linux-drivers/
drivers/net/ethernet/freescale/dpaa2

NXP/Freescale DPAA2 Layerscape Ethernet and L2 Switch

The networking block (DPAA2 / WRIOP) built into NXP Layerscape and QorIQ ARM-based SoCs, such as the LX2160A, providing on-chip multi-gigabit Ethernet interfaces, an integrated Layer 2 switch, and IEEE 1588 PTP timestamping. These chips are used in routers, 5G infrastructure, industrial gateways, and storage/networking appliances from the late 2010s through today.

keep conf=0.90 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-ethernet
90%

recommendation

It should stay because the underlying hardware — NXP's Layerscape/QorIQ SoCs such as the LX2160A — is still actively sold in 2025 for networking and edge appliances, and the code is receiving fresh feature work and fixes well into 2026 (including hardware timestamping additions and switch-side bugfixes). No removal or deprecation effort is in flight.

repository signals

32 files
22,693 source lines
166 commits, 5y
+3,627 / −1,236 lines added / removed, 5y
51 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 166 total · active in 42/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 0 commits · +0 −0 2021-05: 3 commits · +23 −16 2021-06: 3 commits · +54 −41 2021-07: 15 commits · +776 −182 2021-08: 14 commits · +223 −99 2021-09: 3 commits · +27 −19 2021-10: 4 commits · +75 −11 2021-11: 6 commits · +31 −86 2021-12: 3 commits · +17 −16 2022-01: 4 commits · +33 −8 2022-02: 12 commits · +422 −94 2022-03: 5 commits · +227 −21 2022-04: 1 commit · +3 −1 2022-05: 4 commits · +8 −9 2022-06: 0 commits · +0 −0 2022-07: 0 commits · +0 −0 2022-08: 2 commits · +3 −3 2022-09: 1 commit · +3 −5 2022-10: 14 commits · +1,123 −256 2022-11: 16 commits · +215 −131 2022-12: 1 commit · +4 −0 2023-01: 1 commit · +6 −3 2023-02: 2 commits · +7 −1 2023-03: 2 commits · +5 −10 2023-04: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-05: 1 commit · +2 −3 2023-06: 4 commits · +22 −19 2023-07: 1 commit · +11 −11 2023-08: 3 commits · +1 −2 2023-09: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-10: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-11: 2 commits · +11 −7 2023-12: 10 commits · +90 −60 2024-01: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-02: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-03: 1 commit · +9 −5 2024-04: 1 commit · +6 −0 2024-05: 3 commits · +5 −5 2024-06: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-07: 1 commit · +1 −1 2024-08: 2 commits · +6 −4 2024-09: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-10: 1 commit · +13 −22 2024-11: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-12: 1 commit · +2 −1 2025-01: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-02: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-03: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-04: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-05: 2 commits · +26 −15 2025-06: 3 commits · +48 −16 2025-07: 2 commits · +24 −6 2025-08: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-09: 2 commits · +2 −2 2025-10: 1 commit · +1 −2 2025-11: 1 commit · +8 −3 2025-12: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-01: 2 commits · +10 −0 2026-02: 6 commits · +44 −40 2026-03: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. git.kernel.org

    Recent upstream fix in February 2026 for dpaa2-switch shows current maintenance activity.

  2. git.kernel.org

    Recent functional work added ndo_hwtstamp_get() support to dpaa2-eth, indicating ongoing feature-level upkeep rather than abandonment.

  3. cateee.net

    CONFIG_FSL_DPAA2_ETH remains present through 7.0-rc+HEAD, showing the Ethernet driver is still upstream and buildable.

  4. cateee.net

    CONFIG_FSL_DPAA2_SWITCH remains present through 7.0-rc+HEAD, showing the switch portion of this directory is also still upstream.

  5. nxp.com

    NXP lists the LX2160A as Active and advertises DPAA2/WRIOP Ethernet and L2 switching capabilities, indicating hardware family is still sold for new deployments.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Local shell inspection showed this is a real fsl-mc network driver directory with Kconfig entries for DPAA2 Ethernet, PTP, and switch, plus heavy recent git activity in 2024-2026; a local git grep for removal/deprecate/obsolete/orphan did not surface any actual deprecation series for the directory. Kernel commit URLs were formed by canonical recall from commit hashes obtained via local `git log`. LKDDb and NXP URLs were obtained via web search. The hardware is still an active but niche embedded/networking SoC family, so recommendation is keep, with medium current deployment rather than mass-market ubiquity.