Re: [PATCH] serial: 8250_fsl: Don't report FE, PE and OE twice

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On Tue, May 24, 2022 at 07:01:18PM +0300, Ilpo Järvinen wrote:
> On Thu, 12 May 2022, Uwe Kleine-König wrote:
> 
> > Hello Paul,
> > 
> > On Thu, May 12, 2022 at 11:46:21AM -0400, Paul Gortmaker wrote:
> > > [Re: [PATCH] serial: 8250_fsl: Don't report FE, PE and OE twice] On 12/05/2022 (Thu 08:17) Uwe Kleine-König wrote:
> > > > On Wed, May 11, 2022 at 09:29:10PM -0400, Paul Gortmaker wrote:
> > > > > [[PATCH] serial: 8250_fsl: Don't report FE, PE and OE twice] On 11/05/2022 (Wed 11:32) Uwe Kleine-König wrote:
> > > > > 
> > > > > > Some Freescale 8250 implementations have the problem that a single long
> > > > > > break results in one irq per character frame time. The code in
> > > > > > fsl8250_handle_irq() that is supposed to handle that uses the BI bit in
> > > > > > lsr_saved_flags to detect such a situation and then skip the second
> > > > > > received character. However it also stores other error bits and so after
> > > > > > a single frame error the character received in the next irq handling is
> > > > > > passed to the upper layer with a frame error, too.
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > To weaken this problem restrict saving LSR to only the BI bit.
> > > > > 
> > > > > But what is missing is just what "this problem" is - what applications
> > > > > are broken and how?  What are the symptoms?  This is a 15+ year old
> > > > > platform and so one has to ask why this is just being seen now.
> > > > 
> > > > The problem is "However it also stores other error bits and so after a
> > > > single frame error the character received in the next irq handling is
> > > > passed to the upper layer with a frame error, too." which is just the
> > > > sentence before. I hoped this would be understandable :-\
> > > 
> > > I was trying to get you to describe symptoms at a higher level - as I
> > > said above, at the application level - what were you using that wasn't
> > > working that led you down the path to investigate this?   Transfering
> > > data wasn't reaching the expected max for baud rate, or serial console
> > > was showing lags and dropped characters, or ...?
> > 
> > The situation where the problem was noticed is: The 8313 is supposed to
> > periodically receive a burst of a small (and fixed) number of
> > characters. In the field it sometimes happend that there was a peak on
> > the data line between two such telegrams which the UART interpreted as a
> > character with a parity error. After that the first character of the
> > next telegram wasn't received in userspace, because the driver claimed
> > it was received with another parity error. So effectively a dropped
> > character.
> > 
> > > The false positive error bits description is fine, but it isn't
> > > something that a person in the future could read and then say "Oh I'm
> > > having the same problem - I should backport that!"
> > > 
> > > > > > Note however that the handling is still broken:
> > > > > > 
> > > > > >  - lsr_saved_flags is updated using orig_lsr which is the LSR content
> > > > > >    for the first received char, but there might be more in the FIFO, so
> > > > > >    a character is thrown away that is received later and not necessarily
> > > > > >    the one following the break.
> > > > > >  - The doubled break might be the 2nd and 3rd char in the FIFO, so the
> > > > > >    workaround doesn't catch these, because serial8250_rx_chars() doesn't
> > > > > >    handle the workaround.
> > > > > >  - lsr_saved_flags might have set UART_LSR_BI at the entry of
> > > > > >    fsl8250_handle_irq() which doesn't originate from
> > > > > >    fsl8250_handle_irq()'s "up->lsr_saved_flags |= orig_lsr &
> > > > > >    UART_LSR_BI;" but from e.g. from serial8250_tx_empty().
> > > > > >  - For a long or a short break this isn't about two characters, but more
> > > > > >    or only a single one.
> > > > > 
> > > > > I've long since flushed the context required to parse the above, sorry.
> > > > > But the part where it says "is still broken" stands out to me.
> > > > 
> > > > The current state is (assuming the errata is accurate and I understood
> > > > it correctly): 
> > > >  - You get a problem for sure if there is a frame error (because the
