UBI: Unsorted Block Images

UBI (Latin: "where?") manages multiple logical volumes on a single
flash device, specifically supporting NAND flash devices. UBI provides
a flexible partitioning concept which still allows for wear-levelling
across the whole flash device.

In a sense, UBI may be compared to the Logical Volume Manager
(LVM). Whereas LVM maps logical sector numbers to physical HDD sector
numbers, UBI maps logical eraseblocks to physical eraseblocks.

More information may be found at
http://www.linux-mtd.infradead.org/doc/ubi.html

Partitioning/Re-partitioning

  An UBI volume occupies a certain number of erase blocks. This is
  limited by a configured maximum volume size, which could also be
  viewed as the partition size. Each individual UBI volume's size can
  be changed independently of the other UBI volumes, provided that the
  sum of all volume sizes doesn't exceed a certain limit.

  UBI supports dynamic volumes and static volumes. Static volumes are
  read-only and their contents are protected by CRC check sums.

Bad eraseblocks handling

  UBI transparently handles bad eraseblocks. When a physical
  eraseblock becomes bad, it is substituted by a good physical
  eraseblock, and the user does not even notice this.

Scrubbing

  On a NAND flash bit flips can occur on any write operation,
  sometimes also on read. If bit flips persist on the device, at first
  they can still be corrected by ECC, but once they accumulate,
  correction will become impossible. Thus it is best to actively scrub
  the affected eraseblock, by first copying it to a free eraseblock
  and then erasing the original. The UBI layer performs this type of
  scrubbing under the covers, transparently to the UBI volume users.

Erase Counts

  UBI maintains an erase count header per eraseblock. This frees
  higher-level layers (like file systems) from doing this and allows
  for centralized erase count management instead. The erase counts are
  used by the wear-levelling algorithm in the UBI layer. The algorithm
  itself is exchangeable.

Booting from NAND

  For booting directly from NAND flash the hardware must at least be
  capable of fetching and executing a small portion of the NAND
  flash. Some NAND flash controllers have this kind of support. They
  usually limit the window to a few kilobytes in erase block 0. This
  "initial program loader" (IPL) must then contain sufficient logic to
  load and execute the next boot phase.

  Due to bad eraseblocks, which may be randomly scattered over the
  flash device, it is problematic to store the "secondary program
  loader" (SPL) statically. Also, due to bit-flips it may become
  corrupted over time. UBI allows to solve this problem gracefully by
  storing the SPL in a small static UBI volume.

UBI volumes vs. static partitions

  UBI volumes are still very similar to static MTD partitions:

    * both consist of eraseblocks (logical eraseblocks in case of UBI
      volumes, and physical eraseblocks in case of static partitions;
    * both support three basic operations - read, write, erase.

  But UBI volumes have the following advantages over traditional
  static MTD partitions:

    * there are no eraseblock wear-leveling constraints in case of UBI
      volumes, so the user should not care about this;
    * there are no bit-flips and bad eraseblocks in case of UBI volumes.

  So, UBI volumes may be considered as flash devices with relaxed
  restrictions.

Where can it be found?

  Documentation, kernel code and applications can be found in the MTD
  gits.

What are the applications for?

  The applications help to create binary flash images for two purposes: pfi
  files (partial flash images) for in-system update of UBI volumes, and plain
  binary images, with or without OOB data in case of NAND, for a manufacturing
  step. Furthermore some tools are/and will be created that allow flash content
  analysis after a system has crashed..

Who did UBI?

  The original ideas, where UBI is based on, were developed by Andreas
  Arnez, Frank Haverkamp and Thomas Gleixner. Josh W. Boyer and some others
  were involved too. The implementation of the kernel layer was done by Artem
  B. Bityutskiy. The user-space applications and tools were written by Oliver
  Lohmann with contributions from Frank Haverkamp, Andreas Arnez, and Artem.
  Joern Engel contributed a patch which modifies JFFS2 so that it can be run on
  a UBI volume. Thomas Gleixner did modifications to the NAND layer. Alexander
  Schmidt made some testing work as well as core functionality improvements.

