1 .. _usb-power-management:
3 Power Management for USB
4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6 :Author: Alan Stern <stern@rowland.harvard.edu>
7 :Date: Last-updated: February 2014
12 * What is Power Management?
13 * What is Remote Wakeup?
14 * When is a USB device idle?
16 * The user interface for dynamic PM
17 * Changing the default idle-delay time
19 * The driver interface for Power Management
20 * The driver interface for autosuspend and autoresume
21 * Other parts of the driver interface
23 * Interaction between dynamic PM and system PM
24 * xHCI hardware link PM
25 * USB Port Power Control
26 * User Interface for Port Power Control
27 * Suggested Userspace Port Power Policy
30 What is Power Management?
31 -------------------------
33 Power Management (PM) is the practice of saving energy by suspending
34 parts of a computer system when they aren't being used. While a
35 component is ``suspended`` it is in a nonfunctional low-power state; it
36 might even be turned off completely. A suspended component can be
37 ``resumed`` (returned to a functional full-power state) when the kernel
38 needs to use it. (There also are forms of PM in which components are
39 placed in a less functional but still usable state instead of being
40 suspended; an example would be reducing the CPU's clock rate. This
41 document will not discuss those other forms.)
43 When the parts being suspended include the CPU and most of the rest of
44 the system, we speak of it as a "system suspend". When a particular
45 device is turned off while the system as a whole remains running, we
46 call it a "dynamic suspend" (also known as a "runtime suspend" or
47 "selective suspend"). This document concentrates mostly on how
48 dynamic PM is implemented in the USB subsystem, although system PM is
49 covered to some extent (see ``Documentation/power/*.rst`` for more
50 information about system PM).
52 System PM support is present only if the kernel was built with
53 ``CONFIG_SUSPEND`` or ``CONFIG_HIBERNATION`` enabled. Dynamic PM support
55 for USB is present whenever
56 the kernel was built with ``CONFIG_PM`` enabled.
58 [Historically, dynamic PM support for USB was present only if the
59 kernel had been built with ``CONFIG_USB_SUSPEND`` enabled (which depended on
60 ``CONFIG_PM_RUNTIME``). Starting with the 3.10 kernel release, dynamic PM
61 support for USB was present whenever the kernel was built with
62 ``CONFIG_PM_RUNTIME`` enabled. The ``CONFIG_USB_SUSPEND`` option had been
66 What is Remote Wakeup?
67 ----------------------
69 When a device has been suspended, it generally doesn't resume until
70 the computer tells it to. Likewise, if the entire computer has been
71 suspended, it generally doesn't resume until the user tells it to, say
72 by pressing a power button or opening the cover.
74 However some devices have the capability of resuming by themselves, or
75 asking the kernel to resume them, or even telling the entire computer
76 to resume. This capability goes by several names such as "Wake On
77 LAN"; we will refer to it generically as "remote wakeup". When a
78 device is enabled for remote wakeup and it is suspended, it may resume
79 itself (or send a request to be resumed) in response to some external
80 event. Examples include a suspended keyboard resuming when a key is
81 pressed, or a suspended USB hub resuming when a device is plugged in.
84 When is a USB device idle?
85 --------------------------
87 A device is idle whenever the kernel thinks it's not busy doing
88 anything important and thus is a candidate for being suspended. The
89 exact definition depends on the device's driver; drivers are allowed
90 to declare that a device isn't idle even when there's no actual
91 communication taking place. (For example, a hub isn't considered idle
92 unless all the devices plugged into that hub are already suspended.)
93 In addition, a device isn't considered idle so long as a program keeps
94 its usbfs file open, whether or not any I/O is going on.
96 If a USB device has no driver, its usbfs file isn't open, and it isn't
97 being accessed through sysfs, then it definitely is idle.
103 Dynamic suspends occur when the kernel decides to suspend an idle
104 device. This is called ``autosuspend`` for short. In general, a device
105 won't be autosuspended unless it has been idle for some minimum period
106 of time, the so-called idle-delay time.
108 Of course, nothing the kernel does on its own initiative should
109 prevent the computer or its devices from working properly. If a
110 device has been autosuspended and a program tries to use it, the
111 kernel will automatically resume the device (autoresume). For the
112 same reason, an autosuspended device will usually have remote wakeup
113 enabled, if the device supports remote wakeup.
115 It is worth mentioning that many USB drivers don't support
116 autosuspend. In fact, at the time of this writing (Linux 2.6.23) the
117 only drivers which do support it are the hub driver, kaweth, asix,
118 usblp, usblcd, and usb-skeleton (which doesn't count). If a
119 non-supporting driver is bound to a device, the device won't be
120 autosuspended. In effect, the kernel pretends the device is never
123 We can categorize power management events in two broad classes:
124 external and internal. External events are those triggered by some
125 agent outside the USB stack: system suspend/resume (triggered by
126 userspace), manual dynamic resume (also triggered by userspace), and
127 remote wakeup (triggered by the device). Internal events are those
128 triggered within the USB stack: autosuspend and autoresume. Note that
129 all dynamic suspend events are internal; external agents are not
130 allowed to issue dynamic suspends.
133 The user interface for dynamic PM
134 ---------------------------------
136 The user interface for controlling dynamic PM is located in the ``power/``
137 subdirectory of each USB device's sysfs directory, that is, in
138 ``/sys/bus/usb/devices/.../power/`` where "..." is the device's ID. The
139 relevant attribute files are: wakeup, control, and
140 ``autosuspend_delay_ms``. (There may also be a file named ``level``; this
141 file was deprecated as of the 2.6.35 kernel and replaced by the
142 ``control`` file. In 2.6.38 the ``autosuspend`` file will be deprecated
143 and replaced by the ``autosuspend_delay_ms`` file. The only difference
144 is that the newer file expresses the delay in milliseconds whereas the
145 older file uses seconds. Confusingly, both files are present in 2.6.37
146 but only ``autosuspend`` works.)
150 This file is empty if the device does not support
151 remote wakeup. Otherwise the file contains either the
152 word ``enabled`` or the word ``disabled``, and you can
153 write those words to the file. The setting determines
154 whether or not remote wakeup will be enabled when the
155 device is next suspended. (If the setting is changed
156 while the device is suspended, the change won't take
157 effect until the following suspend.)
161 This file contains one of two words: ``on`` or ``auto``.
162 You can write those words to the file to change the
165 - ``on`` means that the device should be resumed and
166 autosuspend is not allowed. (Of course, system
167 suspends are still allowed.)
169 - ``auto`` is the normal state in which the kernel is
170 allowed to autosuspend and autoresume the device.
172 (In kernels up to 2.6.32, you could also specify
173 ``suspend``, meaning that the device should remain
174 suspended and autoresume was not allowed. This
175 setting is no longer supported.)
177 ``power/autosuspend_delay_ms``
179 This file contains an integer value, which is the
180 number of milliseconds the device should remain idle
181 before the kernel will autosuspend it (the idle-delay
182 time). The default is 2000. 0 means to autosuspend
183 as soon as the device becomes idle, and negative
184 values mean never to autosuspend. You can write a
185 number to the file to change the autosuspend
188 Writing ``-1`` to ``power/autosuspend_delay_ms`` and writing ``on`` to
189 ``power/control`` do essentially the same thing -- they both prevent the
190 device from being autosuspended. Yes, this is a redundancy in the
193 (In 2.6.21 writing ``0`` to ``power/autosuspend`` would prevent the device
194 from being autosuspended; the behavior was changed in 2.6.22. The
195 ``power/autosuspend`` attribute did not exist prior to 2.6.21, and the
196 ``power/level`` attribute did not exist prior to 2.6.22. ``power/control``
197 was added in 2.6.34, and ``power/autosuspend_delay_ms`` was added in
198 2.6.37 but did not become functional until 2.6.38.)
