Netlink interface for ethtool¶

Basic information¶

Netlink interface for ethtool uses generic netlink family ethtool (userspace application should use macros ETHTOOL_GENL_NAME and ETHTOOL_GENL_VERSION defined in <linux/ethtool_netlink.h> uapi header). This family does not use a specific header, all information in requests and replies is passed using netlink attributes.

The ethtool netlink interface uses extended ACK for error and warning reporting, userspace application developers are encouraged to make these messages available to user in a suitable way.

Requests can be divided into three categories: “get” (retrieving information), “set” (setting parameters) and “action” (invoking an action).

All “set” and “action” type requests require admin privileges (CAP_NET_ADMIN in the namespace). Most “get” type requests are allowed for anyone but there are exceptions (where the response contains sensitive information). In some cases, the request as such is allowed for anyone but unprivileged users have attributes with sensitive information (e.g. wake-on-lan password) omitted.

Conventions¶

Attributes which represent a boolean value usually use NLA_U8 type so that we can distinguish three states: “on”, “off” and “not present” (meaning the information is not available in “get” requests or value is not to be changed in “set” requests). For these attributes, the “true” value should be passed as number 1 but any non-zero value should be understood as “true” by recipient. In the tables below, “bool” denotes NLA_U8 attributes interpreted in this way.

In the message structure descriptions below, if an attribute name is suffixed with “+”, parent nest can contain multiple attributes of the same type. This implements an array of entries.

Attributes that need to be filled-in by device drivers and that are dumped to user space based on whether they are valid or not should not use zero as a valid value. This avoids the need to explicitly signal the validity of the attribute in the device driver API.

Request header¶

Each request or reply message contains a nested attribute with common header. Structure of this header is

ETHTOOL_A_HEADER_DEV_INDEX

u32

device ifindex

ETHTOOL_A_HEADER_DEV_NAME

string

device name

ETHTOOL_A_HEADER_FLAGS

u32

flags common for all requests

ETHTOOL_A_HEADER_DEV_INDEX and ETHTOOL_A_HEADER_DEV_NAME identify the device message relates to. One of them is sufficient in requests, if both are used, they must identify the same device. Some requests, e.g. global string sets, do not require device identification. Most GET requests also allow dump requests without device identification to query the same information for all devices providing it (each device in a separate message).

ETHTOOL_A_HEADER_FLAGS is a bitmap of request flags common for all request types. The interpretation of these flags is the same for all request types but the flags may not apply to requests. Recognized flags are:

ETHTOOL_FLAG_COMPACT_BITSETS

use compact format bitsets in reply

ETHTOOL_FLAG_OMIT_REPLY

omit optional reply (_SET and _ACT)

ETHTOOL_FLAG_STATS

include optional device statistics

New request flags should follow the general idea that if the flag is not set, the behaviour is backward compatible, i.e. requests from old clients not aware of the flag should be interpreted the way the client expects. A client must not set flags it does not understand.

Bit sets¶

For short bitmaps of (reasonably) fixed length, standard NLA_BITFIELD32 type is used. For arbitrary length bitmaps, ethtool netlink uses a nested attribute with contents of one of two forms: compact (two binary bitmaps representing bit values and mask of affected bits) and bit-by-bit (list of bits identified by either index or name).

Verbose (bit-by-bit) bitsets allow sending symbolic names for bits together with their values which saves a round trip (when the bitset is passed in a request) or at least a second request (when the bitset is in a reply). This is useful for one shot applications like traditional ethtool command. On the other hand, long running applications like ethtool monitor (displaying notifications) or network management daemons may prefer fetching the names only once and using compact form to save message size. Notifications from ethtool netlink interface always use compact form for bitsets.

A bitset can represent either a value/mask pair (ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_NOMASK not set) or a single bitmap (ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_NOMASK set). In requests modifying a bitmap, the former changes the bit set in mask to values set in value and preserves the rest; the latter sets the bits set in the bitmap and clears the rest.

Compact form: nested (bitset) atrribute contents:

ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_NOMASK

flag

no mask, only a list

ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_SIZE

u32

number of significant bits

ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_VALUE

binary

bitmap of bit values

ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_MASK

binary

bitmap of valid bits

Value and mask must have length at least ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_SIZE bits rounded up to a multiple of 32 bits. They consist of 32-bit words in host byte order, words ordered from least significant to most significant (i.e. the same way as bitmaps are passed with ioctl interface).

For compact form, ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_SIZE and ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_VALUE are mandatory. ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_MASK attribute is mandatory if ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_NOMASK is not set (bitset represents a value/mask pair); if ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_NOMASK is not set, ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_MASK is not allowed (bitset represents a single bitmap.

Kernel bit set length may differ from userspace length if older application is used on newer kernel or vice versa. If userspace bitmap is longer, an error is issued only if the request actually tries to set values of some bits not recognized by kernel.

Bit-by-bit form: nested (bitset) attribute contents:

ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_NOMASK

flag

no mask, only a list

ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_SIZE

u32

number of significant bits

ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_BITS

nested

array of bits

ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_BITS_BIT+

nested

one bit

ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_BIT_INDEX

u32

bit index (0 for LSB)

ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_BIT_NAME

string

bit name

ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_BIT_VALUE

flag

present if bit is set

Bit size is optional for bit-by-bit form. ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_BITS nest can only contain ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_BITS_BIT attributes but there can be an arbitrary number of them. A bit may be identified by its index or by its name. When used in requests, listed bits are set to 0 or 1 according to ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_BIT_VALUE, the rest is preserved. A request fails if index exceeds kernel bit length or if name is not recognized.

When ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_NOMASK flag is present, bitset is interpreted as a simple bitmap. ETHTOOL_A_BITSET_BIT_VALUE attributes are not used in such case. Such bitset represents a bitmap with listed bits set and the rest zero.

In requests, application can use either form. Form used by kernel in reply is determined by ETHTOOL_FLAG_COMPACT_BITSETS flag in flags field of request header. Semantics of value and mask depends on the attribute.

