DMA Ports
DMA (Direct Memory Access) is used for high-speed data transfers between
I/O devices and memory without intervention of the CPU. It is typically
employed by diskette and hard disk drivers, but it could be used for
streaming tape or any other device as long as it does not interfere with
the operation of other standard devices.
The original PC supports four 8-bit DMA channels, across a 20-bit address
space, using an Intel 8237A DMA controller chip. The AT supports seven
DMA channels by cascading a second 8237A DMA controller. The differences
between PC and AT DMA are covered at the end of this section.
Channel Usage in PC and XT
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
0 memory refresh (highest priority)
1 not used
2 diskette adapter
3 hard disk adapter (lowest priority)
Note: All PC-compatibles use DMA channel 0 for memory refresh. If
memory is not refreshed as set by the BIOS, data in RAM will
degrade within a few hundredths of a second. It is wise to avoid
monkeying with DMA port settings.
Port Description
▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
000H-007H DMA base address an offset registers
All are 16-bit registers: read/write the low byte, then the high byte
at the same I/O port. Base addresses are offsets from a DMA Page
(see below).
000H Write: DMA channel 0 base address (also sets current address)
Read: DMA channel 0 current address
001H Write: DMA channel 0 base address and word count
Read: DMA channel 0 current word count
002H Write: DMA channel 1 base address
Read: DMA channel 1 current address
003H Write: DMA channel 1 base address and word count
Read: DMA channel 1 current word count
004H Write: DMA channel 2 base address (diskette adapter)
Read: DMA channel 2 current address "
005H Write: DMA channel 2 base address and word count "
Read: DMA channel 2 current word count "
006H Write: DMA channel 3 base address (hard disk adapter)
Read: DMA channel 3 current address "
007H Write: DMA channel 3 base address and word count "
Read: DMA channel 3 current word count "
──── ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
008H-00fH DMA control/status registers
008H Write: DMA command register
╓7┬6┬5┬4┬3┬2┬1┬0╖
║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ║
╙╥┴╥┴╥┴╥┴╥┴╥┴╥┴╥╜ bit
║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚═► 0: 1=enable memory-to-memory DMA (ch0◄═►ch1)
║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚═══► 1: 1=enable Ch0 address hold
║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚═════► 2: 1=disable controller
║ ║ ║ ║ ╚═══════► 3: 1=select compressed timing mode
║ ║ ║ ╚═════════► 4: 1=enable rotating priority
║ ║ ╚═══════════► 5: 1=select extended write mode; 0=late write
║ ╚═════════════► 6: 1=select DRQ sensing as active high; 0=low
╚═══════════════► 7: 1=select DACK sensing as active high; 0=low
Read: DMA status register
╓7┬6┬5┬4┬3┬2┬1┬0╖
║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ║
╙─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴─╜ bit
╚══╦══╝ ╚═════╩═► 0-3: channel 0-3 has reached terminal count
╚════════════► 4-7: channel 0-3 has a request pending
009H Write: request register
╓7┬6┬5┬4┬3┬2┬1┬0╖
║ unused │ │ ║
╙─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴╥┴─┴─╜ bit
║ ╚═╩═► 0-1: select channel (00=0; 01=1; 10=2; 11=3)
╚═════► 2: 1=set request bit for channel; 0=reset request
00aH Write: single mask bit register
╓7┬6┬5┬4┬3┬2┬1┬0╖
║ unused │ │ ║
╙─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴╥┴─┴─╜ bit
║ ╚═╩═► 0-1: select channel (00=0; 01=1; 10=2; 11=3)
╚═════► 2: 1=set mask for channel; 0=clear mask (enable)
00bH Write: mode register
╓7┬6┬5┬4┬3┬2┬1┬0╖
║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ║
╙─┴─┴╥┴╥┴─┴─┴─┴─╜ bit
╚╦╝ ║ ║ ╚╦╝ ╚═╩═► 0-1: select channel (00=0; 01=1; 10=2; 11=3)
║ ║ ║ ╚══════► 2-3: xfer type: 00=verify (nop); 01=write; 10=read
║ ║ ╚═════════► 4: 1=enable auto-initialization
║ ╚═══════════► 5: 1=select addr increment; 0=address decrement
╚══════════════► 6-7: 00=demand mode; 01=single
10=block; 11=cascade
00cH Write: clear byte pointer flip-flop. Any write clears the flip-flop
so that the next write to any of the 16-bit registers is
decoded as the low byte. The next is the high byte, then next
is low, etc.
