Re: [ethtool PATCH v4 11/11] ethtool.c: support absence of v4 sockets

On Tue, 2016-03-15 at 16:19 -0700, David Decotigny wrote:

will send a v5 shortly without this patch: question below.

about this patch: this is in prevision of a world where INET can be
compiled out. So it is not something that matters today with current
kernels.

OK.

Now, as you mentioned in another patch, the only socket that survives
various reasonable CONFIG_* gymnastics is netlink. So even though
non-IPv4 kernels with IP support is not feasible today, I believe
there is some logic to using netlink sockets for ethtool purposes,
instead of IPv4 or IPv6 sockets. Shall I propose a patch to add
ethtool support on AF_NETLINK sockets, and update the tool to try
AF_INET first for backward compatibility reasons, then fallback to
AF_NETLINK?

Yes, please do that.

Ben.

-- 
Ben Hutchings
Hoare's Law of Large Problems:
        Inside every large problem is a small problem struggling to get out.