List of message types¶

All constants identifying message types use ETHTOOL_CMD_ prefix and suffix according to message purpose:

_GET

userspace request to retrieve data

_SET

userspace request to set data

_ACT

userspace request to perform an action

_GET_REPLY

kernel reply to a GET request

_SET_REPLY

kernel reply to a SET request

_ACT_REPLY

kernel reply to an ACT request

_NTF

kernel notification

Userspace to kernel:

ETHTOOL_MSG_STRSET_GET

get string set

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKINFO_GET

get link settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKINFO_SET

set link settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKMODES_GET

get link modes info

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKMODES_SET

set link modes info

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKSTATE_GET

get link state

ETHTOOL_MSG_DEBUG_GET

get debugging settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_DEBUG_SET

set debugging settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_WOL_GET

get wake-on-lan settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_WOL_SET

set wake-on-lan settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_GET

get device features

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_SET

set device features

ETHTOOL_MSG_PRIVFLAGS_GET

get private flags

ETHTOOL_MSG_PRIVFLAGS_SET

set private flags

ETHTOOL_MSG_RINGS_GET

get ring sizes

ETHTOOL_MSG_RINGS_SET

set ring sizes

ETHTOOL_MSG_CHANNELS_GET

get channel counts

ETHTOOL_MSG_CHANNELS_SET

set channel counts

ETHTOOL_MSG_COALESCE_GET

get coalescing parameters

ETHTOOL_MSG_COALESCE_SET

set coalescing parameters

ETHTOOL_MSG_PAUSE_GET

get pause parameters

ETHTOOL_MSG_PAUSE_SET

set pause parameters

ETHTOOL_MSG_EEE_GET

get EEE settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_EEE_SET

set EEE settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_TSINFO_GET

get timestamping info

ETHTOOL_MSG_CABLE_TEST_ACT

action start cable test

ETHTOOL_MSG_CABLE_TEST_TDR_ACT

action start raw TDR cable test

ETHTOOL_MSG_TUNNEL_INFO_GET

get tunnel offload info

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEC_GET

get FEC settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEC_SET

set FEC settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_MODULE_EEPROM_GET

read SFP module EEPROM

ETHTOOL_MSG_STATS_GET

get standard statistics

ETHTOOL_MSG_PHC_VCLOCKS_GET

get PHC virtual clocks info

ETHTOOL_MSG_MODULE_SET

set transceiver module parameters

ETHTOOL_MSG_MODULE_GET

get transceiver module parameters

Kernel to userspace:

ETHTOOL_MSG_STRSET_GET_REPLY

string set contents

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKINFO_GET_REPLY

link settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKINFO_NTF

link settings notification

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKMODES_GET_REPLY

link modes info

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKMODES_NTF

link modes notification

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKSTATE_GET_REPLY

link state info

ETHTOOL_MSG_DEBUG_GET_REPLY

debugging settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_DEBUG_NTF

debugging settings notification

ETHTOOL_MSG_WOL_GET_REPLY

wake-on-lan settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_WOL_NTF

wake-on-lan settings notification

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_GET_REPLY

device features

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_SET_REPLY

optional reply to FEATURES_SET

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_NTF

netdev features notification

ETHTOOL_MSG_PRIVFLAGS_GET_REPLY

private flags

ETHTOOL_MSG_PRIVFLAGS_NTF

private flags

ETHTOOL_MSG_RINGS_GET_REPLY

ring sizes

ETHTOOL_MSG_RINGS_NTF

ring sizes

ETHTOOL_MSG_CHANNELS_GET_REPLY

channel counts

ETHTOOL_MSG_CHANNELS_NTF

channel counts

ETHTOOL_MSG_COALESCE_GET_REPLY

coalescing parameters

ETHTOOL_MSG_COALESCE_NTF

coalescing parameters

ETHTOOL_MSG_PAUSE_GET_REPLY

pause parameters

ETHTOOL_MSG_PAUSE_NTF

pause parameters

ETHTOOL_MSG_EEE_GET_REPLY

EEE settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_EEE_NTF

EEE settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_TSINFO_GET_REPLY

timestamping info

ETHTOOL_MSG_CABLE_TEST_NTF

Cable test results

ETHTOOL_MSG_CABLE_TEST_TDR_NTF

Cable test TDR results

ETHTOOL_MSG_TUNNEL_INFO_GET_REPLY

tunnel offload info

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEC_GET_REPLY

FEC settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEC_NTF

FEC settings

ETHTOOL_MSG_MODULE_EEPROM_GET_REPLY

read SFP module EEPROM

ETHTOOL_MSG_STATS_GET_REPLY

standard statistics

ETHTOOL_MSG_PHC_VCLOCKS_GET_REPLY

PHC virtual clocks info

ETHTOOL_MSG_MODULE_GET_REPLY

transceiver module parameters

GET requests are sent by userspace applications to retrieve device information. They usually do not contain any message specific attributes. Kernel replies with corresponding “GET_REPLY” message. For most types, GET request with NLM_F_DUMP and no device identification can be used to query the information for all devices supporting the request.

If the data can be also modified, corresponding SET message with the same layout as corresponding GET_REPLY is used to request changes. Only attributes where a change is requested are included in such request (also, not all attributes may be changed). Replies to most SET request consist only of error code and extack; if kernel provides additional data, it is sent in the form of corresponding SET_REPLY message which can be suppressed by setting ETHTOOL_FLAG_OMIT_REPLY flag in request header.

Data modification also triggers sending a NTF message with a notification. These usually bear only a subset of attributes which was affected by the change. The same notification is issued if the data is modified using other means (mostly ioctl ethtool interface). Unlike notifications from ethtool netlink code which are only sent if something actually changed, notifications triggered by ioctl interface may be sent even if the request did not actually change any data.

ACT messages request kernel (driver) to perform a specific action. If some information is reported by kernel (which can be suppressed by setting ETHTOOL_FLAG_OMIT_REPLY flag in request header), the reply takes form of an ACT_REPLY message. Performing an action also triggers a notification (NTF message).

Later sections describe the format and semantics of these messages.

STRSET_GET¶

Requests contents of a string set as provided by ioctl commands ETHTOOL_GSSET_INFO and ETHTOOL_GSTRINGS. String sets are not user writeable so that the corresponding STRSET_SET message is only used in kernel replies. There are two types of string sets: global (independent of a device, e.g. device feature names) and device specific (e.g. device private flags).

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_STRSET_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_STRSET_STRINGSETS

nested

string set to request

ETHTOOL_A_STRINGSETS_STRINGSET+

nested

one string set

ETHTOOL_A_STRINGSET_ID

u32

set id

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_STRSET_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_STRSET_STRINGSETS

nested

array of string sets

ETHTOOL_A_STRINGSETS_STRINGSET+

nested

one string set

ETHTOOL_A_STRINGSET_ID

u32

set id

ETHTOOL_A_STRINGSET_COUNT

u32

number of strings

ETHTOOL_A_STRINGSET_STRINGS

nested

array of strings

ETHTOOL_A_STRINGS_STRING+

nested

one string

ETHTOOL_A_STRING_INDEX

u32

string index

ETHTOOL_A_STRING_VALUE

string

string value

ETHTOOL_A_STRSET_COUNTS_ONLY

flag

return only counts

Device identification in request header is optional. Depending on its presence a and NLM_F_DUMP flag, there are three type of STRSET_GET requests:

no NLM_F_DUMP, no device: get “global” stringsets

no NLM_F_DUMP, with device: get string sets related to the device

NLM_F_DUMP, no device: get device related string sets for all devices

If there is no ETHTOOL_A_STRSET_STRINGSETS array, all string sets of requested type are returned, otherwise only those specified in the request. Flag ETHTOOL_A_STRSET_COUNTS_ONLY tells kernel to only return string counts of the sets, not the actual strings.