201 Changing the default idle-delay time
202 ------------------------------------
204 The default autosuspend idle-delay time (in seconds) is controlled by
205 a module parameter in usbcore. You can specify the value when usbcore
206 is loaded. For example, to set it to 5 seconds instead of 2 you would
209 modprobe usbcore autosuspend=5
211 Equivalently, you could add to a configuration file in /etc/modprobe.d
214 options usbcore autosuspend=5
216 Some distributions load the usbcore module very early during the boot
217 process, by means of a program or script running from an initramfs
218 image. To alter the parameter value you would have to rebuild that
221 If usbcore is compiled into the kernel rather than built as a loadable
222 module, you can add::
224 usbcore.autosuspend=5
226 to the kernel's boot command line.
228 Finally, the parameter value can be changed while the system is
231 echo 5 >/sys/module/usbcore/parameters/autosuspend
233 then each new USB device will have its autosuspend idle-delay
234 initialized to 5. (The idle-delay values for already existing devices
235 will not be affected.)
237 Setting the initial default idle-delay to -1 will prevent any
238 autosuspend of any USB device. This has the benefit of allowing you
239 then to enable autosuspend for selected devices.
245 The USB specification states that all USB devices must support power
246 management. Nevertheless, the sad fact is that many devices do not
247 support it very well. You can suspend them all right, but when you
248 try to resume them they disconnect themselves from the USB bus or
249 they stop working entirely. This seems to be especially prevalent
250 among printers and scanners, but plenty of other types of device have
253 For this reason, by default the kernel disables autosuspend (the
254 ``power/control`` attribute is initialized to ``on``) for all devices other
255 than hubs. Hubs, at least, appear to be reasonably well-behaved in
258 (In 2.6.21 and 2.6.22 this wasn't the case. Autosuspend was enabled
259 by default for almost all USB devices. A number of people experienced
260 problems as a result.)
262 This means that non-hub devices won't be autosuspended unless the user
263 or a program explicitly enables it. As of this writing there aren't
264 any widespread programs which will do this; we hope that in the near
265 future device managers such as HAL will take on this added
266 responsibility. In the meantime you can always carry out the
267 necessary operations by hand or add them to a udev script. You can
268 also change the idle-delay time; 2 seconds is not the best choice for
271 If a driver knows that its device has proper suspend/resume support,
272 it can enable autosuspend all by itself. For example, the video
273 driver for a laptop's webcam might do this (in recent kernels they
274 do), since these devices are rarely used and so should normally be
277 Sometimes it turns out that even when a device does work okay with
278 autosuspend there are still problems. For example, the usbhid driver,
279 which manages keyboards and mice, has autosuspend support. Tests with
280 a number of keyboards show that typing on a suspended keyboard, while
281 causing the keyboard to do a remote wakeup all right, will nonetheless
282 frequently result in lost keystrokes. Tests with mice show that some
283 of them will issue a remote-wakeup request in response to button
284 presses but not to motion, and some in response to neither.
286 The kernel will not prevent you from enabling autosuspend on devices
287 that can't handle it. It is even possible in theory to damage a
288 device by suspending it at the wrong time. (Highly unlikely, but
289 possible.) Take care.
292 The driver interface for Power Management
293 -----------------------------------------
295 The requirements for a USB driver to support external power management
296 are pretty modest; the driver need only define::
302 methods in its :c:type:`usb_driver` structure, and the ``reset_resume`` method
303 is optional. The methods' jobs are quite simple:
305 - The ``suspend`` method is called to warn the driver that the
306 device is going to be suspended. If the driver returns a
307 negative error code, the suspend will be aborted. Normally
308 the driver will return 0, in which case it must cancel all
309 outstanding URBs (:c:func:`usb_kill_urb`) and not submit any more.
311 - The ``resume`` method is called to tell the driver that the
312 device has been resumed and the driver can return to normal
313 operation. URBs may once more be submitted.
315 - The ``reset_resume`` method is called to tell the driver that
316 the device has been resumed and it also has been reset.
317 The driver should redo any necessary device initialization,
318 since the device has probably lost most or all of its state
319 (although the interfaces will be in the same altsettings as
322 If the device is disconnected or powered down while it is suspended,
323 the ``disconnect`` method will be called instead of the ``resume`` or
324 ``reset_resume`` method. This is also quite likely to happen when
325 waking up from hibernation, as many systems do not maintain suspend
326 current to the USB host controllers during hibernation. (It's
327 possible to work around the hibernation-forces-disconnect problem by
328 using the USB Persist facility.)
