linux/Documentation/DMA-API.txt
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   1               Dynamic DMA mapping using the generic device
   2               ============================================
   3
   4        James E.J. Bottomley <James.Bottomley@HansenPartnership.com>
   5
   6This document describes the DMA API.  For a more gentle introduction
   7phrased in terms of the pci_ equivalents (and actual examples) see
   8DMA-mapping.txt
   9
  10This API is split into two pieces.  Part I describes the API and the
  11corresponding pci_ API.  Part II describes the extensions to the API
  12for supporting non-consistent memory machines.  Unless you know that
  13your driver absolutely has to support non-consistent platforms (this
  14is usually only legacy platforms) you should only use the API
  15described in part I.
  16
  17Part I - pci_ and dma_ Equivalent API 
  18-------------------------------------
  19
  20To get the pci_ API, you must #include <linux/pci.h>
  21To get the dma_ API, you must #include <linux/dma-mapping.h>
  22
  23
  24Part Ia - Using large dma-coherent buffers
  25------------------------------------------
  26
  27void *
  28dma_alloc_coherent(struct device *dev, size_t size,
  29                             dma_addr_t *dma_handle, int flag)
  30void *
  31pci_alloc_consistent(struct pci_dev *dev, size_t size,
  32                             dma_addr_t *dma_handle)
  33
  34Consistent memory is memory for which a write by either the device or
  35the processor can immediately be read by the processor or device
  36without having to worry about caching effects.  (You may however need
  37to make sure to flush the processor's write buffers before telling
  38devices to read that memory.)
  39
  40This routine allocates a region of <size> bytes of consistent memory.
  41it also returns a <dma_handle> which may be cast to an unsigned
  42integer the same width as the bus and used as the physical address
  43base of the region.
  44
  45Returns: a pointer to the allocated region (in the processor's virtual
  46address space) or NULL if the allocation failed.
  47
  48Note: consistent memory can be expensive on some platforms, and the
  49minimum allocation length may be as big as a page, so you should
  50consolidate your requests for consistent memory as much as possible.
  51The simplest way to do that is to use the dma_pool calls (see below).
  52
  53The flag parameter (dma_alloc_coherent only) allows the caller to
  54specify the GFP_ flags (see kmalloc) for the allocation (the
  55implementation may chose to ignore flags that affect the location of
  56the returned memory, like GFP_DMA).  For pci_alloc_consistent, you
  57must assume GFP_ATOMIC behaviour.
  58
  59void
  60dma_free_coherent(struct device *dev, size_t size, void *cpu_addr
  61                           dma_addr_t dma_handle)
  62void
  63pci_free_consistent(struct pci_dev *dev, size_t size, void *cpu_addr
  64                           dma_addr_t dma_handle)
  65
  66Free the region of consistent memory you previously allocated.  dev,
  67size and dma_handle must all be the same as those passed into the
  68consistent allocate.  cpu_addr must be the virtual address returned by
  69the consistent allocate
  70
  71
  72Part Ib - Using small dma-coherent buffers
  73------------------------------------------
  74
  75To get this part of the dma_ API, you must #include <linux/dmapool.h>
  76
  77Many drivers need lots of small dma-coherent memory regions for DMA
  78descriptors or I/O buffers.  Rather than allocating in units of a page
  79or more using dma_alloc_coherent(), you can use DMA pools.  These work
  80much like a struct kmem_cache, except that they use the dma-coherent allocator
  81not __get_free_pages().  Also, they understand common hardware constraints
  82for alignment, like queue heads needing to be aligned on N byte boundaries.
  83
  84
  85        struct dma_pool *
  86        dma_pool_create(const char *name, struct device *dev,
  87                        size_t size, size_t align, size_t alloc);
  88
  89        struct pci_pool *
  90        pci_pool_create(const char *name, struct pci_device *dev,
  91                        size_t size, size_t align, size_t alloc);
  92
  93The pool create() routines initialize a pool of dma-coherent buffers
  94for use with a given device.  It must be called in a context which
  95can sleep.
  96
  97The "name" is for diagnostics (like a struct kmem_cache name); dev and size
  98are like what you'd pass to dma_alloc_coherent().  The device's hardware
  99alignment requirement for this type of data is "align" (which is expressed
 100in bytes, and must be a power of two).  If your device has no boundary
 101crossing restrictions, pass 0 for alloc; passing 4096 says memory allocated
 102from this pool must not cross 4KByte boundaries.
