Documentation/networking/cdc_mbim.rst
Source file repositories/reference/linux-study-clean/Documentation/networking/cdc_mbim.rst
File Facts
- System
- Linux kernel
- Corpus path
Documentation/networking/cdc_mbim.rst- Extension
.rst- Size
- 12609 bytes
- Lines
- 356
- Domain
- Support Tooling And Documentation
- Bucket
- Documentation
- Inferred role
- Support Tooling And Documentation: documentation
- Status
- atlas-only
Why This File Exists
Repository support layer: documentation, build tooling, samples, user-space helper tools, generated initramfs support, licenses, and validation utilities.
- Repository support layer: documentation, build tooling, samples, user-space helper tools, generated initramfs support, licenses, and validation utilities.
- Defines or uses C structs; map object ownership, embedded links, reference counts, and lock ownership.
Dependency Surface
stdio.hfcntl.hsys/ioctl.hlinux/types.hlinux/usb/cdc-wdm.h
Detected Declarations
function main
Annotated Snippet
.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
======================================================
cdc_mbim - Driver for CDC MBIM Mobile Broadband modems
======================================================
The cdc_mbim driver supports USB devices conforming to the "Universal
Serial Bus Communications Class Subclass Specification for Mobile
Broadband Interface Model" [1], which is a further development of
"Universal Serial Bus Communications Class Subclass Specifications for
Network Control Model Devices" [2] optimized for Mobile Broadband
devices, aka "3G/LTE modems".
Command Line Parameters
=======================
The cdc_mbim driver has no parameters of its own. But the probing
behaviour for NCM 1.0 backwards compatible MBIM functions (an
"NCM/MBIM function" as defined in section 3.2 of [1]) is affected
by a cdc_ncm driver parameter:
prefer_mbim
-----------
:Type: Boolean
:Valid Range: N/Y (0-1)
:Default Value: Y (MBIM is preferred)
This parameter sets the system policy for NCM/MBIM functions. Such
functions will be handled by either the cdc_ncm driver or the cdc_mbim
driver depending on the prefer_mbim setting. Setting prefer_mbim=N
makes the cdc_mbim driver ignore these functions and lets the cdc_ncm
driver handle them instead.
The parameter is writable, and can be changed at any time. A manual
unbind/bind is required to make the change effective for NCM/MBIM
functions bound to the "wrong" driver
Basic usage
===========
MBIM functions are inactive when unmanaged. The cdc_mbim driver only
provides a userspace interface to the MBIM control channel, and will
not participate in the management of the function. This implies that a
userspace MBIM management application always is required to enable a
MBIM function.
Such userspace applications includes, but are not limited to:
- mbimcli (included with the libmbim [3] library), and
- ModemManager [4]
Establishing a MBIM IP session requires at least these actions by the
management application:
- open the control channel
- configure network connection settings
- connect to network
- configure IP interface
Management application development
----------------------------------
The driver <-> userspace interfaces are described below. The MBIM
control channel protocol is described in [1].
MBIM control channel userspace ABI
==================================
Annotation
- Immediate include surface: `stdio.h`, `fcntl.h`, `sys/ioctl.h`, `linux/types.h`, `linux/usb/cdc-wdm.h`.
- Detected declarations: `function main`.
- Atlas domain: Support Tooling And Documentation / Documentation.
- Implementation status: atlas-only.
Implementation Notes
- This generated page is the file-by-file coverage layer; curated subsystem chapters should link here when they synthesize a multi-file control flow.
- Core OS pages should be promoted from atlas-only to deep-reviewed when they explain data structures, invariants, locking, lifecycle, and C implementation snippets.
- Driver-family pages are intentionally pattern-oriented unless they are part of the selected PCIe/NVMe representative device path.