Re: [PATCH net-next v3 3/3] net: stmmac: Add PCI driver support for BCM8958x

[Florian Fainelli <florian.fainelli@broadcom.com>]

On 8/9/24 13:12, Andrew Lunn wrote:
> On Thu, Aug 08, 2024 at 06:54:51PM -0700, Jitendra Vegiraju wrote:
>> On Tue, Aug 6, 2024 at 4:15 PM Andrew Lunn <andrew@lunn.ch> wrote:
>>>
>>> On Mon, Aug 05, 2024 at 05:56:43PM -0700, Jitendra Vegiraju wrote:
>>>> On Fri, Aug 2, 2024 at 4:08 PM Andrew Lunn <andrew@lunn.ch> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Management of integrated ethernet switch on this SoC is not handled by
>>>>>> the PCIe interface.
>>>>>
>>>>> MDIO? SPI? I2C?
>>>>>
>>>> The device uses SPI interface. The switch has internal ARM M7 for
>>>> controller firmware.
>>>
>>> Will there be a DSA driver sometime soon talking over SPI to the
>>> firmware?
>>>
>> Hi Andrew,
> 
> So the switch will be left in dumb switch everything to every port
> mode? Or it will be totally autonomous using the in build firmware?
> 
> What you cannot expect is we allow you to manage the switch from Linux
> using something other than an in kernel driver, probably DSA or pure
> switchdev.

This looks reasonable as an advice about to ideally fit within the 
existing Linux subsystems, however that is purely informational and it 
should not impair the review and acceptance of the stmmac drivers.

Doing otherwise, and rejecting the stmmac changes because now you and 
other reviewers/maintainers know how it gets used in the bigger picture 
means this is starting to be overreaching. Yes silicon vendor companies 
like to do all sorts of proprietary things for random reasons, I think 
we have worked together long enough on DSA that you know my beliefs on 
that aspect.

I think the stmmac changes along have their own merit, and I would 
seriously like to see a proper DSA or switchdev driver for the switching 
silicon that is being used, but I don't think we need to treat the 
latter as a prerequisite for merging the former.

Thanks!
-- 
Florian