RFI: Ethernet driver ported from Linux
Alan Garfield
alan at fromorbit.com
Thu Apr 19 08:49:35 UTC 2007
On Thu, 2007-04-19 at 11:56 +0400, Yar Tikhiy wrote:
>
> > Apart from using fake MAC addresses, I don't think so.
>
> I don't understand the concept of a fake MAC address, sorry.
> The classic Ethernet is a broadcast medium by design, so a very
> primitive NIC can just receive all traffic and let the driver or
> network stack decide if the host wants a particular frame. On
> output, the network stack can usually put any source MAC address
> into the frame -- it's true for the most of Ethernet network
> interfaces. So MAC addresses are always "fake" in a sense, as
> neither the hardware nor the medium design enforces them.
You're right. I don't fully understand quite what's happening behind the
scene it would seem.
> If I understand your case right, the two processors, CPU and SP,
> share a hardware buffer, in which they can put some data for the
> other side, e.g., an Ethernet frame, and then prod the other side
> with an interrupt. That fits the Ethernet model ideally, so there
> should be no need for hacks unless the other side, the SP running
> a special Linux, takes the whole thing wrong.
Again, you're correct. The Linux driver does have a certain 'quality' to
it, but otherwise it should work as you've said.
Alan.
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