eth_hw_addr_inherit(9)

💖 eth_hw_addr_inherit(9) — Kernel API Manual 💖

okay so bestie. you opened a page from the Kernel API Manual and it is literally called eth_hw_addr_inherit(9). yes the (9) means kernel API — iykyk. this one is short, it's sweet, and it is giving "small function, big responsibility" energy. let's get into it 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

eth_hw_addr_inherit — copy dev_addr from another net_device, no cap 🎀

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

void eth_hw_addr_inherit (struct net_device *dst , struct net_device *src );

literally just two pointers and it returns nothing. void. iconic minimalism 💅

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• dst — pointer to the net_device you're copying dev_addr to. the destination. the one receiving the glow-up ✨
• src — pointer to the net_device you're copying dev_addr from. the source. the one sharing its address 💖

two structs, one address, zero drama. periodt.

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👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

so here's the whole vibe: you take the Ethernet address from one net_device and you copy it over to another one. copy-paste, but for hardware addresses 💫

and bestie, it's not just the address — it also brings along the address attributes, aka addr_assign_type. so the address and its little "where did I come from" tag move together, as a unit. the way that they're a package deal 😭🫶

that's genuinely it. that's the whole function. short queen behavior, and honestly? we love a function that knows exactly what it does and doesn't over-explain itself 🌈

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💜 SEE ALSO 💜

okay this is the part where the page goes full main character and name-drops the entire friend group. the kernel file here is ./include/linux/etherdevice.h, and every single one of these is a (9) page bestie:

• is_link_local_ether_addr(9)
• is_zero_ether_addr(9)
• is_multicast_ether_addr(9)
• is_local_ether_addr(9)
• is_broadcast_ether_addr(9)
• is_unicast_ether_addr(9)
• is_valid_ether_addr(9)
• eth_proto_is_802_3(9)
• eth_random_addr(9)
• eth_broadcast_addr(9)
• eth_zero_addr(9)
• eth_hw_addr_random(9)
• eth_hw_addr_crc(9)
• ether_addr_copy(9)
• eth_hw_addr_set(9)
• ether_addr_equal(9)
• ether_addr_equal_64bits(9)
• ether_addr_equal_unaligned(9)
• ether_addr_equal_masked(9)
• ether_addr_to_u64(9)
• u64_to_ether_addr(9)
• eth_addr_dec(9)
• eth_addr_inc(9)
• eth_addr_add(9)
• is_etherdev_addr(9)
• compare_ether_header(9)
• eth_hw_addr_gen(9)
• eth_skb_pkt_type(9)
• eth_skb_pad(9)

like, that's twenty-nine pages. whole squad, fully assembled, all living in etherdevice.h. go read them if you want the full lore 🧚⭐

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💀 real talk: eth_hw_addr_inherit doesn't have a return value, so don't go checking one. void means void, bestie. no notes.

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and that's the page!! source file ./include/linux, dated October 2026, from the Kernel API Manual. mwah, go inherit some addresses responsibly 💅🎀🍓