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Re: [Wlug] kernel driver vs module

by Lee Keyser-Allen

The card that you are using requires that the firmware be loaded every time. Firmware, as you may know, is distinct from the driver that Linux uses to talk to the card ... it is the code that the card runs natively to control its operations and allow the card to communicate properly with (and pass data to) the PC. There are a number of reasons why they would load the firmware each time. I don't know this card or driver at all, so I won't bore you with conjecture, but the end result is that the driver needs to know where to find the firmware so that it can load it in, and get the card up and running. My guess, as to your question about redhat, is that the firmware is simply stored in a different location, or is linked into the driver directly. Again, having no intimate knowledge, I can only suppose. So, as you've properly ascertained, the driver can now get the card up and talking, and all you need now are some drives to have some real fun :). Hope that this helps, and good luck. Lee On 7/11/06, Mike Leo <mleo963(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > well, now can someone explain why putting a bin file in /lib/firmware i now get the following > after a insmod qla2xxx: > > QLogic Fibre Channel HBA Driver > qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Found an ISP2312, irq 9, iobase 0xf8aa6000 > qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Configuring PCI space... > qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Configure NVRAM parameters... > qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Verifying loaded RISC code... > qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Waiting for LIP to complete... > qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: LOOP UP detected (2 Gbps). > qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Topology - (F_Port), Host Loop address 0xffff > scsi6 : qla2xxx > qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: > QLogic Fibre Channel HBA Driver: 8.01.04-k > QLogic QLA2340 - 133MHz PCI-X to 2Gb FC, Single Channel > ISP2312: PCI (33 MHz) @ 0000:00:01.0 hdma-, host#=6, fw=3.03.20 IPX > > > > My redhat servers don't even have a /lib/firmware directory...is this a debian thing? > > Seems by simply putting a qla2300_fw.bin file in /lib/firmware fixed my problem. > > I have yet to get actual SAN disks, but at least the card came up this time. > > Also, what is a KCONFIG entry? > > --- John Stoffel <john(a)stoffel.org> wrote: > > > > > Mike> good feedback...thanks > > Mike> the entries in dmesg show > > > > Mike> QLogic Fibre Channel HBA Driver > > Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Found an ISP2312, irq 9, iobase 0xf8aa6000 > > Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Configuring PCI space... > > Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Configure NVRAM parameters... > > Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Verifying loaded RISC code... > > Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Firmware image unavailable. > > Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Failed to initialize adapter > > > > This is good, but what it's really telling me is that you don't have > > the driver properly installed, with the firmware that needs to be > > downloaded to the card setup properly. > > > > Do you have any docs on the card driver install? Check that > > /lib/firmware/.. has the right stuff in there. Here's some docs from > > the KCONFIG entry, since the qla2xxx driver is part of the core linux > > kernel now (2.6.18-rc1-mm1): > > > > By default, firmware for the ISP parts will be loaded > > via the Firmware Loader interface. > > > > ISP Firmware Filename > > ---------- ----------------- > > 21xx ql2100_fw.bin > > 22xx ql2200_fw.bin > > 2300, 2312, 6312 ql2300_fw.bin > > 2322, 6322 ql2322_fw.bin > > 24xx ql2400_fw.bin > > > > Upon request, the driver caches the firmware image until > > the driver is unloaded. > > > > Firmware images can be retrieved from: > > > > ftp://ftp.qlogic.com/outgoing/linux/firmware/ > > > > > > Mike> This is a brand new, out of the box HBA and we have had zero > > Mike> failure rates to date on these (via Redhat). > > > > Mike> The only "drivers" i can find via QLogic are rpm's...that makes > > Mike> them binary drivers (?) since I cannot compile them myself, > > Mike> right? > > > > Whether they're RPMs or not doesn't mean much, it's whether or not you > > can get source code without any binary blobs. In this case, since the > > firmware is binary only, it's not a completely open adapter, but at > > least you can grab what you need easily enough. > > > > John > > _______________________________________________ > > Wlug mailing list > > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > -- Lee Keyser-Allen (lkeyser(a)alum.wpi.edu)

