summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/Documentation/DocBook/libata.tmpl
blob: b2ec780bcda10da1f835de1527331d054afe592a (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.1.2//EN"
	"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.1.2/docbookx.dtd" []>

<book id="libataDevGuide">
 <bookinfo>
  <title>libATA Developer's Guide</title>
  
  <authorgroup>
   <author>
    <firstname>Jeff</firstname>
    <surname>Garzik</surname>
   </author>
  </authorgroup>

  <copyright>
   <year>2003-2005</year>
   <holder>Jeff Garzik</holder>
  </copyright>

  <legalnotice>
   <para>
   The contents of this file are subject to the Open
   Software License version 1.1 that can be found at
   <ulink url="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/osl-1.1.txt">http://www.opensource.org/licenses/osl-1.1.txt</ulink> and is included herein
   by reference.
   </para>

   <para>
   Alternatively, the contents of this file may be used under the terms
   of the GNU General Public License version 2 (the "GPL") as distributed
   in the kernel source COPYING file, in which case the provisions of
   the GPL are applicable instead of the above.  If you wish to allow
   the use of your version of this file only under the terms of the
   GPL and not to allow others to use your version of this file under
   the OSL, indicate your decision by deleting the provisions above and
   replace them with the notice and other provisions required by the GPL.
   If you do not delete the provisions above, a recipient may use your
   version of this file under either the OSL or the GPL.
   </para>

  </legalnotice>
 </bookinfo>

<toc></toc>

  <chapter id="libataIntroduction">
     <title>Introduction</title>
  <para>
  libATA is a library used inside the Linux kernel to support ATA host
  controllers and devices.  libATA provides an ATA driver API, class
  transports for ATA and ATAPI devices, and SCSI&lt;-&gt;ATA translation
  for ATA devices according to the T10 SAT specification.
  </para>
  <para>
  This Guide documents the libATA driver API, library functions, library
  internals, and a couple sample ATA low-level drivers.
  </para>
  </chapter>

  <chapter id="libataDriverApi">
     <title>libata Driver API</title>
     <para>
     struct ata_port_operations is defined for every low-level libata
     hardware driver, and it controls how the low-level driver
     interfaces with the ATA and SCSI layers.
     </para>
     <para>
     FIS-based drivers will hook into the system with ->qc_prep() and
     ->qc_issue() high-level hooks.  Hardware which behaves in a manner
     similar to PCI IDE hardware may utilize several generic helpers,
     defining at a bare minimum the bus I/O addresses of the ATA shadow
     register blocks.
     </para>
     <sect1>
        <title>struct ata_port_operations</title>

	<sect2><title>Disable ATA port</title>
	<programlisting>
void (*port_disable) (struct ata_port *);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
	Called from ata_bus_probe() and ata_bus_reset() error paths,
	as well as when unregistering from the SCSI module (rmmod, hot
	unplug).
	This function should do whatever needs to be done to take the
	port out of use.  In most cases, ata_port_disable() can be used
	as this hook.
	</para>
	<para>
	Called from ata_bus_probe() on a failed probe.
	Called from ata_bus_reset() on a failed bus reset.
	Called from ata_scsi_release().
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>Post-IDENTIFY device configuration</title>
	<programlisting>
void (*dev_config) (struct ata_port *, struct ata_device *);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
	Called after IDENTIFY [PACKET] DEVICE is issued to each device
	found.  Typically used to apply device-specific fixups prior to
	issue of SET FEATURES - XFER MODE, and prior to operation.
	</para>
	<para>
	Called by ata_device_add() after ata_dev_identify() determines
	a device is present.
	</para>
	<para>
	This entry may be specified as NULL in ata_port_operations.
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>Set PIO/DMA mode</title>
	<programlisting>
void (*set_piomode) (struct ata_port *, struct ata_device *);
void (*set_dmamode) (struct ata_port *, struct ata_device *);
void (*post_set_mode) (struct ata_port *ap);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
	Hooks called prior to the issue of SET FEATURES - XFER MODE
	command.  dev->pio_mode is guaranteed to be valid when
	->set_piomode() is called, and dev->dma_mode is guaranteed to be
	valid when ->set_dmamode() is called.  ->post_set_mode() is
	called unconditionally, after the SET FEATURES - XFER MODE
	command completes successfully.
	</para>

