hw_init(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 hw_init(9) — check driver is correct for the hardware

okay bestie, welcome to hw_init from the Kernel API Manual, section 9 (kernel interfaces, iykyk). this one is short and sweet but it's giving gatekeeper energy — it's literally the vibe check your driver has to pass before it's allowed anywhere near the actual silicon 🌸

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int hw_init (struct ksz_hw *hw );

(yes the spacing is exactly like that, don't come for me 😭)

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

  • hw — the hardware instance. that's it, that's the whole argument. one (1) hardware instance, hand it over 🫶

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so like. hw_init has two jobs and it does both without complaining, main character energy fr fr.

first, it checks the hardware is correct for this driver — like a little vibe check between your driver and the actual chip, making sure these two are actually meant to be together 💅 and second, it sets the hardware up for proper initialization, so everything's cute and ready before the real work starts ✨

and the return value? so satisfying. it returns the number of ports, or 0 if not right. that's it. zero means nah, ports mean slay 🔥

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

sooo many friends. genuinely the whole group chat is here. first up, the kernel file this all lives in: ./drivers/net/ethernet/micrel/ksz884x.c, and its struct besties:

  • struct ksz_hw_desc(9)
  • struct ksz_sw_desc(9)
  • struct ksz_dma_buf(9)
  • struct ksz_desc(9)
  • struct ksz_desc_info(9)
  • struct ksz_mac_table(9)
  • struct ksz_vlan_table(9)
  • struct ksz_port_mib(9)
  • struct ksz_port_cfg(9)
  • struct ksz_switch(9)
  • struct ksz_port_info(9)
  • struct ksz_hw(9)
  • struct ksz_port(9)
  • struct ksz_timer_info(9)
  • struct ksz_shared_mem(9)
  • struct ksz_counter_info(9)
  • struct dev_info(9)
  • struct dev_priv(9)

then the intr / switch / table crew:

then the wake-on-LAN girlies plus the hw lifecycle icons:

the descriptors / memory / timers squad:

and finally the netdev / ethtool / mdio legends — huge list, they ate:

no cap, this SEE ALSO is longer than my screen time report 😭 but every single one of them had to be here, so here they all are 💜

🌸 okay that's the whole page bestie, short and iconic. this one came out of ./drivers/net/ethernet/micrel and it's dated October 2026 — love that for us. go forth and hw_init responsibly, mwah 💋✨

📦 where this page comes from