Subject: Re: ethtool: missing implementation of n_priv_flags

From: Jeff Garzik <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:59:21 -0400

On Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 10:54:18PM +0100, Ben Hutchings wrote:
> Brandeburg, Jesse wrote:
> [...]
> > We'll take a shot at an implementation in the ethtool proper and post it 
> > (hopefully soon).  I imagine it will just be printed when one runs the 
> > command 
> > # ethtool ethX
> > 
> > and the set side will probably be implemented as part of -s
> > 
> > # ethtool -s ethX pflag [0-0xFFFFFFFF]
> 
> This is crap.  Use ETHTOOL_GSTRINGS with string_set = ETH_SS_PRIV_FLAGS
> to get the flag names, then convert that array into an array of struct
> cmdline_info and parse the flags by name.

Indeed.  It was intended to be a flexible interface where a driver can
easily pass arbitrary text-named flags to the user for setting/clearing.

If e1000e has a special Intel-specific feature that makes the NIC
process packets more rapidly, you could select the string "go_faster" in
the ethtool private flags interface.  The ethtool utility reads the
strings, which determine the flags exported for that network interface.

	Jeff