	<para>
	->set_piomode() is always called (if present), but
	->set_dma_mode() is only called if DMA is possible.
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>Taskfile read/write</title>
	<programlisting>
void (*tf_load) (struct ata_port *ap, struct ata_taskfile *tf);
void (*tf_read) (struct ata_port *ap, struct ata_taskfile *tf);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
	->tf_load() is called to load the given taskfile into hardware
	registers / DMA buffers.  ->tf_read() is called to read the
	hardware registers / DMA buffers, to obtain the current set of
	taskfile register values.
	Most drivers for taskfile-based hardware (PIO or MMIO) use
	ata_tf_load() and ata_tf_read() for these hooks.
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>ATA command execute</title>
	<programlisting>
void (*exec_command)(struct ata_port *ap, struct ata_taskfile *tf);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
	causes an ATA command, previously loaded with
	->tf_load(), to be initiated in hardware.
	Most drivers for taskfile-based hardware use ata_exec_command()
	for this hook.
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>Per-cmd ATAPI DMA capabilities filter</title>
	<programlisting>
int (*check_atapi_dma) (struct ata_queued_cmd *qc);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
Allow low-level driver to filter ATA PACKET commands, returning a status
indicating whether or not it is OK to use DMA for the supplied PACKET
command.
	</para>
	<para>
	This hook may be specified as NULL, in which case libata will
	assume that atapi dma can be supported.
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>Read specific ATA shadow registers</title>
	<programlisting>
u8   (*check_status)(struct ata_port *ap);
u8   (*check_altstatus)(struct ata_port *ap);
u8   (*check_err)(struct ata_port *ap);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
	Reads the Status/AltStatus/Error ATA shadow register from
	hardware.  On some hardware, reading the Status register has
	the side effect of clearing the interrupt condition.
	Most drivers for taskfile-based hardware use
	ata_check_status() for this hook.
	</para>
	<para>
	Note that because this is called from ata_device_add(), at
	least a dummy function that clears device interrupts must be
	provided for all drivers, even if the controller doesn't
	actually have a taskfile status register.
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>Select ATA device on bus</title>
	<programlisting>
void (*dev_select)(struct ata_port *ap, unsigned int device);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
	Issues the low-level hardware command(s) that causes one of N
	hardware devices to be considered 'selected' (active and
	available for use) on the ATA bus.  This generally has no
	meaning on FIS-based devices.
	</para>
	<para>
	Most drivers for taskfile-based hardware use
	ata_std_dev_select() for this hook.  Controllers which do not
	support second drives on a port (such as SATA contollers) will
	use ata_noop_dev_select().
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>Reset ATA bus</title>
	<programlisting>
void (*phy_reset) (struct ata_port *ap);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
	The very first step in the probe phase.  Actions vary depending
	on the bus type, typically.  After waking up the device and probing
	for device presence (PATA and SATA), typically a soft reset
	(SRST) will be performed.  Drivers typically use the helper
	functions ata_bus_reset() or sata_phy_reset() for this hook.
	Many SATA drivers use sata_phy_reset() or call it from within
	their own phy_reset() functions.
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>Control PCI IDE BMDMA engine</title>
	<programlisting>
void (*bmdma_setup) (struct ata_queued_cmd *qc);
void (*bmdma_start) (struct ata_queued_cmd *qc);
void (*bmdma_stop) (struct ata_port *ap);
u8   (*bmdma_status) (struct ata_port *ap);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
When setting up an IDE BMDMA transaction, these hooks arm
(->bmdma_setup), fire (->bmdma_start), and halt (->bmdma_stop)
the hardware's DMA engine.  ->bmdma_status is used to read the standard
PCI IDE DMA Status register.
	</para>

