Subject: Re: [PATCH net-next 5/5] igc: Export LEDs

From: Marek Behún <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2021 18:32:13 +0200

Hi,

On Tue, 27 Jul 2021 17:53:58 +0200
Michael Walle <[email-masked]> wrote:

> > If we used the devicename as you are suggesting, then for the two LEDs
> > the devicename part would be the same:
> >   ledA -> macA -> ethernet0
> >   ledB -> phyB -> ethernet0
> > although they are clearly on different MACs.  
> 
> Why is that the case? Why can't both the MAC and the PHY request a 
> unique name from the same namespace?

So all the network related devices should request a unique network
relate device ID? Should also wireless PHY devices do this? WWAN modems?
And all these should have the same template for devicename part withing
/sys/class/leds? What should be the template for the devicename, if
wireless PHYs and WWAN modems could also be part of this? It cannot be
"ethernet" anymore.

It seems a better idea to me to just some nice identifier for the LED
controller.

> As Andrew pointed out, the names in
> /sys/class/leds don't really matter. Ok, it will still depend on the
> probe order which might not be the case if you split it between ethmac
> and ethphy.

Yes, the LED name does not matter. But the LED subsystem requires names
in a specific format, this is already decided and documented, we are
not going to be changing this. The only reasonable thing we can do now
is to choose a sane devicename.

> Sorry, if I may ask stupid questions here. I don't want to cause much
> trouble, here. I was just wondering why we have to make up two different
> (totally unrelated names to the network interface names) instead of just
> one (again totally unrelated to the interface name and index).

It seems more logical to me from kernel's point of view.

> But I was actually referring to your "you see the leds in /sys/ of all
> the network adapters". That problem still persists, right?

Yes, this still persists. But we really do not want to start
introducing namespaces to the LED subsystem.

Marek