Signed-off-by: Artem B. Bityutskiy <dedekind@linutronix.de>
Signed-off-by: Frank Haverkamp <haver@vnet.ibm.com>

5 files changed, 726 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/include/linux/mtd/ubi.h b/include/linux/mtd/ubi.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..3d967b6b120a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/linux/mtd/ubi.h
@@ -0,0 +1,202 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) International Business Machines Corp., 2006
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See
+ * the GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
+ *
+ * Author: Artem Bityutskiy (Битюцкий Артём)
+ */
+
+#ifndef __LINUX_UBI_H__
+#define __LINUX_UBI_H__
+
+#include <asm/ioctl.h>
+#include <linux/types.h>
+#include <mtd/ubi-user.h>
+
+/*
+ * UBI data type hint constants.
+ *
+ * UBI_LONGTERM: long-term data
+ * UBI_SHORTTERM: short-term data
+ * UBI_UNKNOWN: data persistence is unknown
+ *
+ * These constants are used when data is written to UBI volumes in order to
+ * help the UBI wear-leveling unit to find more appropriate physical
+ * eraseblocks.
+ */
+enum {
+        UBI_LONGTERM = 1,
+        UBI_SHORTTERM,
+        UBI_UNKNOWN
+};
+
+/*
+ * enum ubi_open_mode - UBI volume open mode constants.
+ *
+ * UBI_READONLY: read-only mode
+ * UBI_READWRITE: read-write mode
+ * UBI_EXCLUSIVE: exclusive mode
+ */
+enum {
+        UBI_READONLY = 1,
+        UBI_READWRITE,
+        UBI_EXCLUSIVE
+};
+
+/**
+ * struct ubi_volume_info - UBI volume description data structure.
+ * @vol_id: volume ID
+ * @ubi_num: UBI device number this volume belongs to
+ * @size: how many physical eraseblocks are reserved for this volume
+ * @used_bytes: how many bytes of data this volume contains
+ * @used_ebs: how many physical eraseblocks of this volume actually contain any
+ * data
+ * @vol_type: volume type (%UBI_DYNAMIC_VOLUME or %UBI_STATIC_VOLUME)
+ * @corrupted: non-zero if the volume is corrupted (static volumes only)
+ * @upd_marker: non-zero if the volume has update marker set
+ * @alignment: volume alignment
+ * @usable_leb_size: how many bytes are available in logical eraseblocks of
+ * this volume
+ * @name_len: volume name length
+ * @name: volume name
+ * @cdev: UBI volume character device major and minor numbers
+ *
+ * The @corrupted flag is only relevant to static volumes and is always zero
+ * for dynamic ones. This is because UBI does not care about dynamic volume
+ * data protection and only cares about protecting static volume data.
+ *
+ * The @upd_marker flag is set if the volume update operation was interrupted.
+ * Before touching the volume data during the update operation, UBI first sets
+ * the update marker flag for this volume. If the volume update operation was
+ * further interrupted, the update marker indicates this. If the update marker
+ * is set, the contents of the volume is certainly damaged and a new volume
+ * update operation has to be started.
+ *
+ * To put it differently, @corrupted and @upd_marker fields have different
+ * semantics:
+ *     o the @corrupted flag means that this static volume is corrupted for some
+ *       reasons, but not because an interrupted volume update
+ *     o the @upd_marker field means that the volume is damaged because of an
+ *       interrupted update operation.
+ *
+ * I.e., the @corrupted flag is never set if the @upd_marker flag is set.
+ *
+ * The @used_bytes and @used_ebs fields are only really needed for static
+ * volumes and contain the number of bytes stored in this static volume and how
+ * many eraseblock this data occupies. In case of dynamic volumes, the
+ * @used_bytes field is equivalent to @size*@usable_leb_size, and the @used_ebs
+ * field is equivalent to @size.
+ *
+ * In general, logical eraseblock size is a property of the UBI device, not
+ * of the UBI volume. Indeed, the logical eraseblock size depends on the
+ * physical eraseblock size and on how much bytes UBI headers consume. But
+ * because of the volume alignment (@alignment), the usable size of logical
+ * eraseblocks if a volume may be less. The following equation is true:
