> -----Original Message----- > From: David Lin <yu-hao.lin@xxxxxxx> > Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2024 11:53 AM > To: Kalle Valo <kvalo@xxxxxxxxxx>; Sascha Hauer <s.hauer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Cc: linux-wireless@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; > johannes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; briannorris@xxxxxxxxxxxx; francesco@xxxxxxxxxx; > Pete Hsieh <tsung-hsien.hsieh@xxxxxxx>; Chor Teck Law > <chorteck.law@xxxxxxx>; Jeff Chen <jeff.chen_1@xxxxxxx>; > kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: RE: [EXT] Re: [PATCH v2 00/43] wifi: nxpwifi: create nxpwifi to support > iw61x > > > From: Kalle Valo <kvalo@xxxxxxxxxx> > > Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2024 3:49 PM > > To: Sascha Hauer <s.hauer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > > Cc: David Lin <yu-hao.lin@xxxxxxx>; linux-wireless@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; > > linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; johannes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; > > briannorris@xxxxxxxxxxxx; francesco@xxxxxxxxxx; Pete Hsieh > > <tsung-hsien.hsieh@xxxxxxx>; kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx > > Subject: [EXT] Re: [PATCH v2 00/43] wifi: nxpwifi: create nxpwifi to support > > iw61x > > > > > > > > Honestly I don't think adding a new driver is a good ideai, given how > > > big wifi drivers are and how limited the review bandwidth is. > > > > > > What we'll end up with is that we'll receive the same patches for both > > > drivers, or worse, only for one driver while the other stays unpatched. > > > > > > I even found some of the bugs and deficiencies I am just fixing for > > > the mwifiex driver in the nxpwifi driver as well. So please direct > > > your effort to improving the existing driver rather than putting more > > > burden to the maintainers by adding a new driver. I am sure this is > > > the faster path to get the necessary changes upstream, plus users of > > > the mwifiex driver will profit from these changes as well. > > > > > > Of course I don't have to decide this. The wifi maintainer(s) will > > > have the final word, but these are my 2 cents on this topic. > > > > Replying to an old mail but I'm with Sascha here and I'm also skeptic about > > adding a new driver. Especially my worry is that after the driver is accepted > we > > will not hear from NXP anymore and the community has two almost identical > > drivers to maintain. There have been cases that after taking the driver the > > company disappears and we (the community) are left maintaining the > > abandoned driver. > > > > Also I have not seen any convincing reasons why a new driver is needed. > > For me much better approach would be to extend mwifiex like Sascha > > recommends. > > > > We understand NXP had left mwifiex unattended for some time, which has > caused a lot of concern and trouble for the community. > We hope to address the concerns by clarifying that the NXP driver strategy is to > contribute and maintain both mwifiex and nxpwifi > drivers until such time only a single nxpwifi driver is required. > Our approach: > > * Maintain existing (up to IW416) chips in mwifiex > * NXP will actively participate in mwifiex driver to address bug fixes and > review patch contributions > * Support new chipset introduction with nxpwifi > * Starting from IW61x, new chips will be supported in nxpwifi only > * NXP is committed to be the maintainer of nxpwifi, and we have long term > maintenance plan in place including regular QA, > bug fixes and feature enhancement > * We are open to have discussions of any weaknesses in driver architecture > for purpose of enhancing the driver > * Keep mwifiex driver in "Odd fixes" state without impact by new devices > > The above is an effort to address the community's concerns about NXP's > commitment to nxpwifi and stakeholder collaboration. > > We look forward to your feedback so we can move forward. Could you review the proposal and provide your feedback?
