new file mode 100644
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+Kernel driver dell-smm-hwmon
+============================
+
+Description
+-----------
+
+On many Dell laptops the System Management Mode (SMM) BIOS can be
+queried for the status of fans and temperature sensors. Userspace
+utilities like ``sensors`` can be used to return the readings. The
+userspace suite `i8kutils`__ can also be used to read the sensors and
+automatically adjust fan speed (please notice that it currently uses
+the deprecated ``/proc/i8k`` interface).
+
+ __ https://github.com/vitorafsr/i8kutils
+
+``sysfs`` interface
+-------------------
+
+Temperature sensors and fans can be queried and set via the standard
+``hwmon`` interface on ``sysfs``, under the directory
+``/sys/class/hwmon/hwmonX`` for some value of ``X`` (search for the
+``X`` such that ``/sys/class/hwmon/hwmonX/name`` has content
+``dell_smm``). A number of other attributes can be read or written:
+
+=============================== ======= =======================================
+Name Perm Description
+=============================== ======= =======================================
+fan[1-3]_input RO Fan speed in RPM.
+fan[1-3]_label RO Fan label.
+pwm[1-3] RW Control the fan PWM duty-cycle.
+pwm1_enable WO Enable or disable automatic BIOS fan
+ control (not supported on all laptops,
+ see below for details).
+temp[1-10]_input RO Temperature reading in milli-degrees
+ Celsius.
+temp[1-10]_label RO Temperature sensor label.
+=============================== ======= =======================================
+
+Disabling automatic BIOS fan control
+------------------------------------
+
+On some laptops the BIOS automatically sets fan speed every few
+seconds. Therefore the fan speed set by mean of this driver is quickly
+overwritten.
+
+There is experimental support for disabling automatic BIOS fan
+control, at least on laptops where the corresponding SMM command is
+known, by writing the value ``1`` in the attribute ``pwm1_enable``
+(writing ``2`` enables automatic BIOS control again). Even if you have
+more than one fan, all of them are set to either enabled or disabled
+automatic fan control at the same time and, notwithstanding the name,
+``pwm1_enable`` sets automatic control for all fans.
+
+If ``pwm1_enable`` is not available, then it means that SMM codes for
+enabling and disabling automatic BIOS fan control are not whitelisted
+for your hardware. It is possible that codes that work for other
+laptops actually work for yours as well, or that you have to discover
+new codes.
+
+Check the list ``i8k_whitelist_fan_control`` in file
+``drivers/hwmon/dell-smm-hwmon.c`` in the kernel tree: as a first
+attempt you can try to add your machine and use an already-known code
+pair. If, after recompiling the kernel, you see that ``pwm1_enable``
+is present and works (i.e., you can manually control the fan speed),
+then please submit your finding as a kernel patch, so that other users
+can benefit from it. Please see
+:ref:`Documentation/process/submitting-patches <submittingpatches>`
+for information on submitting patches.
+
+If no known code works on your machine, you need to resort to do some
+probing, because unfortunately Dell does not publish datasheets for
+its SMM. You can experiment with the code in `this repository`__ to
+probe the BIOS on your machine and discover the appropriate codes.
+
+ __ https://github.com/clopez/dellfan/
+
+Again, when you find new codes, we'd be happy to have your patches!
+
+Module parameters
+-----------------
+
+* force:bool
+ Force loading without checking for supported
+ models. (default: 0)
+
+* ignore_dmi:bool
+ Continue probing hardware even if DMI data does not
+ match. (default: 0)
+
+* restricted:bool
+ Allow fan control only to processes with the
+ ``CAP_SYS_ADMIN`` capability set or processes run
+ as root when using the legacy ``/proc/i8k``
+ interface. In this case normal users will be able
+ to read temperature and fan status but not to
+ control the fan. If your notebook is shared with
+ other users and you don't trust them you may want
+ to use this option. (default: 1, only available
+ with ``CONFIG_I8K``)
+
+* power_status:bool
+ Report AC status in ``/proc/i8k``. (default: 0,
+ only available with ``CONFIG_I8K``)
+
+* fan_mult:uint
+ Factor to multiply fan speed with. (default:
+ autodetect)
+
+* fan_max:uint
+ Maximum configurable fan speed. (default:
+ autodetect)
+
+Legacy ``/proc`` interface
+--------------------------
+
+.. warning:: This interface is obsolete and deprecated and should not
+ used in new applications. This interface is only
+ available when kernel is compiled with option
+ ``CONFIG_I8K``.
+
+The information provided by the kernel driver can be accessed by
+simply reading the ``/proc/i8k`` file. For example::
+
+ $ cat /proc/i8k
+ 1.0 A17 2J59L02 52 2 1 8040 6420 1 2
+
+The fields read from ``/proc/i8k`` are::
+
+ 1.0 A17 2J59L02 52 2 1 8040 6420 1 2
+ | | | | | | | | | |
+ | | | | | | | | | +------- 10. buttons status
+ | | | | | | | | +--------- 9. AC status
+ | | | | | | | +-------------- 8. fan0 RPM
+ | | | | | | +------------------- 7. fan1 RPM
+ | | | | | +--------------------- 6. fan0 status
+ | | | | +----------------------- 5. fan1 status
+ | | | +-------------------------- 4. temp0 reading (Celsius)
+ | | +---------------------------------- 3. Dell service tag (later known as 'serial number')
+ | +-------------------------------------- 2. BIOS version
+ +------------------------------------------ 1. /proc/i8k format version
+
+A negative value, for example -22, indicates that the BIOS doesn't
+return the corresponding information. This is normal on some
+models/BIOSes.
+
+For performance reasons the ``/proc/i8k`` doesn't report by default
+the AC status since this SMM call takes a long time to execute and is
+not really needed. If you want to see the ac status in ``/proc/i8k``
+you must explictitly enable this option by passing the
+``power_status=1`` parameter to insmod. If AC status is not
+available -1 is printed instead.
+
+The driver provides also an ioctl interface which can be used to
+obtain the same information and to control the fan status. The ioctl
+interface can be accessed from C programs or from shell using the
+i8kctl utility. See the source file of ``i8kutils`` for more
+information on how to use the ioctl interface.
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ Hardware Monitoring Kernel Drivers
coretemp
da9052
da9055
+ dell-smm-hwmon
dme1737
ds1621
ds620
Part of the documentation is taken from the README of the userspace utils (https://github.com/vitorafsr/i8kutils). The license is GPL-2+ and the author Massimo Dal Zotto is already credited as author of the module. Therefore there should be no copyright problem. I also added a paragraph with specific information on the experimental support for automatic BIOS fan control. Signed-off-by: Giovanni Mascellani <gio@debian.org> --- Documentation/hwmon/dell-smm-hwmon.rst | 157 +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Documentation/hwmon/index.rst | 1 + 2 files changed, 158 insertions(+) create mode 100644 Documentation/hwmon/dell-smm-hwmon.rst