linux-drivers/
drivers/vdpa/octeon_ep

Marvell OCTEON DPU vDPA accelerator

Marvell's OCTEON data processing units (DPUs) and SmartNICs, including the CN106XX family, exposed to Linux as virtio data path acceleration (vDPA) devices. This lets virtual machines and containers in data-center, carrier, and 5G deployments talk to the DPU's networking offloads using the standard virtio interface.

keep conf=0.92 deploy=low replacement=none subsystem=vdpa category=virtualization
92%

recommendation

It should stay because this is a relatively new driver, first merged in 2024, that targets OCTEON DPU hardware Marvell still actively sells in 2025. Maintenance patches landed throughout 2025 (including a PCI API update and an October 2025 reference-count leak fix), and field logs from CN106XX boards show real-world use, so the driver is healthy and current.

repository signals

4 files
1,563 source lines
10 commits, 5y
+1,623 / −56 lines added / removed, 5y
7 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 10 total · active in 8/61 months
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sources

  1. spinics.net

    Initial upstream posting in June 2024 adds this as a vDPA driver for Marvell OCTEON DPU devices, showing it is a new driver rather than legacy carryover.

  2. spinics.net

    A 2025 patch updates the driver for PCI devres API changes, indicating ongoing upstream maintenance rather than removal.

  3. mail-archive.com

    An October 2025 fix for a reference-count leak in octep_sriov_enable() shows continued bug-fix traffic after merge.

  4. cateee.net

    LKDDb lists CONFIG_OCTEONEP_VDPA in kernels 6.11 through current generated data, with PCI IDs tied to this driver.

  5. marvell.com

    Marvell still markets OCTEON DPU products for data-center, carrier, 5G, and SmartNIC use, so the hardware family is still sold for new deployments.

  6. docs.bell-sw.com

    A 2026 kernel advisory includes runtime logs from a Marvell CN106XX board with octep_vdpa loaded, evidencing present-day deployment/testing activity.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Local file inspection confirmed a real PCI vDPA driver with module entrypoints and Marvell/Cavium PCI IDs. URLs were obtained via web search/open: spinics initial submission and 2025 maintenance patch, mail-archive 2025 fix, LKDDb current config page, Marvell product page, and BellSoft CVE page with CN106XX runtime logs. Spinics/lore-targeted searches for remove/deprecate returned maintenance threads, not removal discussion. The driver is only 2024-vintage, has post-merge fixes in 2025, and targets currently marketed OCTEON DPU hardware; deployment is niche vDPA/DPU infrastructure, so keep rather than deprecate.