[U-Boot-Users] ethact, ethprim and NET_MULTI

[Ben Warren]

vb,

--- vb <vb at vsbe.com> wrote:


> It is still very puzzling to me: unless I'm missing
> something, the
> only place where this environment variable is
> referenced is
> net/eth,c:eth_initialize().

Correct
> 
> So, each time one tries any operation requiring
> network
> communications, the active interface may change for
> some inappropriate
> reason - say one tried pinging with the cable not in
> the socket, or
> the host being pinged down.
> 
Also correct
> What is the rationale behind this moving active
> interface at any
> (quite possibly non intentional) disturbance?

Well, I can't speak to the author's original
intentions.  You've probably noticed that the TCP/IP
capabilities of U-boot are very limited.  A board has
a single address which is not bound to a specific
interface.

I expect that the most common use for Ethernet
connectivity is TFTP.  I guess it's assumed that you
have things cabled properly, and if not, you don't
care which interface is used to get your image.

What's the downside?  A 10-second timeout?

regards,
Ben