| Naming and data format standards for sysfs files |
| ------------------------------------------------ |
| |
| The libsensors library offers an interface to the raw sensors data |
| through the sysfs interface. See libsensors documentation and source for |
| more further information. As of writing this document, libsensors |
| (from lm_sensors 2.8.3) is heavily chip-dependant. Adding or updating |
| support for any given chip requires modifying the library's code. |
| This is because libsensors was written for the procfs interface |
| older kernel modules were using, which wasn't standardized enough. |
| Recent versions of libsensors (from lm_sensors 2.8.2 and later) have |
| support for the sysfs interface, though. |
| |
| The new sysfs interface was designed to be as chip-independant as |
| possible. |
| |
| Note that motherboards vary widely in the connections to sensor chips. |
| There is no standard that ensures, for example, that the second |
| temperature sensor is connected to the CPU, or that the second fan is on |
| the CPU. Also, some values reported by the chips need some computation |
| before they make full sense. For example, most chips can only measure |
| voltages between 0 and +4V. Other voltages are scaled back into that |
| range using external resistors. Since the values of these resistors |
| can change from motherboard to motherboard, the conversions cannot be |
| hard coded into the driver and have to be done in user space. |
| |
| For this reason, even if we aim at a chip-independant libsensors, it will |
| still require a configuration file (e.g. /etc/sensors.conf) for proper |
| values conversion, labeling of inputs and hiding of unused inputs. |
| |
| An alternative method that some programs use is to access the sysfs |
| files directly. This document briefly describes the standards that the |
| drivers follow, so that an application program can scan for entries and |
| access this data in a simple and consistent way. That said, such programs |
| will have to implement conversion, labeling and hiding of inputs. For |
| this reason, it is still not recommended to bypass the library. |
| |
| If you are developing a userspace application please send us feedback on |
| this standard. |
| |
| Note that this standard isn't completely established yet, so it is subject |
| to changes, even important ones. One more reason to use the library instead |
| of accessing sysfs files directly. |
| |
| Each chip gets its own directory in the sysfs /sys/devices tree. To |
| find all sensor chips, it is easier to follow the symlinks from |
| /sys/i2c/devices/ |
| |
| All sysfs values are fixed point numbers. To get the true value of some |
| of the values, you should divide by the specified value. |
| |
| There is only one value per file, unlike the older /proc specification. |
| The common scheme for files naming is: <type><number>_<item>. Usual |
| types for sensor chips are "in" (voltage), "temp" (temperature) and |
| "fan" (fan). Usual items are "input" (measured value), "max" (high |
| threshold, "min" (low threshold). Numbering usually starts from 1, |
| except for voltages which start from 0 (because most data sheets use |
| this). A number is always used for elements that can be present more |
| than once, even if there is a single element of the given type on the |
| specific chip. Other files do not refer to a specific element, so |
| they have a simple name, and no number. |
| |
| Alarms are direct indications read from the chips. The drivers do NOT |
| make comparisons of readings to thresholds. This allows violations |
| between readings to be caught and alarmed. The exact definition of an |
| alarm (for example, whether a threshold must be met or must be exceeded |
| to cause an alarm) is chip-dependent. |
| |
| |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| |
