TX: count the TXDATA bytes, because libogc never writes TWD

Third contract checked against libogc rather than our notes.  __bba_link_tx is
four transactions -- read NWAYS, ONE register-space write of the whole frame to
0x0048, read NCRA, write NCRA = 0x04 -- with no TWD_LO/TWD_HI anywhere.  So the
device has to count the bytes it was handed.

The NCRA ST fallback queued tx_frame_len, which only TWD sets, so any driver
that skips TWD would have transmitted a stale or zero length.  BBARegisterFile
now keeps txdata_cnt, incremented per byte accepted at 0x0048 and cleared
whenever a frame is queued from either path, and the ST path queues that.

T11 drives TX in libogc's shape with no TWD write and checks both the queued
length and the drained bytes.  Mutation-tested: switching the ST path back to
tx_frame_len queues length 0, which is exactly the bug.  gc_bba_test gains the
hardware counterpart, "TX without TWD", which deliberately omits the TWD writes
that t_tx makes.

The TWD path stays and is still preferred when present: writing the length
before streaming is what lets TXFrameDrain consume concurrently and keeps
tx_bytes a rate-matching buffer rather than whole-frame storage.  Swiss writes
TWD, libogc does not, so both are supported.

Also recorded: libogc streams the payload with EXI_Dma (32-byte-aligned bulk
after PPCDCacheStoreAsync, then EXI_ImmEx for the remainder).  CLAUDE.md said
EXI DMA writes are avoided for the GC's 1-bit-shift bug; that is true of Swiss,
not libogc.  Nothing in the gateware changes -- a DMA write is just bytes
clocked in -- but the path will be exercised, and if that bug is real it
appears as corrupted TX frames that are not fixable here.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
2026-10-10 10:49:11 +02:00
parent 0aa1fa884a
commit 71ec6a2b37
3 changed files with 121 additions and 2 deletions
+38
View File
@@ -1239,6 +1239,44 @@ parallel master is the default — see "W5100 vs W5500".)
---
## TX path — libogc writes NO TWD (found 2026-10-10)
`__bba_link_tx` is **four transactions**:
| # | transaction |
|---|---|
| 0 | read reg `0x0031` (NWAYS) — check the link first |
| 1 | **one** register-space write to `0x0048`, the whole frame |
| 2 | read reg `0x0000` (NCRA) |
| 3 | write reg `0x0000` = `0x04` (NCRA ST) |
⚠️ **There is no `TWD_LO`/`TWD_HI` write anywhere**, so the device has to
COUNT the bytes it was handed. `BBARegisterFile` now keeps `txdata_cnt`,
incremented per byte accepted at `0x0048`, and the NCRA ST fallback queues
**that** rather than `tx_frame_len`. Previously it queued `tx_frame_len`,
which a driver that skips TWD never sets — so the frame would have gone out
with a stale or zero length. `bba_register_file` **T11** drives TX in libogc's
shape with no TWD and is mutation-tested: switching the ST path back to
`tx_frame_len` queues length 0. `gc_bba_test` has the hardware counterpart
(**TX without TWD**).
The TWD path stays, and is still preferred when present: writing the length
before streaming is what lets `TXFrameDrain` consume concurrently and keeps
`tx_bytes` a rate-matching buffer instead of whole-frame storage (see the TWD
fix note). Swiss writes TWD; libogc does not. Support both.
⚠️ **libogc streams the payload with `EXI_Dma`** — the 32-byte-aligned bulk via
`EXI_Dma` after a `PPCDCacheStoreAsync`, then `EXI_ImmEx` for the remainder.
This file says elsewhere that EXI DMA *writes* are avoided because the GC's
DMA-write engine has a 1-bit-shift bug; that is true of **Swiss**, not of
libogc, which uses them routinely for TX. From the FPGA's side a DMA write is
just bytes clocked in, so nothing in the gateware changes — but it means the
DMA-write path WILL be exercised by libogc-based software, and if the shift bug
is real it will show up as corrupted TX frames that are not our fault and not
fixable here. Worth knowing before chasing it in the gateware.
---
## RX Ring Descriptor — the format GC software actually expects
✅ **Corrected 2026-10-10 from libogc's own driver.** The 4 bytes at each ring