LINKINFO_GET¶

Requests link settings as provided by ETHTOOL_GLINKSETTINGS except for link modes and autonegotiation related information. The request does not use any attributes.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_LINKINFO_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_LINKINFO_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_LINKINFO_PORT

u8

physical port

ETHTOOL_A_LINKINFO_PHYADDR

u8

phy MDIO address

ETHTOOL_A_LINKINFO_TP_MDIX

u8

MDI(-X) status

ETHTOOL_A_LINKINFO_TP_MDIX_CTRL

u8

MDI(-X) control

ETHTOOL_A_LINKINFO_TRANSCEIVER

u8

transceiver

Attributes and their values have the same meaning as matching members of the corresponding ioctl structures.

LINKINFO_GET allows dump requests (kernel returns reply message for all devices supporting the request).

LINKINFO_SET¶

LINKINFO_SET request allows setting some of the attributes reported by LINKINFO_GET.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_LINKINFO_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_LINKINFO_PORT

u8

physical port

ETHTOOL_A_LINKINFO_PHYADDR

u8

phy MDIO address

ETHTOOL_A_LINKINFO_TP_MDIX_CTRL

u8

MDI(-X) control

MDI(-X) status and transceiver cannot be set, request with the corresponding attributes is rejected.

LINKMODES_GET¶

Requests link modes (supported, advertised and peer advertised) and related information (autonegotiation status, link speed and duplex) as provided by ETHTOOL_GLINKSETTINGS. The request does not use any attributes.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_AUTONEG

u8

autonegotiation status

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_OURS

bitset

advertised link modes

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_PEER

bitset

partner link modes

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_SPEED

u32

link speed (Mb/s)

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_DUPLEX

u8

duplex mode

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_MASTER_SLAVE_CFG

u8

Master/slave port mode

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_MASTER_SLAVE_STATE

u8

Master/slave port state

For ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_OURS, value represents advertised modes and mask represents supported modes. ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_PEER in the reply is a bit list.

LINKMODES_GET allows dump requests (kernel returns reply messages for all devices supporting the request).

LINKMODES_SET¶

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_AUTONEG

u8

autonegotiation status

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_OURS

bitset

advertised link modes

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_PEER

bitset

partner link modes

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_SPEED

u32

link speed (Mb/s)

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_DUPLEX

u8

duplex mode

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_MASTER_SLAVE_CFG

u8

Master/slave port mode

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_LANES

u32

lanes

ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_OURS bit set allows setting advertised link modes. If autonegotiation is on (either set now or kept from before), advertised modes are not changed (no ETHTOOL_A_LINKMODES_OURS attribute) and at least one of speed, duplex and lanes is specified, kernel adjusts advertised modes to all supported modes matching speed, duplex, lanes or all (whatever is specified). This autoselection is done on ethtool side with ioctl interface, netlink interface is supposed to allow requesting changes without knowing what exactly kernel supports.

LINKSTATE_GET¶

Requests link state information. Link up/down flag (as provided by ETHTOOL_GLINK ioctl command) is provided. Optionally, extended state might be provided as well. In general, extended state describes reasons for why a port is down, or why it operates in some non-obvious mode. This request does not have any attributes.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_LINKSTATE_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_LINKSTATE_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_LINKSTATE_LINK

bool

link state (up/down)

ETHTOOL_A_LINKSTATE_SQI

u32

Current Signal Quality Index

ETHTOOL_A_LINKSTATE_SQI_MAX

u32

Max support SQI value

ETHTOOL_A_LINKSTATE_EXT_STATE

u8

link extended state

ETHTOOL_A_LINKSTATE_EXT_SUBSTATE

u8

link extended substate

For most NIC drivers, the value of ETHTOOL_A_LINKSTATE_LINK returns carrier flag provided by netif_carrier_ok() but there are drivers which define their own handler.

ETHTOOL_A_LINKSTATE_EXT_STATE and ETHTOOL_A_LINKSTATE_EXT_SUBSTATE are optional values. ethtool core can provide either both ETHTOOL_A_LINKSTATE_EXT_STATE and ETHTOOL_A_LINKSTATE_EXT_SUBSTATE, or only ETHTOOL_A_LINKSTATE_EXT_STATE, or none of them.

LINKSTATE_GET allows dump requests (kernel returns reply messages for all devices supporting the request).

Link extended states:

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_STATE_AUTONEG

States relating to the autonegotiation or issues therein

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_STATE_LINK_TRAINING_FAILURE

Failure during link training

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_STATE_LINK_LOGICAL_MISMATCH

Logical mismatch in physical coding sublayer or forward error correction sublayer

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_STATE_BAD_SIGNAL_INTEGRITY

Signal integrity issues

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_STATE_NO_CABLE

No cable connected

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_STATE_CABLE_ISSUE

Failure is related to cable, e.g., unsupported cable

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_STATE_EEPROM_ISSUE

Failure is related to EEPROM, e.g., failure during reading or parsing the data

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_STATE_CALIBRATION_FAILURE

Failure during calibration algorithm

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_STATE_POWER_BUDGET_EXCEEDED

The hardware is not able to provide the power required from cable or module

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_STATE_OVERHEAT

The module is overheated

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_STATE_MODULE

Transceiver module issue

Link extended substates:

Autoneg substates:

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_AN_NO_PARTNER_DETECTED

Peer side is down

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_AN_ACK_NOT_RECEIVED

Ack not received from peer side

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_AN_NEXT_PAGE_EXCHANGE_FAILED

Next page exchange failed

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_AN_NO_PARTNER_DETECTED_FORCE_MODE

Peer side is down during force mode or there is no agreement of speed

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_AN_FEC_MISMATCH_DURING_OVERRIDE

Forward error correction modes in both sides are mismatched

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_AN_NO_HCD

No Highest Common Denominator

Link training substates:

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_LT_KR_FRAME_LOCK_NOT_ACQUIRED

Frames were not recognized, the lock failed

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_LT_KR_LINK_INHIBIT_TIMEOUT

The lock did not occur before timeout

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_LT_KR_LINK_PARTNER_DID_NOT_SET_RECEIVER_READY

Peer side did not send ready signal after training process

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_LT_REMOTE_FAULT

Remote side is not ready yet

Link logical mismatch substates:

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_LLM_PCS_DID_NOT_ACQUIRE_BLOCK_LOCK

Physical coding sublayer was not locked in first phase - block lock

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_LLM_PCS_DID_NOT_ACQUIRE_AM_LOCK

Physical coding sublayer was not locked in second phase - alignment markers lock

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_LLM_PCS_DID_NOT_GET_ALIGN_STATUS

Physical coding sublayer did not get align status

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_LLM_FC_FEC_IS_NOT_LOCKED

FC forward error correction is not locked

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_LLM_RS_FEC_IS_NOT_LOCKED

RS forward error correction is not locked

Bad signal integrity substates:

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_BSI_LARGE_NUMBER_OF_PHYSICAL_ERRORS

Large number of physical errors

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_BSI_UNSUPPORTED_RATE

The system attempted to operate the cable at a rate that is not formally supported, which led to signal integrity issues

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_BSI_SERDES_REFERENCE_CLOCK_LOST

The external clock signal for SerDes is too weak or unavailable.