	<para>
These hooks are typically either no-ops, or simply not implemented, in
FIS-based drivers.
	</para>
	<para>
Most legacy IDE drivers use ata_bmdma_setup() for the bmdma_setup()
hook.  ata_bmdma_setup() will write the pointer to the PRD table to
the IDE PRD Table Address register, enable DMA in the DMA Command
register, and call exec_command() to begin the transfer.
	</para>
	<para>
Most legacy IDE drivers use ata_bmdma_start() for the bmdma_start()
hook.  ata_bmdma_start() will write the ATA_DMA_START flag to the DMA
Command register.
	</para>
	<para>
Many legacy IDE drivers use ata_bmdma_stop() for the bmdma_stop()
hook.  ata_bmdma_stop() clears the ATA_DMA_START flag in the DMA
command register.
	</para>
	<para>
Many legacy IDE drivers use ata_bmdma_status() as the bmdma_status() hook.
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>High-level taskfile hooks</title>
	<programlisting>
void (*qc_prep) (struct ata_queued_cmd *qc);
int (*qc_issue) (struct ata_queued_cmd *qc);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
	Higher-level hooks, these two hooks can potentially supercede
	several of the above taskfile/DMA engine hooks.  ->qc_prep is
	called after the buffers have been DMA-mapped, and is typically
	used to populate the hardware's DMA scatter-gather table.
	Most drivers use the standard ata_qc_prep() helper function, but
	more advanced drivers roll their own.
	</para>
	<para>
	->qc_issue is used to make a command active, once the hardware
	and S/G tables have been prepared.  IDE BMDMA drivers use the
	helper function ata_qc_issue_prot() for taskfile protocol-based
	dispatch.  More advanced drivers implement their own ->qc_issue.
	</para>
	<para>
	ata_qc_issue_prot() calls ->tf_load(), ->bmdma_setup(), and
	->bmdma_start() as necessary to initiate a transfer.
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>Timeout (error) handling</title>
	<programlisting>
void (*eng_timeout) (struct ata_port *ap);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
This is a high level error handling function, called from the
error handling thread, when a command times out.  Most newer
hardware will implement its own error handling code here.  IDE BMDMA
drivers may use the helper function ata_eng_timeout().
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>Hardware interrupt handling</title>
	<programlisting>
irqreturn_t (*irq_handler)(int, void *, struct pt_regs *);
void (*irq_clear) (struct ata_port *);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
	->irq_handler is the interrupt handling routine registered with
	the system, by libata.  ->irq_clear is called during probe just
	before the interrupt handler is registered, to be sure hardware
	is quiet.
	</para>
	<para>
	The second argument, dev_instance, should be cast to a pointer
	to struct ata_host_set.
	</para>
	<para>
	Most legacy IDE drivers use ata_interrupt() for the
	irq_handler hook, which scans all ports in the host_set,
	determines which queued command was active (if any), and calls
	ata_host_intr(ap,qc).
	</para>
	<para>
	Most legacy IDE drivers use ata_bmdma_irq_clear() for the
	irq_clear() hook, which simply clears the interrupt and error
	flags in the DMA status register.
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>SATA phy read/write</title>
	<programlisting>
u32 (*scr_read) (struct ata_port *ap, unsigned int sc_reg);
void (*scr_write) (struct ata_port *ap, unsigned int sc_reg,
                   u32 val);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
	Read and write standard SATA phy registers.  Currently only used
	if ->phy_reset hook called the sata_phy_reset() helper function.
	sc_reg is one of SCR_STATUS, SCR_CONTROL, SCR_ERROR, or SCR_ACTIVE.
	</para>

	</sect2>

	<sect2><title>Init and shutdown</title>
	<programlisting>
int (*port_start) (struct ata_port *ap);
void (*port_stop) (struct ata_port *ap);
void (*host_stop) (struct ata_host_set *host_set);
	</programlisting>

	<para>
	->port_start() is called just after the data structures for each
	port are initialized.  Typically this is used to alloc per-port
	DMA buffers / tables / rings, enable DMA engines, and similar
	tasks.  Some drivers also use this entry point as a chance to
	allocate driver-private memory for ap->private_data.
	</para>
	<para>
	Many drivers use ata_port_start() as this hook or call
	it from their own port_start() hooks.  ata_port_start()
	allocates space for a legacy IDE PRD table and returns.
	</para>
	<para>
	->port_stop() is called after ->host_stop().  It's sole function
	is to release DMA/memory resources, now that they are no longer
	actively being used.  Many drivers also free driver-private
	data from port at this time.
	</para>
	<para>
	Many drivers use ata_port_stop() as this hook, which frees the
	PRD table.
	</para>
	<para>
	->host_stop() is called after all ->port_stop() calls
have completed.  The hook must finalize hardware shutdown, release DMA
and other resources, etc.
	This hook may be specified as NULL, in which case it is not called.
	</para>

