From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
From: Rick Jones <rick.jones2@hp.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] pch_gbe: Use a randomly generated MAC instead of failing
 probe
Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:06:05 -0800
Message-ID: <4F14913D.6090404@hp.com>
References: <AE90C24D6B3A694183C094C60CF0A2F6D8AF47@saturn3.aculab.com>
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Cc: Arjan van de Ven <arjan@linux.intel.com>,
	Darren Hart <dvhart@linux.intel.com>,
	Alan Cox <alan@linux.intel.com>,
	Tomoya MORINAGA <tomoya.rohm@gmail.com>,
	Alan Cox <alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk>,
	David Miller <davem@davemloft.net>,
	linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, jeffrey.t.kirsher@intel.com,
	paul.gortmaker@windriver.com, jdmason@kudzu.us,
	netdev@vger.kernel.org
To: David Laight <David.Laight@ACULAB.COM>
Return-path: <linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org>
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On 01/16/2012 08:20 AM, David Laight wrote:
> Since multiple interfaces on a single system are unlikely
> to be connected to the same LAN segment, it doesn't really
> matter if they use same MAC address.
>
> For a long time sun solaris systems used the same MAC
> address (based on the system id) on all their ethernet
> interfaces.

And there was a perhaps small, but certainly non-trivial stream of 
people asking how to change that because their system(s) were indeed 
multiple ports connected to the same broadcast domain.

Long since then Sun changed their defaults, and we've gotten things like 
bonding, so I think any assumption that a system with multiple ports 
will not have then connected to the same broadcast domain is brittle at 
best.

rick jones