Everyone:
Just tried to plug an ASIX-based USB-to-Ethernet interface into a
system running FreeBSD 8.0-RELEASE, and discovered that it wasn't
recognized. It turns out that ASIX has come out with a new version
of one of its chips: the AX88772A. It has a smaller package with
fewer pins, slightly less buffer memory, and a serial interface so
that it can also support power line networking (see
http://www.asix.com.tw/products.php?op=ProductList&PLine=71&PSeries=100).
The AX88772 is being phased out by most interface manufacturers
because the "A" chip is smaller and cheaper and takes up less board
space. I am sure that I will not be the only person who is
frustrated when plugging in an interface that looks the same as the
older ones and finding that it doesn't work!
I've discovered that the existing axe(4) driver for FreeBSD seems
to work on the AX88772A without any changes if it is told to treat
the chip like an AX88772. (It may not be optimal, because the ASIX
Linux driver code does differentiate between the two. And the
command "systat -vmstat 1" does show a lot of IRQs -- about one per
millisecond. Also, the link light on the interface does not work,
though this is a minor nit that I can live with. But the interface
does at least run.)
For the moment, I've patched /sys/dev/usb/usbdevs and
/sys/dev/usb/net/axe to treat the AX88772A as if it were an AX88772
(patch submitted as PR 140923) so that I can get my systems
working. But it would probably be a good idea to do more thorough testing....
--Brett Glass
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