Error Detection And Correction (EDAC)
COPIED FROM:
http://fibrevillage.com/sysadmin/243-edac-error-detection-and-correction
https://01.org/linuxgraphics/gfx-docs/drm/driver-api/edac.html
1. Error Detection And Correction (EDAC) Devices
Main Concepts used at the EDAC subsystem
There are several things to be aware of that aren't at all obvious, like sockets, *socket sets, banks, rows, chip-select rows, channels, etc...
These are some of the many terms that are thrown about that don't always mean what people think they mean (Inconceivable!). In the interest of creating a common ground for discussion, terms and their definitions will be established.
- Memory devices
The individual DRAM chips on a memory stick. These devices commonly output 4 and 8 bits each (x4, x8). Grouping several of these in parallel provides the number of bits that the memory controller expects: typically 72 bits, in order to provide 64 bits + 8 bits of ECC data.
- Memory Stick
A printed circuit board that aggregates multiple memory devices in parallel. In general, this is the Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) which gets replaced, in the case of excessive errors. Most often it is also called DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module).
- Memory Socket
A physical connector on the motherboard that accepts a single memory stick. Also called as "slot" on several datasheets.
- Channel
A memory controller channel, responsible to communicate with a group of DIMMs. Each channel has its own independent control (command) and data bus, and can be used independently or grouped with other channels.
- Branch
It is typically the highest hierarchy on a Fully-Buffered DIMM memory controller. Typically, it contains two channels. Two channels at the same branch can be used in single mode or in lockstep mode. When lockstep is enabled, the cacheline is doubled, but it generally brings some performance penalty. Also, it is generally not possible to point to just one memory stick when an error occurs, as the error correction code is calculated using two DIMMs instead of one. Due to that, it is capable of correcting more errors than on single mode.
- Single-channel
The data accessed by the memory controller is contained into one dimm only. E. g. if the data is 64 bits-wide, the data flows to the CPU using one 64 bits parallel access. Typically used with SDR, DDR, DDR2 and DDR3 memories. FB-DIMM and RAMBUS use a different concept for channel, so this concept doesn't apply there.
- Double-channel
The data size accessed by the memory controller is interlaced into two dimms, accessed at the same time. E. g. if the DIMM is 64 bits-wide (72 bits with ECC), the data flows to the CPU using a 128 bits parallel access.
- Chip-select row
This is the name of the DRAM signal used to select the DRAM ranks to be accessed. Common chip-select rows for single channel are 64 bits, for dual channel 128 bits. It may not be visible by the memory controller, as some DIMM types have a memory buffer that can hide direct access to it from the Memory Controller.
- Single-Ranked stick
A Single-ranked stick has 1 chip-select row of memory. Motherboards commonly drive two chip-select pins to a memory stick. A single-ranked stick, will occupy only one of those rows. The other will be unused.
- Double-Ranked stick
A double-ranked stick has two chip-select rows which access different sets of memory devices. The two rows cannot be accessed concurrently.
- Double-sided stick
DEPRECATED TERM, see Double-Ranked stick.
A double-sided stick has two chip-select rows which access different sets of memory devices. The two rows cannot be accessed concurrently. "Double-sided" is irrespective of the memory devices being mounted on both sides of the memory stick.
- Socket set
All of the memory sticks that are required for a single memory access or all of the memory sticks spanned by a chip-select row. A single socket set has two chip-select rows and if double-sided sticks are used these will occupy those chip-select rows.
- Bank
This term is avoided because it is unclear when needing to distinguish between chip-select rows and socket sets.
Memory Controllers
Most of the EDAC core is focused on doing Memory Controller error detection. The edac_mc_alloc(). It uses internally the struct mem_ctl_info to describe the memory controllers, with is an opaque struct for the EDAC drivers. Only the EDAC core is allowed to touch it.
enum dev_type
describe the type of memory DRAM chips used at the stick
Constants
DEV_UNKNOWN
Can't be determined, or MC doesn't support detect it
DEV_X1
1 bit for data
DEV_X2
2 bits for data
DEV_X4
4 bits for data
DEV_X8
8 bits for data
DEV_X16
16 bits for data
DEV_X32
32 bits for data
DEV_X64
64 bits for data
Description
Typical values are x4 and x8.
enum hw_event_mc_err_type
type of the detected error
Constants
HW_EVENT_ERR_CORRECTED
Corrected Error - Indicates that an ECC corrected error was detected
HW_EVENT_ERR_UNCORRECTED
Uncorrected Error - Indicates an error that can't be corrected by ECC, but it is not fatal (maybe it is on an unused memory area, or the memory controller could recover from it for example, by re-trying the operation).
