Re: [RFC PATCH net-next 1/2] dt-bindings: net: ethernet-controller: add phy-needs-host-firmware

On Sun, Sep 06, 2026 at 05:46:18PM +0000, Aleksei Sviridkin wrote:

A port can reference a PHY that cannot be identified or driven when
the controller connects to it, because the firmware the chip needs is
not in hand yet. Such a port is dropped at setup and stays unusable for
the whole uptime, even though the PHY works seconds later.

The flag declares that the PHY behind phy-handle is expected to become
usable only after this controller has probed. A consumer that sees it
keeps the port and connects the PHY once its driver binds, instead of
failing the connect. The prefix names the entity, like the other
properties here that name what they describe rather than the
controller; a PCS needing firmware would get pcs-needs-host-firmware
by the same rule.

It sits on the controller here because that is where the waiting
happens. The flag says nothing without a phy-handle to qualify, so it
depends on one; the deprecated phy and phy-device spellings are left
out, since no tree combines them with a property this new.

That doesn't seem right, sounds like it should be on the phy if the
behaviour is caused by the phy.
In fact, it seems like something that should be determined when the phy
is identified, not really sure why it needs a property at all? Or based
on the fact that the phy has firmware-name.