Teach an Old Network Driver New Tricks

Explore innovative techniques for modernizing legacy network drivers in this 20-minute conference talk presented by Oleksij Rempel and Marc Kleine-Budde from Pengutronix. Delve into the challenges of updating existing systems, assessing hardware capabilities, and determining necessary functionality through diagnostic processes. Examine a PHYASIX-based example to understand the changes implemented and the rationale behind switching approaches. Investigate the AR9331 switch case and discover how these methods can be applied to various Ethernet drivers. Gain valuable insights from the speakers' experiences and understand the motivations driving network driver modernization in the Linux ecosystem.

Intro
Never touch a running system!
HW capabilities and software support
What functionality do I need? Diagnostic!
Why PHY
ASIX based example
What is changed?
Why switch?
AR9331 switch case
Can be done to many Ethernet drivers
Lessons learned
Motivation