[PATCH] Ethernet cleanup; 802.1p input and M_PROMISC

[Bruce M Simpson]

Yar Tikhiy wrote:
>
> In fact, there two independent flags indicating interface's readiness:
> IFF_UP and IFF_DRV_RUNNING.  The former is controlled by the admin
> and the latter, by the driver.  E.g., an interface can be UP but
> not really ready to operate due to h/w reasons, or vice versa.
> Perhaps we should check both flags to see if the interface is, so
> to say, up and running.  if_vlan.c has an obvious macro for that,
> and it can go to if_var.h to avoid code duplication if we decide it's
> the right way to take.
>   
Thanks for looking at this.

The purpose of the IFF_UP check is to immediately drop frames destined 
for an interface which is administratively configured down.

Surely if ether_input() is called from the driver, there should be no 
need to check IFF_DRV_RUNNING? Indeed if the hardware flips to a state 
where it is not running but its internal queues or descriptor rings are 
draining, this might cause frames to be lost?

Regards,
BMS