xref: /openbmc/openpower-vpd-parser/README.md (revision 60b5bd2f)
1# Overview
2This repository hosts code for OpenPower and IBM IPZ format VPD parsers. Both
3OpenPower VPD and IPZ VPD formats are structured binaries that consist of
4records and keywords. A record is a collection of multiple keywords.
5More information about the format can be found [here](https://www-355.ibm.com/systems/power/openpower/posting.xhtml?postingId=1D060729AC96891885257E1B0053BC95).
6
7The repository consists of two distinct applications, which are:
8
9## OpenPower VPD Parser
10This is a build-time YAML driven application that parses the OpenPower VPD
11format and uses the YAML configuration (see extra-properties-example.yaml and
12writefru.yaml) to determine:
13* The supported records and keywords.
14* How VPD data is translated into D-Bus interfaces and properties.
15
16The application instance must be passed in the file path to the VPD (this can,
17for example, be a sysfs path exposed by the EEPROM device driver) and also the
18D-Bus object path(s) that EEPROM data needs to be published under.
19
20## IBM VPD Parser
21This parser is can be built by passing in the `--enable-ibm-parser` configure
22option. This parser differs from the OpenPower VPD parser in the following ways:
23* It parses all the records and keywords from the VPD, including large keywords
24(Keywords that begin with a `#` and are > 255 bytes in length).
25* It relies on a runtime JSON configuration (see examples/inventory.json) to
26determine the D-Bus object path(s) that hold interfaces and properties
27representing the VPD for a given VPD file path.
28
29Making the application runtime JSON driven allows us to support multiple systems
30(with different FRU configurations) to be supported in a single code image as
31well as making the application more flexible for future improvements.
32
33## TODOs and Future Improvements
34 1. The long-term goal is to completely do away with the build time YAML driven
35configurations and instead reconcile the OpenPower VPD parser and the IBM VPD
36parser applications into a single runtime JSON driven application.
37 2. Add details to the README on how to configure and build the application.
38 3. More JSON documentation.
39 4. Support for more IBM VPD formats.
40 5. VPD Write and tool documentation.
41
42