* Re: [PATCH net-next] pcnet32: remove VLB support [not found] ` <20260109180443.GO345651@kernel.org> @ 2026-01-11 0:40 ` Maciej W. Rozycki 2026-01-12 22:09 ` Thomas Bogendoerfer 2026-01-15 17:07 ` Simon Horman 0 siblings, 2 replies; 5+ messages in thread From: Maciej W. Rozycki @ 2026-01-11 0:40 UTC (permalink / raw) To: Simon Horman; +Cc: Thomas Bogendoerfer, Ethan Nelson-Moore, linux-mips, netdev [+cc Thomas, linux-mips] On Fri, 9 Jan 2026, Simon Horman wrote: > > This allows the code managing device instances to be simplified > > significantly. The VLB bus is very obsolete and last appeared on > > P5 Pentium-era hardware. Support for it has been removed from > > other drivers, and it is highly unlikely anyone is using it with > > modern Linux kernels. > > > > Signed-off-by: Ethan Nelson-Moore <enelsonmoore@gmail.com> > > Hi Ethan, > > I don't think this driver has received much attention for some time. > So, unless you have hardware to test changes on, I would suggest > either leaving it alone or, if we suspect there are no users, > removing it. You mean discarding the whole of drivers/net/ethernet/amd/pcnet32.c? If so, then it's a hard NAK from me. It's the onboard/netboot interface of the MIPS Malta platform and it continues being used regularly, primarily with QEMU setups, although I have actual Malta hardware in my lab too, usually running 24/7. It's one of the primary MIPS plaforms, cf. arch/mips/configs/malta_defconfig. No attention means the driver just works, why wouldn't it? It's no rocket science. FWIW I continue using several drivers that saw little to no change recently across various platforms. As to VLB support, I guess nobody cares nowadays. I used to have such a system, but haven't seen one in some three decades now and never used this driver with one. Maciej ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
* Re: [PATCH net-next] pcnet32: remove VLB support 2026-01-11 0:40 ` [PATCH net-next] pcnet32: remove VLB support Maciej W. Rozycki @ 2026-01-12 22:09 ` Thomas Bogendoerfer 2026-01-15 17:08 ` Simon Horman 2026-01-15 17:07 ` Simon Horman 1 sibling, 1 reply; 5+ messages in thread From: Thomas Bogendoerfer @ 2026-01-12 22:09 UTC (permalink / raw) To: Maciej W. Rozycki; +Cc: Simon Horman, Ethan Nelson-Moore, linux-mips, netdev On Sun, Jan 11, 2026 at 12:40:56AM +0000, Maciej W. Rozycki wrote: > [+cc Thomas, linux-mips] > > On Fri, 9 Jan 2026, Simon Horman wrote: > > > > This allows the code managing device instances to be simplified > > > significantly. The VLB bus is very obsolete and last appeared on > > > P5 Pentium-era hardware. Support for it has been removed from > > > other drivers, and it is highly unlikely anyone is using it with > > > modern Linux kernels. > > > > > > Signed-off-by: Ethan Nelson-Moore <enelsonmoore@gmail.com> > > > > Hi Ethan, > > > > I don't think this driver has received much attention for some time. > > So, unless you have hardware to test changes on, I would suggest > > either leaving it alone or, if we suspect there are no users, > > removing it. > > You mean discarding the whole of drivers/net/ethernet/amd/pcnet32.c? If > so, then it's a hard NAK from me. It's the onboard/netboot interface of > the MIPS Malta platform and it continues being used regularly, primarily > with QEMU setups, although I have actual Malta hardware in my lab too, > usually running 24/7. It's one of the primary MIPS plaforms, cf. > arch/mips/configs/malta_defconfig. I have a few more MIPS systems with PCnet32 chip on board. And this driver was the first network driver for VMware. I see no reason to remove it as it simply works. Thomas. -- Crap can work. Given enough thrust pigs will fly, but it's not necessarily a good idea. [ RFC1925, 2.3 ] ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
* Re: [PATCH net-next] pcnet32: remove VLB support 2026-01-12 22:09 ` Thomas Bogendoerfer @ 2026-01-15 17:08 ` Simon Horman 0 siblings, 0 replies; 5+ messages in thread From: Simon Horman @ 2026-01-15 17:08 UTC (permalink / raw) To: Thomas Bogendoerfer Cc: Maciej W. Rozycki, Ethan Nelson-Moore, linux-mips, netdev On Mon, Jan 12, 2026 at 11:09:05PM +0100, Thomas Bogendoerfer wrote: > On Sun, Jan 11, 2026 at 12:40:56AM +0000, Maciej W. Rozycki wrote: > > [+cc Thomas, linux-mips] > > > > On Fri, 9 Jan 2026, Simon Horman wrote: > > > > > > This allows the code managing device instances to be simplified > > > > significantly. The VLB bus is very obsolete and last appeared on > > > > P5 Pentium-era hardware. Support for it has been removed from > > > > other drivers, and it is highly unlikely anyone is using it with > > > > modern Linux kernels. > > > > > > > > Signed-off-by: Ethan Nelson-Moore <enelsonmoore@gmail.com> > > > > > > Hi