linux-drivers/
drivers/net/wireless/marvell

Marvell/NXP Libertas, mwifiex, and 88W8xxx Wi-Fi adapters

A mixed family of Marvell (now NXP) Wi-Fi chipsets covering three eras: the early 2000s Libertas 8xxx parts found in OLPC laptops and early embedded boards; the mwl8k-supported 88W8xxx/TOPDOG 802.11n access-point silicon; and the still-current mwifiex line including IW416 and 88W8997 Wi-Fi 5 modules used in routers, set-top boxes, and industrial gear sold new in 2025.

keep-annotate conf=0.84 last_sold=2025 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-wireless
84%

recommendation

Worth keeping but worth documenting that the directory mixes generations of hardware. The old Libertas parts are largely historical, but the mwifiex and mwl8k branches still see real fixes on the wireless mailing list as recently as late 2025, and NXP (which inherited Marvell's wireless line) still markets the IW416 and 88W8997 chips as active products for embedded and industrial use. Removing the subtree would break currently shipping devices; annotating which subdrivers are legacy versus current would help future cleanup.

repository signals

91 files
70,535 source lines
250 commits, 5y
+3,399 / −3,728 lines added / removed, 5y
90 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 250 total · active in 54/61 months
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sources

  1. lore.kernel.org

    `mwl8k.c` was still being updated on linux-wireless in 2026 as part of current wireless stack work, so the subtree is not abandoned upstream.

  2. lore.kernel.org

    `mwl8k.c` received a device-specific functional fix in November 2025, indicating real maintenance rather than only treewide churn.

  3. nxp.com

    NXP listed IW416 as Active in 2025/2026, with partner modules and Linux-oriented documentation; IW416 maps to `mwifiex` support in Kconfig.

  4. nxp.com

    NXP listed 88W8997 as Active in 2025, supporting continued new embedded/industrial deployments for `mwifiex`-covered hardware.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Local shell `sed` reads of `drivers/net/wireless/marvell/Kconfig` and `mwifiex/Kconfig` show this parent directory is a mixed Marvell wireless subtree: very old Libertas parts plus still-supported MWIFIEX and MWL8K families. `lore_file_timeline` on `mwl8k.c` and `mwifiex/main.c` showed substantial 2025-2026 patch traffic; a `lore_subsystem_churn` path-prefix query returned zero, so I treated file-level lore as the reliable signal. `web.search_query` found official NXP product pages for IW416 and 88W8997 marked Active, which supports ongoing niche embedded deployments. Conclusion: do not deprecate/remove the parent directory, but annotate that it contains mixed-obsolescence hardware and legacy subdrivers.