dnet(7D) up for review

The GLDv3 conversion for dnet(7D) is finally up for review. This patch provides GLDv3 and VLAN tagging for all currently supported devices, as well as link notification for those which support an MII transceiver.

The webrev is available here.

A followup patch will be provided to support Project Brussels.

Not Dead Yet!

It's been quite some time since I have made a post - things have been pretty hectic around here lately.

Like most hardware geeks, each year I go through a round of hardware and software upgrades - this year was no exception. My long-time girlfriend (now fiancee) and I also moved in with each other around this same time. I am sure most of you can already see where this is going...

I sorely needed to upgrade the main switch to one that supported jumbo frames and VLAN tagging (particularly for gigabit UTP testing). Storage was also in pretty rough shape, and I needed to replace 6 of the 8 disks in the rack. Solaris 10 5/08 had been released (early) in April, further dating the 11/06 install on my primary server (which needed a complete overhaul). Compounding these issues was the absolute need for a new UPS; the Netra 20 was overloading the existing one on a regular basis.

I took the plunge and decided to upgrade everything at once despite already being overwhelmed with the move and the stress that comes with the merging of two homes.

I found out very quickly that my time is finite. Both the move and the upgrade was long and trying. There were (of course) a number of issues with the new hardware and a few kinks to iron out with the new software installs. Work with ON suffered due to a lack of time, and the extended downtime also affected others who use the hardware remotely. Time spent messing with the upgrade also put a strain on relationships I had (naively) not expected. On top of all of that, I managed to get pretty sick, which placed even more stress on my relationships and prolonged downtime even further.

That said, everything is finally finished, relationships patched up, bodies healed, and everything is now approaching some modicum of normalcy. I am finally able to return to work with ON (post forthcoming).

I believe this post (and the last month, for that matter) can be summed up as follows:
moving + marriage + hardware + software = A Really Bad Idea(TM)

Update: For the curious, I have uploaded a few pictures of the upgrades here.