flags on completion.

	  [4] The default value of SELECT is (0xa0|DEV_bit|LBA_bit)
	  except for four drives per port chipsets.  For four drives
	  per port chipsets, it's (0xa0|DEV_bit|LBA_bit) for the first
	  pair and (0x80|DEV_bit|LBA_bit) for the second pair.

	  [5] The argument to the ioctl is a pointer to a region of
	  memory containing a ide_task_request_t structure, followed
	  by an optional buffer of data to be transmitted to the
	  drive, followed by an optional buffer to receive data from
	  the drive.

	  Command is passed to the disk drive via the ide_task_request_t
	  structure, which contains these fields:

	    ============	===============================================
	    io_ports[8]		values for the taskfile registers
	    hob_ports[8]	high-order bytes, for extended commands
	    out_flags		flags indicating which entries in the
				io_ports[] and hob_ports[] arrays
				contain valid values.  Type ide_reg_valid_t.
	    in_flags		flags indicating which entries in the
				io_ports[] and hob_ports[] arrays
				are expected to contain valid values
				on return.
	    data_phase		See below
	    req_cmd		Command type, see below
	    out_size		output (user->drive) buffer size, bytes
	    in_size		input (drive->user) buffer size, bytes
	    ============	===============================================

	  When out_flags is zero, the following registers are loaded.

	    ============	===============================================
	    HOB_FEATURE		If the drive supports LBA48
	    HOB_NSECTOR		If the drive supports LBA48
	    HOB_SECTOR		If the drive supports LBA48
	    HOB_LCYL		If the drive supports LBA48
	    HOB_HCYL		If the drive supports LBA48
	    FEATURE
	    NSECTOR
	    SECTOR
	    LCYL
	    HCYL
	    SELECT		First, masked with 0xE0 if LBA48, 0xEF
				otherwise; then, or'ed with the default
				value of SELECT.
	    ============	===============================================

	  If any bit in out_flags is set, the following registers are loaded.

	    ============	===============================================
	    HOB_DATA		If out_flags.b.data is set.  HOB_DATA will
				travel on DD8-DD15 on little endian machines
				and on DD0-DD7 on big endian machines.
	    DATA		If out_flags.b.data is set.  DATA will
				travel on DD0-DD7 on little endian machines
				and on DD8-DD15 on big endian machines.
	    HOB_NSECTOR		If out_flags.b.nsector_hob is set
	    HOB_SECTOR		If out_flags.b.sector_hob is set
	    HOB_LCYL		If out_flags.b.lcyl_hob is set
	    HOB_HCYL		If out_flags.b.hcyl_hob is set
	    FEATURE		If out_flags.b.feature is set
	    NSECTOR		If out_flags.b.nsector is set
	    SECTOR		If out_flags.b.sector is set
	    LCYL		If out_flags.b.lcyl is set
	    HCYL		If out_flags.b.hcyl is set
	    SELECT		Or'ed with the default value of SELECT and
				loaded regardless of out_flags.b.select.
	    ============	===============================================

	  Taskfile registers are read back from the drive into
	  {io|hob}_ports[] after the command completes iff one of the
	  following conditions is met; otherwise, the original values
	  will be written back, unchanged.

	    1. The drive fails the command (EIO).
	    2. One or more than one bits are set in out_flags.
	    3. The requested data_phase is TASKFILE_NO_DATA.

	    ============	===============================================
	    HOB_DATA		If in_flags.b.data is set.  It will contain
				DD8-DD15 on little endian machines and
				DD0-DD7 on big endian machines.
	    DATA		If in_flags.b.data is set.  It will contain
				DD0-DD7 on little endian machines and
				DD8-DD15 on big endian machines.
	    HOB_FEATURE		If the drive supports LBA48
	    HOB_NSECTOR		If the drive supports LBA48
	    HOB_SECTOR		If the drive supports LBA48
	    HOB_LCYL		If the drive supports LBA48
	    HOB_HCYL		If the drive supports LBA48
	    NSECTOR
	    SECTOR
	    LCYL
	    HCYL
	    ============	===============================================

	  The data_phase field describes the data transfer to be
	  performed.  Value is one of:

	    ===================        ========================================
	    TASKFILE_IN
	    TASKFILE_MULTI_IN
	    TASKFILE_OUT
	    TASKFILE_MULTI_OUT
	    TASKFILE_IN_OUT
	    TASKFILE_IN_DMA
	    TASKFILE_IN_DMAQ		== IN_DMA (queueing not supported)
	    TASKFILE_OUT_DMA
	    TASKFILE_OUT_DMAQ		== OUT_DMA (queueing not supported)
	    TASKFILE_P_IN		unimplemented
	    TASKFILE_P_IN_DMA		unimplemented
	    TASKFILE_P_IN_DMAQ		unimplemented
	    TASKFILE_P_OUT		unimplemented
	    TASKFILE_P_OUT_DMA		unimplemented
	    TASKFILE_P_OUT_DMAQ		unimplemented
	    ===================        ========================================

