phylink_stop(9)

🌸 phylink_stop (9) — the kernel API manual, but make it make sense 💅

okay so bestie, you know phylink_create? Yeah? Great. This is the other end of that relationship. The breakup. The "we're done here" text. Let's get into it 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

phylink_stop — stop a phylink instance. That's it. That's the whole vibe. We're shutting it down, not destroying it, bestie, don't panic 💀

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

void phylink_stop (struct phylink *pl );

returns nothing, takes one pointer, no drama. periodt.

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• pl — a pointer to a struct phylink returned from phylink_create. like, the same pl you got handed back when you created it. not a random one. please. 😭

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👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

Stop the phylink instance specified by pl. slay.

This is the one you call from your network device driver's struct net_device_ops ndo_stop method. That's literally its whole job description — it lives in ndo_stop, it eats in ndo_stop, it breathes in ndo_stop. ✨

🚨 important caveat, no cap: the network device's carrier state should not be changed prior to calling this function. Leave the carrier alone before you call it. Hands off. Don't touch. 🙈

This will synchronously bring down the link if the link is not already down. Read that again — synchronously, meaning it happens right then, not "eventually, whenever the scheduler feels like it," not "in a callback later," now.

In other words (iykyk): it will trigger a mac_link_down method call. That's the whole mechanism. That's the tea. 🍓

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

Kernel file ./drivers/net/phy/phylink.c — and honestly, the entire phylink cinematic universe, which is extensive:

• struct phylink(9)
• phylink_set_port_modes(9)
• phylink_interface_max_speed(9)
• phylink_caps_to_link_caps(9)
• phylink_caps_to_linkmodes(9)
• phylink_limit_mac_speed(9)
• phylink_cap_from_speed_duplex(9)
• phylink_get_capabilities(9)
• phylink_validate_mask_caps(9)
• phylink_pcs_neg_mode(9)
• phylink_set_fixed_link(9)
• phylink_create(9)
• phylink_destroy(9)
• phylink_expects_phy(9)
• phylink_connect_phy(9)
• phylink_of_phy_connect(9)
• phylink_fwnode_phy_connect(9)
• phylink_disconnect_phy(9)
• phylink_mac_change(9)
• phylink_pcs_change(9)
• phylink_start(9)
• phylink_rx_clk_stop_block(9)
• phylink_rx_clk_stop_unblock(9)
• phylink_suspend(9)
• phylink_prepare_resume(9)
• phylink_resume(9)
• phylink_ethtool_get_wol(9)
• phylink_ethtool_set_wol(9)
• phylink_ethtool_ksettings_get(9)
• phylink_ethtool_ksettings_set(9)
• phylink_ethtool_nway_reset(9)
• phylink_ethtool_get_pauseparam(9)
• phylink_ethtool_set_pauseparam(9)
• phylink_get_eee_err(9)
• phylink_ethtool_get_eee(9)
• phylink_ethtool_set_eee(9)
• phylink_mii_ioctl(9)
• phylink_speed_down(9)
• phylink_speed_up(9)
• phylink_decode_usxgmii_word(9)
• phylink_decode_usgmii_word(9)
• phylink_mii_c22_pcs_decode_state(9)
• phylink_mii_c22_pcs_get_state(9)
• phylink_mii_c22_pcs_encode_advertisement(9)
• phylink_mii_c22_pcs_config(9)
• phylink_mii_c22_pcs_an_restart(9)
• phylink_replay_link_begin(9)
• phylink_replay_link_end(9)

(yes, that's all of them. I counted. twice. you're welcome 💜)

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that's the whole page bestie — go forth and stop some links responsibly 💖

signed off with love from ./drivers/net/phy, dated October 2026 — this manual page ate and left no crumbs ✨🎀