Re: [U-Boot] [PATCH 1/4]: arm: Kirkwood: Set MAC address during registration for kirkwood egiga

Dear Ben Warren,

In message 4A56D52A.8010401@gmail.com you wrote:

Simon Kagstrom wrote:

...

This patch sets the MAC address during registration in addition to during device init. Since U-boot might not access the ethernet device, Linux might end up with the MAC address unset.

I think this violates U-boot policy of only touching hardware if it's used, but Wolfgang can say for sure. In general, initialize() functions should just set up data structures and register the device. There's a long history of MAC-address issues with ARM chips and Linux that I've happily stayed clear of so can't claim to be an expert here.

You are correct. Devices shall only be initialized when actually used in U-Boot (upon first use).

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk