Cisco UCS VIC (Virtual Interface Card) Ethernet adapters
Cisco's Unified Computing System Virtual Interface Cards, the converged Ethernet adapters built into Cisco UCS blade and rack servers since around 2009. Current VIC 15000-series parts run at 25, 100, and 200 Gbps and are still shipping in 2025 for Cisco's M6, M7, and M8 server generations.
recommendation
It should stay because Cisco UCS VIC adapters are still actively sold and deployed in data centers, and the driver is under continuous upstream development — including SR-IOV v2 work landing in net-next as recently as 2026. There is no alternative in-tree driver for this hardware, so removing it would strand a sizeable installed base of Cisco UCS customers.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
Upstream activity is current and feature-bearing in 2026; enic is still receiving net-next development rather than only janitorial fixes.
- cisco.com
Cisco's 2025 VIC 15000 Series data sheet shows current UCS VIC 15000 adapters for M6/M7/M8 servers, indicating the enic hardware family remains sold for new deployments in 2025.
- cisco.com
Cisco's recent VIC driver guide explicitly states eNIC is the driver for Cisco UCS VIC Ethernet NICs, tying this Linux driver family to current Cisco VIC support.
- cisco.com
Cisco support pages still list UCS Virtual Interface Cards as an available-order product family, supporting ongoing deployment presence.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Local `rg` on enic.h/enic_main.c identifies this as the Cisco VIC Ethernet NIC driver and shows recent VIC 15xxx device IDs, including 25/100/200G-era parts. `lore_file_timeline` MCP on enic_main.c returned April 23, 2026 net-next SR-IOV V2 patches, with dense 2024-2026 activity and no visible removal signal; a removal-focused `lore_regex` query timed out, so absence of removal talk is inferred from active forward development, not proven by a dedicated negative search. Cisco URLs were obtained via web search and show 2025-orderable/support-current UCS VIC products and current VIC driver documentation. No natural in-tree replacement exists for Cisco UCS VIC Ethernet adapters, so the correct disposition is keep.