> +static int pse_get_pse_attributs(struct net_device *dev, > + struct pse_reply_data *data) > +{ > + struct phy_device *phydev = dev->phydev; > + int ret; > + > + if (!phydev) > + return -EOPNOTSUPP; > + > + mutex_lock(&phydev->lock); > + if (!phydev->psec) { > + ret = -EOPNOTSUPP; > + goto error_unlock; > + } > + > + ret = pse_podl_get_admin_sate(phydev->psec); > + if (ret < 0) > + goto error_unlock; The locking is triggering all sorts of questions in my mind... I don't have the answers yet, so consider this more a discussion. You need somewhere to place the psec. Since we are talking power over copper lines, there will be some sort of PHY, so phydev->psec seems reasonable. However, there is a general trend of moving all DSA Ethernet switches to phylink, which is going to make this a bit tricker to actually get to the phydev object. But using phydev->lock? Humm. At least in the PoE world, there seems to be lots of I2C or SPI controllers. Why hold the phydev lock when performing an I2C transaction? You have a generic linux regulator driver. How would you see a generic C45.2.9 driver? If it calls in the PHY driver, the lock is already held, and we have to be careful to not deadlock. I'm more thinking along the lines of psec should have a lock of its own. pse_podl_get_admin_state(), pse_podl_get_pw_d_status() etc should take that mutex before calling to the actual driver. For a PHY which actually supports C45.2.9, i hope that the phylib core looks at the phy driver structure, sees that some pse_podl ops are implemented, and instantiates and registers a psec object. The phylib core provides wrappers, which take the phylib lock before calling into the driver. And if the PHY strictly follows C45.2.9, the calls are actually into phylib helpers. Otherwise the PHY driver can do its own implementation. Andrew