netdev - Re: [PATCH net-next] pcnet32: remove VLB support

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Message-ID: <aWkevTP15h30IC6N@horms.kernel.org>
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2026 17:07:09 +0000
From: Simon Horman <horms@...nel.org>
To: "Maciej W. Rozycki" <macro@...am.me.uk>
Cc: Thomas Bogendoerfer <tsbogend@...ha.franken.de>,
	Ethan Nelson-Moore <enelsonmoore@...il.com>,
	linux-mips@...r.kernel.org, netdev@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH net-next] pcnet32: remove VLB support

On Sun, Jan 11, 2026 at 12:40:56AM +0000, Maciej W. Rozycki wrote:
> [+cc Thomas, linux-mips]
> 
> On Fri, 9 Jan 2026, Simon Horman wrote:
> 
> > > This allows the code managing device instances to be simplified
> > > significantly. The VLB bus is very obsolete and last appeared on
> > > P5 Pentium-era hardware. Support for it has been removed from
> > > other drivers, and it is highly unlikely anyone is using it with
> > > modern Linux kernels.
> > > 
> > > Signed-off-by: Ethan Nelson-Moore <enelsonmoore@...il.com>
> > 
> > Hi Ethan,
> > 
> > I don't think this driver has received much attention for some time.
> > So, unless you have hardware to test changes on, I would suggest
> > either leaving it alone or, if we suspect there are no users,
> > removing it.
> 
>  You mean discarding the whole of drivers/net/ethernet/amd/pcnet32.c?  If 
> so, then it's a hard NAK from me.  It's the onboard/netboot interface of 
> the MIPS Malta platform and it continues being used regularly, primarily 
> with QEMU setups, although I have actual Malta hardware in my lab too, 
> usually running 24/7.  It's one of the primary MIPS plaforms, cf. 
> arch/mips/configs/malta_defconfig.

Thanks, that is valuable feedback.

I'm certainly not advocating removing drivers that have an active user-base.

> 
>  No attention means the driver just works, why wouldn't it?  It's no 
> rocket science.  FWIW I continue using several drivers that saw little to 
> no change recently across various platforms.

Interesting. Subjectively, I'd say that Networking drivers it can be a sign
that the devices aren't being used in the wild. But clearly that signal was
incorrect in this case.

>  As to VLB support, I guess nobody cares nowadays.  I used to have such a 
> system, but haven't seen one in some three decades now and never used this 
> driver with one.

That is also valuable feedback, thanks.