00dH Write: master clear. Any OUT clears the ctrlr (must be re-init'd)
Read: temporary reg. Last byte in memory-to-memory xfer (not used)
00eH Write: Clear mask registers. Any OUT enables all 4 channels.
00fH Write: master clear. Clear or mask any or all of the channels.
╓7┬6┬5┬4┬3┬2┬1┬0╖
║ │ │ │ │ ║
╙─┴─┴─┴─┴╥┴╥┴╥┴╥╜ bit
║ ║ ║ ╚═► 0: 1=mask channel 0; 0=enable
║ ║ ╚═══► 1: 1=mask channel 1;
║ ╚═════► 2: 1=mask channel 2;
╚═══════► 3: 1=mask channel 3;
Read: temporary reg. Last byte in memory-to-memory xfer (not used)
081H-08fH DMA page registers.
To select a starting address for a DMA operation, do an OUT to the
page register (ports 81H-83H) for the selected channel then set the
base address (ports 00H-07H) for the channel. A page register is set
with a 4-bit value that represents bits 16-19 of the 20-bit DMA
address. Since the current address is a 16-bit value, it is not
possible to cross a 64K boundary (e.g., address 1000:0, 2000:0, etc.)
with a DMA operation.
081H Channel 2 page register (diskette DMA)
082H Channel 3 page register (hard disk DMA)
083H Channel 1 page register
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
█▌AT DMA▐█
The DMA system on the AT is basically upwardly-compatible with PC and XT
DMA. In addition to the four 8-bit channels of the PC, the AT adds a
second 8237A-5 DMA controller which supports channels 4-7.
Channel Usage in AT
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
0 spare ─┐
1 SDLC (Synchronous Data Link Control) ╞═► 8-bit DMA channels
2 diskette adapter │
3 hard disk adapter ─┘
4 (controller 2) cascade for controller 1 ─┐
5 spare ╞═► 16-bit DMA channels
6 spare │
7 spare ─┘
──── ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
081H-08fH DMA page registers. On the AT, all 8 bits of the Page registers
are used. They become the high 8-bits of a 24-bit address space
(with the low 16-bits being set in a channel's base/current address
register). The page size is 128K (64K words) so DMA transfers must not
cross a 128K boundary (e.g., address 2000:0, 4000:0, 6000:0, etc.)
081H Channel 2 page register (diskette DMA) (address bits 16-23)
082H Channel 3 page register (hard disk DMA) (address bits 16-23)
083H Channel 1 page register (address bits 16-23)
087H Channel 0 page register (address bits 16-23)
089H Channel 6 page register (address bits 17-23)
08bH Channel 5 page register (address bits 17-23)
08aH Channel 7 page register (address bits 17-23)
08fH refresh
──── ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
0c0H-0dfH AT DMA controller registers for 16-bit DMA I/O. Channels 0-3 work
with 8-bit I/O as in the PC. Additional channels 4-7 support 16-bit
device-to-memory and memory-to-device transfers. Transfers for these
channels always start on a word boundary and all addresses and counts
are for 16-bit words (e.g., a base address of 123H actually refers to
offset 246H from the page for that channel).
0c0H Channel 4 base and current address (bits 1-16; bit 0 assumed 0)
0c2H Channel 4 current word count
0c4H Channel 5 base and current address (bits 1-16)
0c6H Channel 5 current word count
0c8H Channel 6 base and current address (bits 1-16)
0caH Channel 6 current word count
0ccH Channel 7 base and current address (bits 1-16)
0ceH Channel 7 current word count
──── ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
0d0H-0dfH AT DMA control/status registers
0d0H Write: command register
Read: status register
0d2H Write request register
0d4H Write single mask register bit
0d6H Write Mode register
0d8H Clear byte pointer flip-flop
0daH Write: master clear
Read: temporary register
0dcH Clear mask register
0deH Write all mask register bits
──── ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
See Also: I/O Port Map
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