	</sect2>

     </sect1>
  </chapter>

  <chapter id="libataEH">
        <title>Error handling</title>

	<para>
	This chapter describes how errors are handled under libata.
	Readers are advised to read SCSI EH
	(Documentation/scsi/scsi_eh.txt) and ATA exceptions doc first.
	</para>

	<sect1><title>Origins of commands</title>
	<para>
	In libata, a command is represented with struct ata_queued_cmd
	or qc.  qc's are preallocated during port initialization and
	repetitively used for command executions.  Currently only one
	qc is allocated per port but yet-to-be-merged NCQ branch
	allocates one for each tag and maps each qc to NCQ tag 1-to-1.
	</para>
	<para>
	libata commands can originate from two sources - libata itself
	and SCSI midlayer.  libata internal commands are used for
	initialization and error handling.  All normal blk requests
	and commands for SCSI emulation are passed as SCSI commands
	through queuecommand callback of SCSI host template.
	</para>
	</sect1>

	<sect1><title>How commands are issued</title>

	<variablelist>

	<varlistentry><term>Internal commands</term>
	<listitem>
	<para>
	First, qc is allocated and initialized using
	ata_qc_new_init().  Although ata_qc_new_init() doesn't
	implement any wait or retry mechanism when qc is not
	available, internal commands are currently issued only during
	initialization and error recovery, so no other command is
	active and allocation is guaranteed to succeed.
	</para>
	<para>
	Once allocated qc's taskfile is initialized for the command to
	be executed.  qc currently has two mechanisms to notify
	completion.  One is via qc->complete_fn() callback and the
	other is completion qc->waiting.  qc->complete_fn() callback
	is the asynchronous path used by normal SCSI translated
	commands and qc->waiting is the synchronous (issuer sleeps in
	process context) path used by internal commands.
	</para>
	<para>
	Once initialization is complete, host_set lock is acquired
	and the qc is issued.
	</para>
	</listitem>
	</varlistentry>

	<varlistentry><term>SCSI commands</term>
	<listitem>
	<para>
	All libata drivers use ata_scsi_queuecmd() as
	hostt->queuecommand callback.  scmds can either be simulated
	or translated.  No qc is involved in processing a simulated
	scmd.  The result is computed right away and the scmd is
	completed.
	</para>
	<para>
	For a translated scmd, ata_qc_new_init() is invoked to
	allocate a qc and the scmd is translated into the qc.  SCSI
	midlayer's completion notification function pointer is stored
	into qc->scsidone.
	</para>
	<para>
	qc->complete_fn() callback is used for completion
	notification.  ATA commands use ata_scsi_qc_complete() while
	ATAPI commands use atapi_qc_complete().  Both functions end up
	calling qc->scsidone to notify upper layer when the qc is
	finished.  After translation is completed, the qc is issued
	with ata_qc_issue().
	</para>
	<para>
	Note that SCSI midlayer invokes hostt->queuecommand while
	holding host_set lock, so all above occur while holding
	host_set lock.
	</para>
	</listitem>
	</varlistentry>

	</variablelist>
	</sect1>

	<sect1><title>How commands are processed</title>
	<para>
	Depending on which protocol and which controller are used,
	commands are processed differently.  For the purpose of
	discussion, a controller which uses taskfile interface and all
	standard callbacks is assumed.
	</para>
	<para>
	Currently 6 ATA command protocols are used.  They can be
	sorted into the following four categories according to how
	they are processed.
	</para>

	<variablelist>
	   <varlistentry><term>ATA NO DATA or DMA</term>
	   <listitem>
	   <para>
	   ATA_PROT_NODATA and ATA_PROT_DMA fall into this category.
	   These types of commands don't require any software
	   intervention once issued.  Device will raise interrupt on
	   completion.
	   </para>
	   </listitem>
	   </varlistentry>

	   <varlistentry><term>ATA PIO</term>
	   <listitem>
	   <para>
	   ATA_PROT_PIO is in this category.  libata currently
	   implements PIO with polling.  ATA_NIEN bit is set to turn
	   off interrupt and pio_task on ata_wq performs polling and
	   IO.
	   </para>
	   </listitem>
	   </varlistentry>