| ************ |
| * Voltages * |
| ************ |
| |
| in[0-8]_min Voltage min value. |
| Unit: millivolt |
| Read/Write |
| |
| in[0-8]_max Voltage max value. |
| Unit: millivolt |
| Read/Write |
| |
| in[0-8]_input Voltage input value. |
| Unit: millivolt |
| Read only |
| Actual voltage depends on the scaling resistors on the |
| motherboard, as recommended in the chip datasheet. |
| This varies by chip and by motherboard. |
| Because of this variation, values are generally NOT scaled |
| by the chip driver, and must be done by the application. |
| However, some drivers (notably lm87 and via686a) |
| do scale, with various degrees of success. |
| These drivers will output the actual voltage. |
| |
| Typical usage: |
| in0_* CPU #1 voltage (not scaled) |
| in1_* CPU #2 voltage (not scaled) |
| in2_* 3.3V nominal (not scaled) |
| in3_* 5.0V nominal (scaled) |
| in4_* 12.0V nominal (scaled) |
| in5_* -12.0V nominal (scaled) |
| in6_* -5.0V nominal (scaled) |
| in7_* varies |
| in8_* varies |
| |
| cpu[0-1]_vid CPU core reference voltage. |
| Unit: millivolt |
| Read only. |
| Not always correct. |
| |
| vrm Voltage Regulator Module version number. |
| Read only. |
| Two digit number, first is major version, second is |
| minor version. |
| Affects the way the driver calculates the CPU core reference |
| voltage from the vid pins. |
| |
| |
| ******** |
| * Fans * |
| ******** |
| |
| fan[1-3]_min Fan minimum value |
| Unit: revolution/min (RPM) |
| Read/Write. |
| |
| fan[1-3]_input Fan input value. |
| Unit: revolution/min (RPM) |
| Read only. |
| |
| fan[1-3]_div Fan divisor. |
| Integer value in powers of two (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128). |
| Some chips only support values 1, 2, 4 and 8. |
| Note that this is actually an internal clock divisor, which |
| affects the measurable speed range, not the read value. |
| |
| ******* |
| * PWM * |
| ******* |
| |
| pwm[1-3] Pulse width modulation fan control. |
| Integer value in the range 0 to 255 |
| Read/Write |
| 255 is max or 100%. |
| |
| pwm[1-3]_enable |
| Switch PWM on and off. |
| Not always present even if fan*_pwm is. |
| 0 to turn off |
| 1 to turn on in manual mode |
| 2 to turn on in automatic mode |
| Read/Write |
| |
| pwm[1-*]_auto_channels_temp |
| Select which temperature channels affect this PWM output in |
| auto mode. Bitfield, 1 is temp1, 2 is temp2, 4 is temp3 etc... |
| Which values are possible depend on the chip used. |
| |
| pwm[1-*]_auto_point[1-*]_pwm |
| pwm[1-*]_auto_point[1-*]_temp |
| pwm[1-*]_auto_point[1-*]_temp_hyst |
| Define the PWM vs temperature curve. Number of trip points is |
| chip-dependent. Use this for chips which associate trip points |
| to PWM output channels. |
| |
| OR |
| |
| temp[1-*]_auto_point[1-*]_pwm |
| temp[1-*]_auto_point[1-*]_temp |
| temp[1-*]_auto_point[1-*]_temp_hyst |
| Define the PWM vs temperature curve. Number of trip points is |
| chip-dependent. Use this for chips which associate trip points |
| to temperature channels. |
| |
| |
| **************** |
| * Temperatures * |
| **************** |
| |
| temp[1-3]_type Sensor type selection. |
| Integers 1 to 4 or thermistor Beta value (typically 3435) |
| Read/Write. |
| 1: PII/Celeron Diode |
| 2: 3904 transistor |
| 3: thermal diode |
| 4: thermistor (default/unknown Beta) |
| Not all types are supported by all chips |
| |
| temp[1-4]_max Temperature max value. |
| Unit: millidegree Celcius |
| Read/Write value. |
| |
| temp[1-3]_min Temperature min value. |
| Unit: millidegree Celcius |
| Read/Write value. |
| |
| temp[1-3]_max_hyst |
| Temperature hysteresis value for max limit. |
| Unit: millidegree Celcius |
| Must be reported as an absolute temperature, NOT a delta |
| from the max value. |
| Read/Write value. |
| |
| temp[1-4]_input Temperature input value. |
| Unit: millidegree Celcius |
