Re:Re: [RFC PATCH 0/6] rust: net: introduce minimal rtnl/netdevice abstractions and nlmon reference driver

[wenzhaoliao]

Hi Andrew,
Thank you for the candid feedback. I completely understand and agree with your point. Introducing Rust just for the sake of rewriting existing, perfectly working C code is not the goal here.
To clarify, my primary motivation for submitting the nlmon driver was not to replace the C implementation, but rather to use it as a minimal, isolated testbed to validate the proposed Rust networking abstractions (the first part of the patch series). I wanted to ensure the abstractions were somewhat grounded in a real use case before attempting to write a driver for a completely new device.
Since I am very eager to contribute to the Rust for Linux network infrastructure in the long run, I would highly appreciate it if you (or anyone on the list) could spare a few minutes to briefly review the design of the abstractions and the idiomatic Rust usage in the patch, purely from a technical and architectural perspective. Knowing whether these abstractions are on the right track would be incredibly helpful for me before I apply them to a newly requested driver as you suggested.
If the netdev mailing list is not the appropriate venue for discussing experimental Rust abstractions or seeking design feedback on reference code, could you kindly point me to the right place? Would the Rust-for-Linux Zulip or the rust-for-linux mailing list be a better channel to discuss how to improve these abstractions?
Thank you again for your time and guidance.
Best regards,
Wenzhao Liao







发件人：Andrew Lunn <andrew@xxxxxxx>
发送日期：2026-04-03 04:00:28
收件人：Wenzhao Liao <wenzhaoliao@xxxxxxxxxx>
抄送人：rust-for-linux@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,netdev@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,ojeda@xxxxxxxxxx,boqun@xxxxxxxxxx,gary@xxxxxxxxxxx,bjorn3_gh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx,lossin@xxxxxxxxxx,a.hindborg@xxxxxxxxxx,aliceryhl@xxxxxxxxxx,tmgross@xxxxxxxxx,dakr@xxxxxxxxxx,andrew+netdev@xxxxxxx,davem@xxxxxxxxxxxxx,edumazet@xxxxxxxxxx,kuba@xxxxxxxxxx,pabeni@xxxxxxxxxx
主题：Re: [RFC PATCH 0/6] rust: net: introduce minimal rtnl/netdevice abstractions and nlmon reference driver>On Thu, Apr 02, 2026 at 12:36:34PM -0400, Wenzhao Liao wrote:
>> Hi,
>> 
>> This RFC proposes a minimal set of Rust networking abstractions for
>> link-type drivers, together with a Rust implementation of nlmon as a
>> reference driver.
>
>nlmon exists. Why would we want a second implementation in Rust?
>
>It seems like we keep getting Rust submissions for the sake of
>submitting Rust. We never seem to get Rust code adding something new,
>something which does not already exist.
>
>Please, if you want to submit Rust code, find a device which does not
>have a driver and write a driver for it, in Rust. Or find a protocol
>described in an RFC which we don't implement, and write a Rust
>implementation. Or find a new firewall rule which cannot be described
>using the current code, and implement it in Rust.
>
>Unless it is something new, i doubt it will get accepted.
>
>       Andrew
>