330 The ``reset_resume`` method is used by the USB Persist facility (see
331 :ref:`usb-persist`) and it can also be used under certain
332 circumstances when ``CONFIG_USB_PERSIST`` is not enabled. Currently, if a
333 device is reset during a resume and the driver does not have a
334 ``reset_resume`` method, the driver won't receive any notification about
335 the resume. Later kernels will call the driver's ``disconnect`` method;
336 2.6.23 doesn't do this.
338 USB drivers are bound to interfaces, so their ``suspend`` and ``resume``
339 methods get called when the interfaces are suspended or resumed. In
340 principle one might want to suspend some interfaces on a device (i.e.,
341 force the drivers for those interface to stop all activity) without
342 suspending the other interfaces. The USB core doesn't allow this; all
343 interfaces are suspended when the device itself is suspended and all
344 interfaces are resumed when the device is resumed. It isn't possible
345 to suspend or resume some but not all of a device's interfaces. The
346 closest you can come is to unbind the interfaces' drivers.
349 The driver interface for autosuspend and autoresume
350 ---------------------------------------------------
352 To support autosuspend and autoresume, a driver should implement all
353 three of the methods listed above. In addition, a driver indicates
354 that it supports autosuspend by setting the ``.supports_autosuspend`` flag
355 in its usb_driver structure. It is then responsible for informing the
356 USB core whenever one of its interfaces becomes busy or idle. The
357 driver does so by calling these six functions::
359 int usb_autopm_get_interface(struct usb_interface *intf);
360 void usb_autopm_put_interface(struct usb_interface *intf);
361 int usb_autopm_get_interface_async(struct usb_interface *intf);
362 void usb_autopm_put_interface_async(struct usb_interface *intf);
363 void usb_autopm_get_interface_no_resume(struct usb_interface *intf);
364 void usb_autopm_put_interface_no_suspend(struct usb_interface *intf);
366 The functions work by maintaining a usage counter in the
367 usb_interface's embedded device structure. When the counter is > 0
368 then the interface is deemed to be busy, and the kernel will not
369 autosuspend the interface's device. When the usage counter is = 0
370 then the interface is considered to be idle, and the kernel may
371 autosuspend the device.
373 Drivers must be careful to balance their overall changes to the usage
374 counter. Unbalanced "get"s will remain in effect when a driver is
375 unbound from its interface, preventing the device from going into
376 runtime suspend should the interface be bound to a driver again. On
377 the other hand, drivers are allowed to achieve this balance by calling
378 the ``usb_autopm_*`` functions even after their ``disconnect`` routine
379 has returned -- say from within a work-queue routine -- provided they
380 retain an active reference to the interface (via ``usb_get_intf`` and
383 Drivers using the async routines are responsible for their own
384 synchronization and mutual exclusion.
386 :c:func:`usb_autopm_get_interface` increments the usage counter and
387 does an autoresume if the device is suspended. If the
388 autoresume fails, the counter is decremented back.
390 :c:func:`usb_autopm_put_interface` decrements the usage counter and
391 attempts an autosuspend if the new value is = 0.
393 :c:func:`usb_autopm_get_interface_async` and
394 :c:func:`usb_autopm_put_interface_async` do almost the same things as
395 their non-async counterparts. The big difference is that they
396 use a workqueue to do the resume or suspend part of their
397 jobs. As a result they can be called in an atomic context,
398 such as an URB's completion handler, but when they return the
399 device will generally not yet be in the desired state.
401 :c:func:`usb_autopm_get_interface_no_resume` and
402 :c:func:`usb_autopm_put_interface_no_suspend` merely increment or
403 decrement the usage counter; they do not attempt to carry out
404 an autoresume or an autosuspend. Hence they can be called in
407 The simplest usage pattern is that a driver calls
408 :c:func:`usb_autopm_get_interface` in its open routine and
409 :c:func:`usb_autopm_put_interface` in its close or release routine. But other
410 patterns are possible.
