atl2_open(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💖 atl2_open(9) 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual — today's main character is atl2_open, and honestly? she's the one who wakes the interface up. 🌸

✨ NAME ✨

atl2_open — Called when a network interface is made active 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int atl2_open (struct net_device *netdev );

✨ ARGUMENTS ✨

  • netdev — network interface device structure 💅 that's the thing you're opening, bestie

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

Lowkey the whole deal here: it returns 0 on success, and a negative value on failure. That's it. That's the contract. 🙈

fr fr, check that return value. Negative means something went wrong and you do NOT get to pretend otherwise. 💀

The open entry point is called when a network interface is made active by the system (IFF_UP). At this point all resources needed for transmit and receive operations are allocated, the interrupt handler is registered with the OS, the watchdog timer is started, and the stack is notified that the interface is ready. 👑

So picture it: the system flips the interface to IFF_UP, and atl2_open is the girl who shows up and gets everything ready before the party starts:

  • 🎀 all the resources needed for transmit and receive operations get allocated
  • ⭐ the interrupt handler is registered with the OS
  • 🔥 the watchdog timer is started
  • 💖 the stack is notified that the interface is ready

four steps, zero skips, that's the whole glow-up. periodt. ✨

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

Kernel file ./drivers/net/ethernet/atheros/atlx/atl2.c — yeah, that's where she lives, go say hi 🫶

and her whole friend group, no cap:

and that's the page, bestie!! ily, go read the source 💜

signing off from ./drivers/net/ethernet/atheros... — dated October 2026 🎀✨ catch you in the next manpage, mwah 💅

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