Re: [PATCH] natsemi update 1/4 Use assigned MAC address

Hi Manfred, Gary, Stephen,

"But: I'm not sure that the change is required. What about just
setting the mac to 0, and the actual mac address is set from user
space? It's possible to set the mac address with"

Could I suggest if this is the solution implemented, setting the
first octet of the MAC address to 0x02, as in a Locally Assigned
MAC address ?

If an interface with an all zero's MAC address is added to a
bridge, running the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), it will always
attempt to take over as the root bridge, unless STP root bridge
priorities are being used. This would disrupt traffic on the
attached LAN.

Ideally, assigning "zero" a MAC address which has almost no
chance of disrupting STP or any other protocol could be useful.
Maybe fe:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff ?

I think this would fit in with the "be conservative in what you
send, liberal in what you receive" philosophy.

Regards,
Mark.

ps, please CC on any replies, I'm not subscribed to the list yet.