Re: [PATCH 5/5] bus: mhi: host: mhi_phc: Add support for PHC over MHI

[Imran Shaik <imran.shaik@oss.qualcomm.com>]

On 8/22/2025 6:32 AM, Jakub Kicinski wrote:
> On Mon, 18 Aug 2025 12:25:50 +0530 Krishna Chaitanya Chundru wrote:
>> This patch introduces the MHI PHC (PTP Hardware Clock) driver, which
>> registers a PTP (Precision Time Protocol) clock and communicates with
>> the MHI core to get the device side timestamps. These timestamps are
>> then exposed to the PTP subsystem, enabling precise time synchronization
>> between the host and the device.
> 
>> +static struct ptp_clock_info qcom_ptp_clock_info = {
>> +	.owner    = THIS_MODULE,
>> +	.gettimex64 =  qcom_ptp_gettimex64,
>> +};
> 
> Yet another device to device clock sync driver. Please see the
> discussion here:
> https://lore.kernel.org/all/20250815113814.5e135318@kernel.org/
> I think we have a consensus within the community that we should 
> stop cramming random clocks into the PTP subsystem.
> 
> Exporting read-only clocks from another processor is not what PTP
> is for.

Hi Jakub,
 
Thank you for the review and for sharing the link to the ongoing discussion.

I understand the concerns about using the PTP subsystem for read-only clocks.
The idea behind this patch was to use a standard interface for syncing time
between the host and device, and also to make use of existing tools like
phc2sys from userspace.
 
I have looked into the on going discussion you pointed, and we’re facing
a similar challenge. Based on internal discussion with the PCIe team, we’ve
confirmed that PCIe PTM isn’t applicable for this hardware use case.
 
That said, since it seems the community prefers not to use PTP for such
requirement, could you please suggest any other way to support this time
sync requirement that would be acceptable upstream?

Appreciate your guidance!
 
Thanks,
Imran