+ *      @usable_leb_size = LEB size - (LEB size mod @alignment),
+ * where LEB size is the logical eraseblock size defined by the UBI device.
+ *
+ * The alignment is multiple to the minimal flash input/output unit size or %1
+ * if all the available space is used.
+ *
+ * To put this differently, alignment may be considered is a way to change
+ * volume logical eraseblock sizes.
+ */
+struct ubi_volume_info {
+        int ubi_num;
+        int vol_id;
+        int size;
+        long long used_bytes;
+        int used_ebs;
+        int vol_type;
+        int corrupted;
+        int upd_marker;
+        int alignment;
+        int usable_leb_size;
+        int name_len;
+        const char *name;
+        dev_t cdev;
+};
+
+/**
+ * struct ubi_device_info - UBI device description data structure.
+ * @ubi_num: ubi device number
+ * @leb_size: logical eraseblock size on this UBI device
+ * @min_io_size: minimal I/O unit size
+ * @ro_mode: if this device is in read-only mode
+ * @cdev: UBI character device major and minor numbers
+ *
+ * Note, @leb_size is the logical eraseblock size offered by the UBI device.
+ * Volumes of this UBI device may have smaller logical eraseblock size if their
+ * alignment is not equivalent to %1.
+ */
+struct ubi_device_info {
+        int ubi_num;
+        int leb_size;
+        int min_io_size;
+        int ro_mode;
+        dev_t cdev;
+};
+
+/* UBI descriptor given to users when they open UBI volumes */
+struct ubi_volume_desc;
+
+int ubi_get_device_info(int ubi_num, struct ubi_device_info *di);
+void ubi_get_volume_info(struct ubi_volume_desc *desc,
+                         struct ubi_volume_info *vi);
+struct ubi_volume_desc *ubi_open_volume(int ubi_num, int vol_id, int mode);
+struct ubi_volume_desc *ubi_open_volume_nm(int ubi_num, const char *name,
+                                           int mode);
+void ubi_close_volume(struct ubi_volume_desc *desc);
+int ubi_leb_read(struct ubi_volume_desc *desc, int lnum, char *buf, int offset,
+                 int len, int check);
+int ubi_leb_write(struct ubi_volume_desc *desc, int lnum, const void *buf,
+                  int offset, int len, int dtype);
+int ubi_leb_change(struct ubi_volume_desc *desc, int lnum, const void *buf,
+                   int len, int dtype);
+int ubi_leb_erase(struct ubi_volume_desc *desc, int lnum);
+int ubi_leb_unmap(struct ubi_volume_desc *desc, int lnum);
+int ubi_is_mapped(struct ubi_volume_desc *desc, int lnum);
+
+/*
+ * This function is the same as the 'ubi_leb_read()' function, but it does not
+ * provide the checking capability.
+ */
+static inline int ubi_read(struct ubi_volume_desc *desc, int lnum, char *buf,
+                           int offset, int len)
+{
+        return ubi_leb_read(desc, lnum, buf, offset, len, 0);
+}
+
+/*
+ * This function is the same as the 'ubi_leb_write()' functions, but it does
+ * not have the data type argument.
+ */
+static inline int ubi_write(struct ubi_volume_desc *desc, int lnum,
+                            const void *buf, int offset, int len)
+{
+        return ubi_leb_write(desc, lnum, buf, offset, len, UBI_UNKNOWN);
+}
+
+/*
+ * This function is the same as the 'ubi_leb_change()' functions, but it does
+ * not have the data type argument.
+ */
+static inline int ubi_change(struct ubi_volume_desc *desc, int lnum,
+                                    const void *buf, int len)
+{
+        return ubi_leb_change(desc, lnum, buf, len, UBI_UNKNOWN);
+}
+
+#endif /* !__LINUX_UBI_H__ */
diff --git a/include/mtd/Kbuild b/include/mtd/Kbuild
index e0fe92b03a4e..4d46b3bdebd8 100644
--- a/include/mtd/Kbuild
+++ b/include/mtd/Kbuild
@@ -3,3 +3,5 @@ header-y += jffs2-user.h
 header-y += mtd-abi.h
 header-y += mtd-user.h
 header-y += nftl-user.h
+header-y += ubi-header.h
+header-y += ubi-user.h
diff --git a/include/mtd/mtd-abi.h b/include/mtd/mtd-abi.h
index 8e501a75a764..f71dac420394 100644
--- a/include/mtd/mtd-abi.h
+++ b/include/mtd/mtd-abi.h
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ struct mtd_oob_buf {
 #define MTD_NORFLASH            3
 #define MTD_NANDFLASH           4
 #define MTD_DATAFLASH           6
+#define MTD_UBIVOLUME           7
 
 #define MTD_WRITEABLE           0x400   /* Device is writeable */
 #define MTD_BIT_WRITEABLE       0x800   /* Single bits can be flipped */
diff --git a/include/mtd/ubi-header.h b/include/mtd/ubi-header.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..fa479c71aa34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/mtd/ubi-header.h
@@ -0,0 +1,360 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) International Business Machines Corp., 2006
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See
+ * the GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
+ *
+ * Authors: Artem Bityutskiy (Битюцкий Артём)
+ *          Thomas Gleixner
+ *          Frank Haverkamp
+ *          Oliver Lohmann
+ *          Andreas Arnez
+ */
+
+/*
+ * This file defines the layout of UBI headers and all the other UBI on-flash
+ * data structures. May be included by user-space.
+ */
+
+#ifndef __UBI_HEADER_H__
+#define __UBI_HEADER_H__
+
+#include <asm/byteorder.h>
+
+/* The version of UBI images supported by this implementation */
+#define UBI_VERSION 1
+
+/* The highest erase counter value supported by this implementation */
+#define UBI_MAX_ERASECOUNTER 0x7FFFFFFF
+
+/* The initial CRC32 value used when calculating CRC checksums */
+#define UBI_CRC32_INIT 0xFFFFFFFFU
+
+/* Erase counter header magic number (ASCII "UBI#") */
+#define UBI_EC_HDR_MAGIC  0x55424923
+/* Volume identifier header magic number (ASCII "UBI!") */
+#define UBI_VID_HDR_MAGIC 0x55424921
+
+/*
+ * Volume type constants used in the volume identifier header.
+ *
+ * @UBI_VID_DYNAMIC: dynamic volume
+ * @UBI_VID_STATIC: static volume
+ */
+enum {
+        UBI_VID_DYNAMIC = 1,
+        UBI_VID_STATIC  = 2
+};
+
+/*
+ * Compatibility constants used by internal volumes.
+ *
+ * @UBI_COMPAT_DELETE: delete this internal volume before anything is written
+ * to the flash
+ * @UBI_COMPAT_RO: attach this device in read-only mode
+ * @UBI_COMPAT_PRESERVE: preserve this internal volume - do not touch its
+ * physical eraseblocks, don't allow the wear-leveling unit to move them
+ * @UBI_COMPAT_REJECT: reject this UBI image
+ */
+enum {
+        UBI_COMPAT_DELETE   = 1,
+        UBI_COMPAT_RO       = 2,
+        UBI_COMPAT_PRESERVE = 4,
+        UBI_COMPAT_REJECT   = 5
+};
+
+/*
+ * ubi16_t/ubi32_t/ubi64_t - 16, 32, and 64-bit integers used in UBI on-flash
+ * data structures.
+ */
+typedef struct {
+        uint16_t int16;
+} __attribute__ ((packed)) ubi16_t;
+
+typedef struct {
+        uint32_t int32;
+} __attribute__ ((packed)) ubi32_t;
+
+typedef struct {
+        uint64_t int64;
+} __attribute__ ((packed)) ubi64_t;
+
+/*
+ * In this implementation of UBI uses the big-endian format for on-flash
+ * integers. The below are the corresponding conversion macros.
+ */
+#define cpu_to_ubi16(x) ((ubi16_t){__cpu_to_be16(x)})
+#define ubi16_to_cpu(x) ((uint16_t)__be16_to_cpu((x).int16))
+
+#define cpu_to_ubi32(x) ((ubi32_t){__cpu_to_be32(x)})
+#define ubi32_to_cpu(x) ((uint32_t)__be32_to_cpu((x).int32))
+
+#define cpu_to_ubi64(x) ((ubi64_t){__cpu_to_be64(x)})
+#define ubi64_to_cpu(x) ((uint64_t)__be64_to_cpu((x).int64))
+
+/* Sizes of UBI headers */
+#define UBI_EC_HDR_SIZE  sizeof(struct ubi_ec_hdr)
+#define UBI_VID_HDR_SIZE sizeof(struct ubi_vid_hdr)
+
+/* Sizes of UBI headers without the ending CRC */
+#define UBI_EC_HDR_SIZE_CRC  (UBI_EC_HDR_SIZE  - sizeof(ubi32_t))
+#define UBI_VID_HDR_SIZE_CRC (UBI_VID_HDR_SIZE - sizeof(ubi32_t))
+
+/**
+ * struct ubi_ec_hdr - UBI erase counter header.
+ * @magic: erase counter header magic number (%UBI_EC_HDR_MAGIC)
+ * @version: version of UBI implementation which is supposed to accept this
+ * UBI image
+ * @padding1: reserved for future, zeroes
+ * @ec: the erase counter
+ * @vid_hdr_offset: where the VID header starts
+ * @data_offset: where the user data start
+ * @padding2: reserved for future, zeroes
+ * @hdr_crc: erase counter header CRC checksum
+ *
+ * The erase counter header takes 64 bytes and has a plenty of unused space for
+ * future usage. The unused fields are zeroed. The @version field is used to
+ * indicate the version of UBI implementation which is supposed to be able to
+ * work with this UBI image. If @version is greater then the current UBI