HW_EVENT_ERR_DEFERRED
Deferred Error - Indicates an uncorrectable error whose handling is not urgent. This could be due to hardware data poisoning where the system can continue operation until the poisoned data is consumed. Preemptive measures may also be taken, e.g. offlining pages, etc.
HW_EVENT_ERR_FATAL
Fatal Error - Uncorrected error that could not be recovered.
HW_EVENT_ERR_INFO
Informational - The CPER spec defines a forth type of error: informational logs.
enum mem_type
memory types. For a more detailed reference, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRAM
Constants
MEM_EMPTY
Empty csrow
MEM_RESERVED
Reserved csrow type
MEM_UNKNOWN
Unknown csrow type
MEM_FPM
FPM - Fast Page Mode, used on systems up to 1995.
MEM_EDO
EDO - Extended data out, used on systems up to 1998.
MEM_BEDO
BEDO - Burst Extended data out, an EDO variant.
MEM_SDR
SDR - Single data rate SDRAM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronous_dynamic_random-access_memory They use 3 pins for chip select: Pins 0 and 2 are for rank 0; pins 1 and 3 are for rank 1, if the memory is dual-rank.
MEM_RDR
Registered SDR SDRAM
MEM_DDR
Double data rate SDRAM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR_SDRAM
MEM_RDDR
Registered Double data rate SDRAM This is a variant of the DDR memories. A registered memory has a buffer inside it, hiding part of the memory details to the memory controller.
MEM_RMBS
Rambus DRAM, used on a few Pentium III/IV controllers.
MEM_DDR2
DDR2 RAM, as described at JEDEC JESD79-2F. Those memories are labeled as "PC2-" instead of "PC" to differentiate from DDR.
MEM_FB_DDR2
Fully-Buffered DDR2, as described at JEDEC Std No. 205 and JESD206. Those memories are accessed per DIMM slot, and not by a chip select signal.
MEM_RDDR2
Registered DDR2 RAM This is a variant of the DDR2 memories.
MEM_XDR
Rambus XDR It is an evolution of the original RAMBUS memories, created to compete with DDR2. Weren't used on any x86 arch, but cell_edac PPC memory controller uses it.
MEM_DDR3
DDR3 RAM
MEM_RDDR3
Registered DDR3 RAM This is a variant of the DDR3 memories.
MEM_LRDDR3
Load-Reduced DDR3 memory.
MEM_DDR4
Unbuffered DDR4 RAM
MEM_RDDR4
Registered DDR4 RAM This is a variant of the DDR4 memories.
MEM_LRDDR4
Load-Reduced DDR4 memory.
MEM_NVDIMM
Non-volatile RAM
enum edac_type
type - Error Detection and Correction capabilities and mode
Constants
EDAC_UNKNOWN
Unknown if ECC is available
EDAC_NONE
Doesn't support ECC
EDAC_RESERVED
Reserved ECC type
EDAC_PARITY
Detects parity errors
EDAC_EC
Error Checking - no correction
EDAC_SECDED
Single bit error correction, Double detection
EDAC_S2ECD2ED
Chipkill x2 devices - do these exist?
EDAC_S4ECD4ED
Chipkill x4 devices
EDAC_S8ECD8ED
Chipkill x8 devices
EDAC_S16ECD16ED
Chipkill x16 devices
enum scrub_type
scrubbing capabilities
Constants
SCRUB_UNKNOWN
Unknown if scrubber is available
SCRUB_NONE
No scrubber
SCRUB_SW_PROG
SW progressive (sequential) scrubbing
SCRUB_SW_SRC
Software scrub only errors
SCRUB_SW_PROG_SRC
Progressive software scrub from an error
SCRUB_SW_TUNABLE
Software scrub frequency is tunable
SCRUB_HW_PROG
HW progressive (sequential) scrubbing
SCRUB_HW_SRC
Hardware scrub only errors
SCRUB_HW_PROG_SRC
Progressive hardware scrub from an error
SCRUB_HW_TUNABLE
Hardware scrub frequency is tunable
enum edac_mc_layer_type
memory controller hierarchy layer
Constants
EDAC_MC_LAYER_BRANCH
memory layer is named "branch"
EDAC_MC_LAYER_CHANNEL
memory layer is named "channel"
EDAC_MC_LAYER_SLOT
memory layer is named "slot"
EDAC_MC_LAYER_CHIP_SELECT
memory layer is named "chip select"
EDAC_MC_LAYER_ALL_MEM
memory layout is unknown. All memory is mapped as a single memory area. This is used when retrieving errors from a firmware driven driver.
