Received-SPF: pass (google.com: best guess record for domain of linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org designates 209.132.180.67 as permitted sender) client-ip=209.132.180.67;
Subject: Re: bnx2x: Latest firmware requirement breaks no regression policy
To:     Sudarsana Reddy Kalluru <skalluru@marvell.com>,
        Ariel Elior <aelior@marvell.com>,
        GR-everest-linux-l2 <GR-everest-linux-l2@marvell.com>
Cc:     "netdev@vger.kernel.org" <netdev@vger.kernel.org>,
        LKML <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>,
        it+linux-netdev@molgen.mpg.de,
        "David S. Miller" <davem@davemloft.net>
References: <ffbcf99c-8274-eca1-5166-efc0828ca05b@molgen.mpg.de>
 <MN2PR18MB2528C681601B34D05100DF89D3100@MN2PR18MB2528.namprd18.prod.outlook.com>
From:   Paul Menzel <pmenzel@molgen.mpg.de>
Message-ID: <8daadcd1-3ff2-2448-7957-827a71ae4d2e@molgen.mpg.de>
Date:   Wed, 19 Feb 2020 13:43:48 +0100
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:68.0) Gecko/20100101
 Thunderbird/68.5.0
MIME-Version: 1.0
In-Reply-To: <MN2PR18MB2528C681601B34D05100DF89D3100@MN2PR18MB2528.namprd18.prod.outlook.com>
Content-Type: multipart/signed; protocol="application/pkcs7-signature"; micalg=sha-256; boundary="------------ms080407010707050508020901"
Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org
Precedence: bulk

This is a cryptographically signed message in MIME format.

--------------ms080407010707050508020901
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Language: en-US
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Dear Sudarsana,


Thank you for your reply.


On 2020-02-19 09:49, Sudarsana Reddy Kalluru wrote:

> The firmware file referred below (i.e., storm FW) should be present
> on the host (i.e., /lib/firmware/bnx2x/ path), not the device. Driver
> must require this version of the FW to initialize the device, and
> hence provide the network functionality. Also, the driver is not
> backward compatible with older FW versions.
>=20
> So it's not possible to handle the below error scenario in the driver,
>=20
> 	>     bnx2x 0000:41:00.0: Direct firmware load for bnx2x/bnx2x-e1h-7.1=
3.11.0.fw failed with error -2
> 	>     bnx2x: [bnx2x_init_firmware:13557(net02)]Can't load firmware fil=
e bnx2x/bnx2x-e1h-7.13.11.0.fw
>=20
> At the most, we can validate the existence of FW file on the host
> during the kernel build or installation.

That is what I thought about the current state. But why was this
design decision made? It=E2=80=99s not user-friendly, and as written brea=
ks
the no regression policy. Users can update the Linux kernel without
any regressions, and everything working as before. Dave, what is
your opinion?

Where are the driver requirements/implementation short-comings
documented?

If an older Linux kernel works with a certain firmware version, why
shouldn=E2=80=99t a newer Linux kernel work with that firmware version.
Maybe some features are missing, but at least I should get the same
state as with the older version.

Do you have plans to switch the driver to a model, where the
features/requirements of the firmware are queried by the driver, so
older versions can be supported?

> FW image name from driver sources:
> 	drivers/net/ethernet/broadcom/bnx2x/bnx2x_main.c:
> 	#define FW_FILE_NAME_E1         "bnx2x/bnx2x-e1-" FW_FILE_VERSION ".fw=
"
> 	#define FW_FILE_NAME_E1H        "bnx2x/bnx2x-e1h-" FW_FILE_VERSION ".f=
w"
> 	#define FW_FILE_NAME_E2         "bnx2x/bnx2x-e2-" FW_FILE_VERSION ".fw=
"
> FW image path on the host:
> 	/lib/firmware/bnx2x/bnx2x-e1h-7.13.11.0.fw
Yes, that is what I found in my original research, and that is how
we fixed it, but with the non-working interface it was more work
than necessary.


Kind regards,

Paul


--------------ms080407010707050508020901
Content-Type: application/pkcs7-signature; name="smime.p7s"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="smime.p7s"
Content-Description: S/MIME Cryptographic Signature
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--------------ms080407010707050508020901--