	  The req_cmd field classifies the command type.  It may be
	  one of:

	    ========================    =======================================
	    IDE_DRIVE_TASK_NO_DATA
	    IDE_DRIVE_TASK_SET_XFER	unimplemented
	    IDE_DRIVE_TASK_IN
	    IDE_DRIVE_TASK_OUT		unimplemented
	    IDE_DRIVE_TASK_RAW_WRITE
	    ========================    =======================================

	  [6] Do not access {in|out}_flags->all except for resetting
	  all the bits.  Always access individual bit fields.  ->all
	  value will flip depending on endianness.  For the same
	  reason, do not use IDE_{TASKFILE|HOB}_STD_{OUT|IN}_FLAGS
	  constants defined in hdreg.h.



HDIO_DRIVE_CMD
	execute a special drive command


	Note:  If you don't have a copy of the ANSI ATA specification
	handy, you should probably ignore this ioctl.

	usage::

	  u8 args[4+XFER_SIZE];

	  ...
	  ioctl(fd, HDIO_DRIVE_CMD, args);

	inputs:
	    Commands other than WIN_SMART:

	    =======     =======
	    args[0]	COMMAND
	    args[1]	NSECTOR
	    args[2]	FEATURE
	    args[3]	NSECTOR
	    =======     =======

	    WIN_SMART:

	    =======     =======
	    args[0]	COMMAND
	    args[1]	SECTOR
	    args[2]	FEATURE
	    args[3]	NSECTOR
	    =======     =======

	outputs:
		args[] buffer is filled with register values followed by any


	  data returned by the disk.

	    ========	====================================================
	    args[0]	status
	    args[1]	error
	    args[2]	NSECTOR
	    args[3]	undefined
	    args[4+]	NSECTOR * 512 bytes of data returned by the command.
	    ========	====================================================

	error returns:
	  - EACCES	Access denied:  requires CAP_SYS_RAWIO
	  - ENOMEM	Unable to allocate memory for task
	  - EIO		Drive reports error

	notes:

	  [1] For commands other than WIN_SMART, args[1] should equal
	  args[3].  SECTOR, LCYL and HCYL are undefined.  For
	  WIN_SMART, 0x4f and 0xc2 are loaded into LCYL and HCYL
	  respectively.  In both cases SELECT will contain the default
	  value for the drive.  Please refer to HDIO_DRIVE_TASKFILE
	  notes for the default value of SELECT.

	  [2] If NSECTOR value is greater than zero and the drive sets
	  DRQ when interrupting for the command, NSECTOR * 512 bytes
	  are read from the device into the area following NSECTOR.
	  In the above example, the area would be
	  args[4..4+XFER_SIZE].  16bit PIO is used regardless of
	  HDIO_SET_32BIT setting.

	  [3] If COMMAND == WIN_SETFEATURES && FEATURE == SETFEATURES_XFER
	  && NSECTOR >= XFER_SW_DMA_0 && the drive supports any DMA
	  mode, IDE driver will try to tune the transfer mode of the
	  drive accordingly.



HDIO_DRIVE_TASK
	execute task and special drive command


	Note:  If you don't have a copy of the ANSI ATA specification
	handy, you should probably ignore this ioctl.

	usage::

	  u8 args[7];

	  ...
	  ioctl(fd, HDIO_DRIVE_TASK, args);

	inputs:
	    Taskfile register values:

	    =======	=======
	    args[0]	COMMAND
	    args[1]	FEATURE
	    args[2]	NSECTOR
	    args[3]	SECTOR
	    args[4]	LCYL
	    args[5]	HCYL
	    args[6]	SELECT
	    =======	=======

	outputs:
	    Taskfile register values:


	    =======	=======
	    args[0]	status
	    args[1]	error
	    args[2]	NSECTOR
	    args[3]	SECTOR
	    args[4]	LCYL
	    args[5]	HCYL
	    args[6]	SELECT
	    =======	=======

	error returns:
	  - EACCES	Access denied:  requires CAP_SYS_RAWIO
	  - ENOMEM	Unable to allocate memory for task
	  - ENOMSG	Device is not a disk drive.
	  - EIO		Drive failed the command.

	notes:

	  [1] DEV bit (0x10) of SELECT register is ignored and the
	  appropriate value for the drive is used.  All other bits
	  are used unaltered.



HDIO_SET_32BIT
	change io_32bit flags


	usage::

	  int val;

	  ioctl(fd, HDIO_SET_32BIT, val);

	inputs:
		New value for io_32bit flag



	outputs:
		none



	error return:
	  - EINVAL	Called on a partition instead of the whole disk device
	  - EACCES	Access denied:  requires CAP_SYS_ADMIN
	  - EINVAL	value out of range [0 3]
	  - EBUSY	Controller busy