TCM Fibre Channel / FCoE target fabric (Open-FCoE)
Server-side (target) support that lets a Linux machine present storage to other hosts over Fibre Channel and FCoE fabrics, built on top of the Open-FCoE libfc stack and the LIO target framework. It turns a Linux box with a supported FC/FCoE HBA into a SAN storage target that initiators elsewhere on the fabric can log into and access.
recommendation
Worth keeping but documenting its niche. This module lets a Linux box act as a Fibre Channel or FCoE storage target (the server side of a SAN) by gluing the LIO target core to the libfc/Open-FCoE stack. Fibre Channel hardware is still sold new in 2025 by vendors like Marvell, and the code is still receiving maintenance patches in late 2025 and 2026, but using Linux itself as the FC target (rather than as the initiator) is a relatively uncommon deployment today, so its user base is small.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
tcm_fc still receives upstream maintenance in 2026 as part of a target-core behavior change touching tfc_conf.c.
- lore.kernel.org
tcm_fc also saw a 2025 patch updating its workqueue usage, indicating the code is not abandoned.
- cateee.net
CONFIG_TCM_FC remains present through current kernel series and is built as module tcm_fc.
- lkml.indiana.edu
tcm_fc was introduced as the Open-FCoE/libfc target fabric module, tying LIO target core to libfc for FCoE/FC target use.
- marvell.com
Enterprise Fibre Channel adapters/controllers are still actively marketed in 2025-era product lines, so the broader FC hardware class is not obsolete.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Real driver directory: Kconfig/Makefile and module_init in tfc_conf.c confirm an in-tree fabric driver. chipset_family inferred from local source plus LKML archive/web search: tcm_fc registers with libfc and was announced as the Open-FCoE/libfc target fabric. Upstream attention is low but current: both lore URLs were obtained via lore_activity on drivers/target/tcm_fc/tfc_conf.c. LKDDb URL was obtained via web search and shows CONFIG_TCM_FC still present in modern kernels. Marvell FC product URL was obtained via web search and supports that FC hardware is still sold new, but this specific LIO FC/FCoE target niche appears uncommon today, so deployments are low. No solid evidence of an active upstream removal series was found; with recent bug-fix/maintenance traffic, deprecate/remove would be too aggressive.