linux-drivers/
drivers/net/phy

PHYLIB core and multi-vendor Ethernet PHY transceiver drivers

Drivers for the Ethernet PHY transceivers that sit between a network controller and the physical wire — covering Gigabit copper, 10G, and newer Single Pair Ethernet parts from TI, Microchip, Marvell, Realtek, Broadcom and others, plus the shared PHYLIB framework. These chips are present in nearly every wired Ethernet device, from servers and routers to industrial and automotive gear.

keep conf=0.97 deploy=high replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-ethernet
97%

recommendation

It should stay in the kernel because this is a core networking subsystem under continuous active development, with feature work and stable backports landing in 2025-2026 for mainstream parts like the TI DP83867 and Microchip LAN867x. The hardware is still manufactured and sold new today, and neglecting it would break wired networking on a huge swath of current Linux systems.

repository signals

133 files
95,150 source lines
1,532 commits, 5y
+62,563 / −15,743 lines added / removed, 5y
287 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 1,532 total · active in 61/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 8 commits · +138 −36 2021-05: 10 commits · +955 −30 2021-06: 37 commits · +852 −181 2021-07: 14 commits · +978 −40 2021-08: 11 commits · +209 −31 2021-09: 23 commits · +829 −49 2021-10: 46 commits · +1,220 −200 2021-11: 12 commits · +437 −81 2021-12: 10 commits · +202 −24 2022-01: 18 commits · +503 −110 2022-02: 7 commits · +33 −59 2022-03: 25 commits · +1,525 −213 2022-04: 20 commits · +929 −194 2022-05: 26 commits · +509 −77 2022-06: 28 commits · +1,359 −101 2022-07: 7 commits · +108 −49 2022-08: 16 commits · +318 −162 2022-09: 38 commits · +1,387 −487 2022-10: 23 commits · +1,917 −81 2022-11: 15 commits · +184 −54 2022-12: 6 commits · +133 −43 2023-01: 36 commits · +1,191 −194 2023-02: 28 commits · +1,805 −298 2023-03: 36 commits · +843 −245 2023-04: 35 commits · +784 −53 2023-05: 37 commits · +1,188 −276 2023-06: 22 commits · +1,573 −212 2023-07: 35 commits · +1,853 −429 2023-08: 16 commits · +934 −60 2023-09: 12 commits · +177 −136 2023-10: 13 commits · +346 −90 2023-11: 28 commits · +1,092 −387 2023-12: 42 commits · +3,204 −658 2024-01: 28 commits · +2,617 −1,990 2024-02: 49 commits · +2,504 −500 2024-03: 20 commits · +1,309 −58 2024-04: 29 commits · +1,449 −108 2024-05: 16 commits · +607 −257 2024-06: 10 commits · +206 −35 2024-07: 18 commits · +1,025 −83 2024-08: 18 commits · +1,494 −43 2024-09: 13 commits · +1,241 −66 2024-10: 54 commits · +1,599 −420 2024-11: 27 commits · +686 −498 2024-12: 29 commits · +1,929 −148 2025-01: 34 commits · +1,408 −189 2025-02: 48 commits · +1,266 −452 2025-03: 52 commits · +1,754 −1,041 2025-04: 23 commits · +875 −632 2025-05: 32 commits · +2,532 −357 2025-06: 30 commits · +907 −244 2025-07: 25 commits · +352 −53 2025-08: 43 commits · +1,975 −1,293 2025-09: 48 commits · +809 −654 2025-10: 26 commits · +844 −94 2025-11: 45 commits · +1,217 −380 2025-12: 7 commits · +159 −6 2026-01: 57 commits · +1,966 −725 2026-02: 8 commits · +89 −75 2026-03: 2 commits · +13 −2 2026-04: 1 commit · +16 −0

sources

  1. docs.kernel.org

    Kernel documentation describes this as the PHY Abstraction Layer used for Ethernet PHY management, indicating a core subsystem rather than a legacy one-off driver.

  2. lore.kernel.org

    Recent netdev patch traffic for `drivers/net/phy/dp83867.c` in 2026 shows ongoing upstream feature/behavior work on mainstream TI Gigabit PHY support.

  3. lore.kernel.org

    Recent netdev patch traffic for `drivers/net/phy/microchip_t1s.c` in 2026 adds suspend/WOL support for LAN867x Rev.D0, showing active enablement for current Single Pair Ethernet PHY products.

  4. lore.kernel.org

    A 2026 stable backport for `drivers/net/phy/adin1100.c` shows bug-fix traffic reaching maintained stable trees, consistent with real deployments.

  5. ti.com

    TI still lists the DP83867IR Ethernet PHY as a current product, supporting that hardware covered by this directory remains sold new.

  6. microchip.com

    Microchip lists LAN8670 as 'In Production', showing current-market Ethernet PHY silicon covered by this subsystem.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Local `rg` inspection of `drivers/net/phy/Makefile` and `Kconfig` showed a large active multi-vendor PHYLIB subsystem with many enabled PHY drivers, not a single obsolete chipset. Lore evidence was obtained with `lore_activity` on representative files (`dp83867.c`, `microchip_t1s.c`, `adin1100.c`), which returned 2025-2026 netdev/stable traffic and stable backports. Deployment/sales evidence was obtained by web search, which returned the kernel PHY docs plus current TI and Microchip product pages. A follow-up lore-focused web search did not surface removal/deprecation threads; given the heavy recent maintenance and current products, this should be kept.