cxl: Documentation/driver-api/cxl: Describe the x86 Low Memory Hole solution

Add documentation on how to resolve conflicts between CXL Fixed Memory
Windows, Platform Low Memory Holes, intermediate Switch and Endpoint
Decoders.

[dj]: Fixed inconsistent spacing after '.'
[dj]: Fixed subject line from Alison.
[dj]: Removed '::' before table from Bagas.

Reviewed-by: Gregory Price <gourry@gourry.net>
Signed-off-by: Fabio M. De Francesco <fabio.m.de.francesco@linux.intel.com>
Reviewed-by: Bagas Sanjaya <bagasdotme@gmail.com>
Reviewed-by: Alison Schofield <alison.schofield@intel.com>
Reviewed-by: Dave Jiang <dave.jiang@intel.com>
Signed-off-by: Dave Jiang <dave.jiang@intel.com>

Author: fdefranc

Documentation/driver-api/cxl/conventions.rst

@@ -45,3 +45,138 @@ Detailed Description of the Change
 ----------------------------------
 
 <Propose spec language that corrects the conflict.>
+
+
+Resolve conflict between CFMWS, Platform Memory Holes, and Endpoint Decoders
+============================================================================
+
+Document
+--------
+
+CXL Revision 3.2, Version 1.0
+
+License
+-------
+
+SPDX-License Identifier: CC-BY-4.0
+
+Creator/Contributors
+--------------------
+
+- Fabio M. De Francesco, Intel
+- Dan J. Williams, Intel
+- Mahesh Natu, Intel
+
+Summary of the Change
+---------------------
+
+According to the current Compute Express Link (CXL) Specifications (Revision
+3.2, Version 1.0), the CXL Fixed Memory Window Structure (CFMWS) describes zero
+or more Host Physical Address (HPA) windows associated with each CXL Host
+Bridge. Each window represents a contiguous HPA range that may be interleaved
+across one or more targets, including CXL Host Bridges. Each window has a set
+of restrictions that govern its usage. It is the Operating System-directed
+configuration and Power Management (OSPM) responsibility to utilize each window
+for the specified use.
+
+Table 9-22 of the current CXL Specifications states that the Window Size field
+contains the total number of consecutive bytes of HPA this window describes.
+This value must be a multiple of the Number of Interleave Ways (NIW) * 256 MB.
+
+Platform Firmware (BIOS) might reserve physical addresses below 4 GB where a
+memory gap such as the Low Memory Hole for PCIe MMIO may exist. In such cases,
+the CFMWS Range Size may not adhere to the NIW * 256 MB rule.
+
+The HPA represents the actual physical memory address space that the CXL devices
+can decode and respond to, while the System Physical Address (SPA), a related
+but distinct concept, represents the system-visible address space that users can
+direct transaction to and so it excludes reserved regions.
+
+BIOS publishes CFMWS to communicate the active SPA ranges that, on platforms
+with LMH's, map to a strict subset of the HPA. The SPA range trims out the hole,
+resulting in lost capacity in the Endpoints with no SPA to map to that part of
+the HPA range that intersects the hole.
+
+E.g, an x86 platform with two CFMWS and an LMH starting at 2 GB:
+
+ +--------+------------+-------------------+------------------+-------------------+------+
+ | Window | CFMWS Base |    CFMWS Size     | HDM Decoder Base |  HDM Decoder Size | Ways |
+ +========+============+===================+==================+===================+======+
+ |   0    |   0 GB     |       2 GB        |      0 GB        |       3 GB        |  12  |
+ +--------+------------+-------------------+------------------+-------------------+------+
+ |   1    |   4 GB     | NIW*256MB Aligned |      4 GB        | NIW*256MB Aligned |  12  |
+ +--------+------------+-------------------+------------------+-------------------+------+
+
+HDM decoder base and HDM decoder size represent all the 12 Endpoint Decoders of
+a 12 ways region and all the intermediate Switch Decoders. They are configured
+by the BIOS according to the NIW * 256MB rule, resulting in a HPA range size of
+3GB. Instead, the CFMWS Base and CFMWS Size are used to configure the Root
+Decoder HPA range that results smaller (2GB) than that of the Switch and
+Endpoint Decoders in the hierarchy (3GB).
+
+This creates 2 issues which lead to a failure to construct a region:
+
+1) A mismatch in region size between root and any HDM decoder. The root decoders
+   will always be smaller due to the trim.
+
+2) The trim causes the root decoder to violate the (NIW * 256MB) rule.
+
+This change allows a region with a base address of 0GB to bypass these checks to
+allow for region creation with the trimmed root decoder address range.
+
+This change does not allow for any other arbitrary region to violate these
+checks - it is intended exclusively to enable x86 platforms which map CXL memory
+under 4GB.
+
+Despite the HDM decoders covering the PCIE hole HPA region, it is expected that
+the platform will never route address accesses to the CXL complex because the
+root decoder only covers the trimmed region (which excludes this). This is
+outside the ability of Linux to enforce.
+
+On the example platform, only the first 2GB will be potentially usable, but
+Linux, aiming to adhere to the current specifications, fails to construct
+Regions and attach Endpoint and intermediate Switch Decoders to them.
+
+There are several points of failure that due to the expectation that the Root
+Decoder HPA size, that is equal to the CFMWS from which it is configured, has
+to be greater or equal to the matching Switch and Endpoint HDM Decoders.
+
+In order to succeed with construction and attachment, Linux must construct a
+Region with Root Decoder HPA range size, and then attach to that all the
+intermediate Switch Decoders and Endpoint Decoders that belong to the hierarchy
+regardless of their range sizes.
+
+Benefits of the Change
+----------------------
+
+Without the change, the OSPM wouldn't match intermediate Switch and Endpoint
+Decoders with Root Decoders configured with CFMWS HPA sizes that don't align
+with the NIW * 256MB constraint, and so it leads to lost memdev capacity.
+
+This change allows the OSPM to construct Regions and attach intermediate Switch
+and Endpoint Decoders to them, so that the addressable part of the memory
+devices total capacity is made available to the users.
+
+References
+----------
+
+Compute Express Link Specification Revision 3.2, Version 1.0
+<https://www.computeexpresslink.org/>
+
+Detailed Description of the Change
+----------------------------------
+
+The description of the Window Size field in table 9-22 needs to account for
+platforms with Low Memory Holes, where SPA ranges might be subsets of the
+endpoints HPA. Therefore, it has to be changed to the following:
+
+"The total number of consecutive bytes of HPA this window represents. This value
+shall be a multiple of NIW * 256 MB.
+
+On platforms that reserve physical addresses below 4 GB, such as the Low Memory
+Hole for PCIe MMIO on x86, an instance of CFMWS whose Base HPA range is 0 might
+have a size that doesn't align with the NIW * 256 MB constraint.
+
+Note that the matching intermediate Switch Decoders and the Endpoint Decoders
+HPA range sizes must still align to the above-mentioned rule, but the memory
+capacity that exceeds the CFMWS window size won't be accessible.".