 103
 104
 105        void *dma_pool_alloc(struct dma_pool *pool, int gfp_flags,
 106                        dma_addr_t *dma_handle);
 107
 108        void *pci_pool_alloc(struct pci_pool *pool, int gfp_flags,
 109                        dma_addr_t *dma_handle);
 110
 111This allocates memory from the pool; the returned memory will meet the size
 112and alignment requirements specified at creation time.  Pass GFP_ATOMIC to
 113prevent blocking, or if it's permitted (not in_interrupt, not holding SMP locks)
 114pass GFP_KERNEL to allow blocking.  Like dma_alloc_coherent(), this returns
 115two values:  an address usable by the cpu, and the dma address usable by the
 116pool's device.
 117
 118
 119        void dma_pool_free(struct dma_pool *pool, void *vaddr,
 120                        dma_addr_t addr);
 121
 122        void pci_pool_free(struct pci_pool *pool, void *vaddr,
 123                        dma_addr_t addr);
 124
 125This puts memory back into the pool.  The pool is what was passed to
 126the pool allocation routine; the cpu and dma addresses are what
 127were returned when that routine allocated the memory being freed.
 128
 129
 130        void dma_pool_destroy(struct dma_pool *pool);
 131
 132        void pci_pool_destroy(struct pci_pool *pool);
 133
 134The pool destroy() routines free the resources of the pool.  They must be
 135called in a context which can sleep.  Make sure you've freed all allocated
 136memory back to the pool before you destroy it.
 137
 138
 139Part Ic - DMA addressing limitations
 140------------------------------------
 141
 142int
 143dma_supported(struct device *dev, u64 mask)
 144int
 145pci_dma_supported(struct device *dev, u64 mask)
 146
 147Checks to see if the device can support DMA to the memory described by
 148mask.
 149
 150Returns: 1 if it can and 0 if it can't.
 151
 152Notes: This routine merely tests to see if the mask is possible.  It
 153won't change the current mask settings.  It is more intended as an
 154internal API for use by the platform than an external API for use by
 155driver writers.
 156
 157int
 158dma_set_mask(struct device *dev, u64 mask)
 159int
 160pci_set_dma_mask(struct pci_device *dev, u64 mask)
 161
 162Checks to see if the mask is possible and updates the device
 163parameters if it is.
 164
 165Returns: 0 if successful and a negative error if not.
 166
 167u64
 168dma_get_required_mask(struct device *dev)
 169
 170After setting the mask with dma_set_mask(), this API returns the
 171actual mask (within that already set) that the platform actually
 172requires to operate efficiently.  Usually this means the returned mask
 173is the minimum required to cover all of memory.  Examining the
 174required mask gives drivers with variable descriptor sizes the
 175opportunity to use smaller descriptors as necessary.
 176
 177Requesting the required mask does not alter the current mask.  If you
 178wish to take advantage of it, you should issue another dma_set_mask()
 179call to lower the mask again.
 180
 181
 182Part Id - Streaming DMA mappings
 183--------------------------------
 184
 185dma_addr_t
 186dma_map_single(struct device *dev, void *cpu_addr, size_t size,
 187                      enum dma_data_direction direction)
 188dma_addr_t
 189pci_map_single(struct device *dev, void *cpu_addr, size_t size,
 190                      int direction)
 191
 192Maps a piece of processor virtual memory so it can be accessed by the
 193device and returns the physical handle of the memory.
 194
 195The direction for both api's may be converted freely by casting.
 196However the dma_ API uses a strongly typed enumerator for its
 197direction:
 198
 199DMA_NONE                = PCI_DMA_NONE          no direction (used for
 200                                                debugging)
 201DMA_TO_DEVICE           = PCI_DMA_TODEVICE      data is going from the
 202                                                memory to the device
 203DMA_FROM_DEVICE         = PCI_DMA_FROMDEVICE    data is coming from
 204                                                the device to the
 205                                                memory
 206DMA_BIDIRECTIONAL       = PCI_DMA_BIDIRECTIONAL direction isn't known
 207
 208Notes:  Not all memory regions in a machine can be mapped by this
 209API.  Further, regions that appear to be physically contiguous in
 210kernel virtual space may not be contiguous as physical memory.  Since
 211this API does not provide any scatter/gather capability, it will fail
 212if the user tries to map a non physically contiguous piece of memory.
 213For this reason, it is recommended that memory mapped by this API be
 214obtained only from sources which guarantee to be physically contiguous
 215(like kmalloc).
