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Documentation / watchdog / watchdog-kernel-api.txt


Based on kernel version 4.16.1. Page generated on 2018-04-09 11:53 EST.

1	The Linux WatchDog Timer Driver Core kernel API.
2	===============================================
3	Last reviewed: 12-Feb-2013
4	
5	Wim Van Sebroeck <wim@iguana.be>
6	
7	Introduction
8	------------
9	This document does not describe what a WatchDog Timer (WDT) Driver or Device is.
10	It also does not describe the API which can be used by user space to communicate
11	with a WatchDog Timer. If you want to know this then please read the following
12	file: Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.txt .
13	
14	So what does this document describe? It describes the API that can be used by
15	WatchDog Timer Drivers that want to use the WatchDog Timer Driver Core
16	Framework. This framework provides all interfacing towards user space so that
17	the same code does not have to be reproduced each time. This also means that
18	a watchdog timer driver then only needs to provide the different routines
19	(operations) that control the watchdog timer (WDT).
20	
21	The API
22	-------
23	Each watchdog timer driver that wants to use the WatchDog Timer Driver Core
24	must #include <linux/watchdog.h> (you would have to do this anyway when
25	writing a watchdog device driver). This include file contains following
26	register/unregister routines:
27	
28	extern int watchdog_register_device(struct watchdog_device *);
29	extern void watchdog_unregister_device(struct watchdog_device *);
30	
31	The watchdog_register_device routine registers a watchdog timer device.
32	The parameter of this routine is a pointer to a watchdog_device structure.
33	This routine returns zero on success and a negative errno code for failure.
34	
35	The watchdog_unregister_device routine deregisters a registered watchdog timer
36	device. The parameter of this routine is the pointer to the registered
37	watchdog_device structure.
38	
39	The watchdog subsystem includes an registration deferral mechanism,
40	which allows you to register an watchdog as early as you wish during
41	the boot process.
42	
43	The watchdog device structure looks like this:
44	
45	struct watchdog_device {
46		int id;
47		struct device *parent;
48		const struct attribute_group **groups;
49		const struct watchdog_info *info;
50		const struct watchdog_ops *ops;
51		const struct watchdog_governor *gov;
52		unsigned int bootstatus;
53		unsigned int timeout;
54		unsigned int pretimeout;
55		unsigned int min_timeout;
56		unsigned int max_timeout;
57		unsigned int min_hw_heartbeat_ms;
58		unsigned int max_hw_heartbeat_ms;
59		struct notifier_block reboot_nb;
60		struct notifier_block restart_nb;
61		void *driver_data;
62		struct watchdog_core_data *wd_data;
63		unsigned long status;
64		struct list_head deferred;
65	};
66	
67	It contains following fields:
68	* id: set by watchdog_register_device, id 0 is special. It has both a
69	  /dev/watchdog0 cdev (dynamic major, minor 0) as well as the old
70	  /dev/watchdog miscdev. The id is set automatically when calling
71	  watchdog_register_device.
72	* parent: set this to the parent device (or NULL) before calling
73	  watchdog_register_device.
74	* groups: List of sysfs attribute groups to create when creating the watchdog
75	  device.
76	* info: a pointer to a watchdog_info structure. This structure gives some
77	  additional information about the watchdog timer itself. (Like it's unique name)
78	* ops: a pointer to the list of watchdog operations that the watchdog supports.
79	* gov: a pointer to the assigned watchdog device pretimeout governor or NULL.
80	* timeout: the watchdog timer's timeout value (in seconds).
81	  This is the time after which the system will reboot if user space does
82	  not send a heartbeat request if WDOG_ACTIVE is set.
83	* pretimeout: the watchdog timer's pretimeout value (in seconds).
84	* min_timeout: the watchdog timer's minimum timeout value (in seconds).
85	  If set, the minimum configurable value for 'timeout'.
86	* max_timeout: the watchdog timer's maximum timeout value (in seconds),
87	  as seen from userspace. If set, the maximum configurable value for
88	  'timeout'. Not used if max_hw_heartbeat_ms is non-zero.
