FPGA Manager

Overview

The FPGA manager core exports a set of functions for programming an FPGA with an image. The API is manufacturer agnostic. All manufacturer specifics are hidden away in a low level driver which registers a set of ops with the core. The FPGA image data itself is very manufacturer specific, but for our purposes it’s just binary data. The FPGA manager core won’t parse it.

The FPGA image to be programmed can be in a scatter gather list, a single contiguous buffer, or a firmware file. Because allocating contiguous kernel memory for the buffer should be avoided, users are encouraged to use a scatter gather list instead if possible.

The particulars for programming the image are presented in a structure (struct fpga_image_info). This struct contains parameters such as pointers to the FPGA image as well as image-specific particulars such as whether the image was built for full or partial reconfiguration.

How to support a new FPGA device

To add another FPGA manager, write a driver that implements a set of ops. The probe function calls fpga_mgr_register() or fpga_mgr_register_full(), such as:

static const struct fpga_manager_ops socfpga_fpga_ops = {
        .write_init = socfpga_fpga_ops_configure_init,
        .write = socfpga_fpga_ops_configure_write,
        .write_complete = socfpga_fpga_ops_configure_complete,
        .state = socfpga_fpga_ops_state,
};

static int socfpga_fpga_probe(struct platform_device *pdev)
{
        struct device *dev = &pdev->dev;
        struct socfpga_fpga_priv *priv;
        struct fpga_manager *mgr;
        int ret;

        priv = devm_kzalloc(dev, sizeof(*priv), GFP_KERNEL);
        if (!priv)
                return -ENOMEM;

        /*
         * do ioremaps, get interrupts, etc. and save
         * them in priv
         */

        mgr = fpga_mgr_register(dev, "Altera SOCFPGA FPGA Manager",
                                &socfpga_fpga_ops, priv);
        if (IS_ERR(mgr))
                return PTR_ERR(mgr);

        platform_set_drvdata(pdev, mgr);

        return 0;
}

static int socfpga_fpga_remove(struct platform_device *pdev)
{
        struct fpga_manager *mgr = platform_get_drvdata(pdev);

        fpga_mgr_unregister(mgr);

        return 0;
}

Alternatively, the probe function could call one of the resource managed register functions, devm_fpga_mgr_register() or devm_fpga_mgr_register_full(). When these functions are used, the parameter syntax is the same, but the call to fpga_mgr_unregister() should be removed. In the above example, the socfpga_fpga_remove() function would not be required.

The ops will implement whatever device specific register writes are needed to do the programming sequence for this particular FPGA. These ops return 0 for success or negative error codes otherwise.

The programming sequence is::
  1. .parse_header (optional, may be called once or multiple times)

  2. .write_init

  3. .write or .write_sg (may be called once or multiple times)

  4. .write_complete

The .parse_header function will set header_size and data_size to struct fpga_image_info. Before parse_header call, header_size is initialized with initial_header_size. If flag skip_header of fpga_manager_ops is true, .write function will get image buffer starting at header_size offset from the beginning. If data_size is set, .write function will get data_size bytes of the image buffer, otherwise .write will get data up to the end of image buffer. This will not affect .write_sg, .write_sg will still get whole image in sg_table form. If FPGA image is already mapped as a single contiguous buffer, whole buffer will be passed into .parse_header. If image is in scatter-gather form, core code will buffer up at least .initial_header_size before the first call of .parse_header, if it is not enough, .parse_header should set desired size into info->header_size and return -EAGAIN, then it will be called again with greater part of image buffer on the input.

The .write_init function will prepare the FPGA to receive the image data. The buffer passed into .write_init will be at least info->header_size bytes long; if the whole bitstream is not immediately available then the core code will buffer up at least this much before starting.

The .write function writes a buffer to the FPGA. The buffer may be contain the whole FPGA image or may be a smaller chunk of an FPGA image. In the latter case, this function is called multiple times for successive chunks. This interface is suitable for drivers which use PIO.

The .write_sg version behaves the same as .write except the input is a sg_table scatter list. This interface is suitable for drivers which use DMA.

The .write_complete function is called after all the image has been written to put the FPGA into operating mode.

The ops include a .state function which will determine the state the FPGA is in and return a code of type enum fpga_mgr_states. It doesn’t result in a change in state.

API for implementing a new FPGA Manager driver

Helper macros fpga_mgr_register_full(), fpga_mgr_register(), devm_fpga_mgr_register_full(), and devm_fpga_mgr_register() are available to ease the registration.

enum fpga_mgr_states

fpga framework states

Constants

FPGA_MGR_STATE_UNKNOWN

can’t determine state

FPGA_MGR_STATE_POWER_OFF

FPGA power is off

FPGA_MGR_STATE_POWER_UP

FPGA reports power is up

FPGA_MGR_STATE_RESET

FPGA in reset state

FPGA_MGR_STATE_FIRMWARE_REQ

firmware request in progress

FPGA_MGR_STATE_FIRMWARE_REQ_ERR

firmware request failed

FPGA_MGR_STATE_PARSE_HEADER

parse FPGA image header

FPGA_MGR_STATE_PARSE_HEADER_ERR

Error during PARSE_HEADER stage

FPGA_MGR_STATE_WRITE_INIT

preparing FPGA for programming

FPGA_MGR_STATE_WRITE_INIT_ERR

Error during WRITE_INIT stage

FPGA_MGR_STATE_WRITE

writing image to FPGA

FPGA_MGR_STATE_WRITE_ERR

Error while writing FPGA

FPGA_MGR_STATE_WRITE_COMPLETE

Doing post programming steps

FPGA_MGR_STATE_WRITE_COMPLETE_ERR

Error during WRITE_COMPLETE

FPGA_MGR_STATE_OPERATING

FPGA is programmed and operating

struct fpga_manager

fpga manager structure

Definition:

struct fpga_manager {
    const char *name;
    struct device dev;
    struct mutex ref_mutex;
    enum fpga_mgr_states state;
    struct fpga_compat_id *compat_id;
    const struct fpga_manager_ops *mops;
    struct module *mops_owner;
    void *priv;
};

