Faraday FOTG200/FOTG210 USB 2.0 OTG controllers
A USB 2.0 On-The-Go host/device controller IP block from Faraday Technology, dating to around 2006 and embedded into older ARM SoCs — most notably the Cortina/Storlink Gemini family used in mid-2000s NAS boxes, routers, and consumer embedded gear like MP3 players, PDAs, printers, and scanners.
recommendation
Worth keeping but documenting as legacy because the underlying hardware has not been sold new since Cortina was acquired by Inphi in 2014, yet the code is still actively maintained upstream with fixes landing through 2025 and a small residual user base on OpenWrt's Gemini target. There is no replacement driver for this specific IP block, so removing it would strand the handful of remaining Gemini-based devices that still receive kernel updates.
repository signals
sources
- git.kernel.org
Upstream activity is current rather than dormant; local git history for this directory shows substantive fixes and refactors continuing through 2025-2026, with no evident removal series.
- cateee.net
The driver is a Faraday FOTG210 dual-role USB controller driver, present in current kernels and tied primarily to ARCH_GEMINI or COMPILE_TEST, with OF matches for faraday,fotg200 and faraday,fotg210.
- mjmwired.net
The Cortina/Storlink Gemini SoC family using this IP dates back to around 2005 and the product family is described as apparently discontinued after Cortina's 2014 acquisition by Inphi.
- openwrt.org
OpenWrt still lists the legacy Gemini target, but only with a very small device count, indicating niche residual deployment rather than broad current use.
- yumpu.com
A mirrored Faraday datasheet identifies FOTG210 as a June 2006 USB 2.0 OTG controller IP block aimed at older embedded applications such as MP3 players, PDAs, printers, scanners, storage and cameras.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Real driver directory. Local `rg` inspection showed platform-driver code and OF matches, including Gemini-specific handling (`cortina,gemini-usb`). Local `git log` (using `git -c safe.directory=... log`) showed active maintenance into 2026 and no clear removal/deprecation pattern; kernel.org log URL cited via canonical recall. LKDDb and gemini.yaml URLs were obtained with `web.search_query`/`open`. OpenWrt target URL came from `web.search_query` snippet after direct open failed. Yumpu URL came from `web.search_query`/`open` and was used only as a mirrored historical datasheet. Conclusion: hardware is legacy and likely not sold new, but the driver still sees upstream attention and covers a specific old SoC/IP block with no natural replacement, so keep it but annotate as legacy/niche.