ixgbevf_hv_set_rar_vf(9)

💅 ixgbevf_hv_set_rar_vf(9) — bestie, it's the Hyper-V MAC address setter

okay so this is a page straight out of the Kernel API Manual, and it's literally about one tiny function, ixgbevf_hv_set_rar_vf. yes the name is a mouthful, no we are not renaming it, it's giving "I was named by a committee and I'm thriving". 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

ixgbevf_hv_set_rar_vf — set device MAC address, Hyper-V variant 🦋

like… the concept is "set the MAC address" but this specific flavour is the Hyper-V one, iykyk.

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

s32 ixgbevf_hv_set_rar_vf (struct ixgbe_hw *hw , u32 index , u8 *addr ,
u32 vmdq );

that's the whole signature, character for character, no cap. 💖

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👑 ARGUMENTS 👑

• hw — pointer to hardware structure. it's the hardware bestie, the whole vibe check of the device.
• index — the receive address register to write. aka which drawer we're putting the address in. 🗄️
• addr — the address being put into that receive address register. the actual MAC-shaped payload.
• vmdq — unused in this implementation. literally sitting there, invited to the party, not participating. 💀

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🧚 DESCRIPTION 🧚

so here's the tea, and it's honestly kind of iconic: we don't really allow setting the device MAC address. periodt. the function is out here saying no to MAC changes.

but — and this is the plot twist — if the address being set is the permanent MAC address, we will permit that. so it's not a hard no, it's a "only if you're the one we already know and love" situation. main character energy only. ✨

no invented behaviour here, that's literally the entire documented description — don't go reading extra features into it, bestie. 🫶

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

the kernel file where all the magic lives:

./drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ixgbevf/vf.c

and the whole friend group — every single one of them, listed exactly:

• ixgbevf_start_hw_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_init_hw_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_reset_hw_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_hv_reset_hw_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_stop_hw_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_mta_vector(9)
• ixgbevf_get_mac_addr_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_get_reta_locked(9)
• ixgbevf_get_rss_key_locked(9)
• ixgbevf_set_rar_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_update_mc_addr_list_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_hv_update_mc_addr_list_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_update_xcast_mode(9)
• ixgbevf_hv_update_xcast_mode(9)
• ixgbevf_get_link_state_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_hv_get_link_state_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_get_pf_link_state(9)
• ixgbevf_negotiate_features_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_set_vfta_vf(9)
• ixgbe_read_vflinks(9)
• ixgbevf_hv_set_vfta_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_setup_mac_link_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_check_mac_link_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_hv_check_mac_link_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_set_rlpml_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_hv_set_rlpml_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_negotiate_api_version_vf(9)
• ixgbevf_hv_negotiate_api_version_vf(9)

like, that is a squad. 🫶

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🎀 sign-off 🎀

this little page came from the source ./drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i... and it's dated October 2026, so yeah — future-coded manual page, slaying across time. 💜

go set that permanent MAC address (only that one, bestie, we've been over this). bye! 🦋💅