From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1756684Ab2ANU32 (ORCPT ); Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:29:28 -0500 Received: from perches-mx.perches.com ([206.117.179.246]:38141 "EHLO labridge.com" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-FAIL) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1756625Ab2ANU31 (ORCPT ); Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:29:27 -0500 Message-ID: <1326572965.6300.103.camel@joe2Laptop> Subject: Re: [PATCH] pch_gbe: Use a randomly generated MAC instead of failing probe From: Joe Perches To: David Miller Cc: dvhart@linux.intel.com, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, arjan@linux.intel.com, alan@linux.intel.com, tomoya.rohm@gmail.com, jeffrey.t.kirsher@intel.com, paul.gortmaker@windriver.com, jdmason@kudzu.us, netdev@vger.kernel.org Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:29:25 -0800 In-Reply-To: <20120114.115604.2101782124431552110.davem@davemloft.net> References: <132d2a41a089905de3147b4656e350608aa7fd6f.1326523495.git.dvhart@linux.intel.com> <20120114.001430.787918662083526597.davem@davemloft.net> <4F11A533.4040406@linux.intel.com> <20120114.115604.2101782124431552110.davem@davemloft.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" X-Mailer: Evolution 3.2.1- Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Mime-Version: 1.0 Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org List-ID: X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org On Sat, 2012-01-14 at 11:56 -0800, David Miller wrote: > From: Darren Hart > Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 07:54:27 -0800 > > In any case, with existing hardware out there that is unusable with the > > current pch_gbe driver, can we consider this workaround for inclusion? > I fear that people are just going to add this random MAC stuff way too > easily, it's a spreading disease. > Ship functional hardware instead. Good advice, but that's _hard_. Working systems are nearly always some combination of hardware/firmware/software defect workarounds. Anyway, perhaps setting random_ether_addr like this should be in some generic routine with a standardized "avoid buying bad hardware" output logging message.