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diff --git a/Documentation/sound/designs/procfile.rst b/Documentation/sound/designs/procfile.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..29a466851fd2 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/sound/designs/procfile.rst @@ -0,0 +1,238 @@ +========================== +Proc Files of ALSA Drivers +========================== + +Takashi Iwai <tiwai@suse.de> + +General +======= + +ALSA has its own proc tree, /proc/asound. Many useful information are +found in this tree. When you encounter a problem and need debugging, +check the files listed in the following sections. + +Each card has its subtree cardX, where X is from 0 to 7. The +card-specific files are stored in the ``card*`` subdirectories. + + +Global Information +================== + +cards + Shows the list of currently configured ALSA drivers, + index, the id string, short and long descriptions. + +version + Shows the version string and compile date. + +modules + Lists the module of each card + +devices + Lists the ALSA native device mappings. + +meminfo + Shows the status of allocated pages via ALSA drivers. + Appears only when ``CONFIG_SND_DEBUG=y``. + +hwdep + Lists the currently available hwdep devices in format of + ``<card>-<device>: <name>`` + +pcm + Lists the currently available PCM devices in format of + ``<card>-<device>: <id>: <name> : <sub-streams>`` + +timer + Lists the currently available timer devices + + +oss/devices + Lists the OSS device mappings. + +oss/sndstat + Provides the output compatible with /dev/sndstat. + You can symlink this to /dev/sndstat. + + +Card Specific Files +=================== + +The card-specific files are found in ``/proc/asound/card*`` directories. +Some drivers (e.g. cmipci) have their own proc entries for the +register dump, etc (e.g. ``/proc/asound/card*/cmipci`` shows the register +dump). These files would be really helpful for debugging. + +When PCM devices are available on this card, you can see directories +like pcm0p or pcm1c. They hold the PCM information for each PCM +stream. The number after ``pcm`` is the PCM device number from 0, and +the last ``p`` or ``c`` means playback or capture direction. The files in +this subtree is described later. + +The status of MIDI I/O is found in ``midi*`` files. It shows the device +name and the received/transmitted bytes through the MIDI device. + +When the card is equipped with AC97 codecs, there are ``codec97#*`` +subdirectories (described later). + +When the OSS mixer emulation is enabled (and the module is loaded), +oss_mixer file appears here, too. This shows the current mapping of +OSS mixer elements to the ALSA control elements. You can change the +mapping by writing to this device. Read OSS-Emulation.txt for +details. + + +PCM Proc Files +============== + +``card*/pcm*/info`` + The general information of this PCM device: card #, device #, + substreams, etc. + +``card*/pcm*/xrun_debug`` + This file appears when ``CONFIG_SND_DEBUG=y`` and + ``CONFIG_PCM_XRUN_DEBUG=y``. + This shows the status of xrun (= buffer overrun/xrun) and + invalid PCM position debug/check of ALSA PCM middle layer. + It takes an integer value, can be changed by writing to this + file, such as:: + + # echo 5 > /proc/asound/card0/pcm0p/xrun_debug + + The value consists of the following bit flags: + + * bit 0 = Enable XRUN/jiffies debug messages + * bit 1 = Show stack trace at XRUN / jiffies check + * bit 2 = Enable additional jiffies check + + When the bit 0 is set, the driver will show the messages to + kernel log when an xrun is detected. The debug message is + shown also when the invalid H/W pointer is detected at the + update of periods (usually called from the interrupt + handler). + + When the bit 1 is set, the driver will show the stack trace + additionally. This may help the debugging. + + Since 2.6.30, this option can enable the hwptr check using + jiffies. This detects spontaneous invalid pointer callback + values, but can be lead to too much corrections for a (mostly + buggy) hardware that doesn't give smooth pointer updates. + This feature is enabled via the bit 2. + +``card*/pcm*/sub*/info`` + The general information of this PCM sub-stream. + +``card*/pcm*/sub*/status`` + The current status of this PCM sub-stream, elapsed time, + H/W position, etc. + +``card*/pcm*/sub*/hw_params`` + The hardware parameters set for this sub-stream. + +``card*/pcm*/sub*/sw_params`` + The soft parameters set for this sub-stream. + +``card*/pcm*/sub*/prealloc`` + The buffer pre-allocation information. + +``card*/pcm*/sub*/xrun_injection`` + Triggers an XRUN to the running stream when any value is + written to this proc file. Used for fault injection. + This entry is write-only. + +AC97 Codec Information +====================== + +``card*/codec97#*/ac97#?-?`` + Shows the general information of this AC97 codec chip, such as + name, capabilities, set up. + +``card*/codec97#0/ac97#?-?+regs`` + Shows the AC97 register dump. Useful for debugging. + + When CONFIG_SND_DEBUG is enabled, you can write to this file for + changing an AC97 register directly. Pass two hex numbers. + For example, + +:: + + # echo 02 9f1f > /proc/asound/card0/codec97#0/ac97#0-0+regs + + +USB Audio Streams +================= + +``card*/stream*`` + Shows the assignment and the current status of each audio stream + of the given card. This information is very useful for debugging. + + +HD-Audio Codecs +=============== + +``card*/codec#*`` + Shows the general codec information and the attribute of each + widget node. + +``card*/eld#*`` + Available for HDMI or DisplayPort interfaces. + Shows ELD(EDID Like Data) info retrieved from the attached HDMI sink, + and describes its audio capabilities and configurations. + + Some ELD fields may be modified by doing ``echo name hex_value > eld#*``. + Only do this if you are sure the HDMI sink provided value is wrong. + And if that makes your HDMI audio work, please report to us so that we + can fix it in future kernel releases. + + +Sequencer Information +===================== + +seq/drivers + Lists the currently available ALSA sequencer drivers. + +seq/clients + Shows the list of currently available sequencer clients and + ports. The connection status and the running status are shown + in this file, too. + +seq/queues + Lists the currently allocated/running sequencer queues. + +seq/timer + Lists the currently allocated/running sequencer timers. + +seq/oss + Lists the OSS-compatible sequencer stuffs. + + +Help For Debugging? +=================== + +When the problem is related with PCM, first try to turn on xrun_debug +mode. This will give you the kernel messages when and where xrun +happened. + +If it's really a bug, report it with the following information: + +- the name of the driver/card, show in ``/proc/asound/cards`` +- the register dump, if available (e.g. ``card*/cmipci``) + +when it's a PCM problem, + +- set-up of PCM, shown in hw_parms, sw_params, and status in the PCM + sub-stream directory + +when it's a mixer problem, + +- AC97 proc files, ``codec97#*/*`` files + +for USB audio/midi, + +- output of ``lsusb -v`` +- ``stream*`` files in card directory + + +The ALSA bug-tracking system is found at: +https://bugtrack.alsa-project.org/alsa-bug/ |