RFC: ethctl

[Garrett Wollman]

In article <c21ec3d9-a539-6c7d-4bd3-6413e7149b2b at netflix.com> you write:
>Eg, I don't see why we need another tool for some of this missing
>"ethtool" functionality; it seems like most of it would naturally fit
>into ifconfig.

>From the end-user perspective, I agree with Drew.  Most of this stuff
should just be part of ifconfig.

>As to other features, like writing firmware images and/or reading
>dumping eeprom -- these were never a natural fit for us.

And I can't say that I've ever wanted to do this.  Most of the
machines we buy these days are Dells, and Dell USC takes care of all
the firmware updates.  Having a not-really-generic firmware
programming interface that only works for network interfaces seems
like very limited value.  I wouldn't object to it, but I doubt I'd
ever use it, and I expect most vendors will want to keep tighter
control over applying firmware updates.

-GAWollman