> Any particular reason for implementing this ABI in ethtool rather than > via some netlink-based interface? Devlink naturally comes to mind, > given that cabling problems are not really related to the L2 and netdev > shouldn't be required for diagnostics..
ethtool is already used for reporting and handling of link related stuff through get/set_link_ksettings. How is reporting the link modes/port type/speed/etc different from this? This feature is only an extension of the already existent "link detected" field. Implementing this ABI in devlink is a good idea, but it shouldn't be instead of ethtool but in addition to ethtool. Many users already use ethtool for this kind of info, we can tell them to use devlink to check why their link is down, but I think it's nicer to have it all in one place.