Description
This enum is used by the drivers to tell edac_mc_sysfs what name should be used when describing a memory stick location.
struct edac_mc_layer
describes the memory controller hierarchy
Definition
struct edac_mc_layer {
enum edac_mc_layer_type type;
unsigned size;
bool is_virt_csrow;
};
Members
type
layer type
size
number of components per layer. For example, if the channel layer has two channels, size = 2
is_virt_csrow
This layer is part of the "csrow" when old API compatibility mode is enabled. Otherwise, it is a channel
struct rank_info
contains the information for one DIMM rank
Definition
struct rank_info {
int chan_idx;
struct csrow_info *csrow;
struct dimm_info *dimm;
u32 ce_count;
};
Members
chan_idx
channel number where the rank is (typically, 0 or 1)
csrow
A pointer to the chip select row structure (the parent structure). The location of the rank is given by the (csrow->csrow_idx, chan_idx) vector.
dimm
A pointer to the DIMM structure, where the DIMM label information is stored.
ce_count
number of correctable errors for this rank
Description
FIXME: Currently, the EDAC core model will assume one DIMM per rank.
This is a bad assumption, but it makes this patch easier. Later patches in this series will fix this issue.
struct edac_raw_error_desc
Raw error report structure
Definition
struct edac_raw_error_desc {
char location[LOCATION_SIZE];
char label[(EDAC_MC_LABEL_LEN + 1 + sizeof(OTHER_LABEL)) * EDAC_MAX_LABELS];
long grain;
u16 error_count;
int top_layer;
int mid_layer;
int low_layer;
unsigned long page_frame_number;
unsigned long offset_in_page;
unsigned long syndrome;
const char *msg;
const char *other_detail;
bool enable_per_layer_report;
};
Members
location
location of the error
label
label of the affected DIMM(s)
grain
minimum granularity for an error report, in bytes
error_count
number of errors of the same type
top_layer
top layer of the error (layer[0])
mid_layer
middle layer of the error (layer[1])
low_layer
low layer of the error (layer[2])
page_frame_number
page where the error happened
offset_in_page
page offset
syndrome
syndrome of the error (or 0 if unknown or if the syndrome is not applicable)
msg
error message
other_detail
other driver-specific detail about the error
enable_per_layer_report
if false, the error affects all layers (typically, a memory controller error)
struct dimm_info * edac_get_dimm_by_index(struct mem_ctl_info * mci, int index)
Get DIMM info at index from a memory controller
Parameters
struct mem_ctl_info * mci
MC descriptor struct mem_ctl_info
int index
index in the memory controller's DIMM array
Description
Returns a struct dimm_info * or NULL on failure.
struct dimm_info * edac_get_dimm(struct mem_ctl_info * mci, int layer0, int layer1, int layer2)
Get DIMM info from a memory controller given by [layer0,layer1,layer2] position
Parameters
struct mem_ctl_info * mci
MC descriptor struct mem_ctl_info
int layer0
layer0 position
int layer1
layer1 position. Unused if n_layers < 2
int layer2
layer2 position. Unused if n_layers < 3
Description
For 1 layer, this function returns "dimms[layer0]";
For 2 layers, this function is similar to allocating a two-dimensional array and returning "dimms[layer0][layer1]";
For 3 layers, this function is similar to allocating a tri-dimensional array and returning "dimms[layer0][layer1][layer2]";
struct mem_ctl_info * edac_mc_alloc(unsigned int mc_num, unsigned int n_layers, struct edac_mc_layer * layers, unsigned int sz_pvt)
Allocate and partially fill a struct mem_ctl_info.
Parameters
unsigned int mc_num
Memory controller number
unsigned int n_layers
Number of MC hierarchy layers
struct edac_mc_layer * layers
Describes each layer as seen by the Memory Controller
unsigned int sz_pvt
size of private storage needed
Description
Everything is kmalloc'ed as one big chunk - more efficient. Only can be used if all structures have the same lifetime - otherwise you have to allocate and initialize your own structures.
