1NDCTL-ACTIVATE-FIR(1)                                    NDCTL-ACTIVATE-FIR(1)
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NAME

6       ndctl-activate-firmware - activate staged firmware on memory devices
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SYNOPSIS

9       ndctl activate-firmware [<bus-id> <bus-id2> ... <bus-idN>] [<options>]
10
11       Some persistent memory devices run a firmware locally on the device /
12       "DIMM" to perform tasks like media management, capacity provisioning,
13       and health monitoring. The process of updating that firmware typically
14       involves a reboot because it has implications for in-flight memory
15       transactions. However, reboots can be costly for systems that can not
16       tolerate extended downtime.
17
18       The kernel detects platforms that expose support for
19       runtime-firmware-activation (FWA). The ndctl update-firmware stages new
20       firmware binaries, but if the platform supports FWA it will
21       additionally arm the devices for activation. Then ndctl
22       activate-firmware may attempt to activate the firmware live. However,
23       if the platform indicates that the memory controller will be taken
24       off-line for the duration of the update "activate_method == suspend"
25       then the default policy for firmware activation is to inject a
26       truncated hibernate cycle to freeze devices and applications before the
27       hard quiesce is injected by the platform, and then resume the system.
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29       DANGER the activate-firmware command includes a --force option to tell
30       the driver bypass the hibernation cycle and perform the update "live".
31       I.e. it arranges for applications and devices to race the platform
32       injected quiesce period. This option should only be used explicit
33       knowledge that the platform quiesce time will not trigger completion
34       timeout violations for any devices in the system.
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EXAMPLES

37       Check for any buses that support activation without triggering an
38       activation:
39
40           # ndctl activate-firmware all --dry-run
41           ACPI.NFIT: ndbus1: has no devices that support firmware update.
42           nfit_test.1: ndbus3: has no devices that support firmware update.
43           e820: ndbus0: has no devices that support firmware update.
44           [
45             {
46               "provider":"nfit_test.0",
47               "dev":"ndbus1",
48               "scrub_state":"idle",
49               "firmware":{
50                 "activate_method":"suspend",
51                 "activate_state":"idle"
52               },
53               "dimms":[
54                 {
55           ...
56
57       Check that a specific bus supports activation without performing an
58       activation:
59
60           # ndctl activate-firmware nfit_test.0 --dry-run --force
61           [
62             {
63               "provider":"nfit_test.0",
64               "dev":"ndbus2",
65               "scrub_state":"idle",
66               "firmware":{
67                 "activate_method":"suspend",
68                 "activate_state":"idle"
69               },
70               "dimms":[
71           ...
72           ]
73
74       The result is equivalent to ndctl list -BFDu upon successful
75       activation.
76
77       The ndctl list command can also enumerate the default activation
78       method:
79
80           # ndctl list -b nfit_test.0 -BF
81           [
82             {
83               "provider":"nfit_test.0",
84               "dev":"ndbus2",
85               "scrub_state":"idle",
86               "firmware":{
87                 "activate_method":"suspend",
88                 "activate_state":"idle"
89               }
90             }
91           ]
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OPTIONS

94       -n, --dry-run
95           Perform all actions related to activation including honoring --idle
96           and --force, but skip the final execution of the activation. The
97           overrides are undone before the command completes. Any failed
98           overrides will be reported as error messages.
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100       -I, --idle
101           Implied by default, this option controls whether the platform will
102           attempt to increase the completion timeout of all devices in the
103           system and validate that the max completion timeout satisfies the
104           time needed to perform the activation. This validation step can be
105           overridden by specifying --no-idle.
106
107       -f, --force
108           The activation method defaults to the reported
109           "bus.firmware.activate_method" property. When the method is "live"
110           then this --force option is ignored. When the method is "reset" no
111           runtime activation is attempted. When the method is "suspend" this
112           option indicates to the driver to bypass the hibernate cycle to
113           activate firmware. in the bus When the reported "activate_method"
114           is "suspend" the kernel driver may support overriding the suspend
115           requirement and instead issue the firmware-activation live.
116           CAUTION this may lead to undefined system behavior if device
117           completion timeouts are violated for in-flight memory operations.
118
119       -v, --verbose
120           Emit debug messages for the firmware activation procedure
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123       Copyright © 2016 - 2022, Intel Corporation. License GPLv2: GNU GPL
124       version 2 http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html. This is free software: you
125       are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the
126       extent permitted by law.
127

SEE ALSO

129       linkndctl:ndctl-update-firmware[1], Intel Optane PMem DSM Interface[1]
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NOTES

132        1. Intel Optane PMem DSM Interface
133           https://pmem.io/documents/IntelOptanePMem_DSM_Interface-V2.0.pdf
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137                                  08/03/2023             NDCTL-ACTIVATE-FIR(1)
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