[PATCH v11 07/10] mtd: spi-nor: Add stacked memories support in spi-nor

Wed Dec 20 22:54:22 PST 2023

Hello Tudor,

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tudor Ambarus <tudor.ambarus at linaro.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2023 1:56 PM
> To: Mahapatra, Amit Kumar <amit.kumar-mahapatra at amd.com>;
> broonie at kernel.org; pratyush at kernel.org; miquel.raynal at bootlin.com;
> richard at nod.at; vigneshr at ti.com; sbinding at opensource.cirrus.com;
> lee at kernel.org; james.schulman at cirrus.com; david.rhodes at cirrus.com;
> rf at opensource.cirrus.com; perex at perex.cz; tiwai at suse.com
> Cc: linux-spi at vger.kernel.org; linux-kernel at vger.kernel.org;
> michael at walle.cc; linux-mtd at lists.infradead.org;
> nicolas.ferre at microchip.com; alexandre.belloni at bootlin.com;
> claudiu.beznea at tuxon.dev; Simek, Michal <michal.simek at amd.com>; linux-
> arm-kernel at lists.infradead.org; alsa-devel at alsa-project.org;
> patches at opensource.cirrus.com; linux-sound at vger.kernel.org; git (AMD-
> Xilinx) <git at amd.com>; amitrkcian2002 at gmail.com
> Subject: Re: [PATCH v11 07/10] mtd: spi-nor: Add stacked memories support
> in spi-nor
> 
> 
> 
> On 15.12.2023 13:20, Mahapatra, Amit Kumar wrote:
> > Hello Tudor,
> >
> 
> Hi!
> 
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Tudor Ambarus <tudor.ambarus at linaro.org>
> >> Sent: Friday, December 15, 2023 4:03 PM
> >> To: Mahapatra, Amit Kumar <amit.kumar-mahapatra at amd.com>;
> >> broonie at kernel.org; pratyush at kernel.org; miquel.raynal at bootlin.com;
> >> richard at nod.at; vigneshr at ti.com; sbinding at opensource.cirrus.com;
> >> lee at kernel.org; james.schulman at cirrus.com; david.rhodes at cirrus.com;
> >> rf at opensource.cirrus.com; perex at perex.cz; tiwai at suse.com
> >> Cc: linux-spi at vger.kernel.org; linux-kernel at vger.kernel.org;
> >> michael at walle.cc; linux-mtd at lists.infradead.org;
> >> nicolas.ferre at microchip.com; alexandre.belloni at bootlin.com;
> >> claudiu.beznea at tuxon.dev; Simek, Michal <michal.simek at amd.com>;
> >> linux-arm-kernel at lists.infradead.org; alsa- devel at alsa-project.org;
> >> patches at opensource.cirrus.com; linux- sound at vger.kernel.org; git
> >> (AMD-Xilinx) <git at amd.com>; amitrkcian2002 at gmail.com
> >> Subject: Re: [PATCH v11 07/10] mtd: spi-nor: Add stacked memories
> >> support in spi-nor
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On 12/15/23 10:02, Mahapatra, Amit Kumar wrote:
> >>> Hello Tudor,
> >>
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >>>
> >>>> -----Original Message-----
> >>>> From: Tudor Ambarus <tudor.ambarus at linaro.org>
> >>>> Sent: Friday, December 15, 2023 1:40 PM
> >>>> To: Mahapatra, Amit Kumar <amit.kumar-mahapatra at amd.com>;
> >>>> broonie at kernel.org; pratyush at kernel.org; miquel.raynal at bootlin.com;
> >>>> richard at nod.at; vigneshr at ti.com; sbinding at opensource.cirrus.com;
> >>>> lee at kernel.org; james.schulman at cirrus.com;
> david.rhodes at cirrus.com;
> >>>> rf at opensource.cirrus.com; perex at perex.cz; tiwai at suse.com
> >>>> Cc: linux-spi at vger.kernel.org; linux-kernel at vger.kernel.org;
> >>>> michael at walle.cc; linux-mtd at lists.infradead.org;
> >>>> nicolas.ferre at microchip.com; alexandre.belloni at bootlin.com;
> >>>> claudiu.beznea at tuxon.dev; Simek, Michal <michal.simek at amd.com>;
> >>>> linux- arm-kernel at lists.infradead.org; alsa-devel at alsa-project.org;
> >>>> patches at opensource.cirrus.com; linux-sound at vger.kernel.org; git
> >>>> (AMD-
> >>>> Xilinx) <git at amd.com>; amitrkcian2002 at gmail.com
> >>>> Subject: Re: [PATCH v11 07/10] mtd: spi-nor: Add stacked memories
> >>>> support in spi-nor
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> On 15.12.2023 09:55, Mahapatra, Amit Kumar wrote:
> >>>>>> Thanks! Can you share with us what flashes you used for testing
> >>>>>> in the stacked and parallel configurations?
> >>>>> I used SPI-NOR QSPI flashes for testing stacked and parallel.
> >>>>
> >>>> I got that, I wanted the flash name or device ID.
> >>>
> >>> N25Q00A, MX66U2G45G, IS25LP01G & W25H02JV are some of the QSPI
> >> flashes
> >>> on which we tested. Additionally, we conducted tests on over 30
> >>> different QSPI flashes from four distinct vendors (Miron, Winbond,
> >> Macronix, and ISSI).
> >>>
> >>
> >> Great.
> >>
> >>>> What I'm interested is if each flash is in its own package. Are they?
> >>>
> >>> I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand what you mean by "if each
> >>> flash in its own package."
> >>>
> >>
> >> There are flashes that are stacked at the physical level. It's a
> >> single flash with multiple dies, that are all under a single physical package.
> >
> > Got it. The W25H02JV QSPI flash I mentioned earlier is a device with
> > with four dies that are stacked at the physical level.
> >
> >>
> >> As I understand, your stacked flash model is at logical level. You
> >> have
> >> 2 flashes each in its own package. 2 different entities. Is my
> >> understanding correct?
> >
> > Yes, that’s correct.
> >
> > I'd like to contribute to your earlier point regarding the placement
> > of the stacked layer. As you correctly highlighted, it should be in
> > the spi-mem generic layer. For instance, when a read/write operation
> > extends across multiple flashes (whether SPI-NOR or SPI-NAND), the
> > stacked layer must handle the flash crossover. This requires setting
> > the appropriate CS index in mem->spi->cs_index_mask to select the
> > correct slave device and updating the data buffer, address & data
> > length in spi_mem_op struct variable. Does this align with your
> understanding?
> >
> 
> This was the initial idea, yes, but we'll have to see how mtd concat fits in.
> Maybe the abstraction can be made at the mtd level, which I suspect mtd
> concat does. I have to read that driver, never opened it.