Use edac_mc_free() to free mc structures allocated by this function.
Note
drivers handle multi-rank memories in different ways: in some drivers, one multi-rank memory stick is mapped as one entry, while, in others, a single multi-rank memory stick would be mapped into several entries. Currently, this function will allocate multiple struct dimm_info on such scenarios, as grouping the multiple ranks require drivers change.
Return
On success, return a pointer to struct mem_ctl_info pointer;
NULLotherwise
const char * edac_get_owner(void)
Return the owner's mod_name of EDAC MC
Parameters
void
no arguments
Return
Pointer to mod_name string when EDAC MC is owned. NULL otherwise.
void edac_mc_free(struct mem_ctl_info * mci)
Frees a previously allocated mci structure
Parameters
struct mem_ctl_info * mci
pointer to a struct mem_ctl_info structure
bool edac_has_mcs(void)
Check if any MCs have been allocated.
Parameters
void
no arguments
Return
True if MC instances have been registered successfully. False otherwise.
struct mem_ctl_info * edac_mc_find(int idx)
Search for a mem_ctl_info structure whose index is idx.
Parameters
int idx
index to be seek
Description
If found, return a pointer to the structure. Else return NULL.
struct mem_ctl_info * find_mci_by_dev(struct device * dev)
Scan list of controllers looking for the one that manages the dev device.
Parameters
struct device * dev
pointer to a struct device related with the MCI
Return
on success, returns a pointer to struct mem_ctl_info; NULL otherwise.
struct mem_ctl_info * edac_mc_del_mc(struct device * dev)
Remove sysfs entries for mci structure associated with dev and remove mci structure from global list.
Parameters
struct device * dev
Pointer to struct device representing mci structure to remove.
Return
pointer to removed mci structure, or NULL if device not found.
int edac_mc_find_csrow_by_page(struct mem_ctl_info * mci, unsigned long page)
Ancillary routine to identify what csrow contains a memory page.
Parameters
struct mem_ctl_info * mci
pointer to a struct mem_ctl_info structure
unsigned long page
memory page to find
Return
on success, returns the csrow. -1 if not found.
void edac_raw_mc_handle_error(const enum hw_event_mc_err_type type, struct mem_ctl_info * mci, struct edac_raw_error_desc* e)
Reports a memory event to userspace without doing anything to discover the error location.
Parameters
const enum hw_event_mc_err_type type
severity of the error (CE/UE/Fatal)
struct mem_ctl_info * mci
a struct mem_ctl_info pointer
struct edac_raw_error_desc * e
error description
Description
This raw function is used internally by edac_mc_handle_error(). It should only be called directly when the hardware error come directly from BIOS, like in the case of APEI GHES driver.
void edac_mc_handle_error(const enum hw_event_mc_err_type type, struct mem_ctl_info * mci, const u16 error_count, const unsigned long page_frame_number, const unsigned long offset_in_page, const unsigned long syndrome, const int top_layer, const int mid_layer, const int low_layer, const char * msg, const char * other_detail)
Reports a memory event to userspace.
Parameters
const enum hw_event_mc_err_type type
severity of the error (CE/UE/Fatal)
struct mem_ctl_info * mci
a struct mem_ctl_info pointer
const u16 error_count
Number of errors of the same type
const unsigned long page_frame_number
mem page where the error occurred
const unsigned long offset_in_page
offset of the error inside the page
const unsigned long syndrome
ECC syndrome
const int top_layer
Memory layer[0] position
const int mid_layer
Memory layer[1] position
const int low_layer
Memory layer[2] position
const char * msg
Message meaningful to the end users that explains the event
const char * other_detail
Technical details about the event that may help hardware manufacturers and EDAC developers to analyse the event
PCI Controllers
The EDAC subsystem provides a mechanism to handle PCI controllers by calling the edac_pci_alloc_ctl_info(). It will use the struct edac_pci_ctl_info to describe the PCI controllers.
struct edac_pci_ctl_info * edac_pci_alloc_ctl_info(unsigned int sz_pvt, const char * edac_pci_name)
Parameters
unsigned int sz_pvt
size of the private info at struct edac_pci_ctl_info
const char * edac_pci_name
name of the PCI device
Description
The alloc() function for the 'edac_pci' control info structure.