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_BSI_SERDES_ALOS

The received signal for SerDes is too weak because analog loss of signal.

Cable issue substates:

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_CI_UNSUPPORTED_CABLE

Unsupported cable

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_CI_CABLE_TEST_FAILURE

Cable test failure

Transceiver module issue substates:

ETHTOOL_LINK_EXT_SUBSTATE_MODULE_CMIS_NOT_READY

The CMIS Module State Machine did not reach the ModuleReady state. For example, if the module is stuck at ModuleFault state

DEBUG_GET¶

Requests debugging settings of a device. At the moment, only message mask is provided.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_DEBUG_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_DEBUG_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_DEBUG_MSGMASK

bitset

message mask

The message mask (ETHTOOL_A_DEBUG_MSGMASK) is equal to message level as provided by ETHTOOL_GMSGLVL and set by ETHTOOL_SMSGLVL in ioctl interface. While it is called message level there for historical reasons, most drivers and almost all newer drivers use it as a mask of enabled message classes (represented by NETIF_MSG_* constants); therefore netlink interface follows its actual use in practice.

DEBUG_GET allows dump requests (kernel returns reply messages for all devices supporting the request).

DEBUG_SET¶

Set or update debugging settings of a device. At the moment, only message mask is supported.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_DEBUG_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_DEBUG_MSGMASK

bitset

message mask

ETHTOOL_A_DEBUG_MSGMASK bit set allows setting or modifying mask of enabled debugging message types for the device.

WOL_GET¶

Query device wake-on-lan settings. Unlike most “GET” type requests, ETHTOOL_MSG_WOL_GET requires (netns) CAP_NET_ADMIN privileges as it (potentially) provides SecureOn(tm) password which is confidential.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_WOL_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_WOL_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_WOL_MODES

bitset

mask of enabled WoL modes

ETHTOOL_A_WOL_SOPASS

binary

SecureOn(tm) password

In reply, ETHTOOL_A_WOL_MODES mask consists of modes supported by the device, value of modes which are enabled. ETHTOOL_A_WOL_SOPASS is only included in reply if WAKE_MAGICSECURE mode is supported.

WOL_SET¶

Set or update wake-on-lan settings.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_WOL_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_WOL_MODES

bitset

enabled WoL modes

ETHTOOL_A_WOL_SOPASS

binary

SecureOn(tm) password

ETHTOOL_A_WOL_SOPASS is only allowed for devices supporting WAKE_MAGICSECURE mode.

FEATURES_GET¶

Gets netdev features like ETHTOOL_GFEATURES ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_FEATURES_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_FEATURES_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_FEATURES_HW

bitset

dev->hw_features

ETHTOOL_A_FEATURES_WANTED

bitset

dev->wanted_features

ETHTOOL_A_FEATURES_ACTIVE

bitset

dev->features

ETHTOOL_A_FEATURES_NOCHANGE

bitset

NETIF_F_NEVER_CHANGE

Bitmaps in kernel response have the same meaning as bitmaps used in ioctl interference but attribute names are different (they are based on corresponding members of struct net_device). Legacy “flags” are not provided, if userspace needs them (most likely only ethtool for backward compatibility), it can calculate their values from related feature bits itself. ETHA_FEATURES_HW uses mask consisting of all features recognized by kernel (to provide all names when using verbose bitmap format), the other three use no mask (simple bit lists).

FEATURES_SET¶

Request to set netdev features like ETHTOOL_SFEATURES ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_FEATURES_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_FEATURES_WANTED

bitset

requested features

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_FEATURES_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_FEATURES_WANTED

bitset

diff wanted vs. result

ETHTOOL_A_FEATURES_ACTIVE

bitset

diff old vs. new active

Request constains only one bitset which can be either value/mask pair (request to change specific feature bits and leave the rest) or only a value (request to set all features to specified set).

As request is subject to netdev_change_features() sanity checks, optional kernel reply (can be suppressed by ETHTOOL_FLAG_OMIT_REPLY flag in request header) informs client about the actual result. ETHTOOL_A_FEATURES_WANTED reports the difference between client request and actual result: mask consists of bits which differ between requested features and result (dev->features after the operation), value consists of values of these bits in the request (i.e. negated values from resulting features). ETHTOOL_A_FEATURES_ACTIVE reports the difference between old and new dev->features: mask consists of bits which have changed, values are their values in new dev->features (after the operation).

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_NTF notification is sent not only if device features are modified using ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_SET request or on of ethtool ioctl request but also each time features are modified with netdev_update_features() or netdev_change_features().

PRIVFLAGS_GET¶

Gets private flags like ETHTOOL_GPFLAGS ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_PRIVFLAGS_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_PRIVFLAGS_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_PRIVFLAGS_FLAGS

bitset

private flags

ETHTOOL_A_PRIVFLAGS_FLAGS is a bitset with values of device private flags. These flags are defined by driver, their number and names (and also meaning) are device dependent. For compact bitset format, names can be retrieved as ETH_SS_PRIV_FLAGS string set. If verbose bitset format is requested, response uses all private flags supported by the device as mask so that client gets the full information without having to fetch the string set with names.

PRIVFLAGS_SET¶

Sets or modifies values of device private flags like ETHTOOL_SPFLAGS ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_PRIVFLAGS_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_PRIVFLAGS_FLAGS

bitset

private flags

ETHTOOL_A_PRIVFLAGS_FLAGS can either set the whole set of private flags or modify only values of some of them.

RINGS_GET¶

Gets ring sizes like ETHTOOL_GRINGPARAM ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_RX_MAX

u32

max size of RX ring

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_RX_MINI_MAX

u32

max size of RX mini ring

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_RX_JUMBO_MAX

u32

max size of RX jumbo ring

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_TX_MAX

u32

max size of TX ring

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_RX

u32

size of RX ring

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_RX_MINI

u32

size of RX mini ring

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_RX_JUMBO

u32

size of RX jumbo ring

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_TX

u32

size of TX ring

RINGS_SET¶

Sets ring sizes like ETHTOOL_SRINGPARAM ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_RX

u32

size of RX ring

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_RX_MINI

u32

size of RX mini ring

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_RX_JUMBO

u32

size of RX jumbo ring

ETHTOOL_A_RINGS_TX

u32

size of TX ring

Kernel checks that requested ring sizes do not exceed limits reported by driver. Driver may impose additional constraints and may not suspport all attributes.

