Intel QuickAssist Technology (QAT) crypto and compression accelerators
Intel QuickAssist Technology is a family of accelerators that offload symmetric and public-key cryptography and compression. It is built into 4th and 5th Gen Xeon Scalable and Xeon 6 processors, and also ships as standalone PCIe adapters like the QuickAssist 8960 and 8970, used in VPNs, TLS termination, storage, and CDN workloads.
recommendation
It should stay in the kernel because this is the shared core supporting every current QAT generation, from older DH895xCC and C62x parts through the 4xxx series to the newest GEN6 (6xxx) silicon. Intel is still selling QAT-enabled Xeons and adapter cards in 2025, and the code saw substantial 2024-2025 development including new GEN6 enablement, with no replacement driver or removal effort in sight.
repository signals
sources
- intel.com
Intel says QAT is built into current Intel Xeon generations including 4th Gen, 5th Gen, and Xeon 6 with E-cores, indicating ongoing new-hardware availability in 2025.
- intel.com
Intel support article reviewed on 2025-09-10 states all 4th Gen Xeon Scalable processors support the QAT driver and some SKUs expose dedicated QAT hardware.
- intel.com
Intel's current Windows QAT 2.0 package lists Intel 4xxx, 401xx, and 402xx accelerators and validates them on Xeon 6 plus 4th/5th Gen Xeon platforms, showing the hardware family remains current.
- intel.com
Intel still markets QuickAssist Adapter 8960 and 8970 server adapters, supporting the conclusion that standalone QAT hardware remains commercially relevant.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Local `rg` in the kernel tree showed this directory is the shared core for Intel QAT device families DH895XCC, C3xxx/C62x, 4xxx/401xx/402xx/420xx, and 6xxx, so it is active driver code rather than a stale helper. Local `git -c safe.directory=... log -- drivers/crypto/intel/qat/qat_common` showed sustained 2024-2025 maintenance plus substantial new GEN6 enablement and no explicit deprecation/removal series; the attempted `lei` lore query could not run because `lei` was unavailable, so removal-signal assessment relied on local git history instead. The cited Intel URLs were obtained via web `search_query` and confirm QAT is present on current Xeon products and current adapter offerings. With recent upstream development, current hardware availability, and no direct in-tree replacement for the same accelerator family, the correct recommendation is keep.