Information Sources

Information Sources

Aside from comments in header files, the complete ifnet interface and related interfaces have never been documented. In prior years, most people working on ifnet drivers have had access to the Berkeley UNIX source distribution and have been able to answer questions by referring to the code.

Referring to the code is an even more common option today, thanks to the release of 4.4BSD-Lite, a software distribution of BSD UNIX that does not require a source license, now widely available at a reasonable price. To obtain a copy, order the following:

4.4BSD-Lite Berkely Software Distribution CD-ROM Companion, published by USENIX and O'Reilly & Associates; ISBN 1-56592-081-3 (US domestic) or ISBN 1-56592-092-9 (non-US).

The ifnet source code in this software is functionally compatible with IRIX ifnet, although some protocols (for example, snoop and drain) are not implemented in BSD-Lite.

In many respects, the ifnet interfaces and the logic of device drivers is dictated by Internet standards that are published as Requests for Comment (RFCs). The text of all RFCs can be obtained via FTP or with a WWW browser at ftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/.

Finally, the IRIX reference pages contain a wealth of detail regarding network interfaces. Some reference pages that are related to the interests of driver designers are listed in Table 16-1. Click on the name of a page to read it.

Important Reference Pages Related to Network Drivers
Reference Page Contents
arp(7) Operation of the ARP protocol, with details of ioctl() functions.
drain(7) Operation of the drain driver, which receives unwanted packets, with details of its ioctl() functions.
ethernet(7) Overview of the IRIX Ethernet drivers, including error messages and the use of VECTOR lines to configure them.
fddi(7) Cursory overview of IRIX FDDI drivers, with naming conventions.
ifconfig(1) Management program used to enable and disable network interfaces (drivers) and change their runtime parameters.
netintro(7) Overview of network facilities; mentions the role of the network interface (driver); has extensive detail on routing ioctl() calls.
network(1) Documents the network initialization script that runs when the system is booted up.
raw(7) Overview of the Raw protocol family whose members are snoop and drain.
routed(1) Documents operation of the routing daemon, including ioctl() use.
snoop(7) Operation of the snoop driver, which allows inspection of packets, with details of its ioctl() features.
ticlts(7) Operation and use of the ticlts, ticots, and ticotsord loopback drivers.
tokenring(7) Overview of the IRIX token-ring drivers, including packet formats.

Important Reference Pages Related to Network Drivers
Reference Page	Contents
arp(7)	Operation of the ARP protocol, with details of ioctl() functions.
drain(7)	Operation of the drain driver, which receives unwanted packets, with details of its ioctl() functions.
ethernet(7)	Overview of the IRIX Ethernet drivers, including error messages and the use of VECTOR lines to configure them.
fddi(7)	Cursory overview of IRIX FDDI drivers, with naming conventions.
ifconfig(1)	Management program used to enable and disable network interfaces (drivers) and change their runtime parameters.
netintro(7)	Overview of network facilities; mentions the role of the network interface (driver); has extensive detail on routing ioctl() calls.
network(1)	Documents the network initialization script that runs when the system is booted up.
raw(7)	Overview of the Raw protocol family whose members are snoop and drain.
routed(1)	Documents operation of the routing daemon, including ioctl() use.
snoop(7)	Operation of the snoop driver, which allows inspection of packets, with details of its ioctl() features.
ticlts(7)	Operation and use of the ticlts, ticots, and ticotsord loopback drivers.
tokenring(7)	Overview of the IRIX token-ring drivers, including packet formats.