CHANNELS_GET¶

Gets channel counts like ETHTOOL_GCHANNELS ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_RX_MAX

u32

max receive channels

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_TX_MAX

u32

max transmit channels

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_OTHER_MAX

u32

max other channels

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_COMBINED_MAX

u32

max combined channels

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_RX_COUNT

u32

receive channel count

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_TX_COUNT

u32

transmit channel count

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_OTHER_COUNT

u32

other channel count

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_COMBINED_COUNT

u32

combined channel count

CHANNELS_SET¶

Sets channel counts like ETHTOOL_SCHANNELS ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_RX_COUNT

u32

receive channel count

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_TX_COUNT

u32

transmit channel count

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_OTHER_COUNT

u32

other channel count

ETHTOOL_A_CHANNELS_COMBINED_COUNT

u32

combined channel count

Kernel checks that requested channel counts do not exceed limits reported by driver. Driver may impose additional constraints and may not suspport all attributes.

COALESCE_GET¶

Gets coalescing parameters like ETHTOOL_GCOALESCE ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_USECS

u32

delay (us), normal Rx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_MAX_FRAMES

u32

max packets, normal Rx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_USECS_IRQ

u32

delay (us), Rx in IRQ

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_MAX_FRAMES_IRQ

u32

max packets, Rx in IRQ

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_USECS

u32

delay (us), normal Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_MAX_FRAMES

u32

max packets, normal Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_USECS_IRQ

u32

delay (us), Tx in IRQ

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_MAX_FRAMES_IRQ

u32

IRQ packets, Tx in IRQ

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_STATS_BLOCK_USECS

u32

delay of stats update

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_USE_ADAPTIVE_RX

bool

adaptive Rx coalesce

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_USE_ADAPTIVE_TX

bool

adaptive Tx coalesce

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_PKT_RATE_LOW

u32

threshold for low rate

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_USECS_LOW

u32

delay (us), low Rx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_MAX_FRAMES_LOW

u32

max packets, low Rx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_USECS_LOW

u32

delay (us), low Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_MAX_FRAMES_LOW

u32

max packets, low Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_PKT_RATE_HIGH

u32

threshold for high rate

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_USECS_HIGH

u32

delay (us), high Rx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_MAX_FRAMES_HIGH

u32

max packets, high Rx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_USECS_HIGH

u32

delay (us), high Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_MAX_FRAMES_HIGH

u32

max packets, high Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RATE_SAMPLE_INTERVAL

u32

rate sampling interval

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_USE_CQE_TX

bool

timer reset mode, Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_USE_CQE_RX

bool

timer reset mode, Rx

Attributes are only included in reply if their value is not zero or the corresponding bit in ethtool_ops::supported_coalesce_params is set (i.e. they are declared as supported by driver).

Timer reset mode (ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_USE_CQE_TX and ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_USE_CQE_RX) controls the interaction between packet arrival and the various time based delay parameters. By default timers are expected to limit the max delay between any packet arrival/departure and a corresponding interrupt. In this mode timer should be started by packet arrival (sometimes delivery of previous interrupt) and reset when interrupt is delivered. Setting the appropriate attribute to 1 will enable CQE mode, where each packet event resets the timer. In this mode timer is used to force the interrupt if queue goes idle, while busy queues depend on the packet limit to trigger interrupts.

COALESCE_SET¶

Sets coalescing parameters like ETHTOOL_SCOALESCE ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_USECS

u32

delay (us), normal Rx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_MAX_FRAMES

u32

max packets, normal Rx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_USECS_IRQ

u32

delay (us), Rx in IRQ

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_MAX_FRAMES_IRQ

u32

max packets, Rx in IRQ

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_USECS

u32

delay (us), normal Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_MAX_FRAMES

u32

max packets, normal Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_USECS_IRQ

u32

delay (us), Tx in IRQ

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_MAX_FRAMES_IRQ

u32

IRQ packets, Tx in IRQ

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_STATS_BLOCK_USECS

u32

delay of stats update

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_USE_ADAPTIVE_RX

bool

adaptive Rx coalesce

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_USE_ADAPTIVE_TX

bool

adaptive Tx coalesce

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_PKT_RATE_LOW

u32

threshold for low rate

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_USECS_LOW

u32

delay (us), low Rx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_MAX_FRAMES_LOW

u32

max packets, low Rx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_USECS_LOW

u32

delay (us), low Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_MAX_FRAMES_LOW

u32

max packets, low Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_PKT_RATE_HIGH

u32

threshold for high rate

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_USECS_HIGH

u32

delay (us), high Rx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RX_MAX_FRAMES_HIGH

u32

max packets, high Rx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_USECS_HIGH

u32

delay (us), high Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_TX_MAX_FRAMES_HIGH

u32

max packets, high Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_RATE_SAMPLE_INTERVAL

u32

rate sampling interval

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_USE_CQE_TX

bool

timer reset mode, Tx

ETHTOOL_A_COALESCE_USE_CQE_RX

bool

timer reset mode, Rx

Request is rejected if it attributes declared as unsupported by driver (i.e. such that the corresponding bit in ethtool_ops::supported_coalesce_params is not set), regardless of their values. Driver may impose additional constraints on coalescing parameters and their values.

PAUSE_GET¶

Gets pause frame settings like ETHTOOL_GPAUSEPARAM ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_PAUSE_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_PAUSE_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_PAUSE_AUTONEG

bool

pause autonegotiation

ETHTOOL_A_PAUSE_RX

bool

receive pause frames

ETHTOOL_A_PAUSE_TX

bool

transmit pause frames

ETHTOOL_A_PAUSE_STATS

nested

pause statistics

ETHTOOL_A_PAUSE_STATS are reported if ETHTOOL_FLAG_STATS was set in ETHTOOL_A_HEADER_FLAGS. It will be empty if driver did not report any statistics. Drivers fill in the statistics in the following structure:

struct ethtool_pause_stats¶: statistics for IEEE 802.3x pause frames

Definition

struct ethtool_pause_stats {
  u64 tx_pause_frames;
  u64 rx_pause_frames;
};

Members

tx_pause_frames

transmitted pause frame count. Reported to user space as ETHTOOL_A_PAUSE_STAT_TX_FRAMES.

Equivalent to 30.3.4.2 aPAUSEMACCtrlFramesTransmitted from the standard.

rx_pause_frames

received pause frame count. Reported to user space as ETHTOOL_A_PAUSE_STAT_RX_FRAMES. Equivalent to:

Equivalent to 30.3.4.3 aPAUSEMACCtrlFramesReceived from the standard.

Each member has a corresponding attribute defined.

PAUSE_SET¶

Sets pause parameters like ETHTOOL_GPAUSEPARAM ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_PAUSE_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_PAUSE_AUTONEG

bool

pause autonegotiation

ETHTOOL_A_PAUSE_RX

bool

receive pause frames

ETHTOOL_A_PAUSE_TX

bool

transmit pause frames

EEE_GET¶

Gets Energy Efficient Ethernet settings like ETHTOOL_GEEE ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_MODES_OURS

bool

supported/advertised modes

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_MODES_PEER

bool

peer advertised link modes

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_ACTIVE

bool

EEE is actively used

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_ENABLED

bool

EEE is enabled

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_TX_LPI_ENABLED

bool

Tx lpi enabled

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_TX_LPI_TIMER

u32

Tx lpi timeout (in us)

In ETHTOOL_A_EEE_MODES_OURS, mask consists of link modes for which EEE is enabled, value of link modes for which EEE is advertised. Link modes for which peer advertises EEE are listed in ETHTOOL_A_EEE_MODES_PEER (no mask). The netlink interface allows reporting EEE status for all link modes but only first 32 are provided by the ethtool_ops callback.