89	* min_hw_heartbeat_ms: Hardware limit for minimum time between heartbeats,
90	  in milli-seconds. This value is normally 0; it should only be provided
91	  if the hardware can not tolerate lower intervals between heartbeats.
92	* max_hw_heartbeat_ms: Maximum hardware heartbeat, in milli-seconds.
93	  If set, the infrastructure will send heartbeats to the watchdog driver
94	  if 'timeout' is larger than max_hw_heartbeat_ms, unless WDOG_ACTIVE
95	  is set and userspace failed to send a heartbeat for at least 'timeout'
96	  seconds. max_hw_heartbeat_ms must be set if a driver does not implement
97	  the stop function.
98	* reboot_nb: notifier block that is registered for reboot notifications, for
99	  internal use only. If the driver calls watchdog_stop_on_reboot, watchdog core
100	  will stop the watchdog on such notifications.
101	* restart_nb: notifier block that is registered for machine restart, for
102	  internal use only. If a watchdog is capable of restarting the machine, it
103	  should define ops->restart. Priority can be changed through
104	  watchdog_set_restart_priority.
105	* bootstatus: status of the device after booting (reported with watchdog
106	  WDIOF_* status bits).
107	* driver_data: a pointer to the drivers private data of a watchdog device.
108	  This data should only be accessed via the watchdog_set_drvdata and
109	  watchdog_get_drvdata routines.
110	* wd_data: a pointer to watchdog core internal data.
111	* status: this field contains a number of status bits that give extra
112	  information about the status of the device (Like: is the watchdog timer
113	  running/active, or is the nowayout bit set).
114	* deferred: entry in wtd_deferred_reg_list which is used to
115	  register early initialized watchdogs.
116	
117	The list of watchdog operations is defined as:
118	
119	struct watchdog_ops {
120		struct module *owner;
121		/* mandatory operations */
122		int (*start)(struct watchdog_device *);
123		int (*stop)(struct watchdog_device *);
124		/* optional operations */
125		int (*ping)(struct watchdog_device *);
126		unsigned int (*status)(struct watchdog_device *);
127		int (*set_timeout)(struct watchdog_device *, unsigned int);
128		int (*set_pretimeout)(struct watchdog_device *, unsigned int);
129		unsigned int (*get_timeleft)(struct watchdog_device *);
130		int (*restart)(struct watchdog_device *);
131		void (*ref)(struct watchdog_device *) __deprecated;
132		void (*unref)(struct watchdog_device *) __deprecated;
133		long (*ioctl)(struct watchdog_device *, unsigned int, unsigned long);
134	};
135	
136	It is important that you first define the module owner of the watchdog timer
137	driver's operations. This module owner will be used to lock the module when
138	the watchdog is active. (This to avoid a system crash when you unload the
139	module and /dev/watchdog is still open).
140	
141	Some operations are mandatory and some are optional. The mandatory operations
142	are:
143	* start: this is a pointer to the routine that starts the watchdog timer
144	  device.
145	  The routine needs a pointer to the watchdog timer device structure as a
146	  parameter. It returns zero on success or a negative errno code for failure.
147	
148	Not all watchdog timer hardware supports the same functionality. That's why
149	all other routines/operations are optional. They only need to be provided if
150	they are supported. These optional routines/operations are:
151	* stop: with this routine the watchdog timer device is being stopped.
152	  The routine needs a pointer to the watchdog timer device structure as a
153	  parameter. It returns zero on success or a negative errno code for failure.
154	  Some watchdog timer hardware can only be started and not be stopped. A
155	  driver supporting such hardware does not have to implement the stop routine.
156	  If a driver has no stop function, the watchdog core will set WDOG_HW_RUNNING
157	  and start calling the driver's keepalive pings function after the watchdog
158	  device is closed.
159	  If a watchdog driver does not implement the stop function, it must set
160	  max_hw_heartbeat_ms.
161	* ping: this is the routine that sends a keepalive ping to the watchdog timer
162	  hardware.
163	  The routine needs a pointer to the watchdog timer device structure as a
164	  parameter. It returns zero on success or a negative errno code for failure.
