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Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/ide/ide-tape.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/ide/ide-tape.txt | 211 |
1 files changed, 65 insertions, 146 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/ide/ide-tape.txt b/Documentation/ide/ide-tape.txt index 658f271a373f..3f348a0b21d8 100644 --- a/Documentation/ide/ide-tape.txt +++ b/Documentation/ide/ide-tape.txt @@ -1,146 +1,65 @@ -/* - * IDE ATAPI streaming tape driver. - * - * This driver is a part of the Linux ide driver. - * - * The driver, in co-operation with ide.c, basically traverses the - * request-list for the block device interface. The character device - * interface, on the other hand, creates new requests, adds them - * to the request-list of the block device, and waits for their completion. - * - * Pipelined operation mode is now supported on both reads and writes. - * - * The block device major and minor numbers are determined from the - * tape's relative position in the ide interfaces, as explained in ide.c. - * - * The character device interface consists of the following devices: - * - * ht0 major 37, minor 0 first IDE tape, rewind on close. - * ht1 major 37, minor 1 second IDE tape, rewind on close. - * ... - * nht0 major 37, minor 128 first IDE tape, no rewind on close. - * nht1 major 37, minor 129 second IDE tape, no rewind on close. - * ... - * - * The general magnetic tape commands compatible interface, as defined by - * include/linux/mtio.h, is accessible through the character device. - * - * General ide driver configuration options, such as the interrupt-unmask - * flag, can be configured by issuing an ioctl to the block device interface, - * as any other ide device. - * - * Our own ide-tape ioctl's can be issued to either the block device or - * the character device interface. - * - * Maximal throughput with minimal bus load will usually be achieved in the - * following scenario: - * - * 1. ide-tape is operating in the pipelined operation mode. - * 2. No buffering is performed by the user backup program. - * - * Testing was done with a 2 GB CONNER CTMA 4000 IDE ATAPI Streaming Tape Drive. - * - * Here are some words from the first releases of hd.c, which are quoted - * in ide.c and apply here as well: - * - * | Special care is recommended. Have Fun! - * - * - * An overview of the pipelined operation mode. - * - * In the pipelined write mode, we will usually just add requests to our - * pipeline and return immediately, before we even start to service them. The - * user program will then have enough time to prepare the next request while - * we are still busy servicing previous requests. In the pipelined read mode, - * the situation is similar - we add read-ahead requests into the pipeline, - * before the user even requested them. - * - * The pipeline can be viewed as a "safety net" which will be activated when - * the system load is high and prevents the user backup program from keeping up - * with the current tape speed. At this point, the pipeline will get - * shorter and shorter but the tape will still be streaming at the same speed. - * Assuming we have enough pipeline stages, the system load will hopefully - * decrease before the pipeline is completely empty, and the backup program - * will be able to "catch up" and refill the pipeline again. - * - * When using the pipelined mode, it would be best to disable any type of - * buffering done by the user program, as ide-tape already provides all the - * benefits in the kernel, where it can be done in a more efficient way. - * As we will usually not block the user program on a request, the most - * efficient user code will then be a simple read-write-read-... cycle. - * Any additional logic will usually just slow down the backup process. - * - * Using the pipelined mode, I get a constant over 400 KBps throughput, - * which seems to be the maximum throughput supported by my tape. - * - * However, there are some downfalls: - * - * 1. We use memory (for data buffers) in proportional to the number - * of pipeline stages (each stage is about 26 KB with my tape). - * 2. In the pipelined write mode, we cheat and postpone error codes - * to the user task. In read mode, the actual tape position - * will be a bit further than the last requested block. - * - * Concerning (1): - * - * 1. We allocate stages dynamically only when we need them. When - * we don't need them, we don't consume additional memory. In - * case we can't allocate stages, we just manage without them - * (at the expense of decreased throughput) so when Linux is - * tight in memory, we will not pose additional difficulties. - * - * 2. The maximum number of stages (which is, in fact, the maximum - * amount of memory) which we allocate is limited by the compile - * time parameter IDETAPE_MAX_PIPELINE_STAGES. - * - * 3. The maximum number of stages is a controlled