Re: [PATCH net-next 2/7] bng_en: query PHY capabilities and report link status

[Bhargava Chenna Marreddy]

On Wed, Feb 25, 2026 at 8:05 AM Jakub Kicinski <kuba@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 22:06:36 +0530 Bhargava Marreddy wrote:
> > +     /* To protect link related settings during link changes and
> > +      * ethtool settings changes.
> > +      */
> > +     struct mutex            link_lock;
> > +     struct bnge_link_info   link_info;
>
> Why does link deserve its own lock? Are the operations slow?
>
> bnxt was written before the netdev instance lock existed, if you're
> just trying to avoid taking rtnl_lock the instance lock would do.

Hi Jakub, thanks for the feedback.

Agreed. I will replace link_lock with the netdev instance lock in the
next spin.

These link operations are relatively slow as they involve firmware HWRM
mailbox round-trips (PHY query/config). Since the firmware latency is
the main factor in hold time, the instance lock is sufficient and
avoids extra complexity.

Thanks,
Bhargava Marreddy

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