165	  Most hardware that does not support this as a separate function uses the
166	  start function to restart the watchdog timer hardware. And that's also what
167	  the watchdog timer driver core does: to send a keepalive ping to the watchdog
168	  timer hardware it will either use the ping operation (when available) or the
169	  start operation (when the ping operation is not available).
170	  (Note: the WDIOC_KEEPALIVE ioctl call will only be active when the
171	  WDIOF_KEEPALIVEPING bit has been set in the option field on the watchdog's
172	  info structure).
173	* status: this routine checks the status of the watchdog timer device. The
174	  status of the device is reported with watchdog WDIOF_* status flags/bits.
175	  WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE and WDIOF_KEEPALIVEPING are reported by the watchdog core;
176	  it is not necessary to report those bits from the driver. Also, if no status
177	  function is provided by the driver, the watchdog core reports the status bits
178	  provided in the bootstatus variable of struct watchdog_device.
179	* set_timeout: this routine checks and changes the timeout of the watchdog
180	  timer device. It returns 0 on success, -EINVAL for "parameter out of range"
181	  and -EIO for "could not write value to the watchdog". On success this
182	  routine should set the timeout value of the watchdog_device to the
183	  achieved timeout value (which may be different from the requested one
184	  because the watchdog does not necessarily have a 1 second resolution).
185	  Drivers implementing max_hw_heartbeat_ms set the hardware watchdog heartbeat
186	  to the minimum of timeout and max_hw_heartbeat_ms. Those drivers set the
187	  timeout value of the watchdog_device either to the requested timeout value
188	  (if it is larger than max_hw_heartbeat_ms), or to the achieved timeout value.
189	  (Note: the WDIOF_SETTIMEOUT needs to be set in the options field of the
190	  watchdog's info structure).
191	  If the watchdog driver does not have to perform any action but setting the
192	  watchdog_device.timeout, this callback can be omitted.
193	  If set_timeout is not provided but, WDIOF_SETTIMEOUT is set, the watchdog
194	  infrastructure updates the timeout value of the watchdog_device internally
195	  to the requested value.
196	  If the pretimeout feature is used (WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT), then set_timeout must
197	  also take care of checking if pretimeout is still valid and set up the timer
198	  accordingly. This can't be done in the core without races, so it is the
199	  duty of the driver.
200	* set_pretimeout: this routine checks and changes the pretimeout value of
201	  the watchdog. It is optional because not all watchdogs support pretimeout
202	  notification. The timeout value is not an absolute time, but the number of
203	  seconds before the actual timeout would happen. It returns 0 on success,
204	  -EINVAL for "parameter out of range" and -EIO for "could not write value to
205	  the watchdog". A value of 0 disables pretimeout notification.
206	  (Note: the WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT needs to be set in the options field of the
207	  watchdog's info structure).
208	  If the watchdog driver does not have to perform any action but setting the
209	  watchdog_device.pretimeout, this callback can be omitted. That means if
210	  set_pretimeout is not provided but WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT is set, the watchdog
211	  infrastructure updates the pretimeout value of the watchdog_device internally
212	  to the requested value.
213	* get_timeleft: this routines returns the time that's left before a reset.
214	* restart: this routine restarts the machine. It returns 0 on success or a
215	  negative errno code for failure.
216	* ioctl: if this routine is present then it will be called first before we do
217	  our own internal ioctl call handling. This routine should return -ENOIOCTLCMD
218	  if a command is not supported. The parameters that are passed to the ioctl
219	  call are: watchdog_device, cmd and arg.
220	
221	The 'ref' and 'unref' operations are no longer used and deprecated.
222	
223	The status bits should (preferably) be set with the set_bit and clear_bit alike
224	bit-operations. The status bits that are defined are:
225	* WDOG_ACTIVE: this status bit indicates whether or not a watchdog timer device
226	  is active or not from user perspective. User space is expected to send
227	  heartbeat requests to the driver while this flag is set.
228	* WDOG_NO_WAY_OUT: this bit stores the nowayout setting for the watchdog.
