IBM Virtual ethernet device (ibmveth) listed as UNKNOWN in the sysfs interface

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 Service Pack 4 (SLES 11 SP4)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 Service Pack 3 (SLES 12 SP3)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15

Situation

Currently, the operational state of an IBM Virtual Ethernet device is listed as "UNKNOWN" in the sysfs interface (e.g. /sys/class/net/eth0/operstate), even if the device is operational and transmitting data.

Resolution

Once the PAPR (Power Architecture Platform Reference) is extended to include this functionality, this can be addressed.

Cause

The reason for this behavior is that there is no interface that exists in PAPR (Power Architecture Platform Reference) to determine if a VIO device is operational. It is unknown that the device is operational until it is enabled on boot or by an administrator and begins transmitting and receiving data. Due to this design, it is needed to describe the operational state as "UNKNOWN" until the PAPR is extended to include this functionality.

Disclaimer

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