i40e_ptp_init(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 i40e_ptp_init(9) — like, the Kernel API Manual page, but make it make sense

okay so bestie, welcome to i40e_ptp_init — yes that's the manual page name AND the function name, it's giving "title drop" energy ✨ this one lives in the Kernel API Manual and honestly it's a little technical but we're gonna get through it together, no cap 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

i40e_ptp_init — initialize the 1588 support after device probe or reset

like, it's the glow-up routine for your PTP/1588 situation after the device gets probed or yeeted through a reset 💅

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

void i40e_ptp_init (struct i40e_pf *pf );

that's it, that's the whole vibe. returns nothing (void), takes one thing. simple. iconic. 👑

🌸 ARGUMENTS 🌸

  • pf — the board private structure. yes it's giving "mysterious private structure" main character energy, but that's literally what it is 🦋

🧚 DESCRIPTION 🧚

so what does this function actually do? okay so — it sets the device up for 1588 support. periodt.

the first time it runs, it will create a PHC clock device. and here's the thing: it does not create a clock device if one already exists. like, it checks first, it's not messy 🙈 it also reconfigures the device after a reset, so your fave doesn't lose its whole personality every time things go sideways 💀

the first time a clock is created, i40e_ptp_create_clock will set pf->ptp_prev_hw_time to the current system time ⏰

and during resets? it is expected that this timespec will be set to the last known PTP clock time — the whole point is to preserve the clock time as close as possible across a reset. so like, keep the clock's memory intact, don't let it wake up with amnesia 😭🫶

💖 SEE ALSO 💖

the kernel file in question, bestie:

  • Kernel file ./drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_ptp.c

and the whole friend group (yes, all of them, I would never leave one out 🥹):

ngl bestie, if pf->ptp_prev_hw_time doesn't get set to the last known PTP clock time before a reset, the clock time across that reset is not gonna stay as close as possible. just saying. be a good friend to your timestamps 🕰️💜

and that's the page! sign-off time 🎀 this one's from ./drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e, dated October 2026 — take care of yourselves, hydrate, and remember: the clock device already exists means you don't create another one. iykyk 💅✨

📦 where this page comes from