412 The autosuspend attempts mentioned above will often fail for one
413 reason or another. For example, the ``power/control`` attribute might be
414 set to ``on``, or another interface in the same device might not be
415 idle. This is perfectly normal. If the reason for failure was that
416 the device hasn't been idle for long enough, a timer is scheduled to
417 carry out the operation automatically when the autosuspend idle-delay
420 Autoresume attempts also can fail, although failure would mean that
421 the device is no longer present or operating properly. Unlike
422 autosuspend, there's no idle-delay for an autoresume.
425 Other parts of the driver interface
426 -----------------------------------
428 Drivers can enable autosuspend for their devices by calling::
430 usb_enable_autosuspend(struct usb_device *udev);
432 in their :c:func:`probe` routine, if they know that the device is capable of
433 suspending and resuming correctly. This is exactly equivalent to
434 writing ``auto`` to the device's ``power/control`` attribute. Likewise,
435 drivers can disable autosuspend by calling::
437 usb_disable_autosuspend(struct usb_device *udev);
439 This is exactly the same as writing ``on`` to the ``power/control`` attribute.
441 Sometimes a driver needs to make sure that remote wakeup is enabled
442 during autosuspend. For example, there's not much point
443 autosuspending a keyboard if the user can't cause the keyboard to do a
444 remote wakeup by typing on it. If the driver sets
445 ``intf->needs_remote_wakeup`` to 1, the kernel won't autosuspend the
446 device if remote wakeup isn't available. (If the device is already
447 autosuspended, though, setting this flag won't cause the kernel to
448 autoresume it. Normally a driver would set this flag in its ``probe``
449 method, at which time the device is guaranteed not to be
452 If a driver does its I/O asynchronously in interrupt context, it
453 should call :c:func:`usb_autopm_get_interface_async` before starting output and
454 :c:func:`usb_autopm_put_interface_async` when the output queue drains. When
455 it receives an input event, it should call::
457 usb_mark_last_busy(struct usb_device *udev);
459 in the event handler. This tells the PM core that the device was just
460 busy and therefore the next autosuspend idle-delay expiration should
461 be pushed back. Many of the usb_autopm_* routines also make this call,
462 so drivers need to worry only when interrupt-driven input arrives.
464 Asynchronous operation is always subject to races. For example, a
465 driver may call the :c:func:`usb_autopm_get_interface_async` routine at a time
466 when the core has just finished deciding the device has been idle for
467 long enough but not yet gotten around to calling the driver's ``suspend``
468 method. The ``suspend`` method must be responsible for synchronizing with
469 the I/O request routine and the URB completion handler; it should
470 cause autosuspends to fail with -EBUSY if the driver needs to use the
473 External suspend calls should never be allowed to fail in this way,
474 only autosuspend calls. The driver can tell them apart by applying
475 the :c:func:`PMSG_IS_AUTO` macro to the message argument to the ``suspend``
476 method; it will return True for internal PM events (autosuspend) and
477 False for external PM events.
483 For external events -- but not necessarily for autosuspend or
484 autoresume -- the device semaphore (udev->dev.sem) will be held when a
485 ``suspend`` or ``resume`` method is called. This implies that external
486 suspend/resume events are mutually exclusive with calls to ``probe``,
487 ``disconnect``, ``pre_reset``, and ``post_reset``; the USB core guarantees that
488 this is true of autosuspend/autoresume events as well.
490 If a driver wants to block all suspend/resume calls during some
491 critical section, the best way is to lock the device and call
492 :c:func:`usb_autopm_get_interface` (and do the reverse at the end of the
493 critical section). Holding the device semaphore will block all
494 external PM calls, and the :c:func:`usb_autopm_get_interface` will prevent any
495 internal PM calls, even if it fails. (Exercise: Why?)
