xref: /openbmc/openpower-vpd-parser/README.md (revision 8477d757)
1# Overview
2
3This repository hosts code for OpenPower and IBM IPZ format VPD parsers. Both
4OpenPower VPD and IPZ VPD formats are structured binaries that consist of
5records and keywords. A record is a collection of multiple keywords. More
6information about the format can be found
7[here](https://www-355.ibm.com/systems/power/openpower/posting.xhtml?postingId=1D060729AC96891885257E1B0053BC95).
8
9The repository consists of two distinct applications, which are:
10
11## OpenPower VPD Parser
12
13This is a build-time YAML driven application that parses the OpenPower VPD
14format and uses the YAML configuration (see extra-properties-example.yaml and
15writefru.yaml) to determine:
16
17- The supported records and keywords.
18- How VPD data is translated into D-Bus interfaces and properties.
19
20The application instance must be passed in the file path to the VPD (this can,
21for example, be a sysfs path exposed by the EEPROM device driver) and also the
22D-Bus object path(s) that EEPROM data needs to be published under.
23
24## IBM VPD Parser
25
26This parser is can be built by passing in the `--enable-ibm-parser` configure
27option. This parser differs from the OpenPower VPD parser in the following ways:
28
29- It parses all the records and keywords from the VPD, including large keywords
30  (Keywords that begin with a `#` and are > 255 bytes in length).
31- It relies on a runtime JSON configuration (see examples/inventory.json) tocf
32  determine the D-Bus object path(s) that hold interfaces and properties
33  representing the VPD for a given VPD file path.
34
35Making the application runtime JSON driven allows us to support multiple systems
36(with different FRU configurations) to be supported in a single code image as
37well as making the application more flexible for future improvements.
38
39## TODOs and Future Improvements
40
411. The long-term goal is to completely do away with the build time YAML driven
42   configurations and instead reconcile the OpenPower VPD parser and the IBM VPD
43   parser applications into a single runtime JSON driven application.
442. Add details to the README on how to configure and build the application.
453. More JSON documentation.
464. Support for more IBM VPD formats.
475. VPD Write and tool documentation.
48