FreeLists / openbeosnetteam / [openbeosnetteam] Re: Realtek 8139 Driver

["Philippe Houdoin" <philippe.houdoin@xxxxxxx>]

"Niels Reedijk" <n.reedijk@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I am writing a Realtek 8139 driver (to replace the closed source Be 
> has
> brought us), and I'm currently stuck in writing it. At the moment
> transmission works 100%, however, it receives only half of the 
> packets
> (and at another system I've been testing it even less). 

Sounds like Interrupt handler and/or read hook issue there.
But we'll try to see why looking at code, much easer.

> Because I'm 
> sort
> of tired of trying over and over again, I want to publish the code
> somewhere to perhaps get some help from a trained eye. Anyway, as I 
> was
> writing this driver to contribute to the project anyway, I thought 
> the
> openbeos CVS would be a nice place. 

If you've write access to OBOS CVS repository, feel free to create a 
new "rtl8139" directory under 
current/src/add-ons/kernel/drivers/network, right next to Axel's sis900 
one ;-)

If you don't, send me your driver in a zipfile, I'll commit for you. 
Then, I'll ask contributor access for you to continue working on it 
using the CVS repository (always a pleasure, always :-) ).

Do you have already wrote the userland add-on to interface your driver 
with net_server?

> Further on, I thought that this
> > driver could probably be one of the first to be adapted to the new
> > interface api. 

Currently, we just wrap over each /dev/net/*/* device following the 
small API publish by Be's ether_driver.h. Exactly like BONE do.
However, following the loopback pseudo device, source code for example 
you can choose to rewrite/adapt your driver to use our current OBOS 
network interface module API instead.

But... 

But I'll hard suggest you to B_DONT_DO_THAT!

First, it's too soon to consider our network interface module API 
stable, nor even finish.
Second, by choosing it, you'll make far harder to have both OBOS and R5 
(BONE & net_server) code shared, 
Which, I think, is bad, as R5, net_server and BONE exists, OBOS network 
stack replacment don't (yet).
And last but not least, rewriting to new interface will not give you 
any huge gain, I think it's not worth it...

PS: hope you'll pardon constant baby cries while I wrote this message ;
-)

-Philippe Houdoin, networking kit team leader


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