229	  If this bit is set then the watchdog timer will not be able to stop.
230	* WDOG_HW_RUNNING: Set by the watchdog driver if the hardware watchdog is
231	  running. The bit must be set if the watchdog timer hardware can not be
232	  stopped. The bit may also be set if the watchdog timer is running after
233	  booting, before the watchdog device is opened. If set, the watchdog
234	  infrastructure will send keepalives to the watchdog hardware while
235	  WDOG_ACTIVE is not set.
236	  Note: when you register the watchdog timer device with this bit set,
237	  then opening /dev/watchdog will skip the start operation but send a keepalive
238	  request instead.
239	
240	  To set the WDOG_NO_WAY_OUT status bit (before registering your watchdog
241	  timer device) you can either:
242	  * set it statically in your watchdog_device struct with
243		.status = WATCHDOG_NOWAYOUT_INIT_STATUS,
244	    (this will set the value the same as CONFIG_WATCHDOG_NOWAYOUT) or
245	  * use the following helper function:
246	  static inline void watchdog_set_nowayout(struct watchdog_device *wdd, int nowayout)
247	
248	Note: The WatchDog Timer Driver Core supports the magic close feature and
249	the nowayout feature. To use the magic close feature you must set the
250	WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE bit in the options field of the watchdog's info structure.
251	The nowayout feature will overrule the magic close feature.
252	
253	To get or set driver specific data the following two helper functions should be
254	used:
255	
256	static inline void watchdog_set_drvdata(struct watchdog_device *wdd, void *data)
257	static inline void *watchdog_get_drvdata(struct watchdog_device *wdd)
258	
259	The watchdog_set_drvdata function allows you to add driver specific data. The
260	arguments of this function are the watchdog device where you want to add the
261	driver specific data to and a pointer to the data itself.
262	
263	The watchdog_get_drvdata function allows you to retrieve driver specific data.
264	The argument of this function is the watchdog device where you want to retrieve
265	data from. The function returns the pointer to the driver specific data.
266	
267	To initialize the timeout field, the following function can be used:
268	
269	extern int watchdog_init_timeout(struct watchdog_device *wdd,
270	                                  unsigned int timeout_parm, struct device *dev);
271	
272	The watchdog_init_timeout function allows you to initialize the timeout field
273	using the module timeout parameter or by retrieving the timeout-sec property from
274	the device tree (if the module timeout parameter is invalid). Best practice is
275	to set the default timeout value as timeout value in the watchdog_device and
276	then use this function to set the user "preferred" timeout value.
277	This routine returns zero on success and a negative errno code for failure.
278	
279	To disable the watchdog on reboot, the user must call the following helper:
280	
281	static inline void watchdog_stop_on_reboot(struct watchdog_device *wdd);
282	
283	To disable the watchdog when unregistering the watchdog, the user must call
284	the following helper. Note that this will only stop the watchdog if the
285	nowayout flag is not set.
286	
287	static inline void watchdog_stop_on_unregister(struct watchdog_device *wdd);
288	
289	To change the priority of the restart handler the following helper should be
290	used:
291	
292	void watchdog_set_restart_priority(struct watchdog_device *wdd, int priority);
293	
294	User should follow the following guidelines for setting the priority:
295	* 0: should be called in last resort, has limited restart capabilities
296	* 128: default restart handler, use if no other handler is expected to be
297	  available, and/or if restart is sufficient to restart the entire system
298	* 255: highest priority, will preempt all other restart handlers
299	
300	To raise a pretimeout notification, the following function should be used:
301	
302	void watchdog_notify_pretimeout(struct watchdog_device *wdd)
303	
304	The function can be called in the interrupt context. If watchdog pretimeout
305	governor framework (kbuild CONFIG_WATCHDOG_PRETIMEOUT_GOV symbol) is enabled,
306	an action is taken by a preconfigured pretimeout governor preassigned to
307	the watchdog device. If watchdog pretimeout governor framework is not
308	enabled, watchdog_notify_pretimeout() prints a notification message to
309	the kernel log buffer.
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