parameter - We - * don't start from the user defined maximum number of stages - * but from the lower IDETAPE_MIN_PIPELINE_STAGES (again, we - * will not even allocate this amount of stages if the user - * program can't handle the speed). We then implement a feedback - * loop which checks if the pipeline is empty, and if it is, we - * increase the maximum number of stages as necessary until we - * reach the optimum value which just manages to keep the tape - * busy with minimum allocated memory or until we reach - * IDETAPE_MAX_PIPELINE_STAGES. - * - * Concerning (2): - * - * In pipelined write mode, ide-tape can not return accurate error codes - * to the user program since we usually just add the request to the - * pipeline without waiting for it to be serviced. In case an error - * occurs, I will report it on the next user request. - * - * In the pipelined read mode, subsequent read requests or forward - * filemark spacing will perform correctly, as we preserve all blocks - * and filemarks which we encountered during our excess read-ahead. - * - * For accurate tape positioning and error reporting, disabling - * pipelined mode might be the best option. - * - * You can enable/disable/tune the pipelined operation mode by adjusting - * the compile time parameters below. - * - * - * Possible improvements. - * - * 1. Support for the ATAPI overlap protocol. - * - * In order to maximize bus throughput, we currently use the DSC - * overlap method which enables ide.c to service requests from the - * other device while the tape is busy executing a command. The - * DSC overlap method involves polling the tape's status register - * for the DSC bit, and servicing the other device while the tape - * isn't ready. - * - * In the current QIC development standard (December 1995), - * it is recommended that new tape drives will *in addition* - * implement the ATAPI overlap protocol, which is used for the - * same purpose - efficient use of the IDE bus, but is interrupt - * driven and thus has much less CPU overhead. - * - * ATAPI overlap is likely to be supported in most new ATAPI - * devices, including new ATAPI cdroms, and thus provides us - * a method by which we can achieve higher throughput when - * sharing a (fast) ATA-2 disk with any (slow) new ATAPI device. - */ +IDE ATAPI streaming tape driver. + +This driver is a part of the Linux ide driver. + +The driver, in co-operation with ide.c, basically traverses the +request-list for the block device interface. The character device +interface, on the other hand, creates new requests, adds them +to the request-list of the block device, and waits for their completion. + +The block device major and minor numbers are determined from the +tape's relative position in the ide interfaces, as explained in ide.c. + +The character device interface consists of the following devices: + +ht0 major 37, minor 0 first IDE tape, rewind on close. +ht1 major 37, minor 1 second IDE tape, rewind on close. +... +nht0 major 37, minor 128 first IDE tape, no rewind on close. +nht1 major 37, minor 129 second IDE tape, no rewind on close. +... + +The general magnetic tape commands compatible interface, as defined by +include/linux/mtio.h, is accessible through the character device. + +General ide driver configuration options, such as the interrupt-unmask +flag, can be configured by issuing an ioctl to the block device interface, +as any other ide device. + +Our own ide-tape ioctl's can be issued to either the block device or +the character device interface. + +Maximal throughput with minimal bus load will usually be achieved in the +following scenario: + + 1. ide-tape is operating in the pipelined operation mode. + 2. No buffering is performed by the user backup program. + +Testing was done with a 2 GB CONNER CTMA 4000 IDE ATAPI Streaming Tape Drive. + +Here are some words from the first releases of hd.c, which are quoted +in ide.c and apply here as well: + +| Special care is recommended. Have Fun! + +Possible improvements: + +1. Support for the ATAPI overlap protocol. + +In order to maximize bus throughput, we currently use the DSC +overlap method which enables ide.c to service requests from the +other device while the tape is busy executing a command. The +DSC overlap method involves polling the tape's status register +for the DSC bit, and servicing the other device while the tape +isn't ready. + +In the current QIC development standard (December 1995), +it is recommended that new tape drives will *in addition* +implement the ATAPI overlap protocol, which is used for the +same purpose - efficient use of the IDE bus, but is interrupt +driven and thus has much less CPU overhead. + +ATAPI overlap is likely to be supported in most new ATAPI +devices, including new ATAPI cdroms, and thus provides us +a method by which we can achieve higher throughput when +sharing a (fast) ATA-2 disk with any (slow) new ATAPI device. |