	   <varlistentry><term>ATAPI NODATA or DMA</term>
	   <listitem>
	   <para>
	   ATA_PROT_ATAPI_NODATA and ATA_PROT_ATAPI_DMA are in this
	   category.  packet_task is used to poll BSY bit after
	   issuing PACKET command.  Once BSY is turned off by the
	   device, packet_task transfers CDB and hands off processing
	   to interrupt handler.
	   </para>
	   </listitem>
	   </varlistentry>

	   <varlistentry><term>ATAPI PIO</term>
	   <listitem>
	   <para>
	   ATA_PROT_ATAPI is in this category.  ATA_NIEN bit is set
	   and, as in ATAPI NODATA or DMA, packet_task submits cdb.
	   However, after submitting cdb, further processing (data
	   transfer) is handed off to pio_task.
	   </para>
	   </listitem>
	   </varlistentry>
	</variablelist>
        </sect1>

	<sect1><title>How commands are completed</title>
	<para>
	Once issued, all qc's are either completed with
	ata_qc_complete() or time out.  For commands which are handled
	by interrupts, ata_host_intr() invokes ata_qc_complete(), and,
	for PIO tasks, pio_task invokes ata_qc_complete().  In error
	cases, packet_task may also complete commands.
	</para>
	<para>
	ata_qc_complete() does the following.
	</para>

	<orderedlist>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	DMA memory is unmapped.
	</para>
	</listitem>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	ATA_QCFLAG_ACTIVE is clared from qc->flags.
	</para>
	</listitem>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	qc->complete_fn() callback is invoked.  If the return value of
	the callback is not zero.  Completion is short circuited and
	ata_qc_complete() returns.
	</para>
	</listitem>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	__ata_qc_complete() is called, which does
	   <orderedlist>

	   <listitem>
	   <para>
	   qc->flags is cleared to zero.
	   </para>
	   </listitem>

	   <listitem>
	   <para>
	   ap->active_tag and qc->tag are poisoned.
	   </para>
	   </listitem>

	   <listitem>
	   <para>
	   qc->waiting is claread &amp; completed (in that order).
	   </para>
	   </listitem>

	   <listitem>
	   <para>
	   qc is deallocated by clearing appropriate bit in ap->qactive.
	   </para>
	   </listitem>

	   </orderedlist>
	</para>
	</listitem>

	</orderedlist>

	<para>
	So, it basically notifies upper layer and deallocates qc.  One
	exception is short-circuit path in #3 which is used by
	atapi_qc_complete().
	</para>
	<para>
	For all non-ATAPI commands, whether it fails or not, almost
	the same code path is taken and very little error handling
	takes place.  A qc is completed with success status if it
	succeeded, with failed status otherwise.
	</para>
	<para>
	However, failed ATAPI commands require more handling as
	REQUEST SENSE is needed to acquire sense data.  If an ATAPI
	command fails, ata_qc_complete() is invoked with error status,
	which in turn invokes atapi_qc_complete() via
	qc->complete_fn() callback.
	</para>
	<para>
	This makes atapi_qc_complete() set scmd->result to
	SAM_STAT_CHECK_CONDITION, complete the scmd and return 1.  As
	the sense data is empty but scmd->result is CHECK CONDITION,
	SCSI midlayer will invoke EH for the scmd, and returning 1
	makes ata_qc_complete() to return without deallocating the qc.
	This leads us to ata_scsi_error() with partially completed qc.
	</para>