EEE_SET¶

Sets Energy Efficient Ethernet parameters like ETHTOOL_SEEE ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_MODES_OURS

bool

advertised modes

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_ENABLED

bool

EEE is enabled

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_TX_LPI_ENABLED

bool

Tx lpi enabled

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_TX_LPI_TIMER

u32

Tx lpi timeout (in us)

ETHTOOL_A_EEE_MODES_OURS is used to either list link modes to advertise EEE for (if there is no mask) or specify changes to the list (if there is a mask). The netlink interface allows reporting EEE status for all link modes but only first 32 can be set at the moment as that is what the ethtool_ops callback supports.

TSINFO_GET¶

Gets timestamping information like ETHTOOL_GET_TS_INFO ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_TSINFO_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_TSINFO_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_TSINFO_TIMESTAMPING

bitset

SO_TIMESTAMPING flags

ETHTOOL_A_TSINFO_TX_TYPES

bitset

supported Tx types

ETHTOOL_A_TSINFO_RX_FILTERS

bitset

supported Rx filters

ETHTOOL_A_TSINFO_PHC_INDEX

u32

PTP hw clock index

ETHTOOL_A_TSINFO_PHC_INDEX is absent if there is no associated PHC (there is no special value for this case). The bitset attributes are omitted if they would be empty (no bit set).

CABLE_TEST¶

Start a cable test.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_HEADER

nested

request header

Notification contents:

An Ethernet cable typically contains 1, 2 or 4 pairs. The length of the pair can only be measured when there is a fault in the pair and hence a reflection. Information about the fault may not be available, depending on the specific hardware. Hence the contents of the notify message are mostly optional. The attributes can be repeated an arbitrary number of times, in an arbitrary order, for an arbitrary number of pairs.

The example shows the notification sent when the test is completed for a T2 cable, i.e. two pairs. One pair is OK and hence has no length information. The second pair has a fault and does have length information.

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_STATUS

u8

completed

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_NTF_NEST

nested

all the results

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_NEST_RESULT

nested

cable test result

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_RESULTS_PAIR

u8

pair number

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_RESULTS_CODE

u8

result code

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_NEST_RESULT

nested

cable test results

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_RESULTS_PAIR

u8

pair number

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_RESULTS_CODE

u8

result code

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_NEST_FAULT_LENGTH

nested

cable length

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_FAULT_LENGTH_PAIR

u8

pair number

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_FAULT_LENGTH_CM

u32

length in cm

CABLE_TEST TDR¶

Start a cable test and report raw TDR data

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_TDR_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_TDR_CFG

nested

test configuration

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_STEP_FIRST_DISTANCE

u32

first data distance

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_STEP_LAST_DISTANCE

u32

last data distance

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_STEP_STEP_DISTANCE

u32

distance of each step

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_TDR_CFG_PAIR

u8

pair to test

The ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_TDR_CFG is optional, as well as all members of the nest. All distances are expressed in centimeters. The PHY takes the distances as a guide, and rounds to the nearest distance it actually supports. If a pair is passed, only that one pair will be tested. Otherwise all pairs are tested.

Notification contents:

Raw TDR data is gathered by sending a pulse down the cable and recording the amplitude of the reflected pulse for a given distance.

It can take a number of seconds to collect TDR data, especial if the full 100 meters is probed at 1 meter intervals. When the test is started a notification will be sent containing just ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_TDR_STATUS with the value ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_NTF_STATUS_STARTED.

When the test has completed a second notification will be sent containing ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_TDR_STATUS with the value ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_NTF_STATUS_COMPLETED and the TDR data.

The message may optionally contain the amplitude of the pulse send down the cable. This is measured in mV. A reflection should not be bigger than transmitted pulse.

Before the raw TDR data should be an ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TDR_NEST_STEP nest containing information about the distance along the cable for the first reading, the last reading, and the step between each reading. Distances are measured in centimeters. These should be the exact values the PHY used. These may be different to what the user requested, if the native measurement resolution is greater than 1 cm.

For each step along the cable, a ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TDR_NEST_AMPLITUDE is used to report the amplitude of the reflection for a given pair.

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_TDR_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_TDR_STATUS

u8

completed

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TEST_TDR_NTF_NEST

nested

all the results

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TDR_NEST_PULSE

nested

TX Pulse amplitude

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_PULSE_mV

s16

Pulse amplitude

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_NEST_STEP

nested

TDR step info

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_STEP_FIRST_DISTANCE

u32

First data distance

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_STEP_LAST_DISTANCE

u32

Last data distance

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_STEP_STEP_DISTANCE

u32

distance of each step

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TDR_NEST_AMPLITUDE

nested

Reflection amplitude

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_RESULTS_PAIR

u8

pair number

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_AMPLITUDE_mV

s16

Reflection amplitude

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TDR_NEST_AMPLITUDE

nested

Reflection amplitude

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_RESULTS_PAIR

u8

pair number

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_AMPLITUDE_mV

s16

Reflection amplitude

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_TDR_NEST_AMPLITUDE

nested

Reflection amplitude

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_RESULTS_PAIR

u8

pair number

ETHTOOL_A_CABLE_AMPLITUDE_mV

s16

Reflection amplitude

TUNNEL_INFO¶

Gets information about the tunnel state NIC is aware of.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_TUNNEL_INFO_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_TUNNEL_INFO_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_TUNNEL_INFO_UDP_PORTS

nested

all UDP port tables

ETHTOOL_A_TUNNEL_UDP_TABLE

nested

one UDP port table

ETHTOOL_A_TUNNEL_UDP_TABLE_SIZE

u32

max size of the table

ETHTOOL_A_TUNNEL_UDP_TABLE_TYPES

bitset

tunnel types which table can hold

ETHTOOL_A_TUNNEL_UDP_TABLE_ENTRY

nested

offloaded UDP port

ETHTOOL_A_TUNNEL_UDP_ENTRY_PORT

be16

UDP port

ETHTOOL_A_TUNNEL_UDP_ENTRY_TYPE

u32

tunnel type

For UDP tunnel table empty ETHTOOL_A_TUNNEL_UDP_TABLE_TYPES indicates that the table contains static entries, hard-coded by the NIC.

FEC_GET¶

Gets FEC configuration and state like ETHTOOL_GFECPARAM ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_MODES

bitset

configured modes

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_AUTO

bool

FEC mode auto selection

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_ACTIVE

u32

index of active FEC mode

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_STATS

nested

FEC statistics

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_ACTIVE is the bit index of the FEC link mode currently active on the interface. This attribute may not be present if device does not support FEC.

