SerCx2 System-DMA-Transmit Transactions

Some serial controller drivers implement support for transmit transactions that use the system DMA controller. Such support is optional but can improve performance by relieving the main processor of the need to use programmed I/O (PIO) for long data transfers. SerCx2 performs a system-DMA-transmit transaction by setting up the system DMA controller and initiating the necessary DMA transfers on behalf of the serial controller driver.

When the serial controller driver creates a system-DMA-transmit object, the driver supplies the parameters that SerCx2 will use to set up the system DMA adapter for system-DMA-transmit transactions.

Before the start of the transaction, the serial controller driver has the option to do any special set-up of the serial controller hardware or DMA adapter that might be required for the transaction. After the transaction finishes, the driver has the option to drain the transmit FIFO, and, if necessary, to clean up the serial controller hardware state.

Creating the system-DMA-transmit object

Before SerCx2 can call any of the serial controller driver's EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitXxx** functions, the driver must call the SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitCreate method to register these functions with SerCx2. This method accepts, as an input parameter, a pointer to a SERCX2_SYSTEM_DMA_TRANSMIT_CONFIG structure that contains pointers to the driver's EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitXxx** functions.

As an option, the driver can implement any or all of the following functions:

• EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitInitializeTransaction
• EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitCleanupTransaction
• EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitConfigureDmaChannel

As an option, the driver can implement the following functions:

• EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitDrainFifo
• EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitCancelDrainFifo
• EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitPurgeFifo

A driver that implements any of the functions in the preceding list must implement all three.

The SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitCreate method creates a system-DMA-transmit object and supplies the calling driver with a SERCX2SYSTEMDMATRANSMIT handle to this object. The driver's EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitXxx** functions all take this handle as their first parameter. The following SerCx2 methods take this handle as their first parameter:

• SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitDrainFifoComplete
• SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitPurgeFifoComplete
• SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitInitializeTransactionComplete
• SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitCleanupTransactionComplete
• SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitGetDmaEnabler

Hardware initialization and clean-up

Some serial controller drivers might need to initialize the serial controller hardware at the start of a system-DMA-transmit transaction, or to clean up the hardware state of the serial controller at the end of the transaction.

If a driver implements an EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitInitializeTransaction event callback function, SerCx2 calls this function to initialize the serial controller before starting the first DMA transfer in the transaction. If implemented, the EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitInitializeTransaction function must call the SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitInitializeTransactionComplete method to inform SerCx2 when the driver finishes initializing the serial controller.

If the driver implements an EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitCleanupTransaction event callback function, SerCx2 calls this function to clean up the hardware state after the end of the final DMA transfer in the transaction. If implemented, the EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitInitializeTransaction function must call the SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitCleanupTransactionComplete method to inform SerCx2 when the driver finishes cleaning up the serial controller.

A serial controller driver that needs to do any special configuration of the system DMA controller at the start of a system-DMA-transmit transaction should implement an EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitConfigureDmaChannel event callback function. This function can call the SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitGetDmaEnabler method to get the DMA enabler for the system DMA adapter used for the transaction. SerCx2 calls this function before starting the first DMA transfer in the transaction. For more information about DMA enablers, see Enabling DMA Transactions.

Draining and purging the transmit FIFO

A serial controller driver that supports system-DMA-transmit transactions should implement an EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitDrainFifo event callback function if the driver can detect when the transmit FIFO empties. If implemented, SerCx2 calls this function after the last byte of data in a system-DMA-transmit transaction has been written to the transmit FIFO. During this call, the EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitDrainFifo function typically enables an interrupt that's triggered when the transmit FIFO empties, and then returns without waiting for the interrupt. When the FIFO empties, the driver calls the SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitDrainFifoComplete method to notify SerCx2. Only after receiving this notification does SerCx2 complete the pending write (IRP_MJ_WRITE) request that is associated with the system-DMA-transmit transaction.

If the serial controller driver does not implement an EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitDrainFifo function, SerCx2 must complete the pending write request without first verifying that the transmit FIFO has emptied. There can be no guarantee that data written to the FIFO will be transmitted without a significant delay. Any data that remains in the FIFO after a write request is completed might be lost before it can be transmitted. This unexpected data loss in a successfully completed write request can create reliability problems for the peripheral driver that sent the request.

A driver that implements an EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitDrainFifo function must also implement EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitCancelDrainFifo and EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitPurgeFifo event callback functions.

The EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitCancelDrainFifo function enables SerCx2 to cancel an ongoing FIFO-drain operation before it finishes. SerCx2 might cancel this operation if the write request is canceled, or if the serial controller is about to exit the D0 device power state to enter a low-power state. If the EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitCancelDrainFifo function successfully cancels the FIFO-drain operation, this function returns TRUE. A return value of TRUE guarantees that the EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitDrainFifo function will return without first calling SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitDrainFifoComplete. A return value of FALSE indicates that the EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitDrainFifo function has called or will call SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitDrainFifoComplete.

If the write request associated with a system-DMA-transmit transaction is canceled or times out before it completes, SerCx2 calls the EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitPurgeFifo function, if it is implemented, to discard any unsent data that might remain the transmit FIFO. When the FIFO is purged, the EvtSerCx2SystemDmaTransmitPurgeFifo function calls the SerCx2SystemDmaTransmitPurgeFifoComplete method to notify SerCx2. Only after receiving this notification does SerCx2 start a new I/O transaction.