Re: [PATCH v5 0/5] pci: Work around ASMedia ASM2824 PCIe link training failures

[Pali Rohár]

Bjorn, Krzysztof: could you please look at this patch series and say
what do you think about it? It is quite strange issue for which is
defined PCI_ANY_ID quirk... And is needs to be somehow workarounded.

On Saturday 17 September 2022 13:03:05 Maciej W. Rozycki wrote:
> Hi,
> 
>  This is v5 of the change to work around a PCIe link training phenomenon 
> where a pair of devices both capable of operating at a link speed above 
> 2.5GT/s seems unable to negotiate the link speed and continues training 
> indefinitely with the Link Training bit switching on and off repeatedly 
> and the data link layer never reaching the active state.
> 
>  This was originally observed in a configuration featuring a downstream 
> port of the ASMedia ASM2824 Gen 3 switch wired to the upstream port of the 
> Pericom PI7C9X2G304 Gen 2 switch.  However in the course of review I have 
> come to the conclusion that similarly to the earlier similar change to 
> U-Boot it is indeed expected to be safe to apply this workaround to any 
> downstream port that has failed link negotiation provided that:
> 
> 1. the port is capable of reporting the data link layer link active 
>    status (because unlike U-Boot we cannot busy-loop continuously polling 
>    the link training bit),
> 
> and:
> 
> 2. we don't attempt to lift the 2.5GT/s speed restriction, imposed as the
>    basis of the workaround, for devices not explicitly known to continue 
>    working in that case.
> 
> It is expected to be safe because the workaround is applied to a failed 
> link, that is one that does not (at the time this code is executed) work 
> anyway, so trying to bring it up cannot make the situation worse.  So this 
> version of the workaround is attempted for all PCIe devices discovered, 
> and only the lifting of the 2.5GT/s speed restriction is qualified by the 
> vendor:device ID, currently one of the ASMedia ASM2824 device only.
> 
>  Broadening the scope of the quirk has in turn made it necessary to make 
> some adjustments to code elsewhere and consequently what was originally a 
> single patch has now become a small series instead.
> 
>  This has been verified with a SiFive HiFive unmatched board, booting with 
> or without the workaround activated in U-Boot, which covered both the link 
> retraining part of the quirk and the lifting of speed restriction already 
> imposed by U-Boot.
> 
>  Please see individual change descriptions for further details.
> 
>  Questions or comments?  Otherwise please apply.
> 
>   Maciej