From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Ben Hutchings Subject: Re: [PATCH] r8169: partial support and phy init for the 8168d Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 19:06:18 +0000 Message-ID: <20091102190618.GM4236@decadent.org.uk> References: <20091007224420.GA20170@electric-eye.fr.zoreil.com> <1257092683.3136.325.camel@localhost> <20091101.224645.262714217.davem@davemloft.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Cc: romieu@fr.zoreil.com, netdev@vger.kernel.org, edward_hsu@realtek.com.tw To: David Miller Return-path: Received: from shadbolt.e.decadent.org.uk ([88.96.1.126]:52330 "EHLO shadbolt.e.decadent.org.uk" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1756641AbZKBTGT (ORCPT ); Mon, 2 Nov 2009 14:06:19 -0500 Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <20091101.224645.262714217.davem@davemloft.net> Sender: netdev-owner@vger.kernel.org List-ID: On Sun, Nov 01, 2009 at 10:46:45PM -0800, David Miller wrote: > From: Ben Hutchings > Date: Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:24:43 +0000 > > > I believe this is patching machine code in the PHY. And we do not have > > source for that code, so it cannot possibly be distributed under GPL. > > You don't know if it's machine code or some data values that > are used to control the PHY's execution. No, I don't know that this is machine code. But you are setting up a false opposition: 'data values that are used to control the PHY's execution' certainly include the machine code that it executes. > In fact I would really be surprised if they had some cpu interpeting > code in the 8168d PHY. Your knowledge of PHYs may be outdated. 1000BASE-T has to be done with a mixture of analog and digital signal processing, since analog alone would be too power-hungry. While autonegotiation and power management could be hardwired it's less risky to put in a micro- controller and finalise the firmware after the silicon... or even after release, as seems to have happened here. > You did do some research about that before making such accusations > right? :-) I began with 'I believe'. It's not an accusation. Ben. -- Ben Hutchings Sturgeon's Law: Ninety percent of everything is crap.