Linux Multiplexer Framework and Analog Devices ADG/ADGS Mux Controllers
A small framework and set of drivers for analog and digital signal multiplexer chips used on embedded and industrial boards to route signals between multiple sources and a shared bus or pin. It covers generic GPIO- and memory-mapped mux controllers as well as specific Analog Devices parts such as the ADG792A and ADGS1408.
recommendation
It should stay in the kernel because it is an actively maintained subsystem rather than legacy code. Around two dozen substantive commits in the last five years from nineteen different contributors show ongoing development, and at least one of the supported parts (Analog Devices ADGS1408) is still recommended for new designs in 2025, even though the older ADG792A is now obsolete.
repository signals
sources
- git.kernel.org
The directory is an active multiplexer-driver subsystem, covering generic GPIO/MMIO mux controllers plus specific Analog Devices ADG792A/ADGS1408 drivers, not a single obsolete legacy device.
- analog.com
ADGS1408 is listed by Analog Devices as 'RECOMMENDED FOR NEW DESIGNS' and still has ordering/evaluation support, showing at least part of this driver set targets hardware still sold new in 2025/2026.
- analog.com
ADG792A is marked 'Obsolete', showing the directory mixes one discontinued part with still-current parts rather than representing a wholly obsolete hardware family.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Local file inspection via shell (`rg`, `sed`) showed `drivers/mux` is the Linux multiplexer framework plus four real drivers (ADG792A, ADGS1408, GPIO, MMIO). Prompt-provided history says 24 substantive commits in the last 5 years with most recent substantive touch on 2026-02-05 and 19 unique authors, which is active enough to reject deprecation. `lore_file_timeline(path="drivers/mux/", since="5y")` returned no directory-path events, so there is no obvious directory-wide removal discussion in lore by path signal. URL sources were obtained from web search (Analog Devices pages) and canonical kernel.org tree URL recall (Kconfig). Overall this looks like a live, generic embedded/industrial subsystem with ongoing maintenance, so keep.