The chip driver will allocate one of these for each edac_pci it is going to control/register with the EDAC CORE.
Return
a pointer to struct edac_pci_ctl_info on success; NULL otherwise.
void edac_pci_free_ctl_info(struct edac_pci_ctl_info * pci)
Parameters
struct edac_pci_ctl_info * pci
pointer to struct edac_pci_ctl_info
Description
Last action on the pci control structure.
Calls the remove sysfs information, which will unregister this control struct's kobj. When that kobj's ref count goes to zero, its release function will be call and then kfree() the memory.
int edac_pci_alloc_index(void)
Parameters
void
no arguments
Return
allocated index number
int edac_pci_add_device(struct edac_pci_ctl_info * pci, int edac_idx)
Parameters
struct edac_pci_ctl_info * pci
pointer to the edac_device structure to be added to the list
int edac_idx
A unique numeric identifier to be assigned to the 'edac_pci' structure.
Description
edac_pci global list and create sysfs entries associated with edac_pci structure.
Return
0 on Success, or an error code on failure
struct edac_pci_ctl_info * edac_pci_del_device(struct device * dev)
Parameters
struct device * dev
Pointer to 'struct device' representing edac_pci structure to remove
Description
Remove sysfs entries for specified edac_pci structure and then remove edac_pci structure from global list
Return
Pointer to removed edac_pci structure, or
NULLif device not found
struct edac_pci_ctl_info * edac_pci_create_generic_ctl(struct device * dev, const char * mod_name)
Parameters
struct device * dev
pointer to struct device;
const char * mod_name
name of the PCI device
Description
A generic constructor for a PCI parity polling device Some systems have more than one domain of PCI busses. For systems with one domain, then this API will provide for a generic poller.
This routine calls the edac_pci_alloc_ctl_info() for the generic device, with default values
Return
Pointer to struct edac_pci_ctl_info on success, NULL on
failure.
void edac_pci_release_generic_ctl(struct edac_pci_ctl_info * pci)
Parameters
struct edac_pci_ctl_info * pci
pointer to struct edac_pci_ctl_info
Description
The release function of a generic EDAC PCI polling device
int edac_pci_create_sysfs(struct edac_pci_ctl_info * pci)
Parameters
struct edac_pci_ctl_info * pci
pointer to struct edac_pci_ctl_info
Description
Create the controls/attributes for the specified EDAC PCI device
void edac_pci_remove_sysfs(struct edac_pci_ctl_info * pci)
Parameters
struct edac_pci_ctl_info * pci
pointer to struct edac_pci_ctl_info
Description
remove the controls and attributes for this EDAC PCI device
EDAC Blocks
The EDAC subsystem also provides a generic mechanism to report errors on other parts of the hardware via edac_device_alloc_ctl_info() function.
The structures edac_dev_sysfs_block_attribute, edac_device_block, edac_device_instance and edac_device_ctl_info provide a generic or abstract 'edac_device' representation at sysfs.
This set of structures and the code that implements the APIs for the same, provide for registering EDAC type devices which are NOT standard memory or PCI, like:
- CPU caches (L1 and L2)
- DMA engines
- Core CPU switches
- Fabric switch units
- PCIe interface controllers
- other EDAC/ECC type devices that can be monitored for errors, etc.
It allows for a 2 level set of hierarchy.
For example, a cache could be composed of L1, L2 and L3 levels of cache. Each CPU core would have its own L1 cache, while sharing L2 and maybe L3 caches. On such case, those can be represented via the following sysfs nodes:
/sys/devices/system/edac/.. pci/mc/ cpu/cpu0/.. /L1-cache/ce_count /ue_count /L2-cache/ce_count /ue_count cpu/cpu1/.. /L1-cache/ce_count /ue_count /L2-cache/ce_count /ue_count ... the L1 and L2 directories would be "edac_device_block's"
int edac_device_add_device(struct edac_device_ctl_info * edac_dev)
Parameters
struct edac_device_ctl_info * edac_dev
pointer to edac_device structure to be added to the list 'edac_device' structure.
Description
edac_device global list and create sysfs entries associated with edac_device structure.
Return
0 on Success, or an error code on failure
struct edac_device_ctl_info * edac_device_del_device(struct device * dev)
Parameters
struct device * dev
Pointer to struct device representing the edac device structure to remove.