 216
 217Further, the physical address of the memory must be within the
 218dma_mask of the device (the dma_mask represents a bit mask of the
 219addressable region for the device.  i.e. if the physical address of
 220the memory anded with the dma_mask is still equal to the physical
 221address, then the device can perform DMA to the memory).  In order to
 222ensure that the memory allocated by kmalloc is within the dma_mask,
 223the driver may specify various platform dependent flags to restrict
 224the physical memory range of the allocation (e.g. on x86, GFP_DMA
 225guarantees to be within the first 16Mb of available physical memory,
 226as required by ISA devices).
 227
 228Note also that the above constraints on physical contiguity and
 229dma_mask may not apply if the platform has an IOMMU (a device which
 230supplies a physical to virtual mapping between the I/O memory bus and
 231the device).  However, to be portable, device driver writers may *not*
 232assume that such an IOMMU exists.
 233
 234Warnings:  Memory coherency operates at a granularity called the cache
 235line width.  In order for memory mapped by this API to operate
 236correctly, the mapped region must begin exactly on a cache line
 237boundary and end exactly on one (to prevent two separately mapped
 238regions from sharing a single cache line).  Since the cache line size
 239may not be known at compile time, the API will not enforce this
 240requirement.  Therefore, it is recommended that driver writers who
 241don't take special care to determine the cache line size at run time
 242only map virtual regions that begin and end on page boundaries (which
 243are guaranteed also to be cache line boundaries).
 244
 245DMA_TO_DEVICE synchronisation must be done after the last modification
 246of the memory region by the software and before it is handed off to
 247the driver.  Once this primitive is used.  Memory covered by this
 248primitive should be treated as read only by the device.  If the device
 249may write to it at any point, it should be DMA_BIDIRECTIONAL (see
 250below).
 251
 252DMA_FROM_DEVICE synchronisation must be done before the driver
 253accesses data that may be changed by the device.  This memory should
 254be treated as read only by the driver.  If the driver needs to write
 255to it at any point, it should be DMA_BIDIRECTIONAL (see below).
 256
 257DMA_BIDIRECTIONAL requires special handling: it means that the driver
 258isn't sure if the memory was modified before being handed off to the
 259device and also isn't sure if the device will also modify it.  Thus,
 260you must always sync bidirectional memory twice: once before the
 261memory is handed off to the device (to make sure all memory changes
 262are flushed from the processor) and once before the data may be
 263accessed after being used by the device (to make sure any processor
 264cache lines are updated with data that the device may have changed.
 265
 266void
 267dma_unmap_single(struct device *dev, dma_addr_t dma_addr, size_t size,
 268                 enum dma_data_direction direction)
 269void
 270pci_unmap_single(struct pci_dev *hwdev, dma_addr_t dma_addr,
 271                 size_t size, int direction)
 272
 273Unmaps the region previously mapped.  All the parameters passed in
 274must be identical to those passed in (and returned) by the mapping
 275API.
 276
 277dma_addr_t
 278dma_map_page(struct device *dev, struct page *page,
 279                    unsigned long offset, size_t size,
 280                    enum dma_data_direction direction)
 281dma_addr_t
 282pci_map_page(struct pci_dev *hwdev, struct page *page,
 283                    unsigned long offset, size_t size, int direction)
 284void
 285dma_unmap_page(struct device *dev, dma_addr_t dma_address, size_t size,
 286               enum dma_data_direction direction)
 287void
 288pci_unmap_page(struct pci_dev *hwdev, dma_addr_t dma_address,
 289               size_t size, int direction)
 290
 291API for mapping and unmapping for pages.  All the notes and warnings
 292for the other mapping APIs apply here.  Also, although the <offset>
 293and <size> parameters are provided to do partial page mapping, it is
 294recommended that you never use these unless you really know what the
 295cache width is.
 296
 297int
 298dma_mapping_error(dma_addr_t dma_addr)
 299
 300int
 301pci_dma_mapping_error(dma_addr_t dma_addr)
 302
 303In some circumstances dma_map_single and dma_map_page will fail to create
 304a mapping. A driver can check for these errors by testing the returned
 305dma address with dma_mapping_error(). A non zero return value means the mapping
 306could not be created and the driver should take appropriate action (eg
 307reduce current DMA mapping usage or delay and try again later).
 308
 309        int
 310        dma_map_sg(struct device *dev, struct scatterlist *sg,
 311                int nents, enum dma_data_direction direction)
 312        int
 313        pci_map_sg(struct pci_dev *hwdev, struct scatterlist *sg,
 314                int nents, int direction)
 315
 316Maps a scatter gather list from the block layer.