July 11, 2006

Re: [Wlug] kernel driver vs module

by Mike Leo

well, now can someone explain why putting a bin file in /lib/firmware i now get the following after a insmod qla2xxx: QLogic Fibre Channel HBA Driver qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Found an ISP2312, irq 9, iobase 0xf8aa6000 qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Configuring PCI space... qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Configure NVRAM parameters... qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Verifying loaded RISC code... qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Waiting for LIP to complete... qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: LOOP UP detected (2 Gbps). qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Topology - (F_Port), Host Loop address 0xffff scsi6 : qla2xxx qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: QLogic Fibre Channel HBA Driver: 8.01.04-k QLogic QLA2340 - 133MHz PCI-X to 2Gb FC, Single Channel ISP2312: PCI (33 MHz) @ 0000:00:01.0 hdma-, host#=6, fw=3.03.20 IPX My redhat servers don't even have a /lib/firmware directory...is this a debian thing? Seems by simply putting a qla2300_fw.bin file in /lib/firmware fixed my problem. I have yet to get actual SAN disks, but at least the card came up this time. Also, what is a KCONFIG entry? --- John Stoffel <john(a)stoffel.org> wrote: > > Mike> good feedback...thanks > Mike> the entries in dmesg show > > Mike> QLogic Fibre Channel HBA Driver > Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Found an ISP2312, irq 9, iobase 0xf8aa6000 > Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Configuring PCI space... > Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Configure NVRAM parameters... > Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Verifying loaded RISC code... > Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Firmware image unavailable. > Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Failed to initialize adapter > > This is good, but what it's really telling me is that you don't have > the driver properly installed, with the firmware that needs to be > downloaded to the card setup properly. > > Do you have any docs on the card driver install? Check that > /lib/firmware/.. has the right stuff in there. Here's some docs from > the KCONFIG entry, since the qla2xxx driver is part of the core linux > kernel now (2.6.18-rc1-mm1): > > By default, firmware for the ISP parts will be loaded > via the Firmware Loader interface. > > ISP Firmware Filename > ---------- ----------------- > 21xx ql2100_fw.bin > 22xx ql2200_fw.bin > 2300, 2312, 6312 ql2300_fw.bin > 2322, 6322 ql2322_fw.bin > 24xx ql2400_fw.bin > > Upon request, the driver caches the firmware image until > the driver is unloaded. > > Firmware images can be retrieved from: > > ftp://ftp.qlogic.com/outgoing/linux/firmware/ > > > Mike> This is a brand new, out of the box HBA and we have had zero > Mike> failure rates to date on these (via Redhat). > > Mike> The only "drivers" i can find via QLogic are rpm's...that makes > Mike> them binary drivers (?) since I cannot compile them myself, > Mike> right? > > Whether they're RPMs or not doesn't mean much, it's whether or not you > can get source code without any binary blobs. In this case, since the > firmware is binary only, it's not a completely open adapter, but at > least you can grab what you need easily enough. > > John > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

July 11, 2006

Re: [Wlug] CD drawer remains open

by Richard Klein

<quote who="mlong(a)datalong.com"> >> Try booting from a live cd (knoppix, gentoo, ubuntu) and see if it >> behaves the same way. If it does, it's hardware (which is my guess). >> If not, it's software. > > Thanks for the hint. This is a production server so I will try this the > next time it is taken offline for service. Oh! Well, it's probably running hot, then, and sticking out it's tongue to pant and cool off. HTH! NC, -- Rich

