Re: ifconfig stopped loading driver

> Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 09:15:22 -0700
> From: "Kip Macy" <kip.macy_at_gmail.com>
>
> On 3/22/07, Kevin Oberman <oberman_at_es.net> wrote:
> > For a long time under V6 and current (and probably V5), if I issued an
> > ifconfig for my Atheros card, the driver (along with the HAL and rate
> > modules) would auto-load and my card would be found.
> >
> > Starting with my March 19 build, this no longer happens. I need to boot
> > single-user and manually load the module if I will need it. I don't want
> > the card to start by default since I don't want the radio on when I am
> > flying.
> >
> > Was this a deliberate change or did something break? It is a real pain.

O.K. It is clearly a deliberate change, although I am not sure the
effect is what was intended.

The call to ifmaybeload(ifname) was moved inside of the if for a
"create" which applies to pseudo-devices, but not "real" interfaces. As
a result, the driver never gets loaded. I read the commit message, but I
don't think that this is the right way to fix the problem
described. (I'm not sure, what a better approach might be, though.)

This breaks behavior that goes back over 7 years, having appeared in
the first release of V4. I can work around it, but it's going to be a
big surprise to many and it is sure a pain in the neck to me.
-- 
R. Kevin Oberman, Network Engineer
Energy Sciences Network (ESnet)
Ernest O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab)
E-mail: oberman_at_es.net			Phone: +1 510 486-8634
Key fingerprint:059B 2DDF 031C 9BA3 14A4  EADA 927D EBB3 987B 3751