 317
 318Returns: the number of physical segments mapped (this may be shorted
 319than <nents> passed in if the block layer determines that some
 320elements of the scatter/gather list are physically adjacent and thus
 321may be mapped with a single entry).
 322
 323Please note that the sg cannot be mapped again if it has been mapped once.
 324The mapping process is allowed to destroy information in the sg.
 325
 326As with the other mapping interfaces, dma_map_sg can fail. When it
 327does, 0 is returned and a driver must take appropriate action. It is
 328critical that the driver do something, in the case of a block driver
 329aborting the request or even oopsing is better than doing nothing and
 330corrupting the filesystem.
 331
 332With scatterlists, you use the resulting mapping like this:
 333
 334        int i, count = dma_map_sg(dev, sglist, nents, direction);
 335        struct scatterlist *sg;
 336
 337        for (i = 0, sg = sglist; i < count; i++, sg++) {
 338                hw_address[i] = sg_dma_address(sg);
 339                hw_len[i] = sg_dma_len(sg);
 340        }
 341
 342where nents is the number of entries in the sglist.
 343
 344The implementation is free to merge several consecutive sglist entries
 345into one (e.g. with an IOMMU, or if several pages just happen to be
 346physically contiguous) and returns the actual number of sg entries it
 347mapped them to. On failure 0, is returned.
 348
 349Then you should loop count times (note: this can be less than nents times)
 350and use sg_dma_address() and sg_dma_len() macros where you previously
 351accessed sg->address and sg->length as shown above.
 352
 353        void
 354        dma_unmap_sg(struct device *dev, struct scatterlist *sg,
 355                int nhwentries, enum dma_data_direction direction)
 356        void
 357        pci_unmap_sg(struct pci_dev *hwdev, struct scatterlist *sg,
 358                int nents, int direction)
 359
 360unmap the previously mapped scatter/gather list.  All the parameters
 361must be the same as those and passed in to the scatter/gather mapping
 362API.
 363
 364Note: <nents> must be the number you passed in, *not* the number of
 365physical entries returned.
 366
 367void
 368dma_sync_single(struct device *dev, dma_addr_t dma_handle, size_t size,
 369                enum dma_data_direction direction)
 370void
 371pci_dma_sync_single(struct pci_dev *hwdev, dma_addr_t dma_handle,
 372                           size_t size, int direction)
 373void
 374dma_sync_sg(struct device *dev, struct scatterlist *sg, int nelems,
 375                          enum dma_data_direction direction)
 376void
 377pci_dma_sync_sg(struct pci_dev *hwdev, struct scatterlist *sg,
 378                       int nelems, int direction)
 379
 380synchronise a single contiguous or scatter/gather mapping.  All the
 381parameters must be the same as those passed into the single mapping
 382API.
 383
 384Notes:  You must do this:
 385
 386- Before reading values that have been written by DMA from the device
 387  (use the DMA_FROM_DEVICE direction)
 388- After writing values that will be written to the device using DMA
 389  (use the DMA_TO_DEVICE) direction
 390- before *and* after handing memory to the device if the memory is
 391  DMA_BIDIRECTIONAL
 392
 393See also dma_map_single().
 394
 395
 396Part II - Advanced dma_ usage
 397-----------------------------
 398
 399Warning: These pieces of the DMA API have no PCI equivalent.  They
 400should also not be used in the majority of cases, since they cater for
 401unlikely corner cases that don't belong in usual drivers.
 402
 403If you don't understand how cache line coherency works between a
 404processor and an I/O device, you should not be using this part of the
 405API at all.
 406
 407void *
 408dma_alloc_noncoherent(struct device *dev, size_t size,
 409                               dma_addr_t *dma_handle, int flag)
 410
 411Identical to dma_alloc_coherent() except that the platform will
 412choose to return either consistent or non-consistent memory as it sees
 413fit.  By using this API, you are guaranteeing to the platform that you
 414have all the correct and necessary sync points for this memory in the
 415driver should it choose to return non-consistent memory.
 416
 417Note: where the platform can return consistent memory, it will
 418guarantee that the sync points become nops.
 419
 420Warning:  Handling non-consistent memory is a real pain.  You should
 421only ever use this API if you positively know your driver will be
 422required to work on one of the rare (usually non-PCI) architectures
 423that simply cannot make consistent memory.
 424
 425void
 426dma_free_noncoherent(struct device *dev, size_t size, void *cpu_addr,
 427                              dma_addr_t dma_handle)
 428
 429free memory allocated by the nonconsistent API.  All parameters must
 430be identical to those passed in (and returned by
 431dma_alloc_noncoherent()).