	</sect1>

	<sect1><title>ata_scsi_error()</title>
	<para>
	ata_scsi_error() is the current hostt->eh_strategy_handler()
	for libata.  As discussed above, this will be entered in two
	cases - timeout and ATAPI error completion.  This function
	calls low level libata driver's eng_timeout() callback, the
	standard callback for which is ata_eng_timeout().  It checks
	if a qc is active and calls ata_qc_timeout() on the qc if so.
	Actual error handling occurs in ata_qc_timeout().
	</para>
	<para>
	If EH is invoked for timeout, ata_qc_timeout() stops BMDMA and
	completes the qc.  Note that as we're currently in EH, we
	cannot call scsi_done.  As described in SCSI EH doc, a
	recovered scmd should be either retried with
	scsi_queue_insert() or finished with scsi_finish_command().
	Here, we override qc->scsidone with scsi_finish_command() and
	calls ata_qc_complete().
	</para>
	<para>
	If EH is invoked due to a failed ATAPI qc, the qc here is
	completed but not deallocated.  The purpose of this
	half-completion is to use the qc as place holder to make EH
	code reach this place.  This is a bit hackish, but it works.
	</para>
	<para>
	Once control reaches here, the qc is deallocated by invoking
	__ata_qc_complete() explicitly.  Then, internal qc for REQUEST
	SENSE is issued.  Once sense data is acquired, scmd is
	finished by directly invoking scsi_finish_command() on the
	scmd.  Note that as we already have completed and deallocated
	the qc which was associated with the scmd, we don't need
	to/cannot call ata_qc_complete() again.
	</para>

	</sect1>

	<sect1><title>Problems with the current EH</title>

	<itemizedlist>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	Error representation is too crude.  Currently any and all
	error conditions are represented with ATA STATUS and ERROR
	registers.  Errors which aren't ATA device errors are treated
	as ATA device errors by setting ATA_ERR bit.  Better error
	descriptor which can properly represent ATA and other
	errors/exceptions is needed.
	</para>
	</listitem>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	When handling timeouts, no action is taken to make device
	forget about the timed out command and ready for new commands.
	</para>
	</listitem>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	EH handling via ata_scsi_error() is not properly protected
	from usual command processing.  On EH entrance, the device is
	not in quiescent state.  Timed out commands may succeed or
	fail any time.  pio_task and atapi_task may still be running.
	</para>
	</listitem>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	Too weak error recovery.  Devices / controllers causing HSM
	mismatch errors and other errors quite often require reset to
	return to known state.  Also, advanced error handling is
	necessary to support features like NCQ and hotplug.
	</para>
	</listitem>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	ATA errors are directly handled in the interrupt handler and
	PIO errors in pio_task.  This is problematic for advanced
	error handling for the following reasons.
	</para>
	<para>
	First, advanced error handling often requires context and
	internal qc execution.
	</para>
	<para>
	Second, even a simple failure (say, CRC error) needs
	information gathering and could trigger complex error handling
	(say, resetting &amp; reconfiguring).  Having multiple code
	paths to gather information, enter EH and trigger actions
	makes life painful.
	</para>
	<para>
	Third, scattered EH code makes implementing low level drivers
	difficult.  Low level drivers override libata callbacks.  If
	EH is scattered over several places, each affected callbacks
	should perform its part of error handling.  This can be error
	prone and painful.
	</para>
	</listitem>

	</itemizedlist>
	</sect1>
  </chapter>

  <chapter id="libataExt">
     <title>libata Library</title>
!Edrivers/scsi/libata-core.c
  </chapter>

  <chapter id="libataInt">
     <title>libata Core Internals</title>
!Idrivers/scsi/libata-core.c
  </chapter>

  <chapter id="libataScsiInt">
     <title>libata SCSI translation/emulation</title>
!Edrivers/scsi/libata-scsi.c
!Idrivers/scsi/libata-scsi.c
  </chapter>

  <chapter id="PiixInt">
     <title>ata_piix Internals</title>
!Idrivers/scsi/ata_piix.c
  </chapter>

  <chapter id="SILInt">
     <title>sata_sil Internals</title>
!Idrivers/scsi/sata_sil.c
  </chapter>

  <chapter id="libataThanks">
     <title>Thanks</title>
  <para>
  The bulk of the ATA knowledge comes thanks to long conversations with
  Andre Hedrick (www.linux-ide.org), and long hours pondering the ATA
  and SCSI specifications.
  </para>
  <para>
  Thanks to Alan Cox for pointing out similarities 
  between SATA and SCSI, and in general for motivation to hack on
  libata.
  </para>
  <para>
  libata's device detection
  method, ata_pio_devchk, and in general all the early probing was
  based on extensive study of Hale Landis's probe/reset code in his
  ATADRVR driver (www.ata-atapi.com).
  </para>
  </chapter>

</book>