i40e_vc_vf_broadcast(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💖 i40e_vc_vf_broadcast — Kernel API Manual 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual page for i40e_vc_vf_broadcast. Yes that's a mouthful, yes it's an Intel i40e networking function, and yes we're gonna get through it together. 🫶 It's a (9) page, which is kernel-internals territory — very "I have root and I'm not afraid to use it" energy. 👑

✨ NAME ✨

i40e_vc_vf_broadcast — and bestie, the description field on this one is literally empty. Not a typo, not me being lazy, the original manpage just has the name, a dash, and the void. It's giving minimalism. It's giving "the code speaks for itself." 💀 (Don't worry, the DESCRIPTION section down there actually tells you what it does — stay with me.)

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

void i40e_vc_vf_broadcast (struct i40e_pf *pf , enum virtchnl_ops
v_opcode , int v_retval , u8 *msg , u16 msglen );

Returns void, so like… no return value, no stress, she just does the thing and leaves. 💅

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

Five arguments, all main characters in their own way:

  • pf — pointer to the PF structure. That's the Physical Function, the mothership. 🚀
  • v_opcode — the operation code, type enum virtchnl_ops. This is the "what are we even doing here" label.
  • v_retval — the return value, an int. You're passing the result in, not getting it back.
  • msg — pointer to the msg buffer, u8 *. The actual payload lives here. 📦
  • msglen — the msg length, u16. Because a buffer without a length is just chaos.

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

send a message to all VFs on a given PF. That's it, that's the whole vibe. one message, every VF, no cap. 📣✨ The way that this function just fans a single message out across the whole crew at once — group chat behaviour, honestly. iykyk.

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

First up, the source file herself, the place where all of this is actually written down:

  • Kernel file ./drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_virtchnl_pf.c

and then the iconic extended friend group, in the exact order they were introduced, no shuffling:

heads up bestie: that __i40e_getnum_vf_vsi_vlan_filters(9) up there has two leading underscores, and her non-underscored sister i40e_getnum_vf_vsi_vlan_filters(9) is right below her. They are different functions. Do not mix them up, I'm begging. 😭

and that's the page! 🧚‍♀️ Signing off with the deets: this one lives under the source/version tree ./drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e, and the date on the tin says October 2026. go forth and broadcast, my love 💜🦋🍓

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