> > > >    next good char is thrown away).
> > > >  - You get a problem for sure if there is a parity error (because the
> > > >    next good char is thrown away).
> > > >  - You get a problem for sure if there was an overflow (because the
> > > >    first good char after the overflow is thrown away).
> > > >  - The code is racy for break handling. In some unlikely cases the break
> > > >    workaround is applied wrongly.
> > > > 
> > > > (Where "thrown away" is really: passed to the tty layer with an error
> > > > indication, which depending on tty settings results in dropping the
> > > > character or passing it on to userspace.)
> > > > 
> > > > My patch only fixes the first three issues. A part of the reason for the
> > > > uncomplete fix is that I don't have a platform that requires the workaround.
> > > > (I thought I had, but it doesn't show the described behaviour and
> > > > instead behaves nicely, i.e. one irq per break and no stray bits are
> > > > set.)
> > > 
> > > I was hoping that with the full description of the issue from 12+ years
> > > ago that you'd be able to reproduce it on your platform with the WAR disabled.
> > > I take it that you tried and SysRQ still worked fine?
> > 
> > I think I did. I have to plan a bit of continous time to reverify.
> > 
> > > I also found a copy of an earlier proposed fix from 2010 on patchworks:
> > > http://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/linuxppc-dev/patch/20100301212324.GA1738@xxxxxxxxxxxxx/
> > > 
> > > Maybe there are some additional details in there of interest?
> > > 
> > > I wonder if some other intervening change in that wide time span happens
> > > to mask the issue?  Who knows.  I'm not sure if you are that interested;
> > > enough to go try an old kernel to find out...
> > > 
> > > > That the patch I did is correct is quite obvious for me. Currently the
> > > > fsl8250_handle_irq() function sets the bits BI, OE, FE and PE in
> > > 
> > > If I recall correctly, it just clears BI - are you sure it sets bits?
> > 
> > Not explicitly, but it does
> > 
> > 	orig_lsr = up->port.serial_in(&up->port, UART_LSR);
> > 	...
> > 	up->lsr_saved_flags = orig_lsr;
> > 
> > So whatever error bit is read on function entry is reused for the first
> > char in the next irq run.
> 
> Yes, it is clearly leaking extra flags (if those are set) both in the case 
> of break workaround and without it.
> 
> > > > lsr_saved_flags, but only evaluates BI for the workaround. The commit
> > > > that introduced that only talks about BI, the mentioned erratum also
> > > > only mentions BI.
> > > > 
> > > > I can try to make the commit log more convincing. Or if the ability to
> > > > test this code on an affected platform is declared a requirement, I will
> > > 
> > > I'm not in any position to declare any requirements - just that when you
> > > are bit-bashing to work around some "black box" silicon errata, any
> > > changes might impact whether the WAR is still working or not.
> 
> C code is not "some black box". On the next irq, only BI in 
> lsr_saved_flags is looked at by the driver, that can be seen from the C 
> code, no need to look at the errata.
> 
> And then the C code also tells on the next next irq, the other bits (if 
> any were set) are taken into use for a real character, which is 
> undesirable (= BUG!).
> 
> > > Your change alters lsr_saved_flags for *every* event, even when no breaks
> > > or workarounds have been in play.  I'm not sure what that might trigger.
> 
> Indeed, fixing a bug alters behavior such that the bug no longer occurs :-).
> 
> Or are you saying that leaking old FE, PE and OE into the next char 
> using lsr_saved_flags when no break nor workaround isn't in the play
> is an event that should _not_ be altered???
> 
> If no extra flags are set, the proposed change is no-op.
> 
> Maybe Uwe's fix could be scoped down to clear only FE, PE and OE if one 
> really wants to make a minimal fix? That would leave (mainly) DR out of it 
> which could impact the behavior a little (the difference seems a bit 
> theoretic to me but it is there)?

Is this an Ack for my patch?

Best regards
Uwe

-- 
Pengutronix e.K.                           | Uwe Kleine-König            |
Industrial Linux Solutions                 | https://www.pengutronix.de/ |

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