Re: [Qemu-devel] Re: [PATCH 9/9] Introduce VLANClientState::cleanup()

[Anthony Liguori <aliguori@us.ibm.com>]

Paul Brook wrote:
>> 1) Network backend is created.  As part of the configuration of the
>> backend, a unique device identifier is associated with it.
>> 2) A PCI device is created.
>>   a) The PCI device creates one or more Network frontends.  Each
>> frontend carries the device identifier and perhaps something like a port
>> id. b) When the PCI device is destroyed, it destroys any frontends it owns.
>>     
>
> This sounds about right, though I'm not entirely sure what you mean 
> by "network backend". backend ~= vlan in the current implementation?
>   

Roughly, VLANClientState would be the backend.  There are too many 
details about VLAN though in VLANClientState today beyond the name.

Ideally, the network backend would just consistent of an interface to 
submit packets, register buffers to receive packets, an interface to 
negotiate/enable features (GSO, checksum offload), and a means to get 
configuration information (MAC address).

Today, you're given a VLAN and then you create a VLANClient from the 
VLAN.  That's too much implementation detail to live in the devices IMHO.

Regards,

Anthony Liguori