drivers/net/fddi/skfp · deprecate

SysKonnect SK-NET FDDI PCI Adapters

SysKonnect (and rebadged Compaq) SK-55xx and SK-58xx PCI network cards that connected servers and workstations to 100 Mbps Fiber Distributed Data Interface rings, a fiber-optic LAN technology popular in campus and data-center backbones during the 1990s before being displaced by Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet.

deprecate conf=0.83 deploy=low replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-ethernet

83%

recommendation

A candidate for future removal because FDDI itself is an obsolete LAN technology and the SK-55xx/SK-58xx cards have not been sold for decades. Recent activity in the tree is limited to mechanical cleanups rather than real maintenance, and there is no sign anyone is testing the hardware. It still builds and ships in current kernels, so removal is not imminent, but its days are numbered.

repository signals

37 files

22,425 source lines

14 commits, 5y

+58 / −60 lines added / removed, 5y

12 authors, 5y

monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 14 total · active in 13/61 months

sources

cateee.net
`CONFIG_SKFP` is still present in current kernels and binds PCI vendor 1148/device 4000 for SysKonnect FDDI adapters.
docs.kernel.org
Kernel documentation identifies `skfp` as the driver for legacy SysKonnect/Compaq FDDI PCI adapter models in the SK-55xx/SK-58xx family.
en.wikipedia.org
FDDI was effectively superseded by Fast Ethernet/Gigabit Ethernet and installations have largely been replaced.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Local source inspection via `rg` in the kernel tree identified this as the SysKonnect FDDI PCI driver, and local `git -c safe.directory=... log -- drivers/net/fddi/skfp` showed 2021-2024 touches were almost entirely treewide API/comment/module-description churn rather than feature work. `lei` and lore MCP were unavailable in this environment, and web search did not surface any active lore removal thread; I therefore found no evidence of an ongoing upstream removal series. The LKDDb URL was obtained by web search and shows the driver is still wired into current kernels; the docs.kernel URL was obtained by web search and confirms the exact adapter family; the Wikipedia URL was obtained by web search and supports the conclusion that FDDI is a legacy networking technology with only residual deployments. That combination supports deprecate rather than remove: upstream still carries it, but new-hardware relevance is effectively gone.