Re: [PATCH v3 2/4] misc: hisi_hikey_usb: change the DT schema

[John Stultz]

On Thu, Sep 2, 2021 at 10:28 AM Matthias Kaehlcke <mka@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Thu, Sep 02, 2021 at 04:35:29PM +0200, Mauro Carvalho Chehab wrote:
> > Em Thu, 2 Sep 2021 15:56:36 +0200
> > Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> escreveu:
> > > On Thu, Sep 02, 2021 at 03:38:20PM +0200, Mauro Carvalho Chehab wrote:
> > > > While I'm not sure how generic this driver can be, I'm thinking that
> > > > maybe a future patch could rename it to 'generic-usb-hub' or
> > > > something similar - finding a good name is always the hardest
> > > > part :-)
> > >
> > > Try looking at:
> > >     https://lore.kernel.org/r/20210813195228.2003500-1-mka@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > for another example of this.
> >
> > (C/C Matthias here).
> >
> > Interesting to know that someone else is also needing to add support
> > for USB chips.
>
> Yeah, there were several attempts over the years, but so far none of
> them landed upstream ...
>
> > Yet, the approach took there won't work with HiKey 960/970, as
> > it needs to control not only the regulator, but it should also
> > work as as usb-role-switch.
> >
> > So, besides controlling the regulator, which seems to be basically what
> > the onboard_usb_hub_driver does, but it should also be able to:
> >
> >       - (optionally) reset the HUB;
> >       - control its OTG switch;
> >       - control power on/off for an USB type-C connector;
> >       - set USB role as host or device.
>
> > Perhaps it would be possible to merge both approaches by modifying
> > hisi_hikey_usb in order to add the extra bits required by the boards that
> > Matthias is currently working, and requiring the GPIOs for OTG and
> > type-C connectors only if DT contains usb-role-switch.
>
> I'm not convinced that a hub driver should be in charge of role switching.
> I wonder if the hub part could remain separate, and the role switching be
> done by a dedicated driver that interacts with the hub driver through
> some interface. From the above list the hub driver could still be in charge
> of:
>
> - (optionally) reset the HUB;
> - control power on/off for an USB type-C connector;
>
> Maybe the hub driver could implement a reset controller to allow the role
> switching driver to switch it on and off (including type-C power).
>
> The role switch driver (a leaner version of hisi_hikey_usb) could model
> the mux and switch the hub on and off, without being concerned about all
> the details.

Apologies, I may be misunderstanding you, but I think the missing
issue there is: "what triggers the hub driver to switch it on or off?"

For the hikey960/970 boards, removing/plugging in the usb-c cable is
what we use to enable/disable the mux/hub.

The current iteration (of which there have been many) of hikey hub
driver uses the role switch notification as its trigger. It's not
really controlling the role switching, just using that signal. That's
why the driver works as an intermediary/relay of the roleswitch
notification.

We had earlier efforts that had hacks to specific drivers as well as
attempts to add notifiers on role switches (but those were terribly
racy), so the intermediary/relay approach has been a great improvement
on reliability with little impact to other drivers.

thanks
-john