+ * version, the image is rejected. This may be useful in future if something
+ * is changed radically. This field is duplicated in the volume identifier
+ * header.
+ *
+ * The @vid_hdr_offset and @data_offset fields contain the offset of the the
+ * volume identifier header and user data, relative to the beginning of the
+ * physical eraseblock. These values have to be the same for all physical
+ * eraseblocks.
+ */
+struct ubi_ec_hdr {
+        ubi32_t magic;
+        uint8_t version;
+        uint8_t padding1[3];
+        ubi64_t ec; /* Warning: the current limit is 31-bit anyway! */
+        ubi32_t vid_hdr_offset;
+        ubi32_t data_offset;
+        uint8_t padding2[36];
+        ubi32_t hdr_crc;
+} __attribute__ ((packed));
+
+/**
+ * struct ubi_vid_hdr - on-flash UBI volume identifier header.
+ * @magic: volume identifier header magic number (%UBI_VID_HDR_MAGIC)
+ * @version: UBI implementation version which is supposed to accept this UBI
+ * image (%UBI_VERSION)
+ * @vol_type: volume type (%UBI_VID_DYNAMIC or %UBI_VID_STATIC)
+ * @copy_flag: if this logical eraseblock was copied from another physical
+ * eraseblock (for wear-leveling reasons)
+ * @compat: compatibility of this volume (%0, %UBI_COMPAT_DELETE,
+ * %UBI_COMPAT_IGNORE, %UBI_COMPAT_PRESERVE, or %UBI_COMPAT_REJECT)
+ * @vol_id: ID of this volume
+ * @lnum: logical eraseblock number
+ * @leb_ver: version of this logical eraseblock (IMPORTANT: obsolete, to be
+ * removed, kept only for not breaking older UBI users)
+ * @data_size: how many bytes of data this logical eraseblock contains
+ * @used_ebs: total number of used logical eraseblocks in this volume
+ * @data_pad: how many bytes at the end of this physical eraseblock are not
+ * used
+ * @data_crc: CRC checksum of the data stored in this logical eraseblock
+ * @padding1: reserved for future, zeroes
+ * @sqnum: sequence number
+ * @padding2: reserved for future, zeroes
+ * @hdr_crc: volume identifier header CRC checksum
+ *
+ * The @sqnum is the value of the global sequence counter at the time when this
+ * VID header was created. The global sequence counter is incremented each time
+ * UBI writes a new VID header to the flash, i.e. when it maps a logical
+ * eraseblock to a new physical eraseblock. The global sequence counter is an
+ * unsigned 64-bit integer and we assume it never overflows. The @sqnum
+ * (sequence number) is used to distinguish between older and newer versions of
+ * logical eraseblocks.
+ *
+ * There are 2 situations when there may be more then one physical eraseblock
+ * corresponding to the same logical eraseblock, i.e., having the same @vol_id
+ * and @lnum values in the volume identifier header. Suppose we have a logical
+ * eraseblock L and it is mapped to the physical eraseblock P.
+ *
+ * 1. Because UBI may erase physical eraseblocks asynchronously, the following
+ * situation is possible: L is asynchronously erased, so P is scheduled for
+ * erasure, then L is written to,i.e. mapped to another physical eraseblock P1,
+ * so P1 is written to, then an unclean reboot happens. Result - there are 2
+ * physical eraseblocks P and P1 corresponding to the same logical eraseblock
+ * L. But P1 has greater sequence number, so UBI picks P1 when it attaches the
+ * flash.
+ *
+ * 2. From time to time UBI moves logical eraseblocks to other physical
+ * eraseblocks for wear-leveling reasons. If, for example, UBI moves L from P
+ * to P1, and an unclean reboot happens before P is physically erased, there
+ * are two physical eraseblocks P and P1 corresponding to L and UBI has to
+ * select one of them when the flash is attached. The @sqnum field says which
+ * PEB is the original (obviously P will have lower @sqnum) and the copy. But
+ * it is not enough to select the physical eraseblock with the higher sequence
+ * number, because the unclean reboot could have happen in the middle of the
+ * copying process, so the data in P is corrupted. It is also not enough to
+ * just select the physical eraseblock with lower sequence number, because the
+ * data there may be old (consider a case if more data was added to P1 after
+ * the copying). Moreover, the unclean reboot may happen when the erasure of P
+ * was just started, so it result in unstable P, which is "mostly" OK, but
