Re: [PATCH net-next] net: netdevsim: Support setting dev->perm_addr

[Jakub Kicinski <kuba@kernel.org>]

On Tue, 04 Feb 2025 12:20:56 +0100 Toke Høiland-Jørgensen wrote:
> > netdevsim is not for user space testing. We have gone down the path
> > of supporting random features in it already, and then wasted time trying
> > to maintain them thru various devlink related perturbations, just to
> > find out that the features weren't actually used any more.
> >
> > NetworkManager can do the HW testing using virtme-ng.  
> 
> Sorry if I'm being dense, but how would that work? What device type
> would one create inside a virtme-ng environment that would have a
> perm_addr set?

virtme-ng is just a qemu wrapper. Qemu supports a bunch of emulated HW.

> > If you want to go down the netdevsim path you must provide a meaningful 
> > in-tree test, but let's be clear that we will 100% delete both the test
> > and the netdevsim functionality if it causes any issues.  
> 
> Can certainly add a test case, sure! Any preference for where to put it?
> Somewhere in selftests/net, I guess, but where? rtnetlink.sh and
> bpf_offload.py seem to be the only files currently doing anything with
> netdevsim. I could add a case to the former?

No preference, just an emphasis on _meaningful_.

Kernel supports loading OOT modules, too. I really don't want us
to be in the business of carrying test harnesses for random pieces
of user space code.