Ethan, > > > > > > I don't think this driver has received much attention for some time. > > > So, unless you have hardware to test changes on, I would suggest > > > either leaving it alone or, if we suspect there are no users, > > > removing it. > > > > You mean discarding the whole of drivers/net/ethernet/amd/pcnet32.c? If > > so, then it's a hard NAK from me. It's the onboard/netboot interface of > > the MIPS Malta platform and it continues being used regularly, primarily > > with QEMU setups, although I have actual Malta hardware in my lab too, > > usually running 24/7. It's one of the primary MIPS plaforms, cf. > > arch/mips/configs/malta_defconfig. > > I have a few more MIPS systems with PCnet32 chip on board. And this > driver was the first network driver for VMware. I see no reason to > remove it as it simply works. Understood. Thanks for the valuable feedback. ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
* Re: [PATCH net-next] pcnet32: remove VLB support 2026-01-11 0:40 ` [PATCH net-next] pcnet32: remove VLB support Maciej W. Rozycki 2026-01-12 22:09 ` Thomas Bogendoerfer @ 2026-01-15 17:07 ` Simon Horman 2026-01-15 21:28 ` Maciej W. Rozycki 1 sibling, 1 reply; 5+ messages in thread From: Simon Horman @ 2026-01-15 17:07 UTC (permalink / raw) To: Maciej W. Rozycki Cc: Thomas Bogendoerfer, Ethan Nelson-Moore, linux-mips, netdev On Sun, Jan 11, 2026 at 12:40:56AM +0000, Maciej W. Rozycki wrote: > [+cc Thomas, linux-mips] > > On Fri, 9 Jan 2026, Simon Horman wrote: > > > > This allows the code managing device instances to be simplified > > > significantly. The VLB bus is very obsolete and last appeared on > > > P5 Pentium-era hardware. Support for it has been removed from > > > other drivers, and it is highly unlikely anyone is using it with > > > modern Linux kernels. > > > > > > Signed-off-by: Ethan Nelson-Moore <enelsonmoore@gmail.com> > > > > Hi Ethan, > > > > I don't think this driver has received much attention for some time. > > So, unless you have hardware to test changes on, I would suggest > > either leaving it alone or, if we suspect there are no users, > > removing it. > > You mean discarding the whole of drivers/net/ethernet/amd/pcnet32.c? If > so, then it's a hard NAK from me. It's the onboard/netboot interface of > the MIPS Malta platform and it continues being used regularly, primarily > with QEMU setups, although I have actual Malta hardware in my lab too, > usually running 24/7. It's one of the primary MIPS plaforms, cf. > arch/mips/configs/malta_defconfig. Thanks, that is valuable feedback. I'm certainly not advocating removing drivers that have an active user-base. > > No attention means the driver just works, why wouldn't it? It's no > rocket science. FWIW I continue using several drivers that saw little to > no change recently across various platforms. Interesting. Subjectively, I'd say that Networking drivers it can be a sign that the devices aren't being used in the wild. But clearly that signal was incorrect in this case. > As to VLB support, I guess nobody cares nowadays. I used to have such a > system, but haven't seen one in some three decades now and never used this > driver with one. That is also valuable feedback, thanks. ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
* Re: [PATCH net-next] pcnet32: remove VLB support 2026-01-15 17:07 ` Simon Horman @ 2026-01-15 21:28 ` Maciej W. Rozycki 0 siblings, 0 replies; 5+ messages in thread From: Maciej W. Rozycki @ 2026-01-15 21:28 UTC (permalink / raw) To: Simon Horman; +Cc: Thomas Bogendoerfer, Ethan Nelson-Moore, linux-mips, netdev On Thu, 15 Jan 2026, Simon Horman wrote: > > No attention means the driver just works, why wouldn't it? It's no > > rocket science. FWIW I continue using several drivers that saw little to > > no change recently across various platforms. > > Interesting. Subjectively, I'd say that Networking drivers it can be a sign > that the devices aren't being used in the wild. But clearly that signal was > incorrect in this case. A stable driver usually doesn't require attention. A potential issue is using dangerous C language features or ones that have been obsoleted in a newer version of the standard, which cause compilation warnings or errors in a new version of the compiler. But that depends on how a given driver was written in the first place. Maciej ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
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2026-01-11 0:40 ` [PATCH net-next] pcnet32: remove VLB support Maciej W. Rozycki
2026-01-12 22:09 ` Thomas Bogendoerfer
2026-01-15 17:08 ` Simon Horman
2026-01-15 17:07 ` Simon Horman
2026-01-15 21:28 ` Maciej W. Rozycki
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