+ * still has unstable bits.
+ *
+ * UBI uses the @copy_flag field to indicate that this logical eraseblock is a
+ * copy. UBI also calculates data CRC when the data is moved and stores it at
+ * the @data_crc field of the copy (P1). So when UBI needs to pick one physical
+ * eraseblock of two (P or P1), the @copy_flag of the newer one (P1) is
+ * examined. If it is cleared, the situation* is simple and the newer one is
+ * picked. If it is set, the data CRC of the copy (P1) is examined. If the CRC
+ * checksum is correct, this physical eraseblock is selected (P1). Otherwise
+ * the older one (P) is selected.
+ *
+ * Note, there is an obsolete @leb_ver field which was used instead of @sqnum
+ * in the past. But it is not used anymore and we keep it in order to be able
+ * to deal with old UBI images. It will be removed at some point.
+ *
+ * There are 2 sorts of volumes in UBI: user volumes and internal volumes.
+ * Internal volumes are not seen from outside and are used for various internal
+ * UBI purposes. In this implementation there is only one internal volume - the
+ * layout volume. Internal volumes are the main mechanism of UBI extensions.
+ * For example, in future one may introduce a journal internal volume. Internal
+ * volumes have their own reserved range of IDs.
+ *
+ * The @compat field is only used for internal volumes and contains the "degree
+ * of their compatibility". It is always zero for user volumes. This field
+ * provides a mechanism to introduce UBI extensions and to be still compatible
+ * with older UBI binaries. For example, if someone introduced a journal in
+ * future, he would probably use %UBI_COMPAT_DELETE compatibility for the
+ * journal volume.  And in this case, older UBI binaries, which know nothing
+ * about the journal volume, would just delete this volume and work perfectly
+ * fine. This is similar to what Ext2fs does when it is fed by an Ext3fs image
+ * - it just ignores the Ext3fs journal.
+ *
+ * The @data_crc field contains the CRC checksum of the contents of the logical
+ * eraseblock if this is a static volume. In case of dynamic volumes, it does
+ * not contain the CRC checksum as a rule. The only exception is when the
+ * data of the physical eraseblock was moved by the wear-leveling unit, then
+ * the wear-leveling unit calculates the data CRC and stores it in the
+ * @data_crc field. And of course, the @copy_flag is %in this case.
+ *
+ * The @data_size field is used only for static volumes because UBI has to know
+ * how many bytes of data are stored in this eraseblock. For dynamic volumes,
+ * this field usually contains zero. The only exception is when the data of the
+ * physical eraseblock was moved to another physical eraseblock for
+ * wear-leveling reasons. In this case, UBI calculates CRC checksum of the
+ * contents and uses both @data_crc and @data_size fields. In this case, the
+ * @data_size field contains data size.
+ *
+ * The @used_ebs field is used only for static volumes and indicates how many
+ * eraseblocks the data of the volume takes. For dynamic volumes this field is
+ * not used and always contains zero.
+ *
+ * The @data_pad is calculated when volumes are created using the alignment
+ * parameter. So, effectively, the @data_pad field reduces the size of logical
+ * eraseblocks of this volume. This is very handy when one uses block-oriented
+ * software (say, cramfs) on top of the UBI volume.
+ */
+struct ubi_vid_hdr {
+        ubi32_t magic;
+        uint8_t version;
+        uint8_t vol_type;
+        uint8_t copy_flag;
+        uint8_t compat;
+        ubi32_t vol_id;
+        ubi32_t lnum;
+        ubi32_t leb_ver; /* obsolete, to be removed, don't use */
+        ubi32_t data_size;
+        ubi32_t used_ebs;
+        ubi32_t data_pad;
+        ubi32_t data_crc;
+        uint8_t padding1[4];
+        ubi64_t sqnum;
+        uint8_t padding2[12];
+        ubi32_t hdr_crc;
+} __attribute__ ((packed));
+
+/* Internal UBI volumes count */
+#define UBI_INT_VOL_COUNT 1
+
+/*
+ * Starting ID of internal volumes. There is reserved room for 4096 internal
+ * volumes.
+ */
+#define UBI_INTERNAL_VOL_START (0x7FFFFFFF - 4096)
+
+/* The layout volume contains the volume table */
+