Members

name

name of low level fpga manager

dev

fpga manager device

ref_mutex

only allows one reference to fpga manager

state

state of fpga manager

compat_id

FPGA manager id for compatibility check.

mops

pointer to struct of fpga manager ops

mops_owner

module containing the mops

priv

low level driver private date

struct fpga_manager_ops

ops for low level fpga manager drivers

Definition:

struct fpga_manager_ops {
    size_t initial_header_size;
    bool skip_header;
    enum fpga_mgr_states (*state)(struct fpga_manager *mgr);
    u64 (*status)(struct fpga_manager *mgr);
    int (*parse_header)(struct fpga_manager *mgr,struct fpga_image_info *info, const char *buf, size_t count);
    int (*write_init)(struct fpga_manager *mgr,struct fpga_image_info *info, const char *buf, size_t count);
    int (*write)(struct fpga_manager *mgr, const char *buf, size_t count);
    int (*write_sg)(struct fpga_manager *mgr, struct sg_table *sgt);
    int (*write_complete)(struct fpga_manager *mgr, struct fpga_image_info *info);
    void (*fpga_remove)(struct fpga_manager *mgr);
    const struct attribute_group **groups;
};

Members

initial_header_size

minimum number of bytes that should be passed into parse_header and write_init.

skip_header

bool flag to tell fpga-mgr core whether it should skip info->header_size part at the beginning of the image when invoking write callback.

state

returns an enum value of the FPGA’s state

status

returns status of the FPGA, including reconfiguration error code

parse_header

parse FPGA image header to set info->header_size and info->data_size. In case the input buffer is not large enough, set required size to info->header_size and return -EAGAIN.

write_init

prepare the FPGA to receive configuration data

write

write count bytes of configuration data to the FPGA

write_sg

write the scatter list of configuration data to the FPGA

write_complete

set FPGA to operating state after writing is done

fpga_remove

optional: Set FPGA into a specific state during driver remove

groups

optional attribute groups.

Description

fpga_manager_ops are the low level functions implemented by a specific fpga manager driver. The optional ones are tested for NULL before being called, so leaving them out is fine.

struct fpga_manager_info

collection of parameters for an FPGA Manager

Definition:

struct fpga_manager_info {
    const char *name;
    struct fpga_compat_id *compat_id;
    const struct fpga_manager_ops *mops;
    void *priv;
};

Members

name

fpga manager name

compat_id

FPGA manager id for compatibility check.

mops

pointer to structure of fpga manager ops

priv

fpga manager private data

Description

fpga_manager_info contains parameters for the register_full function. These are separated into an info structure because they some are optional others could be added to in the future. The info structure facilitates maintaining a stable API.

struct fpga_manager *__fpga_mgr_register_full(struct device *parent, const struct fpga_manager_info *info, struct module *owner)

create and register an FPGA Manager device

Parameters

struct device *parent

fpga manager device from pdev

const struct fpga_manager_info *info

parameters for fpga manager

struct module *owner

owner module containing the ops

Description

The caller of this function is responsible for calling fpga_mgr_unregister(). Using devm_fpga_mgr_register_full() instead is recommended.

Return

pointer to struct fpga_manager pointer or ERR_PTR()

struct fpga_manager *__fpga_mgr_register(struct device *parent, const char *name, const struct fpga_manager_ops *mops, void *priv, struct module *owner)

create and register an FPGA Manager device

Parameters

struct device *parent

fpga manager device from pdev

const char *name

fpga manager name

const struct fpga_manager_ops *mops

pointer to structure of fpga manager ops

void *priv

fpga manager private data

struct module *owner

owner module containing the ops

Description

The caller of this function is responsible for calling fpga_mgr_unregister(). Using devm_fpga_mgr_register() instead is recommended. This simple version of the register function should be sufficient for most users. The fpga_mgr_register_full() function is available for users that need to pass additional, optional parameters.

Return

pointer to struct fpga_manager pointer or ERR_PTR()

struct fpga_manager *__devm_fpga_mgr_register_full(struct device *parent, const struct fpga_manager_info *info, struct module *owner)

resource managed variant of fpga_mgr_register()

Parameters

struct device *parent

fpga manager device from pdev

const struct fpga_manager_info *info

parameters for fpga manager

struct module *owner

owner module containing the ops

Return

fpga manager pointer on success, negative error code otherwise.

Description

This is the devres variant of fpga_mgr_register_full() for which the unregister function will be called automatically when the managing device is detached.

struct fpga_manager *__devm_fpga_mgr_register(struct device *parent, const char *name, const struct fpga_manager_ops *mops, void *priv, struct module *owner)

resource managed variant of fpga_mgr_register()

Parameters

struct device *parent

fpga manager device from pdev

const char *name

fpga manager name

const struct fpga_manager_ops *mops

pointer to structure of fpga manager ops

void *priv

fpga manager private data

struct module *owner

owner module containing the ops

Return

fpga manager pointer on success, negative error code otherwise.

Description

This is the devres variant of fpga_mgr_register() for which the unregister function will be called automatically when the managing device is detached.

void fpga_mgr_unregister(struct fpga_manager *mgr)

unregister an FPGA manager

Parameters

struct fpga_manager *mgr

fpga manager struct

Description

This function is intended for use in an FPGA manager driver’s remove function.