Messages in this thread |  | | Date | Thu, 16 Nov 2000 16:56:22 -0500 | From | Jeff Garzik <> | Subject | Re: [CFT] dmfe.c network driver update for 2.4 |
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Tobias Ringstrom wrote: > On Wed, 15 Nov 2000, Jeff Garzik wrote: > > Tobias Ringstrom wrote: > > > I have updated the dmfe.c network driver for 2.4.0-test by adding proper > > > locking (I hope), and also made transmission much efficient.
> > Would you mind creating a separate patch that -just- correcting the SMP > > safety? That makes it much easier to review and apply, and then we can > > consider the other changes...
> Such a patch will appear shortly. I and Frank Davis are currently merging > our patches for dmfe.c.
Thanks a bunch.
> [Actually, I just added reasonable locks while my main goal was to improve > performance. I did not realize that there was such a strong need for SMP > safety (since it has been broken in that regard for a long time, without > anyone fixing it).]
The kernel driver APIs are designed so that SMP and UP cases are equally high-performance, and portable beyond the x86 platform.
Pretty much all ISA and PCI drivers need to be portable and SMP safe... if not so, it's a bug. That said, there is certainly more motivation to make a popular PCI driver is SMP safe than an older ISA driver. And portability is [IMHO] less of a priority than SMP safety, though it depends on the hardware being supported.
Regards,
Jeff
-- Jeff Garzik | Building 1024 | The chief enemy of creativity is "good" sense MandrakeSoft | -- Picasso - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
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