+#define UBI_LAYOUT_VOL_ID        UBI_INTERNAL_VOL_START
+#define UBI_LAYOUT_VOLUME_EBS    2
+#define UBI_LAYOUT_VOLUME_NAME   "layout volume"
+#define UBI_LAYOUT_VOLUME_COMPAT UBI_COMPAT_REJECT
+
+/* The maximum number of volumes per one UBI device */
+#define UBI_MAX_VOLUMES 128
+
+/* The maximum volume name length */
+#define UBI_VOL_NAME_MAX 127
+
+/* Size of the volume table record */
+#define UBI_VTBL_RECORD_SIZE sizeof(struct ubi_vtbl_record)
+
+/* Size of the volume table record without the ending CRC */
+#define UBI_VTBL_RECORD_SIZE_CRC (UBI_VTBL_RECORD_SIZE - sizeof(ubi32_t))
+
+/**
+ * struct ubi_vtbl_record - a record in the volume table.
+ * @reserved_pebs: how many physical eraseblocks are reserved for this volume
+ * @alignment: volume alignment
+ * @data_pad: how many bytes are unused at the end of the each physical
+ * eraseblock to satisfy the requested alignment
+ * @vol_type: volume type (%UBI_DYNAMIC_VOLUME or %UBI_STATIC_VOLUME)
+ * @upd_marker: if volume update was started but not finished
+ * @name_len: volume name length
+ * @name: the volume name
+ * @padding2: reserved, zeroes
+ * @crc: a CRC32 checksum of the record
+ *
+ * The volume table records are stored in the volume table, which is stored in
+ * the layout volume. The layout volume consists of 2 logical eraseblock, each
+ * of which contains a copy of the volume table (i.e., the volume table is
+ * duplicated). The volume table is an array of &struct ubi_vtbl_record
+ * objects indexed by the volume ID.
+ *
+ * If the size of the logical eraseblock is large enough to fit
+ * %UBI_MAX_VOLUMES records, the volume table contains %UBI_MAX_VOLUMES
+ * records. Otherwise, it contains as many records as it can fit (i.e., size of
+ * logical eraseblock divided by sizeof(struct ubi_vtbl_record)).
+ *
+ * The @upd_marker flag is used to implement volume update. It is set to %1
+ * before update and set to %0 after the update. So if the update operation was
+ * interrupted, UBI knows that the volume is corrupted.
+ *
+ * The @alignment field is specified when the volume is created and cannot be
+ * later changed. It may be useful, for example, when a block-oriented file
+ * system works on top of UBI. The @data_pad field is calculated using the
+ * logical eraseblock size and @alignment. The alignment must be multiple to the
+ * minimal flash I/O unit. If @alignment is 1, all the available space of
+ * the physical eraseblocks is used.
+ *
+ * Empty records contain all zeroes and the CRC checksum of those zeroes.
+ */
+struct ubi_vtbl_record {
+        ubi32_t reserved_pebs;
+        ubi32_t alignment;
+        ubi32_t data_pad;
+        uint8_t vol_type;
+        uint8_t upd_marker;
+        ubi16_t name_len;
+        uint8_t name[UBI_VOL_NAME_MAX+1];
+        uint8_t padding2[24];
+        ubi32_t crc;
+} __attribute__ ((packed));
+
+#endif /* !__UBI_HEADER_H__ */
diff --git a/include/mtd/ubi-user.h b/include/mtd/ubi-user.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..fe06ded0e6b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/mtd/ubi-user.h
@@ -0,0 +1,161 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) International Business Machines Corp., 2006
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See
+ * the GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
+ *
+ * Author: Artem Bityutskiy (Битюцкий Артём)
+ */
+
+#ifndef __UBI_USER_H__
+#define __UBI_USER_H__
+
+/*
+ * UBI volume creation
+ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ *
+ * UBI volumes are created via the %UBI_IOCMKVOL IOCTL command of UBI character
+ * device. A &struct ubi_mkvol_req object has to be properly filled and a
+ * pointer to it has to be passed to the IOCTL.
+ *
+ * UBI volume deletion
+ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ *
+ * To delete a volume, the %UBI_IOCRMVOL IOCTL command of the UBI character
+ * device should be used. A pointer to the 32-bit volume ID hast to be passed
+ * to the IOCTL.
+ *
+ * UBI volume re-size
+ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ *
+ * To re-size a volume, the %UBI_IOCRSVOL IOCTL command of the UBI character
+ * device should be used. A &struct ubi_rsvol_req object has to be properly
+ * filled and a pointer to it has to be passed to the IOCTL.
