linux-drivers/
drivers/dma/idxd

Intel Data Streaming Accelerator and In-Memory Analytics Accelerator (IDXD)

On-die data-movement and compression/analytics accelerators built into Intel Xeon Scalable server processors. DSA offloads memory copies and transformations for storage, networking, and virtualization workloads, while IAA accelerates in-memory compression and analytics queries; both are exposed to Linux through the shared IDXD subsystem and are current shipping silicon in 2025 Xeon platforms.

keep conf=0.94 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=dma category=bus-other
94%

recommendation

It should stay in the kernel because the hardware is current, Intel-integrated silicon still being sold in new Xeon servers, and upstream activity is healthy: the driver picked up DSA 3.0 enablement in 2025 and was still receiving maintainer-applied fixes into early 2026. No other in-tree driver covers this hardware, so removal is not on the table.

repository signals

16 files
9,734 source lines
266 commits, 5y
+7,301 / −2,786 lines added / removed, 5y
52 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 266 total · active in 49/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 12 commits · +1,538 −221 2021-05: 3 commits · +60 −6 2021-06: 9 commits · +120 −97 2021-07: 32 commits · +1,252 −854 2021-08: 10 commits · +94 −115 2021-09: 5 commits · +22 −6 2021-10: 13 commits · +371 −131 2021-11: 2 commits · +69 −9 2021-12: 7 commits · +419 −378 2022-01: 2 commits · +7 −4 2022-02: 0 commits · +0 −0 2022-03: 2 commits · +17 −11 2022-04: 13 commits · +144 −82 2022-05: 7 commits · +48 −37 2022-06: 2 commits · +8 −10 2022-07: 0 commits · +0 −0 2022-08: 1 commit · +0 −2 2022-09: 11 commits · +365 −54 2022-10: 3 commits · +56 −26 2022-11: 1 commit · +0 −1 2022-12: 5 commits · +17 −13 2023-01: 2 commits · +12 −7 2023-02: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-03: 6 commits · +65 −17 2023-04: 16 commits · +1,133 −104 2023-05: 2 commits · +0 −3 2023-06: 1 commit · +1 −1 2023-07: 4 commits · +12 −26 2023-08: 4 commits · +82 −45 2023-09: 4 commits · +64 −7 2023-10: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-11: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-12: 11 commits · +193 −46 2024-01: 1 commit · +0 −1 2024-02: 4 commits · +30 −23 2024-03: 2 commits · +3 −9 2024-04: 4 commits · +130 −23 2024-05: 1 commit · +1 −1 2024-06: 3 commits · +4 −2 2024-07: 3 commits · +6 −6 2024-08: 4 commits · +8 −108 2024-09: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-10: 2 commits · +7 −0 2024-11: 6 commits · +512 −80 2024-12: 3 commits · +13 −25 2025-01: 1 commit · +1 −2 2025-02: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-03: 1 commit · +8 −4 2025-04: 15 commits · +161 −118 2025-05: 3 commits · +4 −3 2025-06: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-07: 2 commits · +4 −2 2025-08: 4 commits · +26 −20 2025-09: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-10: 1 commit · +17 −2 2025-11: 1 commit · +19 −4 2025-12: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-01: 13 commits · +167 −29 2026-02: 2 commits · +11 −11 2026-03: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. spinics.net

    Upstream activity is current through March 9, 2026, with an idxd fix applied by the dmaengine maintainer, indicating ongoing maintenance rather than removal.

  2. spinics.net

    The driver gained DSA 3.0 feature support in 2025, showing active enablement for newer hardware generations.

  3. intel.com

    Intel DSA is a built-in accelerator on Intel Xeon Scalable processors and Intel markets it for current storage, networking, analytics, and VM use cases, including the latest generation Xeon Scalable processors.

  4. intel.com

    Intel IAA is likewise built into Intel Xeon Scalable processors, confirming the broader IDXD hardware family remains a current data-center deployment target.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Local evidence from `exec_command`: `git -c safe.directory=... log --since=2025-01-01 -- drivers/dma/idxd` shows many 2025-2026 fixes plus new-feature work; `rg` in the directory shows MODULE_DESCRIPTION naming both Intel DSA and IAA and PCI IDs for recent platforms. URL evidence was obtained via `web.search_query` and `web.open`: Spinics results show active patch flow and an applied 2026 fix, plus 2025 DSA 3.0 enablement; Intel product pages show DSA/IAA are current Xeon-integrated accelerators still sold for new server deployments. No natural in-tree replacement covers the same hardware; this is a niche but live data-center accelerator driver, so keep rather than deprecate.