[gPXE-devel] [PATCH] Re-enable management mode checks on e1000e

[Marty Connor]

Geoff Lywood wrote on 5/27/10 9:10 PM:
> I think the e1000e driver doesn't necessarily need support for all of
> the fancy features like passing the DHCP options to the management
> controller, but I agree with Michael that it should at least play
> nice and try not to reset things that the management controller is
> using.
>
> Geoff

After a bit more reading about IAMT:

    http://www.intel.com/technology/platform-technology/intel-amt/

I agree we should keep the checks.  I'll take a look at other parts of 
the e1000,e1000e,igb family of drivers to see what else may need fixing.

Thanks again for finding this,

/ Marty /

>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Michael Brown [mailto:mbrown at fensystems.co.uk]
>> Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2010 5:55 PM
>> To: gpxe-devel at etherboot.org
>> Cc: Geoff Lywood; Joshua Oreman
>> Subject: Re: [gPXE-devel] [PATCH] Re-enable management mode checks on
>> e1000e
>>
>> On Friday 28 May 2010 01:20:54 Geoff Lywood wrote:
>>> 1. The driver avoids powering off the PHY if management mode is enabled.
>>>   Presumably, powering off the PHY has ill effects on the other (IAMT)
>>>   driver using the PHY. I'm not sure if we ever call into this path,
>> though,
>>>   so we may be able to remove it.
>>>
>>> 2. e1000e_copper_link_setup_gg82563_80003es2lan checks if management
>> mode
>>>   is enabled before writing some PHY registers. I think that this check
>>>   might really be needed, because it implies that the PHY registers could
>>>   have different values if they were set up by the IAMT side of the
>>>   interface, and we don't want to clobber what is there.
>>
>> Does "management mode" on e1000 mean that the NIC is in use for sideband
>> management (IPMI, iLO, etc.)?
>>
>> If so, then I agree that we really do need to be making this check (or,
>> alternatively and arguably preferably, just never doing things like
>> powering
>> off the PHY anyway).
>>
>> Michael