+ *
+ * UBI volume update
+ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ *
+ * Volume update should be done via the %UBI_IOCVOLUP IOCTL command of the
+ * corresponding UBI volume character device. A pointer to a 64-bit update
+ * size should be passed to the IOCTL. After then, UBI expects user to write
+ * this number of bytes to the volume character device. The update is finished
+ * when the claimed number of bytes is passed. So, the volume update sequence
+ * is something like:
+ *
+ * fd = open("/dev/my_volume");
+ * ioctl(fd, UBI_IOCVOLUP, &image_size);
+ * write(fd, buf, image_size);
+ * close(fd);
+ */
+
+/*
+ * When a new volume is created, users may either specify the volume number they
+ * want to create or to let UBI automatically assign a volume number using this
+ * constant.
+ */
+#define UBI_VOL_NUM_AUTO (-1)
+
+/* Maximum volume name length */
+#define UBI_MAX_VOLUME_NAME 127
+
+/* IOCTL commands of UBI character devices */
+
+#define UBI_IOC_MAGIC 'o'
+
+/* Create an UBI volume */
+#define UBI_IOCMKVOL _IOW(UBI_IOC_MAGIC, 0, struct ubi_mkvol_req)
+/* Remove an UBI volume */
+#define UBI_IOCRMVOL _IOW(UBI_IOC_MAGIC, 1, int32_t)
+/* Re-size an UBI volume */
+#define UBI_IOCRSVOL _IOW(UBI_IOC_MAGIC, 2, struct ubi_rsvol_req)
+
+/* IOCTL commands of UBI volume character devices */
+
+#define UBI_VOL_IOC_MAGIC 'O'
+
+/* Start UBI volume update */
+#define UBI_IOCVOLUP _IOW(UBI_VOL_IOC_MAGIC, 0, int64_t)
+/* An eraseblock erasure command, used for debugging, disabled by default */
+#define UBI_IOCEBER _IOW(UBI_VOL_IOC_MAGIC, 1, int32_t)
+
+/*
+ * UBI volume type constants.
+ *
+ * @UBI_DYNAMIC_VOLUME: dynamic volume
+ * @UBI_STATIC_VOLUME:  static volume
+ */
+enum {
+        UBI_DYNAMIC_VOLUME = 3,
+        UBI_STATIC_VOLUME = 4
+};
+
+/**
+ * struct ubi_mkvol_req - volume description data structure used in
+ * volume creation requests.
+ * @vol_id: volume number
+ * @alignment: volume alignment
+ * @bytes: volume size in bytes
+ * @vol_type: volume type (%UBI_DYNAMIC_VOLUME or %UBI_STATIC_VOLUME)
+ * @padding1: reserved for future, not used
+ * @name_len: volume name length
+ * @padding2: reserved for future, not used
+ * @name: volume name
+ *
+ * This structure is used by userspace programs when creating new volumes. The
+ * @used_bytes field is only necessary when creating static volumes.
+ *
+ * The @alignment field specifies the required alignment of the volume logical
+ * eraseblock. This means, that the size of logical eraseblocks will be aligned
+ * to this number, i.e.,
+ *      (UBI device logical eraseblock size) mod (@alignment) = 0.
+ *
+ * To put it differently, the logical eraseblock of this volume may be slightly
+ * shortened in order to make it properly aligned. The alignment has to be
+ * multiple of the flash minimal input/output unit, or %1 to utilize the entire
+ * available space of logical eraseblocks.
+ *
+ * The @alignment field may be useful, for example, when one wants to maintain
+ * a block device on top of an UBI volume. In this case, it is desirable to fit
+ * an integer number of blocks in logical eraseblocks of this UBI volume. With
+ * alignment it is possible to update this volume using plane UBI volume image
+ * BLOBs, without caring about how to properly align them.
+ */
+struct ubi_mkvol_req {
+        int32_t vol_id;
+        int32_t alignment;
+        int64_t bytes;
+        int8_t vol_type;
+        int8_t padding1;
+        int16_t name_len;
+        int8_t padding2[4];
+        char name[UBI_MAX_VOLUME_NAME+1];
+} __attribute__ ((packed));
+
+/**
+ * struct ubi_rsvol_req - a data structure used in volume re-size requests.
+ * @vol_id: ID of the volume to re-size
+ * @bytes: new size of the volume in bytes
+ *
+ * Re-sizing is possible for both dynamic and static volumes. But while dynamic
+ * volumes may be re-sized arbitrarily, static volumes cannot be made to be
+ * smaller then the number of bytes they bear. To arbitrarily shrink a static
+ * volume, it must be wiped out first (by means of volume update operation with
+ * zero number of bytes).
+ */
+struct ubi_rsvol_req {
+        int64_t bytes;
+        int32_t vol_id;
+} __attribute__ ((packed));
+
+#endif /* __UBI_USER_H__ */