498 Interaction between dynamic PM and system PM
499 --------------------------------------------
501 Dynamic power management and system power management can interact in
504 Firstly, a device may already be autosuspended when a system suspend
505 occurs. Since system suspends are supposed to be as transparent as
506 possible, the device should remain suspended following the system
507 resume. But this theory may not work out well in practice; over time
508 the kernel's behavior in this regard has changed. As of 2.6.37 the
509 policy is to resume all devices during a system resume and let them
510 handle their own runtime suspends afterward.
512 Secondly, a dynamic power-management event may occur as a system
513 suspend is underway. The window for this is short, since system
514 suspends don't take long (a few seconds usually), but it can happen.
515 For example, a suspended device may send a remote-wakeup signal while
516 the system is suspending. The remote wakeup may succeed, which would
517 cause the system suspend to abort. If the remote wakeup doesn't
518 succeed, it may still remain active and thus cause the system to
519 resume as soon as the system suspend is complete. Or the remote
520 wakeup may fail and get lost. Which outcome occurs depends on timing
521 and on the hardware and firmware design.
524 xHCI hardware link PM
525 ---------------------
527 xHCI host controller provides hardware link power management to usb2.0
528 (xHCI 1.0 feature) and usb3.0 devices which support link PM. By
529 enabling hardware LPM, the host can automatically put the device into
530 lower power state(L1 for usb2.0 devices, or U1/U2 for usb3.0 devices),
531 which state device can enter and resume very quickly.
533 The user interface for controlling hardware LPM is located in the
534 ``power/`` subdirectory of each USB device's sysfs directory, that is, in
535 ``/sys/bus/usb/devices/.../power/`` where "..." is the device's ID. The
536 relevant attribute files are ``usb2_hardware_lpm`` and ``usb3_hardware_lpm``.
538 ``power/usb2_hardware_lpm``
540 When a USB2 device which support LPM is plugged to a
541 xHCI host root hub which support software LPM, the
542 host will run a software LPM test for it; if the device
543 enters L1 state and resume successfully and the host
544 supports USB2 hardware LPM, this file will show up and
545 driver will enable hardware LPM for the device. You
546 can write y/Y/1 or n/N/0 to the file to enable/disable
547 USB2 hardware LPM manually. This is for test purpose mainly.
549 ``power/usb3_hardware_lpm_u1``
550 ``power/usb3_hardware_lpm_u2``
552 When a USB 3.0 lpm-capable device is plugged in to a
553 xHCI host which supports link PM, it will check if U1
554 and U2 exit latencies have been set in the BOS
555 descriptor; if the check is passed and the host
556 supports USB3 hardware LPM, USB3 hardware LPM will be
557 enabled for the device and these files will be created.
558 The files hold a string value (enable or disable)
559 indicating whether or not USB3 hardware LPM U1 or U2
560 is enabled for the device.
562 USB Port Power Control
563 ----------------------
565 In addition to suspending endpoint devices and enabling hardware
566 controlled link power management, the USB subsystem also has the
567 capability to disable power to ports under some conditions. Power is
568 controlled through ``Set/ClearPortFeature(PORT_POWER)`` requests to a hub.
569 In the case of a root or platform-internal hub the host controller
570 driver translates ``PORT_POWER`` requests into platform firmware (ACPI)
571 method calls to set the port power state. For more background see the
572 Linux Plumbers Conference 2012 slides [#f1]_ and video [#f2]_:
574 Upon receiving a ``ClearPortFeature(PORT_POWER)`` request a USB port is
575 logically off, and may trigger the actual loss of VBUS to the port [#f3]_.
576 VBUS may be maintained in the case where a hub gangs multiple ports into
577 a shared power well causing power to remain until all ports in the gang
578 are turned off. VBUS may also be maintained by hub ports configured for
579 a charging application. In any event a logically off port will lose
580 connection with its device, not respond to hotplug events, and not
581 respond to remote wakeup events.
585 turning off a port may result in the inability to hot add a device.
586 Please see "User Interface for Port Power Control" for details.
588 As far as the effect on the device itself it is similar to what a device
589 goes through during system suspend, i.e. the power session is lost. Any
590 USB device or driver that misbehaves with system suspend will be
591 similarly affected by a port power cycle event. For this reason the
592 implementation shares the same device recovery path (and honors the same
593 quirks) as the system resume path for the hub.
597 http://dl.dropbox.com/u/96820575/sarah-sharp-lpt-port-power-off2-mini.pdf
601 http://linuxplumbers.ubicast.tv/videos/usb-port-power-off-kerneluserspace-api/
605 USB 3.1 Section 10.12
607 wakeup note: if a device is configured to send wakeup events the port
608 power control implementation will block poweroff attempts on that
612 User Interface for Port Power Control
613 -------------------------------------
615 The port power control mechanism uses the PM runtime system. Poweroff is
616 requested by clearing the ``power/pm_qos_no_power_off`` flag of the port device
617 (defaults to 1). If the port is disconnected it will immediately receive a
618 ``ClearPortFeature(PORT_POWER)`` request. Otherwise, it will honor the pm
619 runtime rules and require the attached child device and all descendants to be
620 suspended. This mechanism is dependent on the hub advertising port power
621 switching in its hub descriptor (wHubCharacteristics logical power switching
624 Note, some interface devices/drivers do not support autosuspend. Userspace may
625 need to unbind the interface drivers before the :c:type:`usb_device` will
626 suspend. An unbound interface device is suspended by default. When unbinding,
627 be careful to unbind interface drivers, not the driver of the parent usb
628 device. Also, leave hub interface drivers bound. If the driver for the usb
629 device (not interface) is unbound the kernel is no longer able to resume the
630 device. If a hub interface driver is unbound, control of its child ports is
631 lost and all attached child-devices will disconnect. A good rule of thumb is
632 that if the 'driver/module' link for a device points to
633 ``/sys/module/usbcore`` then unbinding it will interfere with port power
636 Example of the relevant files for port power control. Note, in this example
637 these files are relative to a usb hub device (prefix)::
639 prefix=/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb3/3-1
641 attached child device +
643 hub interface device + | |
645 $prefix/3-1:1.0/3-1-port1/device
647 $prefix/3-1:1.0/3-1-port1/power/pm_qos_no_power_off
648 $prefix/3-1:1.0/3-1-port1/device/power/control
649 $prefix/3-1:1.0/3-1-port1/device/3-1.1:<intf0>/driver/unbind
650 $prefix/3-1:1.0/3-1-port1/device/3-1.1:<intf1>/driver/unbind
652 $prefix/3-1:1.0/3-1-port1/device/3-1.1:<intfN>/driver/unbind
654 In addition to these files some ports may have a 'peer' link to a port on
655 another hub. The expectation is that all superspeed ports have a
658 $prefix/3-1:1.0/3-1-port1/peer -> ../../../../usb2/2-1/2-1:1.0/2-1-port1
659 ../../../../usb2/2-1/2-1:1.0/2-1-port1/peer -> ../../../../usb3/3-1/3-1:1.0/3-1-port1
661 Distinct from 'companion ports', or 'ehci/xhci shared switchover ports'
662 peer ports are simply the hi-speed and superspeed interface pins that
663 are combined into a single usb3 connector. Peer ports share the same
664 ancestor XHCI device.
666 While a superspeed port is powered off a device may downgrade its
667 connection and attempt to connect to the hi-speed pins. The
668 implementation takes steps to prevent this:
670 1. Port suspend is sequenced to guarantee that hi-speed ports are powered-off
671 before their superspeed peer is permitted to power-off. The implication is
672 that the setting ``pm_qos_no_power_off`` to zero on a superspeed port may
673 not cause the port to power-off until its highspeed peer has gone to its
674 runtime suspend state. Userspace must take care to order the suspensions
675 if it wants to guarantee that a superspeed port will power-off.
677 2. Port resume is sequenced to force a superspeed port to power-on prior to its
680 3. Port resume always triggers an attached child device to resume. After a
681 power session is lost the device may have been removed, or need reset.
