add_mac_addr(9)

💅 add_mac_addr(9) — like, the whole manual page, bestie

okay so this is add_mac_addr(9) from the Kernel API Manual, and honestly? it's a little one. a snack-sized syscall-adjacent moment. but we're gonna give it the full main character treatment anyway because every function deserves to be understood. 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

add_mac_addr — adds a mac address to a network device. that's it. that's the whole vibe. 🦋

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int add_mac_addr (struct net_device *netdev , const u8 *addr );

literally just copy that exactly, do not "fix" the spacing, the spacing is iconic and we respect it. 💅

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✨ ARGUMENTS ✨

• netdev — the network device in question. the little guy you're handing a mac address to. 🫶
• addr — the mac address you want to add. the actual bytes. the moment. ✨

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so here's the tea: it returns 0 when it works — that's success, slay — and a negative value when it doesn't. that's failure, and we do not stan failure, but we do respect it as a documented outcome. 😭

like, that's genuinely the whole description in the original. return 0 = success, negative = failure. no cap. 💀

ngl bestie, there's nothing else documented here — no error codes, no preconditions, no nothing. if you need more deets, go read the source. 🔥

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✨ SEE ALSO ✨

• the kernel file ./drivers/net/ethernet/huawei/hinic/hinic_main.c — that's where the real lore lives 👑
• create_txqs(9), free_txqs(9), create_rxqs(9), free_rxqs(9) — the queue girlies 🌸
• change_mac_addr(9), remove_mac_addr(9) — the mac address trilogy, and you're on part one 🧚
• link_status_event_handler(9) — handles the link status events, very busy, very important 💜
• nic_dev_init(9) — where the nic gets its life together 🌈

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aaaand that's the page!! short and sweet, just like the original. it's giving "one job, done correctly, returns zero." ⭐

to wrap up with the cute sign-off: this page lives under the source path ./drivers/net/ethernet/huawei/... and it's dated October 2026, and yes, the title at the bottom is still add_mac_addr(9) because we love a consistent footer. bye bestie, go add those mac addresses responsibly 💖