I haven't explored the mtd concat driver either.

> 
> Something else to consider: I see that Micron has a twin quad mode:
> https://media-www.micron.com/-
> /media/client/global/documents/products/data-sheet/nor-flash/serial-
> nor/mt25t/generation-
> b/mt25t_qljs_l_512_xba_0.pdf?rev=de70b770c5dc4da8b8ead06b57c03500
> 
> The micron's "Separate Chip-Select and Clock Signals" resembles the AMD's
> dual parallel 8-bit.

Yes, I agree.

> Micron's "Shared Chip-Select and Clock Signals" differs from the AMD's
> stacked mode, as Micron uses DQ[3:0] and DQ[7:4], whereas AMD considers
> both as DQ[3:0].

Yes, correct.

> 
> I had a short chat with Michael and he highlighted that instead of the parallel
> mode, one would be better of with an octal device. I wonder whether the
> quad parallel is worth the effort. I see AMD can select either quad
> (single/stacked/parallel) or octal (single/stacked). Is the parallel mode

Indeed, customers have the flexibility to choose between quad or octal 
options. However, some opt for a cost-effective strategy by selecting 
only Quad SPI in their chipset and boosting throughput through the 
parallel use of two flashes. To gauge the popularity of this 
configuration, I will consult with our marketing team for further 
insights. Given that parallel is a controller feature, it can be 
integrated into the driver file. At present, we can emphasis on 
implementing support for stacked mode, either through a new interface 
like mtd/spi-nor/stacked.c or by utilizing the mtd concat driver.

> considered obsolete for new IPs?

No, the parallel mode feature is still present in AMD's new IPs.

Regards,
Amit
> 
> Cheers,
> ta