Multiple ethernet devices

[gregory.menke at gsfc.nasa.gov]

Hi,

I'm beavering away at the 3com driver- based on the Netbsd code so
that everyone will be happy ;) - its to the point where I'm ready to
test sending and receiving packets.  I'm having a little trouble
getting the if interfaces set up.  When I configure all the interfaces
(2 dec units and 2 3com units), the dec boards dc1 and dc2 initialize
and work OK.  The 3com units el1 and el2 both fail saying "Can't set
address: File exists".  The ip addresses and netmasks are OK & valid.
The error is identical if I set up only dc1 and el2.

 I have a few questions;

- what is being tested such that a "file exists" error is returned
  when the test fails.  Following the ioctl call, it seems to dive
  into the bowels of the ip stack- beyond my competence to trace at
  this point.

- what is the significance of the unit number beyond differentiating
  units that employ the same driver

- what printf style function can I use that won't mix its output with
  diagnostic messages coming from the ip stack- both printf and printk
  seem to do mingle their outputs.

Thanks,

Gregm