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author | Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> | 2019-07-16 12:21:41 -0700 |
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committer | Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> | 2019-07-16 12:21:41 -0700 |
commit | c309b6f24222246c18a8b65d3950e6e755440865 (patch) | |
tree | 11893170f5c246bb0dee8066e85878af04162ab0 /Documentation/driver-api/dell_rbu.rst | |
parent | 3e859477a1db52a0435d06a55fdb54f62d69c292 (diff) | |
parent | 168869492e7009b6861b615f1d030c99bc805e83 (diff) |
Merge tag 'docs/v5.3-1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/mchehab/linux-media
Pull rst conversion of docs from Mauro Carvalho Chehab:
"As agreed with Jon, I'm sending this big series directly to you, c/c
him, as this series required a special care, in order to avoid
conflicts with other trees"
* tag 'docs/v5.3-1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/mchehab/linux-media: (77 commits)
docs: kbuild: fix build with pdf and fix some minor issues
docs: block: fix pdf output
docs: arm: fix a breakage with pdf output
docs: don't use nested tables
docs: gpio: add sysfs interface to the admin-guide
docs: locking: add it to the main index
docs: add some directories to the main documentation index
docs: add SPDX tags to new index files
docs: add a memory-devices subdir to driver-api
docs: phy: place documentation under driver-api
docs: serial: move it to the driver-api
docs: driver-api: add remaining converted dirs to it
docs: driver-api: add xilinx driver API documentation
docs: driver-api: add a series of orphaned documents
docs: admin-guide: add a series of orphaned documents
docs: cgroup-v1: add it to the admin-guide book
docs: aoe: add it to the driver-api book
docs: add some documentation dirs to the driver-api book
docs: driver-model: move it to the driver-api book
docs: lp855x-driver.rst: add it to the driver-api book
...
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/driver-api/dell_rbu.rst')
-rw-r--r-- | Documentation/driver-api/dell_rbu.rst | 128 |
1 files changed, 128 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/driver-api/dell_rbu.rst b/Documentation/driver-api/dell_rbu.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..5d1ce7bcd04d --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/driver-api/dell_rbu.rst @@ -0,0 +1,128 @@ +============================================================= +Usage of the new open sourced rbu (Remote BIOS Update) driver +============================================================= + +Purpose +======= + +Document demonstrating the use of the Dell Remote BIOS Update driver. +for updating BIOS images on Dell servers and desktops. + +Scope +===== + +This document discusses the functionality of the rbu driver only. +It does not cover the support needed from applications to enable the BIOS to +update itself with the image downloaded in to the memory. + +Overview +======== + +This driver works with Dell OpenManage or Dell Update Packages for updating +the BIOS on Dell servers (starting from servers sold since 1999), desktops +and notebooks (starting from those sold in 2005). + +Please go to http://support.dell.com register and you can find info on +OpenManage and Dell Update packages (DUP). + +Libsmbios can also be used to update BIOS on Dell systems go to +http://linux.dell.com/libsmbios/ for details. + +Dell_RBU driver supports BIOS update using the monolithic image and packetized +image methods. In case of monolithic the driver allocates a contiguous chunk +of physical pages having the BIOS image. In case of packetized the app +using the driver breaks the image in to packets of fixed sizes and the driver +would place each packet in contiguous physical memory. The driver also +maintains a link list of packets for reading them back. + +If the dell_rbu driver is unloaded all the allocated memory is freed. + +The rbu driver needs to have an application (as mentioned above)which will +inform the BIOS to enable the update in the next system reboot. + +The user should not unload the rbu driver after downloading the BIOS image +or updating. + +The driver load creates the following directories under the /sys file system:: + + /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/loading + /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/data + /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/image_type + /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/data + /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/packet_size + +The driver supports two types of update mechanism; monolithic and packetized. +These update mechanism depends upon the BIOS currently running on the system. +Most of the Dell systems support a monolithic update where the BIOS image is +copied to a single contiguous block of physical memory. + +In case of packet mechanism the single memory can be broken in smaller chunks +of contiguous memory and the BIOS image is scattered in these packets. + +By default the driver uses monolithic memory for the update type. This can be +changed to packets during the driver load time by specifying the load +parameter image_type=packet. This can also be changed later as below:: + + echo packet > /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/image_type + +In packet update mode the packet size has to be given before any packets can +be downloaded. It is done as below:: + + echo XXXX > /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/packet_size + +In the packet update mechanism, the user needs to create a new file having +packets of data arranged back to back. It can be done as follows +The user creates packets header, gets the chunk of the BIOS image and +places it next to the packetheader; now, the packetheader + BIOS image chunk +added together should match the specified packet_size. This makes one +packet, the user needs to create more such packets out of the entire BIOS +image file and then arrange all these packets back to back in to one single +file. + +This file is then copied to /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/data. +Once this file gets to the driver, the driver extracts packet_size data from +the file and spreads it across the physical memory in contiguous packet_sized +space. + +This method makes sure that all the packets get to the driver in a single operation. + +In monolithic update the user simply get the BIOS image (.hdr file) and copies +to the data file as is without any change to the BIOS image itself. + +Do the steps below to download the BIOS image. + +1) echo 1 > /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/loading +2) cp bios_image.hdr /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/data +3) echo 0 > /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/loading + +The /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/ entries will remain till the following is +done. + +:: + + echo -1 > /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/loading + +Until this step is completed the driver cannot be unloaded. + +Also echoing either mono, packet or init in to image_type will free up the +memory allocated by the driver. + +If a user by accident executes steps 1 and 3 above without executing step 2; +it will make the /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/ entries disappear. + +The entries can be recreated by doing the following:: + + echo init > /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/image_type + +.. note:: echoing init in image_type does not change it original value. + +Also the driver provides /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/data readonly file to +read back the image downloaded. + +.. note:: + + After updating the BIOS image a user mode application needs to execute + code which sends the BIOS update request to the BIOS. So on the next reboot + the BIOS knows about the new image downloaded and it updates itself. + Also don't unload the rbu driver if the image has to be updated. + |