linux-drivers/
drivers/net/ethernet/intel/e1000e

Intel PRO/1000 PCIe and ICH/PCH Gigabit Ethernet (e1000e)

Intel's PCI Express gigabit Ethernet adapters and the integrated 1 GbE controllers built into Intel chipsets, covering the 82571 through 82574/82583 discrete NICs and the I217/I218/I219 LAN-on-motherboard parts found on PCH-based desktops, laptops, and embedded boards from the late 2000s through current Intel platforms.

keep conf=0.93 last_sold=2025 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-ethernet
93%

recommendation

It should stay in the kernel because the hardware is still being sold new — Intel does not plan to discontinue the I219-LM until the first half of 2033 — and the driver is under active development, with recent net-next work in 2026 adding XDP support and ongoing EEPROM and endianness fixes. There is no alternative driver for these chips, so e1000e remains the supported upstream choice for a very large installed base of Intel onboard gigabit NICs.

repository signals

24 files
30,203 source lines
106 commits, 5y
+1,490 / −965 lines added / removed, 5y
46 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 106 total · active in 48/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 0 commits · +0 −0 2021-05: 3 commits · +3 −3 2021-06: 8 commits · +235 −168 2021-07: 3 commits · +28 −9 2021-08: 1 commit · +6 −2 2021-09: 3 commits · +60 −24 2021-10: 2 commits · +2 −3 2021-11: 1 commit · +6 −2 2021-12: 3 commits · +44 −23 2022-01: 2 commits · +39 −15 2022-02: 1 commit · +2 −2 2022-03: 1 commit · +4 −4 2022-04: 1 commit · +2 −2 2022-05: 2 commits · +4 −32 2022-06: 3 commits · +3 −5 2022-07: 3 commits · +43 −22 2022-08: 2 commits · +22 −8 2022-09: 4 commits · +84 −16 2022-10: 2 commits · +5 −15 2022-11: 0 commits · +0 −0 2022-12: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-01: 2 commits · +18 −8 2023-02: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-03: 1 commit · +0 −1 2023-04: 1 commit · +26 −25 2023-05: 1 commit · +1 −1 2023-06: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-07: 1 commit · +17 −0 2023-08: 2 commits · +3 −3 2023-09: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-10: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-11: 2 commits · +8 −13 2023-12: 4 commits · +71 −59 2024-01: 3 commits · +158 −77 2024-02: 2 commits · +13 −6 2024-03: 4 commits · +37 −92 2024-04: 2 commits · +4 −6 2024-05: 3 commits · +25 −20 2024-06: 2 commits · +69 −70 2024-07: 3 commits · +54 −22 2024-08: 1 commit · +11 −8 2024-09: 3 commits · +15 −10 2024-10: 1 commit · +4 −13 2024-11: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-12: 1 commit · +14 −1 2025-01: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-02: 1 commit · +38 −39 2025-03: 1 commit · +82 −5 2025-04: 1 commit · +4 −4 2025-05: 2 commits · +20 −8 2025-06: 3 commits · +46 −42 2025-07: 2 commits · +7 −7 2025-08: 1 commit · +7 −3 2025-09: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-10: 2 commits · +67 −24 2025-11: 2 commits · +3 −10 2025-12: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-01: 2 commits · +41 −12 2026-02: 4 commits · +14 −21 2026-03: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. spinics.net

    March 23, 2026 net-next v4 series adds XDP support to e1000e, showing active upstream feature development rather than removal.

  2. spinics.net

    March 25, 2026 patch series updates e1000e EEPROM/endianness handling, showing ongoing maintenance traffic.

  3. cateee.net

    LKDDb describes CONFIG_E1000E as Intel PRO/1000 PCI-Express Gigabit Ethernet support and lists many supported 8257x/I217/I218/I219 devices.

  4. intel.com

    Intel lists I219-LM as launched and not expected to discontinue until 1H'33, indicating the family was still sold new in 2025.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Recommendation: keep. The directory is an active production NIC driver, not a legacy orphan: user-provided history already shows 92 substantive commits in the last 5 years with most recent touch on 2026-03-10, and web-obtained mailing-list pages show fresh March 2026 net-next work (spinics URLs from web search) including new XDP support and bug-fix traffic. No removal/deprecation discussion was found in web searches. LKDDb page (web search) confirms e1000e covers a broad Intel PCIe 1GbE family including still-common I219 variants; local netdev.c inspection also shows ICH/PCH generations through modern PCH IDs. Intel's product page for I219-LM (web search) shows marketing status launched with expected discontinuance in 1H 2033, so this hardware family was still shipping new in 2025, though mainly as onboard 1GbE in OEM/client/embedded systems rather than as a growth segment. There is no direct replacement driver for the same hardware; newer Intel NIC families use other drivers, but e1000e remains the correct upstream driver for these devices.