linux-drivers/
drivers/vfio/pci/pds

AMD Pensando DSC DPU VFIO live-migration driver

Provides VFIO passthrough with live-migration support for SR-IOV virtual functions on AMD Pensando Distributed Services Cards, the data processing units (DPUs/SmartNICs) deployed in hyperscale and enterprise data centers via HPE and Dell servers. It lets hypervisors hand a Pensando VF directly to a guest VM and migrate that VM between hosts without losing the device.

keep conf=0.92 last_sold=2026 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=vfio category=virtualization
92%

recommendation

It should stay because it supports current AMD/Pensando Distributed Services Card DPUs that are still sold new through HPE and Dell channels in 2025, and the driver itself is recent (added in 2023) with bug-fix activity landing as late as December 2025. There is no sign of upstream removal discussion, and the hardware vendor remains actively engaged.

repository signals

12 files
2,159 source lines
36 commits, 5y
+2,522 / −332 lines added / removed, 5y
12 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 36 total · active in 13/61 months
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sources

  1. docs.kernel.org

    Upstream kernel documentation describes pds-vfio-pci as the VFIO driver for AMD/Pensando DSC hardware, specifically for live-migration-capable SR-IOV VFs.

  2. git.kernel.org

    Mainline carried a vfio/pds bug-fix commit in late 2025, indicating ongoing upstream maintenance rather than abandonment.

  3. git.kernel.org

    The driver was introduced upstream in 2023, so it is a recent addition rather than legacy carry-over code.

  4. amd.com

    AMD still markets current Pensando DPU generations and describes deployment in hyperscale and enterprise data centers.

  5. amd.com

    AMD still publishes Pensando software/support downloads and states Pensando Distributed Services Cards are available through current HPE and Dell channels.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Keep: this is a young, actively maintained vendor-specific VFIO migration driver, with substantive local git activity through 2025-12-28 and no removal signal found. Sources obtained via web search (`docs.kernel.org`, `amd.com`) plus canonical-recall kernel.org commit URLs derived from local `git log`; lore MCP/resources were unavailable in-session, and web search over lore returned no indexed removal discussion.