From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Adrian Bunk Subject: Re: [RFC] [PATCH 1/2] Driver to remember ethernet MAC values: maclist Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 02:47:35 +0100 Message-ID: <20060220014735.GD4971@stusta.de> References: <20060220010113.GA19309@deprecation.cyrius.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, netdev@vger.kernel.org, John Bowler Return-path: To: Martin Michlmayr Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <20060220010113.GA19309@deprecation.cyrius.com> Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org List-Id: netdev.vger.kernel.org On Mon, Feb 20, 2006 at 01:01:13AM +0000, Martin Michlmayr wrote: > From: John Bowler > > Some Ethernet hardware implementations have no built-in storage for > allocated MAC values - an example is the Intel IXP420 chip which has > support for Ethernet but no defined way of storing allocated MAC values. > With such hardware different board level implementations store the > allocated MAC (or MACs) in different ways. Rather than put board level > code into a specific Ethernet driver this driver provides a generally > accessible repository for the MACs which can be written by board level > code and read by the driver. > > The implementation also allows user level programs to access the MAC > information in /proc/net/maclist. This is useful as it allows user space > code to use the MAC if it is not used by a built-in driver. > > This driver has been used for several months on various IXP420 based > platforms within the NSLU2-Linux project, including the Linksys NSLU2. > A sample implementation of the use of maclist is sent as patch 2. This > one is for the Linksys NSLU2, but several more patches for other IXP420 > based platforms are available. >... Silly question: Why can't this be implemented in user space using the SIOCSIFHWADDR ioctl? > Martin Michlmayr cu Adrian -- "Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days. "Only a promise," Lao Er said. Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed