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Message-ID: <3B002001.AEEEE415@mandrakesoft.com>
Date: Mon, 14 May 2001 14:12:17 -0400
From: Jeff Garzik <jgarzik@mandrakesoft.com>
Organization: MandrakeSoft
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To: kuznet@ms2.inr.ac.ru
Cc: Andrew Morton <andrewm@uow.edu.au>, davem@redhat.COM,
        linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: NETDEV_CHANGE events when __LINK_STATE_NOCARRIER is modified
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kuznet@ms2.inr.ac.ru wrote:
> 
> Hello!
> 
> > Jeff has introduced `alloc_etherdev()' which allocates storage
> > for a netdev but doesn't register it.  The one quirk with this
> > approach (and why it's vastly simpler than my thing)
> 
> I do not see where it is simpler. The only difference is that
> name is unknown. 8)

Note that using dev->name during probe was always incorrect.  Think
about the error case:

device 0:
	dev = init_etherdev(...); /* gets if eth0 */
	printk(... dev->name ...)
	/* prints "eth0: error foo, aborting" */
	failure!  exit and unregister_netdev
device 1:
	dev = init_etherdev(...); /* gets if eth0 */
	printk(... dev->name ...)
	/* prints "eth0: error foo, aborting" */
	failure!  exit and unregister_netdev
device 2:
	dev = init_etherdev(...); /* gets if eth0 */
	printk(... dev->name ...)
	/* prints "eth0: error foo, aborting" */
	failure!  exit and unregister_netdev

So, using interface name in this manner was always buggy because it
conveys no useful information to the user.


> What's about dev_probe_lock, I again do not understand why it is not deleted.
> Please, shed some light.

I'm all for removing it...  I do not like removing it in a so-called
"stable" series, though.  alloc_etherdev() was enough to solve the race
and flush out buggy drivers using dev->name during probe.  Notice I did
not remove init_etherdev and fix it properly -- IMHO that is 2.5
material.

	Jeff


-- 
Jeff Garzik      | Game called on account of naked chick
Building 1024    |
MandrakeSoft     |