My platform is a Q7 module which already implements an I210 on PCIe. I am designing a carrier board which includes 2 additional I210s on the Q7 PCIe bus. The Q7 module is currently being tested on a development board and is running Ubuntu Server 14.04.5 and reports Intel Gigabit Ethernet Network Driver - version 5.2.15-k. Its onboard I210 works fine in the development environment.
All I need is for the I210s to be recognized as a PCIe device by Linux and treated like any other unmanaged Ethernet adapter. I only need to perform very basic config such as setting the MAC address, IPv4 details, and setting link speed. Initiating Ethernet Compliance test patterns would also be desirable but not strictly required.
I would prefer to avoid implementing SPI flash configuration if possible. The manufacturer of the Q7 module has also discouraged us from connecting the SMBus to external devices, so I would like to avoid that as well. What level of functionality is available using only the PCIe link for configuration?
If I do need to use the SMBus, is it possible to change the SMBus Slave Address over PCIe? Or will I need to implement an SPI Flash to write that register?