linux-kernel - Re: Kernel Summit request for Discussion of future of ATA (libata) and IDE

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Date:	Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:45:59 +0400
From:	Sergei Shtylyov <sshtylyov@...mvista.com>
To:	Alan Cox <alan@...rguk.ukuu.org.uk>
Cc:	Robert Hancock <hancockr@...w.ca>,
	Bartlomiej Zolnierkiewicz <bzolnier@...il.com>,
	James Bottomley <James.Bottomley@...senpartnership.com>,
	ksummit-2008-discuss@...ts.linux-foundation.org,
	linux-kernel <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	linux-ide <linux-ide@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: Kernel Summit request for Discussion of future of ATA (libata)
 and IDE

Hello.

Alan Cox wrote:
>>> newer controllers support the 32bit PIO data cycles. Most PCI controllers
>>> it makes no speed difference but host bus controllers (especially
>>> PIIX/ICH) really benefit.
>>>       

   PIIX was a pure PCI controller, IIRC. ICH is also not a "host bus" 
controller, it hangs off the I/O hub bus...

>>>   
>>>       
>>     In what way if there's no speed gain?
>>     
>
> As in the numbers are the same before and after. The FIFO on the
> controller is happily hiding the extra latencies I assume.
>   

   Depends on the PIO mode -- in the lower ones, the prefetch reads 
might really be slower than successive reads on the host bus...

>>>> supported. I couldn't track down where that bit was actually defined in 
>>>> the first place, all the way back to ATA-1 it seems to be indicated as 
>>>> reserved. Actually, I'm not sure why the drive cares in the first place, 
>>>> it would seem like a pure host controller issue..
>>>>     
>>>>         
>>> It goes back before IDE into the depths of the original compaq spec. When
>>> you have a device wired basically directly to the ISA bus (original IDE)
>>>   
>>>       
>>    ISA has only 8/16-bit data bus, so it could not have mattered 
>> there... 
>>     
>
> Depends what a 32bit I/O looks like on the 16bit bus - timing wise.
>   

   Two 16-bit reads at addresses 0x1x0 and 0x1x2 with the programmed 
recovery time, IIRC... It's just occured to me that in case of the 
16-bit bus it should be how the drive treated the accesses at address 
0x1x2 with IOCS16 asserted that could have mattered. If it honored them, 
32-bit I/O could have worked even on a dumb ISA "controller", if not -- 
no way (unless you really had *something* between the ISA and the IDE 
cable).

MBR, Sergei


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