Re: [PATCH] bnx2 - use request_firmware()

[David Miller <davem@davemloft.net>]

From: Alan Cox <alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk>
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2008 07:39:22 +0100

> > The firmware needs to be reloaded every time the chip resets.
> > You're not saving anything/
> 
> > See above, you aren't saving anything.  The firmware needs to stay
> > around so it can be reloaded into the card during exceptions.
> > 
> > That is, unless you want a more failure prone system.
> 
> Ok so if tg3 always needs the same firmware and always needs it in memory
> then maybe it isn't a significant candidate for request_firmware beyond
> the neatness of distribution. I note the firmware hasn't changed in years
> so it can easily be shipped separately and the one package would have
> done for all this time.

It isn't just tg3.  All the broadcom gigabit chips need this
kind of handling.

Basically all of the drivers we are pushing back on.

I bet there are other similar examples.

> > > Driver authors aren't God.
> > 
> > They (actually, more specifically the maintainers) to a certain extent
> > are, because they are the ones who eat doo-doo when something explodes.
> 
> So do the distributions and the users.

Not really. The dist folks and users hit a problem, and it rolls
downhill quickly, and more often than not it plops right on the head
of the driver maintainer.