Generic IIO analog multiplexer front-end
A generic helper for embedded and industrial boards that share a single ADC or other analog input channel across several signals via an external analog multiplexer chip (for example Analog Devices ADGS1408/1409). It exposes each multiplexed input as its own logical channel so software can read them as independent sensors.
recommendation
It should stay because it is a generic, still-maintained enabler rather than a dead vendor driver: upstream cleanups landed as recently as 2025/2026, and the analog multiplexer chips it pairs with (such as the ADGS1408, which Analog Devices still recommends for new designs) continue to ship in current embedded and industrial hardware. There is no natural replacement, and removing it would break valid board designs that rely on the standard "io-channel-mux" device tree binding.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
Recent upstream touch exists in 2026 for drivers/iio/multiplexer/iio-mux.c, indicating the driver is still maintained rather than abandoned.
- cateee.net
LKDDb shows CONFIG_IIO_MUX present from Linux 4.13 through current 7.0-rc/HEAD, with OF compatible "io-channel-mux" and module name iio-mux.
- mjmwired.net
Kernel DT binding example shows current mux-controller hardware such as ADGS1408/1409 used together with an "io-channel-mux" consumer node, demonstrating the driver's continuing real-world use case.
- analog.com
Analog Devices lists ADGS1408 as "Recommended for New Designs" with evaluation boards and pricing, showing relevant mux hardware is still sold for new systems.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Local file read via shell showed this is a real platform driver with OF compatible "io-channel-mux" and generic mux-controller/IIO consumer wiring, not a dead vendor-specific chip driver. lore_activity on drivers/iio/multiplexer/iio-mux.c returned 2025-12/2026 maintenance cleanups and no removal signal; lore_file_timeline on the directory returned no hits, so file-level lore evidence was used instead. Web search produced LKDDb, kernel DT binding mirror, and Analog Devices product pages; together they show ongoing kernel support plus still-sold compatible mux hardware. Because it is a generic enabler for current embedded/industrial analog front-ends, there is no natural replacement and removal would strand valid designs.