net_failover_create(9)

💅 net_failover_create(9) 💅

okay so this is a page from the Kernel API Manual — yes, the kernel has lore too, and this one's about making a failover instance happen. buckle in bestie 🎀

---

✨ NAME ✨

net_failover_create — literally "Create and register a failover instance" 🦋

---

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

struct failover * net_failover_create (struct net_device *standby_dev );

no cap, that's the whole signature. it takes one arg and hands you back a struct failover * 🫶

---

💖 ARGUMENTS 💖

• standby_dev — the standby netdev. that's it, that's the whole arg. it's the net device living its standby era 💅

---

👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

so what does it actually do? it creates a failover netdev and registers a failover instance for a standby netdev. iconic behavior honestly ✨

it's used by paravirtual drivers that are on that 3-netdev model lifestyle — iykyk 🌈

and here's the cute part: the failover netdev acts as a master device 👑 and it controls 2 slave devices:

1. the original standby netdev
2. a VF netdev with the same MAC — that one gets registered as the primary netdev

two slaves, one master, same MAC, main character energy fr fr 🔥

---

⭐ RETURN ⭐

returns a pointer to the failover instance 💫 (that's your struct failover *, bestie, go use it)

---

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

• the kernel file ./drivers/net/net_failover.c — go read the source, it's giving homework but make it slay 📚
• net_failover_destroy(9) — yeah you're gonna need this one later 💀 the cleanup arc is real

---

ok tiny reminder: this lives in ./drivers/net — that's the neighborhood, that's where the files at 🏡

---

and that's the whole page!! brought to you by ./drivers/net, dated October 2026, filed under net_failover_create(9) — mwah, go forth and failover responsibly 💜🧚🍓