Re: [ethmac] specification for eth MAC

[Jeff Garzik <jgarzik@mandrakesoft.com>]

Kent Dahlgren wrote:
> The question that I was asking was does anyone have any preferences about
> which commercially available NIC to use as the basis for the specification. The
> goal here is not to have to write drivers.

I highly disagree with this goal.  We should follow the lead of the
OpenRISC 1000 project -- make the best possible hardware for the given
goal.  Hardware compatibility ALWAYS leads to baggage (increasing chip
size) and bugs.

As the current maintainer of Tulip and RTL8139 drivers in kernel 2.3.x,
I hope I know something on the subject.  :)

I am not a CmpE or EE guy, so I don't have much contribute on the
hardware design side.  However, I've done several Linux kernel drivers
so I am attempting to make up for that my offering to help with the
driver writing.

	Jeff



-- 
Jeff Garzik              | Nothing cures insomnia like the
Building 1024            | realization that it's time to get up.
MandrakeSoft, Inc.       |        -- random fortune