[U-Boot-Users] Autobooting limitation on .3 ? : kernel 2.4 detect mac address unset after rebooting

[Mathieu Deschamps]

It faults, I guess, because of bootd behavior. Explanation:

(I've set bootcmd with my bootm command, and everything that's fine in my 
environnement (serverip, ethaddr, ..) and had a saveenv. )


* When I've finished updating my rootfs via tftpboot, I do a boot which 
does what bootcmd variable stores, that's to say, a bootm on a flash adr.

Kernel is runing all right, see :
.
.
eth0: Link now 100-FullDuplex
eth0: AT91 ethernet at 0xfefbc000 int=24 100-FullDuplex (12:34:56:78:99:AA)
eth0: Davicom 9196 PHY (Copper)
.

Then I can execute this command, all right : 
# ifconfig eth0 192.168.0.5 up && echo Ok || echo Ko
Ok
#

* After this, on rebooting my board via a reboot command (or even with a 
pushbutton reset) to test autoboot functionnality on reboot,  kernel starts 
but it seems it can't retrieve my mac addr. :
.
.
eth0: Link now 100-FullDuplex
eth0: AT91 ethernet at 0xfefbc000 int=24 100-FullDuplex (00:00:00:00:00:00)
eth0: Davicom 9196 PHY (Copper)
.

So naturally I can't execute my ifconfig :
# ifconfig eth0 192.168.0.5 up && echo Ok || echo Ko
SIOCSIFFLAGS: Cannot assign requested address
SIOCSIFFLAGS: Cannot assign requested address
Ko
#

This is always reproductible, but never happens after my rootfs update.

I've found a temp. solution : run a ping command on serverip
or simply adding it to bootcmd like this :
bootcmd=ping $(serverip);bootm 0x10020000

It seems "net commands" update environnement or something like that.
If no net commands is executed before the boot/bootd command, then
it could be a reason why  kernel is fed with a left blank, wrong mac addr. 
value.

Any ideas on more reliable way-to or better way to make it work  ?

Thanks in advance


Mathieu Deschamps.