On Fri, 5 Aug 2011 16:33:49 -0700 Sergiu Iordache wrote: > Add a documentation file describing the usage of Ramoops > > Signed-off-by: Sergiu Iordache <sergiu@xxxxxxxxxxxx> > --- > Documentation/ramoops.txt | 73 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > 1 files changed, 73 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-) > create mode 100644 Documentation/ramoops.txt > > diff --git a/Documentation/ramoops.txt b/Documentation/ramoops.txt > new file mode 100644 > index 0000000..0575177 > --- /dev/null > +++ b/Documentation/ramoops.txt > @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@ > +Ramoops oops/panic logger > +========================= > + > +Sergiu Iordache <sergiu@xxxxxxxxxxxx> > + > +Updated: 5 August 2011 > + > +0. Introduction > + > +Ramoops is an oops/panic logger that writes its logs to RAM before the system > +crashes. It works by logging oopses and panics in a circular buffer. Ramoops > +needs a system with persistent RAM so that the content of that area can > +survive after a restart. > + > +1. Ramoops concepts > + > +Ramoops uses a predefined memory area to store the dump. The start and size of > +the memory area are set using two variables: > + * "mem_address" for the start > + * "mem_size" for the size. The memory size will be rounded down to a > + multiple of two. power of two. > + > +The memory area is divided into "record_size" chunks (also rounded down to > +multiple of two) and each oops/panic writes a "record_size" chunk of power of two) > +information. > + > +Dumping both oopses and panics can be done by setting 1 in the "dump_oops" > +variable while setting 0 in that variable dumps only the panics. > + > +2. Setting the parameters > + > +Setting the ramoops parameters can be done in 2 different manners: > + 1. Use the module parameters (which have the names of the variables described > + as before). > + 2. Use a platform device and set the platform data. The parameters can then > + be set through that platform data. An example of doing that is: > + > +#include <linux/ramoops.h> > +[...] > + > +static struct ramoops_platform_data ramoops_data = { > + .mem_size = <...>, > + .mem_address = <...>, > + .record_size = <...>, > + .dump_oops = <...>, > +}; > + > +static struct platform_device ramoops_dev = { > + .name = "ramoops", > + .dev = { > + .platform_data = &ramoops_data, > + }, > +}; > + > +[... inside a function ...] > +int ret; > + > +ret = platform_device_register(&ramoops_dev); > +if (ret) { > + printk(KERN_ERR "unable to register platform device\n"); > + return ret; > +} > + > +3. Dump format > + > +The data dump begins with a header, currently defined as "====" followed by a > +timestamp and then continues with the actual dump data. > + > +4. Reading the data > + > +The dump data can be read from memory (through /dev/mem or other means). > +Getting the module parameters, which are needed in order to parse the data, can > +be done through /sys/module/ramoops/parameters/* . > -- --- ~Randy *** Remember to use Documentation/SubmitChecklist when testing your code *** -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-doc" in the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html