| Read only value. |
| |
| temp[1-4]_crit Temperature critical value, typically greater than |
| corresponding temp_max values. |
| Unit: millidegree Celcius |
| Read/Write value. |
| |
| temp[1-2]_crit_hyst |
| Temperature hysteresis value for critical limit. |
| Unit: millidegree Celcius |
| Must be reported as an absolute temperature, NOT a delta |
| from the critical value. |
| Read/Write value. |
| |
| temp[1-4]_offset |
| Temperature offset which is added to the temperature reading |
| by the chip. |
| Unit: millidegree Celsius |
| Read/Write value. |
| |
| If there are multiple temperature sensors, temp1_* is |
| generally the sensor inside the chip itself, |
| reported as "motherboard temperature". temp2_* to |
| temp4_* are generally sensors external to the chip |
| itself, for example the thermal diode inside the CPU or |
| a thermistor nearby. |
| |
| |
| ************ |
| * Currents * |
| ************ |
| |
| Note that no known chip provides current measurements as of writing, |
| so this part is theoretical, so to say. |
| |
| curr[1-n]_max Current max value |
| Unit: milliampere |
| Read/Write. |
| |
| curr[1-n]_min Current min value. |
| Unit: milliampere |
| Read/Write. |
| |
| curr[1-n]_input Current input value |
| Unit: milliampere |
| Read only. |
| |
| |
| ********** |
| * Alarms * |
| ********** |
| |
| Each channel or limit may have an associated alarm file, containing a |
| boolean value. 1 means than an alarm condition exists, 0 means no alarm. |
| |
| Usually a given chip will either use channel-related alarms, or |
| limit-related alarms, not both. The driver should just reflect the hardware |
| implementation. |
| |
| in[0-n]_alarm |
| fan[1-n]_alarm |
| temp[1-n]_alarm |
| Channel alarm |
| Boolean |
| Read-only |
| |
| OR |
| |
| in[0-n]_min_alarm |
| in[0-n]_max_alarm |
| fan[1-n]_min_alarm |
| temp[1-n]_min_alarm |
| temp[1-n]_max_alarm |
| temp[1-n]_crit_alarm |
| Limit alarm |
| Boolean |
| Read-only |
| |
| Each input channel may have an associated fault file. This can be used |
| to notify open diodes, unconnected fans etc. where the hardware |
| supports it. When this boolean has value 1, the measurement for that |
| channel should not be trusted. |
| |
| in[0-n]_input_fault |
| fan[1-n]_input_fault |
| temp[1-n]_input_fault |
| Input fault condition |
| Boolean |
| Read-only |
| |
| Some chips also offer the possibility to get beeped when an alarm occurs: |
| |
| beep_enable Master beep enable |
| Boolean |
| Read/Write |
| |
| in[0-n]_beep |
| fan[1-n]_beep |
| temp[1-n]_beep |
| Channel beep |
| 0 to disable. |
| 1 to enable. |
| Read/write |
| |
| In theory, a chip could provide per-limit beep masking, but no such chip |
| was seen so far. |
| |
| Old drivers provided a different, non-standard interface to alarms and |
| beeps. These interface files are deprecated, but will be kept around |
| for compatibility reasons: |
| |
| alarms Alarm bitmask. |
| Read only. |
| Integer representation of one to four bytes. |
| A '1' bit means an alarm. |
| Chips should be programmed for 'comparator' mode so that |
| the alarm will 'come back' after you read the register |
| if it is still valid. |
| Generally a direct representation of a chip's internal |
| alarm registers; there is no standard for the position |
| of individual bits. For this reason, the use of this |
| interface file for new drivers is discouraged. Use |
| individual *_alarm and *_fault files instead. |
| Bits are defined in kernel/include/sensors.h. |
| |
| beep_mask Bitmask for beep. |
| Same format as 'alarms' with the same bit locations, |
| use discouraged for the same reason. Use individual |
| *_beep files instead. |
| Read/Write |
| |
| |
| ********* |
| * Other * |
| ********* |
| |
| eeprom Raw EEPROM data in binary form. |
| Read only. |
| |
| pec Enable or disable PEC (SMBus only) |
| Read/Write |