linux-drivers/
drivers/scsi/ibmvscsi

IBM PowerVM Virtual SCSI client adapter

The Linux client for IBM's PowerVM Virtual SCSI, a paravirtualized storage interface that lets Linux partitions on POWER (pSeries) servers reach disks served by the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS). It has been a core part of PowerVM since the early 2000s and remains in use on current Power10 and Power11 hardware.

keep conf=0.84 last_sold=2025 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=scsi category=storage-scsi-ata
84%

recommendation

It should stay in the kernel because it is the guest-side storage path for Linux partitions running under IBM's PowerVM hypervisor on POWER servers. IBM still ships Virtual SCSI as a documented adapter type on current Power10 and Power11 systems sold in 2025, and upstream linux-scsi maintenance was still touching the code into early 2026, so it is actively used and maintained.

repository signals

5 files
10,105 source lines
52 commits, 5y
+683 / −332 lines added / removed, 5y
20 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 52 total · active in 22/61 months
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sources

  1. lore.kernel.org

    Recent upstream maintenance still touches ibmvscsi in 2026 via linux-scsi treewide API updates, indicating the driver remains live rather than abandoned.

  2. ibm.com

    IBM Power10 documentation describes current Virtual SCSI adapters for partitions and VIOS, matching the ibmvscsi client-driver use case.

  3. ibm.com

    IBM Power11 documentation still exposes a Virtual SCSI Client Adapter object in PowerVM APIs, showing the technology persists in current-generation systems.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Local source/Kconfig inspection via shell confirmed this is the IBM POWER Virtual SCSI client for PPC pSeries/PowerVM, not legacy physical HBA code. `lore_activity` on drivers/scsi/ibmvscsi/ibmvscsi.c returned recent linux-scsi activity through 2026-01 and no removal signal; attempted subject-only removal/deprecation searches timed out rather than finding hits. IBM Power10/Power11 pages were obtained by web search and show Virtual SCSI client/server adapters remain documented for current systems, so this is still relevant in new PowerVM deployments. Because it serves an active virtualization/storage path and has no clear like-for-like upstream replacement, the right call is keep.