linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v2 2/2] serial: 8250: Add new 8250-core based Broadcom STB driver

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Message-ID: <YAhiw+6UiUplNcLq@kroah.com>
Date:   Wed, 20 Jan 2021 18:05:07 +0100
From:   Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@...uxfoundation.org>
To:     Andy Shevchenko <andy.shevchenko@...il.com>
Cc:     Florian Fainelli <f.fainelli@...il.com>,
        Al Cooper <alcooperx@...il.com>,
        Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        bcm-kernel-feedback-list <bcm-kernel-feedback-list@...adcom.com>,
        devicetree <devicetree@...r.kernel.org>,
        Jiri Slaby <jirislaby@...nel.org>,
        "open list:SERIAL DRIVERS" <linux-serial@...r.kernel.org>,
        USB <linux-usb@...r.kernel.org>,
        Masahiro Yamada <yamada.masahiro@...ionext.com>,
        Rob Herring <robh+dt@...nel.org>
Subject: Re: [PATCH v2 2/2] serial: 8250: Add new 8250-core based Broadcom
 STB driver

On Wed, Jan 20, 2021 at 06:47:52PM +0200, Andy Shevchenko wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 19, 2021 at 8:16 PM Florian Fainelli <f.fainelli@...il.com> wrote:
> > On 1/19/2021 7:21 AM, Andy Shevchenko wrote:
> > > On Fri, Jan 15, 2021 at 11:19 PM Al Cooper <alcooperx@...il.com> wrote:
> > >>
> > >> Add a UART driver for the new Broadcom 8250 based STB UART. The new
> > >> UART is backward compatible with the standard 8250, but has some
> > >> additional features. The new features include a high accuracy baud
> > >> rate clock system and DMA support.
> > >>
> > >> The driver will use the new optional BAUD MUX clock to select the best
> > >> one of the four master clocks (81MHz, 108MHz, 64MHz and 48MHz) to feed
> > >> the baud rate selection logic for any requested baud rate.  This allows
> > >> for more accurate BAUD rates when high speed baud rates are selected.
> > >>
> > >> The driver will use the new UART DMA hardware if the UART DMA registers
> > >> are specified in Device Tree "reg" property. The DMA functionality can
> > >> be disabled on kernel boot with the argument:
> > >> "8250_bcm7271.disable_dma=Y".
> > >>
> > >> The driver also set the UPSTAT_AUTOCTS flag when hardware flow control
> > >> is enabled. This flag is needed for UARTs that don't assert a CTS
> > >> changed interrupt when CTS changes and AFE (Hardware Flow Control) is
> > >> enabled.
> > >>
> > >> The driver also contains a workaround for a bug in the Synopsis 8250
> > >> core. The problem is that at high baud rates, the RX partial FIFO
> > >> timeout interrupt can occur but there is no RX data (DR not set in
> > >> the LSR register). In this case the driver will not read the Receive
> > >> Buffer Register, which clears the interrupt, and the system will get
> > >> continuous UART interrupts until the next RX character arrives. The
> > >> fix originally suggested by Synopsis was to read the Receive Buffer
> > >> Register and discard the character when the DR bit in the LSR was
> > >> not set, to clear the interrupt. The problem was that occasionally
> > >> a character would arrive just after the DR bit check and a valid
> > >> character would be discarded. The fix that was added will clear
> > >> receive interrupts to stop the interrupt, deassert RTS to insure
> > >> that no new data can arrive, wait for 1.5 character times for the
> > >> sender to react to RTS and then check for data and either do a dummy
> > >> read or a valid read. Sysfs error counters were also added and were
> > >> used to help create test software that would cause the error condition.
> > >> The counters can be found at:
> > >> /sys/devices/platform/rdb/*serial/rx_bad_timeout_late_char
> > >> /sys/devices/platform/rdb/*serial/rx_bad_timeout_no_char
> > >
> > > Brief looking into the code raises several questions:
> > >  - is it driver from the last decade?
> >
> > Work on this driver started back in 2018, that was indeed the last decade.
> >
> > >  - why it's not using what kernel provides?
> > >  - we have a lot of nice helpers:
> > >    - DMA Engine API
> >
> > Not sure this makes sense, given that the DMA hardware that was added to
> > this UART block is only used by the UART block and no other pieces of HW
> > in the system, nor will they ever be. Not sure it makes sense to pay the
> > cost of an extra indirection and subsystem unless there are at least two
> > consumers of that DMA hardware to warrant modeling it after a dmaengine
> > driver. I also remember that Al researched before whether 8250_dma.c
> > could work, and came to the conclusion that it would not, but I will let
> > him comment on the specifics.
> 
> I see. In any case I still believe that the driver can be shrinked by
> a notable amount of lines.

Patches always gladly accepted :)