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_MODES and ETHTOOL_A_FEC_AUTO are only meaningful when autonegotiation is disabled. If ETHTOOL_A_FEC_AUTO is non-zero driver will select the FEC mode automatically based on the parameters of the SFP module. This is equivalent to the ETHTOOL_FEC_AUTO bit of the ioctl interface. ETHTOOL_A_FEC_MODES carry the current FEC configuration using link mode bits (rather than old ETHTOOL_FEC_* bits).

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_STATS are reported if ETHTOOL_FLAG_STATS was set in ETHTOOL_A_HEADER_FLAGS. Each attribute carries an array of 64bit statistics. First entry in the array contains the total number of events on the port, while the following entries are counters corresponding to lanes/PCS instances. The number of entries in the array will be:

0	device does not support FEC statistics
1	device does not support per-lane break down
1 + #lanes	device has full support for FEC stats

Drivers fill in the statistics in the following structure:

struct ethtool_fec_stats¶: statistics for IEEE 802.3 FEC

Definition

struct ethtool_fec_stats {
  struct ethtool_fec_stat {
    u64 total;
    u64 lanes[ETHTOOL_MAX_LANES];
  } corrected_blocks, uncorrectable_blocks, corrected_bits;
};

Members

corrected_blocks

number of received blocks corrected by FEC Reported to user space as ETHTOOL_A_FEC_STAT_CORRECTED.

Equivalent to 30.5.1.1.17 aFECCorrectedBlocks from the standard.

uncorrectable_blocks

number of received blocks FEC was not able to correct Reported to user space as ETHTOOL_A_FEC_STAT_UNCORR.

Equivalent to 30.5.1.1.18 aFECUncorrectableBlocks from the standard.

corrected_bits

number of bits corrected by FEC Similar to corrected_blocks but counts individual bit changes, not entire FEC data blocks. This is a non-standard statistic. Reported to user space as ETHTOOL_A_FEC_STAT_CORR_BITS.

Description

Drivers should fill in either only total or per-lane statistics, core will take care of adding lane values up to produce the total.

FEC_SET¶

Sets FEC parameters like ETHTOOL_SFECPARAM ioctl request.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_MODES

bitset

configured modes

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_AUTO

bool

FEC mode auto selection

FEC_SET is only meaningful when autonegotiation is disabled. Otherwise FEC mode is selected as part of autonegotiation.

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_MODES selects which FEC mode should be used. It’s recommended to set only one bit, if multiple bits are set driver may choose between them in an implementation specific way.

ETHTOOL_A_FEC_AUTO requests the driver to choose FEC mode based on SFP module parameters. This does not mean autonegotiation.

MODULE_EEPROM_GET¶

Fetch module EEPROM data dump. This interface is designed to allow dumps of at most 1/2 page at once. This means only dumps of 128 (or less) bytes are allowed, without crossing half page boundary located at offset 128. For pages other than 0 only high 128 bytes are accessible.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_EEPROM_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_EEPROM_OFFSET

u32

offset within a page

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_EEPROM_LENGTH

u32

amount of bytes to read

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_EEPROM_PAGE

u8

page number

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_EEPROM_BANK

u8

bank number

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_EEPROM_I2C_ADDRESS

u8

page I2C address

If ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_EEPROM_BANK is not specified, bank 0 is assumed.

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_EEPROM_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_EEPROM_DATA

binary

array of bytes from module EEPROM

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_EEPROM_DATA has an attribute length equal to the amount of bytes driver actually read.

STATS_GET¶

Get standard statistics for the interface. Note that this is not a re-implementation of ETHTOOL_GSTATS which exposed driver-defined stats.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_STATS_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GROUPS

bitset

requested groups of stats

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_STATS_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP

nested

one or more group of stats

ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP_ID

u32

group ID - ETHTOOL_STATS_*

ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP_SS_ID

u32

string set ID for names

ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP_STAT

nested

nest containing a statistic

ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP_HIST_RX

nested

histogram statistic (Rx)

ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP_HIST_TX

nested

histogram statistic (Tx)

Users specify which groups of statistics they are requesting via the ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GROUPS bitset. Currently defined values are:

ETHTOOL_STATS_ETH_MAC

eth-mac

Basic IEEE 802.3 MAC statistics (30.3.1.1.*)

ETHTOOL_STATS_ETH_PHY

eth-phy

Basic IEEE 802.3 PHY statistics (30.3.2.1.*)

ETHTOOL_STATS_ETH_CTRL

eth-ctrl

Basic IEEE 802.3 MAC Ctrl statistics (30.3.3.*)

ETHTOOL_STATS_RMON

rmon

RMON (RFC 2819) statistics

Each group should have a corresponding ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP in the reply. ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP_ID identifies which group’s statistics nest contains. ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP_SS_ID identifies the string set ID for the names of the statistics in the group, if available.

Statistics are added to the ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP nest under ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP_STAT. ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP_STAT should contain single 8 byte (u64) attribute inside - the type of that attribute is the statistic ID and the value is the value of the statistic. Each group has its own interpretation of statistic IDs. Attribute IDs correspond to strings from the string set identified by ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP_SS_ID. Complex statistics (such as RMON histogram entries) are also listed inside ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP and do not have a string defined in the string set.

RMON “histogram” counters count number of packets within given size range. Because RFC does not specify the ranges beyond the standard 1518 MTU devices differ in definition of buckets. For this reason the definition of packet ranges is left to each driver.

ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP_HIST_RX and ETHTOOL_A_STATS_GRP_HIST_TX nests contain the following attributes:

ETHTOOL_A_STATS_RMON_HIST_BKT_LOW

u32

low bound of the packet size bucket

ETHTOOL_A_STATS_RMON_HIST_BKT_HI

u32

high bound of the bucket

ETHTOOL_A_STATS_RMON_HIST_VAL

u64

packet counter

Low and high bounds are inclusive, for example:

RFC statistic

low

high

etherStatsPkts64Octets

0

64

etherStatsPkts512to1023Octets

512

1023

PHC_VCLOCKS_GET¶

Query device PHC virtual clocks information.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_PHC_VCLOCKS_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_PHC_VCLOCKS_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_PHC_VCLOCKS_NUM

u32

PHC virtual clocks number

ETHTOOL_A_PHC_VCLOCKS_INDEX

s32

PHC index array

MODULE_GET¶

Gets transceiver module parameters.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_HEADER

nested

request header

Kernel response contents:

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_HEADER

nested

reply header

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_POWER_MODE_POLICY

u8

power mode policy

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_POWER_MODE

u8

operational power mode

The optional ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_POWER_MODE_POLICY attribute encodes the transceiver module power mode policy enforced by the host. The default policy is driver-dependent, but “auto” is the recommended default and it should be implemented by new drivers and drivers where conformance to a legacy behavior is not critical.