July 10, 2006

Re: [Wlug] kernel driver vs module

by John Stoffel

Mike> good feedback...thanks Mike> the entries in dmesg show Mike> QLogic Fibre Channel HBA Driver Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Found an ISP2312, irq 9, iobase 0xf8aa6000 Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Configuring PCI space... Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Configure NVRAM parameters... Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Verifying loaded RISC code... Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Firmware image unavailable. Mike> qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Failed to initialize adapter This is good, but what it's really telling me is that you don't have the driver properly installed, with the firmware that needs to be downloaded to the card setup properly. Do you have any docs on the card driver install? Check that /lib/firmware/.. has the right stuff in there. Here's some docs from the KCONFIG entry, since the qla2xxx driver is part of the core linux kernel now (2.6.18-rc1-mm1): By default, firmware for the ISP parts will be loaded via the Firmware Loader interface. ISP Firmware Filename ---------- ----------------- 21xx ql2100_fw.bin 22xx ql2200_fw.bin 2300, 2312, 6312 ql2300_fw.bin 2322, 6322 ql2322_fw.bin 24xx ql2400_fw.bin Upon request, the driver caches the firmware image until the driver is unloaded. Firmware images can be retrieved from: ftp://ftp.qlogic.com/outgoing/linux/firmware/ Mike> This is a brand new, out of the box HBA and we have had zero Mike> failure rates to date on these (via Redhat). Mike> The only "drivers" i can find via QLogic are rpm's...that makes Mike> them binary drivers (?) since I cannot compile them myself, Mike> right? Whether they're RPMs or not doesn't mean much, it's whether or not you can get source code without any binary blobs. In this case, since the firmware is binary only, it's not a completely open adapter, but at least you can grab what you need easily enough. John

July 10, 2006

Re: [Wlug] CD drawer remains open

by Marc Hughes

While I'm sure it's not the cause... I used to SSH into my wife's machine when she was living in a dorm and eject her cd. Scared the bejeezus out of her. She started to suspect me, so I used the at command to make it eject while I was there one day. -Marc On 7/10/06, mlong(a)datalong.com <mlong(a)datalong.com> wrote: > > Try booting from a live cd (knoppix, gentoo, ubuntu) and see if it > > behaves the same way. If it does, it's hardware (which is my guess). > > If not, it's software. > > Thanks for the hint. This is a production server so I will try this the > next time it is taken offline for service. > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

July 10, 2006

Re: [Wlug] kernel driver vs module

by Mike Leo

good feedback...thanks the entries in dmesg show QLogic Fibre Channel HBA Driver qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Found an ISP2312, irq 9, iobase 0xf8aa6000 qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Configuring PCI space... qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Configure NVRAM parameters... qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Verifying loaded RISC code... qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Firmware image unavailable. qla2xxx 0000:00:01.0: Failed to initialize adapter This is a brand new, out of the box HBA and we have had zero failure rates to date on these (via Redhat). The only "drivers" i can find via QLogic are rpm's...that makes them binary drivers (?) since I cannot compile them myself, right? --- Jeff Moyer <jmoyer(a)redhat.com> wrote: > ==> Regarding [Wlug] kernel driver vs module; Mike Leo <mleo963(a)yahoo.com> adds: > > mleo963> I am still having a hard time understanding kernel drivers vs > mleo963> module's in practical use: I understand a kernel driver, is a > mleo963> driver that Linus, et al, have coded into the kernel, so if i have > mleo963> a peice of hardware, and I compile a kernel with that device's > mleo963> driver turned on, then my device will work. > > mleo963> If i build that kernel driver as a module, the driver remains > mleo963> outside the kernel, but still availible for use. As a module I > mleo963> can rmmod or insmod when i need to use the device. > > mleo963> My foggy'ness comes from a few things. > > mleo963> 1. if the driver is built into the kernel, will it show up in lsmod? > > No. > > mleo963> 2. if the driver does not show up in lsmod, how do i know if its > mleo963> loaded? > > dmesg > > mleo963> 3. weather it's a built in driver or a module, how do i associate > mleo963> the driver (or module) with a particular device? > > It's done for you, via built-in PCI id mappings. > > mleo963> 4. if the device does not have a driver in the kernel, I cannot > mleo963> build a custom kernel to include it, nor can I build it as a > mleo963> module from the kernel source. So: > > This isn't a question... ;) > > mleo963> 5. if I get the driver from the vendor, it will build a module > mleo963> for me, based on my kernel-source or kernel-headers??? Then what? > mleo963> again, see #3: how do i associate the module with my device? > > Vendor modules come in 2 flavors: binary only, and not binary only. ;) In > the former case, you'll likely have to run the kernel version against which > they built the module. In the latter case, yes, you can build the module > out of tree, and then insmod it. Again, PCI id's on the card are matched > to those supported by the driver. > > mleo963> This is a general linux quandry, but this time i have a debian > mleo963> stable install and have inserted a QLogic HBA. lsmod does show > mleo963> qla2xxx, but it doesn't seem to be functioning as it isn't logging > mleo963> into the fiber switch. > > What does the dmesg output show? > > -Jeff > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