682 Resuming the child device when the parent port regains power resolves those
683 states and clamps the maximum port power cycle frequency at the rate the
684 child device can suspend (autosuspend-delay) and resume (reset-resume
687 Sysfs files relevant for port power control:
689 ``<hubdev-portX>/power/pm_qos_no_power_off``:
690 This writable flag controls the state of an idle port.
691 Once all children and descendants have suspended the
692 port may suspend/poweroff provided that
693 pm_qos_no_power_off is '0'. If pm_qos_no_power_off is
694 '1' the port will remain active/powered regardless of
695 the stats of descendants. Defaults to 1.
697 ``<hubdev-portX>/power/runtime_status``:
698 This file reflects whether the port is 'active' (power is on)
699 or 'suspended' (logically off). There is no indication to
700 userspace whether VBUS is still supplied.
702 ``<hubdev-portX>/connect_type``:
703 An advisory read-only flag to userspace indicating the
704 location and connection type of the port. It returns
705 one of four values 'hotplug', 'hardwired', 'not used',
706 and 'unknown'. All values, besides unknown, are set by
709 ``hotplug`` indicates an externally connectable/visible
710 port on the platform. Typically userspace would choose
711 to keep such a port powered to handle new device
714 ``hardwired`` refers to a port that is not visible but
715 connectable. Examples are internal ports for USB
716 bluetooth that can be disconnected via an external
717 switch or a port with a hardwired USB camera. It is
718 expected to be safe to allow these ports to suspend
719 provided pm_qos_no_power_off is coordinated with any
720 switch that gates connections. Userspace must arrange
721 for the device to be connected prior to the port
722 powering off, or to activate the port prior to enabling
723 connection via a switch.
725 ``not used`` refers to an internal port that is expected
726 to never have a device connected to it. These may be
727 empty internal ports, or ports that are not physically
728 exposed on a platform. Considered safe to be
729 powered-off at all times.
731 ``unknown`` means platform firmware does not provide
732 information for this port. Most commonly refers to
733 external hub ports which should be considered 'hotplug'
734 for policy decisions.
738 - since we are relying on the BIOS to get this ACPI
739 information correct, the USB port descriptions may
742 - Take care in clearing ``pm_qos_no_power_off``. Once
743 power is off this port will
744 not respond to new connect events.
746 Once a child device is attached additional constraints are
747 applied before the port is allowed to poweroff.
749 ``<child>/power/control``:
750 Must be ``auto``, and the port will not
751 power down until ``<child>/power/runtime_status``
752 reflects the 'suspended' state. Default
753 value is controlled by child device driver.
755 ``<child>/power/persist``:
756 This defaults to ``1`` for most devices and indicates if
757 kernel can persist the device's configuration across a
758 power session loss (suspend / port-power event). When
759 this value is ``0`` (quirky devices), port poweroff is
762 ``<child>/driver/unbind``:
763 Wakeup capable devices will block port poweroff. At
764 this time the only mechanism to clear the usb-internal
765 wakeup-capability for an interface device is to unbind
768 Summary of poweroff pre-requisite settings relative to a port device::
770 echo 0 > power/pm_qos_no_power_off
771 echo 0 > peer/power/pm_qos_no_power_off # if it exists
772 echo auto > power/control # this is the default value
773 echo auto > <child>/power/control
774 echo 1 > <child>/power/persist # this is the default value
776 Suggested Userspace Port Power Policy
777 -------------------------------------
779 As noted above userspace needs to be careful and deliberate about what
780 ports are enabled for poweroff.
782 The default configuration is that all ports start with
783 ``power/pm_qos_no_power_off`` set to ``1`` causing ports to always remain
786 Given confidence in the platform firmware's description of the ports
787 (ACPI _PLD record for a port populates 'connect_type') userspace can
788 clear pm_qos_no_power_off for all 'not used' ports. The same can be
789 done for 'hardwired' ports provided poweroff is coordinated with any
790 connection switch for the port.
792 A more aggressive userspace policy is to enable USB port power off for
793 all ports (set ``<hubdev-portX>/power/pm_qos_no_power_off`` to ``0``) when
794 some external factor indicates the user has stopped interacting with the
795 system. For example, a distro may want to enable power off all USB
796 ports when the screen blanks, and re-power them when the screen becomes
797 active. Smart phones and tablets may want to power off USB ports when
798 the user pushes the power button.