The optional ETHTHOOL_A_MODULE_POWER_MODE attribute encodes the operational power mode policy of the transceiver module. It is only reported when a module is plugged-in. Possible values are:

enum ethtool_module_power_mode¶: plug-in module power mode

Constants

ETHTOOL_MODULE_POWER_MODE_LOW: Module is in low power mode.
ETHTOOL_MODULE_POWER_MODE_HIGH: Module is in high power mode.

MODULE_SET¶

Sets transceiver module parameters.

Request contents:

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_HEADER

nested

request header

ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_POWER_MODE_POLICY

u8

power mode policy

When set, the optional ETHTOOL_A_MODULE_POWER_MODE_POLICY attribute is used to set the transceiver module power policy enforced by the host. Possible values are:

enum ethtool_module_power_mode_policy¶: plug-in module power mode policy

Constants

ETHTOOL_MODULE_POWER_MODE_POLICY_HIGH: Module is always in high power mode.
ETHTOOL_MODULE_POWER_MODE_POLICY_AUTO: Module is transitioned by the host to high power mode when the first port using it is put administratively up and to low power mode when the last port using it is put administratively down.

For SFF-8636 modules, low power mode is forced by the host according to table 6-10 in revision 2.10a of the specification.

For CMIS modules, low power mode is forced by the host according to table 6-12 in revision 5.0 of the specification.

Request translation¶

The following table maps ioctl commands to netlink commands providing their functionality. Entries with “n/a” in right column are commands which do not have their netlink replacement yet. Entries which “n/a” in the left column are netlink only.

ioctl command

netlink command

ETHTOOL_GSET

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKINFO_GET ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKMODES_GET

ETHTOOL_SSET

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKINFO_SET ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKMODES_SET

ETHTOOL_GDRVINFO

n/a

ETHTOOL_GREGS

n/a

ETHTOOL_GWOL

ETHTOOL_MSG_WOL_GET

ETHTOOL_SWOL

ETHTOOL_MSG_WOL_SET

ETHTOOL_GMSGLVL

ETHTOOL_MSG_DEBUG_GET

ETHTOOL_SMSGLVL

ETHTOOL_MSG_DEBUG_SET

ETHTOOL_NWAY_RST

n/a

ETHTOOL_GLINK

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKSTATE_GET

ETHTOOL_GEEPROM

n/a

ETHTOOL_SEEPROM

n/a

ETHTOOL_GCOALESCE

ETHTOOL_MSG_COALESCE_GET

ETHTOOL_SCOALESCE

ETHTOOL_MSG_COALESCE_SET

ETHTOOL_GRINGPARAM

ETHTOOL_MSG_RINGS_GET

ETHTOOL_SRINGPARAM

ETHTOOL_MSG_RINGS_SET

ETHTOOL_GPAUSEPARAM

ETHTOOL_MSG_PAUSE_GET

ETHTOOL_SPAUSEPARAM

ETHTOOL_MSG_PAUSE_SET

ETHTOOL_GRXCSUM

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_GET

ETHTOOL_SRXCSUM

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_SET

ETHTOOL_GTXCSUM

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_GET

ETHTOOL_STXCSUM

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_SET

ETHTOOL_GSG

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_GET

ETHTOOL_SSG

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_SET

ETHTOOL_TEST

n/a

ETHTOOL_GSTRINGS

ETHTOOL_MSG_STRSET_GET

ETHTOOL_PHYS_ID

n/a

ETHTOOL_GSTATS

n/a

ETHTOOL_GTSO

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_GET

ETHTOOL_STSO

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_SET

ETHTOOL_GPERMADDR

rtnetlink RTM_GETLINK

ETHTOOL_GUFO

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_GET

ETHTOOL_SUFO

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_SET

ETHTOOL_GGSO

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_GET

ETHTOOL_SGSO

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_SET

ETHTOOL_GFLAGS

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_GET

ETHTOOL_SFLAGS

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_SET

ETHTOOL_GPFLAGS

ETHTOOL_MSG_PRIVFLAGS_GET

ETHTOOL_SPFLAGS

ETHTOOL_MSG_PRIVFLAGS_SET

ETHTOOL_GRXFH

n/a

ETHTOOL_SRXFH

n/a

ETHTOOL_GGRO

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_GET

ETHTOOL_SGRO

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_SET

ETHTOOL_GRXRINGS

n/a

ETHTOOL_GRXCLSRLCNT

n/a

ETHTOOL_GRXCLSRULE

n/a

ETHTOOL_GRXCLSRLALL

n/a

ETHTOOL_SRXCLSRLDEL

n/a

ETHTOOL_SRXCLSRLINS

n/a

ETHTOOL_FLASHDEV

n/a

ETHTOOL_RESET

n/a

ETHTOOL_SRXNTUPLE

n/a

ETHTOOL_GRXNTUPLE

n/a

ETHTOOL_GSSET_INFO

ETHTOOL_MSG_STRSET_GET

ETHTOOL_GRXFHINDIR

n/a

ETHTOOL_SRXFHINDIR

n/a

ETHTOOL_GFEATURES

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_GET

ETHTOOL_SFEATURES

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEATURES_SET

ETHTOOL_GCHANNELS

ETHTOOL_MSG_CHANNELS_GET

ETHTOOL_SCHANNELS

ETHTOOL_MSG_CHANNELS_SET

ETHTOOL_SET_DUMP

n/a

ETHTOOL_GET_DUMP_FLAG

n/a

ETHTOOL_GET_DUMP_DATA

n/a

ETHTOOL_GET_TS_INFO

ETHTOOL_MSG_TSINFO_GET

ETHTOOL_GMODULEINFO

ETHTOOL_MSG_MODULE_EEPROM_GET

ETHTOOL_GMODULEEEPROM

ETHTOOL_MSG_MODULE_EEPROM_GET

ETHTOOL_GEEE

ETHTOOL_MSG_EEE_GET

ETHTOOL_SEEE

ETHTOOL_MSG_EEE_SET

ETHTOOL_GRSSH

n/a

ETHTOOL_SRSSH

n/a

ETHTOOL_GTUNABLE

n/a

ETHTOOL_STUNABLE

n/a

ETHTOOL_GPHYSTATS

n/a

ETHTOOL_PERQUEUE

n/a

ETHTOOL_GLINKSETTINGS

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKINFO_GET ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKMODES_GET

ETHTOOL_SLINKSETTINGS

ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKINFO_SET ETHTOOL_MSG_LINKMODES_SET

ETHTOOL_PHY_GTUNABLE

n/a

ETHTOOL_PHY_STUNABLE

n/a

ETHTOOL_GFECPARAM

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEC_GET

ETHTOOL_SFECPARAM

ETHTOOL_MSG_FEC_SET

n/a

ETHTOOL_MSG_CABLE_TEST_ACT

n/a

ETHTOOL_MSG_CABLE_TEST_TDR_ACT

n/a

ETHTOOL_MSG_TUNNEL_INFO_GET

n/a

ETHTOOL_MSG_PHC_VCLOCKS_GET

n/a

ETHTOOL_MSG_MODULE_GET

n/a

ETHTOOL_MSG_MODULE_SET