Re: [PATCH net-next] net: ipconfig: allow IP-Config over DSA devices

[Florian Fainelli <f.fainelli@gmail.com>]

2014-06-05 0:01 GMT-07:00 David Miller <davem@davemloft.net>:
> From: Florian Fainelli <f.fainelli@gmail.com>
> Date: Fri, 30 May 2014 11:08:45 -0700
>
>> Let me know your thoughts. If you feel like something like:
>> netdev_is_upper_dev() or something like that is better.
>
> I'm not happy with this change for several reasons.
>
> First, I don't like the idea that ipconfig works for some stacked
> devices and not for others.

Right, although as I described DSA devices are likely to be the only
real kernel-only created devices here, other stacked devices such as
bonds, vlans and tunnels for instance do require either kernel
modifications to be created by the kernel, or user-space.

>  I'd rather that we simply accept that
> direct devices are the only thing supported.

Would you be willing to revise this position if we can come up with a
generic infrastructure for telling whether a network device depends on
another one and its master device needs to be opened first? Should we
instead force the slave devices in net/dsa/slave.c to open its master
device if it is not UP?

>
> Secondly, the logic in that ipconfig loop is so confusing.  I can't
> even figure out what that dsa pointer test is trying to really
> accomplish in the second hunk of your patch.
>
> I'd like to defer this for now, sorry.

Thanks for your comments.
-- 
Florian