July 10, 2006

Re: [Wlug] kernel driver vs module

by John Stoffel

Mike> I understand a kernel driver, is a driver that Linus, et al, Mike> have coded into the kernel, so if i have a peice of hardware, Mike> and I compile a kernel with that device's driver turned on, then Mike> my device will work. Mike> If i build that kernel driver as a module, the driver remains Mike> outside the kernel, but still availible for use. As a module I Mike> can rmmod or insmod when i need to use the device. You're mixing up two different things. Almost all drivers which are shipped with the linux kernel can be compiled in one of two ways: into the kernel, or as a module which can be loaded/unloaded at run-time. So if you have a driver and compile it into the kernel, you should see some output from 'dmesg' showing you what was deteced on bootup of the kernel. Mike> My foggy'ness comes from a few things. Mike> 1. if the driver is built into the kernel, will it show up in lsmod? No, because lsmod only shows loaded modules, not modules which are available for loading. It also doesn't show up drivers which are compiled into the kernel directly. Mike> 2. if the driver does not show up in lsmod, how do i know if Mike> its loaded? Check the output of the 'dmesg' command after a full reboot with your driver. You should at least see something about that driver, whether or not it detects any devices. Mike> 3. weather it's a built in driver or a module, how do i Mike> associate the driver (or module) with a particular device? It depends on the driver, but generally they go by PCI device ID to determine which hardware they can access. Mike> 4. if the device does not have a driver in the kernel, I cannot Mike> build a custom kernel to include it, nor can I build it as a Mike> module from the kernel source. So: This makes no sense here. Of course you can build a custom kernel with a driver shipped outside of the normal linux kernel. Mike> 5. if I get the driver from the vendor, it will build a module Mike> for me, based on my kernel-source or kernel-headers??? Then Mike> what? again, see #3: how do i associate the module with my Mike> device? If you are given vendor provided driver, you can have several issues to address here. One, it needs to match your running kernel image if it's a completely binary only module. Not a great idea in my book. If there is a binary core, but an source code wrapper section, then you'll need to compile the module against the installed kernel's headers. Not hard, the vendor should go into all these details. Mike> This is a general linux quandry, but this time i have a debian Mike> stable install and have inserted a QLogic HBA. lsmod does show Mike> qla2xxx, but it doesn't seem to be functioning as it isn't Mike> logging into the fiber switch. Check the output of 'dmesg' and see what it says. You might need to check the logs on the switch as well to make sure that you're allowing the system holding the adapter is bringing it online and that the switch is seeing it try to login. Feel free to post details and such here, the more the better! John

July 10, 2006

Re: [Wlug] CD drawer remains open

by mlong＠datalong.com

> Try booting from a live cd (knoppix, gentoo, ubuntu) and see if it > behaves the same way. If it does, it's hardware (which is my guess). > If not, it's software. Thanks for the hint. This is a production server so I will try this the next time it is taken offline for service.

July 10, 2006

Re: [Wlug] kernel driver vs module

by Theo Van Dinter

On Mon, Jul 10, 2006 at 08:13:36AM -0700, Mike Leo wrote: > My foggy'ness comes from a few things. > 1. if the driver is built into the kernel, will it show up in lsmod? No, because it's not a module. > 2. if the driver does not show up in lsmod, how do i know if its loaded? That largely depends on what it is, though generally you'll see related entries under /proc. If it's a filesystem for instance, you will see it listed under /proc/filesystems. > 3. weather it's a built in driver or a module, how do i associate the driver (or module) with a > particular device? That depends on the driver. Most drivers are able to find their devices automatically. Others require kernel/module parameters to specify port, etc. > 4. if the device does not have a driver in the kernel, I cannot build a custom kernel to include > it, nor can I build it as a module from the kernel source. So: > 5. if I get the driver from the vendor, it will build a module for me, based on my kernel-source > or kernel-headers??? Then what? again, see #3: how do i associate the module with my device? It will definitely need kernel-source or kernel-headers, whichever your distro uses. You'll end up with a compiled module (name.o). I haven't actually dealt with adding modules in ages, but as I recall you put the resulting module file under /lib/modules/... appropriately (/lib/modules/`uname -r`/misc ?) and run "depmod -a". At this point the module should be all set. There's probably docs from the vendor as well. > This is a general linux quandry, but this time i have a debian stable install and have inserted a > QLogic HBA. lsmod does show qla2xxx, but it doesn't seem to be functioning as it isn't logging > into the fiber switch. Does the card show up in dmesg output / if you rmmod and then modprobe the module, do you see the card information? I never had to do anything special to get the HBA module (also Qlogic) loaded up and logged into the fabric as far as I can recall anyway. -- Randomly Generated Tagline: "I have not put in a single line of code into BIND 9. And I hope that's not why it's a thing of beauty." - Paul Vixie at LISA '99

July 10, 2006

Re: [Wlug] kernel driver vs module

by Jeff Moyer

==> Regarding [Wlug] kernel driver vs module; Mike Leo <mleo963(a)yahoo.com> adds: mleo963> I am still having a hard time understanding kernel drivers vs mleo963> module's in practical use: I understand a kernel driver, is a mleo963> driver that Linus, et al, have coded into the kernel, so if i have mleo963> a peice of hardware, and I compile a kernel with that device's mleo963> driver turned on, then my device will work. mleo963> If i build that kernel driver as a module, the driver remains mleo963> outside the kernel, but still availible for use. As a module I mleo963> can rmmod or insmod when i need to use the device. mleo963> My foggy'ness comes from a few things. mleo963> 1. if the driver is built into the kernel, will it show up in lsmod? No. mleo963> 2. if the driver does not show up in lsmod, how do i know if its mleo963> loaded? dmesg mleo963> 3. weather it's a built in driver or a module, how do i associate mleo963> the driver (or module) with a particular device? It's done for you, via built-in PCI id mappings. mleo963> 4. if the device does not have a driver in the kernel, I cannot mleo963> build a custom kernel to include it, nor can I build it as a mleo963> module from the kernel source. So: This isn't a question... ;) mleo963> 5. if I get the driver from the vendor, it will build a module mleo963> for me, based on my kernel-source or kernel-headers??? Then what? mleo963> again, see #3: how do i associate the module with my device? Vendor modules come in 2 flavors: binary only, and not binary only. ;) In the former case, you'll likely have to run the kernel version against which they built the module. In the latter case, yes, you can build the module out of tree, and then insmod it. Again, PCI id's on the card are matched to those supported by the driver. mleo963> This is a general linux quandry, but this time i have a debian mleo963> stable install and have inserted a QLogic HBA. lsmod does show mleo963> qla2xxx, but it doesn't seem to be functioning as it isn't logging mleo963> into the fiber switch. What does the dmesg output show? -Jeff

July 10, 2006