ixgbe_nvm_write_activate(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💖 NAME 💖

ixgbe_nvm_write_activate — NVM activate write. Okay so bestie, this is the ixgbe_nvm_write_activate(9) page from the Kernel API Manual, and it's lowkey here to explain how we activate a write to the NVM. Slay. ✨

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int ixgbe_nvm_write_activate (struct ixgbe_hw *hw , u16 cmd_flags , u8
*response_flags );

That's the whole signature, no cap. 🫶

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

  • hw — a pointer to the HW struct. Yeah, the hardware struct. iconic.
  • cmd_flags — flags for write activate command. It's giving control vibes. 💅
  • response_flags — response indicators from firmware. Basically the firmware's little status receipts. 🧚

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

Okay so here's the tea: this function updates the control word with the required banks' validity bits and dumps the Shadow RAM to flash using ACI command (0x0707). Periodt. 💅

cmd_flags is the main character here — it controls which banks to activate, the preservation level to use when activating the NVM bank, and whether an EMP reset is required for activation. 🔥

Note that the 16bit cmd_flags value is split between two separate 1 byte flag values in the descriptor. Not me being obsessed with byte-level details, but iykyk. 💀

On successful return of the firmware command, the response_flags variable is updated with the flags reported by firmware indicating certain status, such as whether EMP reset is enabled. So yes, bestie, you get the firmware's receipts back. 🌸

🔥 RETURN 🔥

It returns the exit code of the operation. That's it. That's the return. 😌

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

Okay this list is literally the whole extended friend group, no skips, no cuts — every single reference stays:

okay bye bestie — this cutie came from ./drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i... and it's dated October 2026. mwah 💋🎀✨

📦 where this page comes from