[eepro100] Re: various eepro100 drivers

[Andrey Savochkin]

On Tue, Feb 20, 2001 at 04:07:32PM -0800, Jonathan Lundell wrote:
> >	I think the first answer you will get from the experts here, is:
> >Use the current version of the eepro driver from the server of Donald
> >Becker.
> >There is a version of this year !
> 
> I'd be grateful if someone would either direct me to a FAQ or explain briefly the relationships among the various eepro100 drivers floating around. I don't mean simple revisions, but at least the version in the LInux release, the Becker driver, and the Intel driver. XyzBSD optional.

As you've stated, there are 3 major branches:
 - Donald's one
 - mainstream kernel driver (maintained by me)
 - Intel's one
The second driver forked from the first one, Intel's driver is completely
independent.
In each driver authors fix problems they face.
Intel knows a lot about the hardware, but they do terrible things like
disabling interrupts for _seconds_.  It doesn't compile for 2.4 kernels.
It is reported to be less stable on SMP machines.  It is reported to have
less performance.
Donald knows and cares more than me about workarounds for different hardware
defects.
I care about clear interface to kernel (and remove all legacy stuff), I also
care about work under high load and, especially, memory pressure.
Also, drivers change with time, and checking changelogs (or reading patches)
is useful to understand the directions of development.

Best regards
		Andrey