 432
 433int
 434dma_is_consistent(struct device *dev, dma_addr_t dma_handle)
 435
 436returns true if the device dev is performing consistent DMA on the memory
 437area pointed to by the dma_handle.
 438
 439int
 440dma_get_cache_alignment(void)
 441
 442returns the processor cache alignment.  This is the absolute minimum
 443alignment *and* width that you must observe when either mapping
 444memory or doing partial flushes.
 445
 446Notes: This API may return a number *larger* than the actual cache
 447line, but it will guarantee that one or more cache lines fit exactly
 448into the width returned by this call.  It will also always be a power
 449of two for easy alignment
 450
 451void
 452dma_sync_single_range(struct device *dev, dma_addr_t dma_handle,
 453                      unsigned long offset, size_t size,
 454                      enum dma_data_direction direction)
 455
 456does a partial sync.  starting at offset and continuing for size.  You
 457must be careful to observe the cache alignment and width when doing
 458anything like this.  You must also be extra careful about accessing
 459memory you intend to sync partially.
 460
 461void
 462dma_cache_sync(struct device *dev, void *vaddr, size_t size,
 463               enum dma_data_direction direction)
 464
 465Do a partial sync of memory that was allocated by
 466dma_alloc_noncoherent(), starting at virtual address vaddr and
 467continuing on for size.  Again, you *must* observe the cache line
 468boundaries when doing this.
 469
 470int
 471dma_declare_coherent_memory(struct device *dev, dma_addr_t bus_addr,
 472                            dma_addr_t device_addr, size_t size, int
 473                            flags)
 474
 475
 476Declare region of memory to be handed out by dma_alloc_coherent when
 477it's asked for coherent memory for this device.
 478
 479bus_addr is the physical address to which the memory is currently
 480assigned in the bus responding region (this will be used by the
 481platform to perform the mapping)
 482
 483device_addr is the physical address the device needs to be programmed
 484with actually to address this memory (this will be handed out as the
 485dma_addr_t in dma_alloc_coherent())
 486
 487size is the size of the area (must be multiples of PAGE_SIZE).
 488
 489flags can be or'd together and are
 490
 491DMA_MEMORY_MAP - request that the memory returned from
 492dma_alloc_coherent() be directly writable.
 493
 494DMA_MEMORY_IO - request that the memory returned from
 495dma_alloc_coherent() be addressable using read/write/memcpy_toio etc.
 496
 497One or both of these flags must be present
 498
 499DMA_MEMORY_INCLUDES_CHILDREN - make the declared memory be allocated by
 500dma_alloc_coherent of any child devices of this one (for memory residing
 501on a bridge).
 502
 503DMA_MEMORY_EXCLUSIVE - only allocate memory from the declared regions. 
 504Do not allow dma_alloc_coherent() to fall back to system memory when
 505it's out of memory in the declared region.
 506
 507The return value will be either DMA_MEMORY_MAP or DMA_MEMORY_IO and
 508must correspond to a passed in flag (i.e. no returning DMA_MEMORY_IO
 509if only DMA_MEMORY_MAP were passed in) for success or zero for
 510failure.
 511
 512Note, for DMA_MEMORY_IO returns, all subsequent memory returned by
 513dma_alloc_coherent() may no longer be accessed directly, but instead
 514must be accessed using the correct bus functions.  If your driver
 515isn't prepared to handle this contingency, it should not specify
 516DMA_MEMORY_IO in the input flags.
 517
 518As a simplification for the platforms, only *one* such region of
 519memory may be declared per device.
 520
 521For reasons of efficiency, most platforms choose to track the declared
 522region only at the granularity of a page.  For smaller allocations,
 523you should use the dma_pool() API.
 524
 525void
 526dma_release_declared_memory(struct device *dev)
 527
 528Remove the memory region previously declared from the system.  This
 529API performs *no* in-use checking for this region and will return
 530unconditionally having removed all the required structures.  It is the
 531drivers job to ensure that no parts of this memory region are
 532currently in use.
 533
 534void *
 535dma_mark_declared_memory_occupied(struct device *dev,
 536                                  dma_addr_t device_addr, size_t size)
 537
 538This is used to occupy specific regions of the declared space
 539(dma_alloc_coherent() will hand out the first free region it finds).
 540
 541device_addr is the *device* address of the region requested
 542
 543size is the size (and should be a page sized multiple).
 544
 545The return value will be either a pointer to the processor virtual
 546address of the memory, or an error (via PTR_ERR()) if any part of the
 547region is occupied.
 548
 549
 550
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