linux-drivers/
drivers/net/ethernet/google/gve

Google gVNIC Compute Engine Virtual Ethernet NIC

Google's paravirtual network interface presented to Linux guests running on Google Compute Engine virtual machines. It is the recommended NIC for all current GCE machine families and the only option for third-generation and newer instance types, supporting both the older GQI and newer DQO queue formats for high-throughput cloud networking.

keep conf=0.96 deploy=high replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-ethernet
96%

recommendation

It should stay because gVNIC is the standard virtual NIC for Google Cloud VMs and is mandatory on Google's newest Compute Engine machine generations, so any Linux image running on GCE depends on it. Upstream activity is healthy, with patches still being applied to netdev in 2026 and ongoing feature cleanup work from Google engineers.

repository signals

19 files
13,991 source lines
235 commits, 5y
+13,126 / −4,122 lines added / removed, 5y
56 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 235 total · active in 50/61 months
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sources

  1. docs.kernel.org

    Upstream kernel documentation describes gve as the Linux driver for Compute Engine Virtual Ethernet (gVNIC), a current Google virtual NIC with GQI and DQO queue formats.

  2. docs.cloud.google.com

    Google Cloud documents gVNIC as the recommended interface for all machine families and the only supported interface for third-generation and later Compute Engine machine series, indicating ongoing new deployments in 2025-2026.

  3. spinics.net

    A January 28, 2026 netdev patchwork-bot message shows '[net] gve: fix probe failure if clock read fails' was applied to netdev/net.git, demonstrating current upstream maintenance.

  4. spinics.net

    A March 31, 2026 netdev posting '[PATCH v5 net 11/11] gve: remove home-grown xsk's frame size validation' with Joshua Washington review shows ongoing feature/cleanup work rather than removal.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Real driver directory: local shell `rg` found `module_pci_driver(gve_driver)` and `MODULE_DESCRIPTION("Google Virtual NIC Driver")` in `gve_main.c`. lore-http MCP was unavailable and `lei` was not installed, so lore evidence was approximated via web search on netdev/spinics mirrors instead. Web search found 2026 netdev traffic with applied and reviewed gve patches, and no actual driver-removal/deprecation discussion; 'remove' hits were code-cleanup patches inside gve, not driver retirement. Google Cloud docs show gVNIC is a current first-class NIC for new Compute Engine VM generations, so this is not obsolete hardware; keep the driver.