netdev - Re: [PATCH v2 net-next 3/8] net: cdc_ncm: inform usbnet when rx buffers are reduced

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Message-ID: <87r43b8k40.fsf@nemi.mork.no>
Date:	Fri, 30 May 2014 15:35:43 +0200
From:	Bjørn Mork <bjorn@...k.no>
To:	David Laight <David.Laight@...LAB.COM>
Cc:	"netdev\@vger.kernel.org" <netdev@...r.kernel.org>,
	"linux-usb\@vger.kernel.org" <linux-usb@...r.kernel.org>,
	Alexey Orishko <alexey.orishko@...il.com>,
	Oliver Neukum <oliver@...kum.org>,
	Enrico Mioso <mrkiko.rs@...il.com>,
	Lars Melin <larsm17@...il.com>, Peter Stuge <peter@...ge.se>,
	Greg Suarez <gsuarez@...thmicro.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH v2 net-next 3/8] net: cdc_ncm: inform usbnet when rx buffers are reduced

David Laight <David.Laight@...LAB.COM> writes:

> From: Bjørn Mork
>> David Laight <David.Laight@...LAB.COM> writes:
>> > From: Bjørn Mork
>> >> It doesn't matter whether the buffer size goes up or down.  We have to
>> >> keep usbnet and device syncronized to be able to split transfers at the
>> >> correct boundaries. The spec allow skipping short packets when using
>> >> max sized transfers.  If we don't tell usbnet about our new expected rx
>> >> buffer size, then it will merge and/or split NTBs.  The driver does not
>> >> support this, and the result will be lots of framing errors.
>> >>
>> >> Fix by always reallocating usbnet rx buffers when the rx_max value
>> >> changes.
>> >
>> > I'm guessing that the rx_max value is the maximum size of the USB bulk
>> > data 'message' that the device generates?
>> >
>> > As such the URB only need to be longer that it.
>> 
>> So did I think too at first.  That's how I added the bug fixed by this
>> commit :-)
>> 
>> The problem with NCM is that it explicitly allows (and encourage) using
>> transfers which are multiples of the USB packet size, *without* any
>> terminating short packet (0 or 1 byte). This means that the USB core
>> won't know or care about the end of one transfer and the beginning of
>> the next.  Which is fine.  But the cdc_ncm driver has to know, because
>> it must split the transfers into frames it can decode.
>> 
>> Now, the current cdc_ncm implementation has a built-in assumption that
>> the size of the URB == rx_max.  This lets it simplify the splitting into
>> frames to nearly nothing: Any received URB contains exactly one frame.
>> Therefore we need to keep the rx URB size strictly syncronized the
>> rx_max.
>
> Hmmm....
> So there is an ethernet packet size somewhere near 500 that exactly fills
> a 512 byte USB2 frame.
> If you receive one of those does the hardware send a 0 length terminating
> fragment?
> If not the then URB won't complete until after the next ethernet frame
> arrives.
> Receive three of them followed by a longer frame and you'll overrun the
> end of the URB.
>
> At least one path through usbnet ensures that the rx buffers aren't
> a multiple of the USB frame size. I'm not sure whether that really helps.
>
> Sounds like the hardware expects you to receive each USB bulk buffer
> separately.

Please, go read the NCM spec.


Bjørn
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