Description
Remove sysfs entries for specified edac_device structure and then remove edac_device structure from global list
Return
Pointer to removed edac_device structure, or
NULLif device not found.
void edac_device_handle_ce_count(struct edac_device_ctl_info * edac_dev, unsigned int count, int inst_nr, int block_nr, const char * msg)
Parameters
struct edac_device_ctl_info * edac_dev
pointer to struct edac_device_ctl_info
unsigned int count
Number of errors to log.
int inst_nr
number of the instance where the CE error happened
int block_nr
number of the block where the CE error happened
const char * msg
message to be printed
void edac_device_handle_ue_count(struct edac_device_ctl_info * edac_dev, unsigned int count, int inst_nr, int block_nr, const char * msg)
Parameters
struct edac_device_ctl_info * edac_dev
pointer to struct edac_device_ctl_info
unsigned int count
Number of errors to log.
int inst_nr
number of the instance where the CE error happened
int block_nr
number of the block where the CE error happened
const char * msg
message to be printed
void edac_device_handle_ce(struct edac_device_ctl_info * edac_dev, int inst_nr, int block_nr, const char * msg)
Parameters
struct edac_device_ctl_info * edac_dev
pointer to struct edac_device_ctl_info
int inst_nr
number of the instance where the CE error happened
int block_nr
number of the block where the CE error happened
const char * msg
message to be printed
void edac_device_handle_ue(struct edac_device_ctl_info * edac_dev, int inst_nr, int block_nr, const char * msg)
Parameters
struct edac_device_ctl_info * edac_dev
pointer to struct edac_device_ctl_info
int inst_nr
number of the instance where the UE error happened
int block_nr
number of the block where the UE error happened
const char * msg
message to be printed
int edac_device_alloc_index(void)
Parameters
void
no arguments
Return
allocated index number
2. How to use it
EDAC is maintained and written by:
Doug Thompson, Dave Jiang, Dave Peterson et al,
original author: Thayne Harbaugh,
Contact:
website: bluesmoke.sourceforge.net
mailing list: [email protected]
"bluesmoke" was the name for this device driver when it was "out-of-tree"
and maintained at sourceforge.net. When it was pushed into 2.6.16 for the
first time, it was renamed to 'EDAC'.
The bluesmoke project at sourceforge.net is now utilized as a 'staging area'
for EDAC development, before it is sent upstream to kernel.org
At the bluesmoke/EDAC project site is a series of quilt patches against
recent kernels, stored in a SVN repository. For easier downloading, there
is also a tarball snapshot available.
============================================================================
EDAC PURPOSE
The 'edac' kernel module goal is to detect and report errors that occur
within the computer system running under linux.
MEMORY
In the initial release, memory Correctable Errors (CE) and Uncorrectable
Errors (UE) are the primary errors being harvested. These types of errors
are harvested by the 'edac_mc' class of device.
Detecting CE events, then harvesting those events and reporting them,
CAN be a predictor of future UE events. With CE events, the system can
continue to operate, but with less safety. Preventive maintenance and
proactive part replacement of memory DIMMs exhibiting CEs can reduce
the likelihood of the dreaded UE events and system 'panics'.
NON-MEMORY
A new feature for EDAC, the edac_device class of device, was added in
the 2.6.23 version of the kernel.
This new device type allows for non-memory type of ECC hardware detectors
to have their states harvested and presented to userspace via the sysfs
interface.
Some architectures have ECC detectors for L1, L2 and L3 caches, along with DMA
engines, fabric switches, main data path switches, interconnections,
and various other hardware data paths. If the hardware reports it, then
a edac_device device probably can be constructed to harvest and present
that to userspace.
PCI BUS SCANNING
In addition, PCI Bus Parity and SERR Errors are scanned for on PCI devices
in order to determine if errors are occurring on data transfers.
The presence of PCI Parity errors must be examined with a grain of salt.
There are several add-in adapters that do NOT follow the PCI specification
with regards to Parity generation and reporting. The specification says
the vendor should tie the parity status bits to 0 if they do not intend
to generate parity. Some vendors do not do this, and thus the parity bit
can "float" giving false positives.
In the kernel there is a PCI device attribute located in sysfs that is
checked by the EDAC PCI scanning code. If that attribute is set,
PCI parity/error scanning is skipped for that device. The attribute
is:
broken_parity_status
as is located in /sys/devices/pci/0000:XX:YY.Z directories for
PCI devices.
PCI devices.