linux-drivers/
drivers/net/ethernet/intel/iavf

Intel Ethernet 700 and 800 Series SR-IOV Virtual Function (iavf)

The virtual-function half of Intel's SR-IOV networking for the Ethernet 700 series (X710, XL710, XXV710, X722) and 800 series (E810, E822, E823, E830) server NICs. It runs inside virtual machines and containers so they can drive a hardware-accelerated slice of the physical adapter directly, and was previously known as i40evf before being renamed to iavf to cover the broader hardware range.

keep conf=0.92 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-ethernet
92%

recommendation

It should stay because this is the guest-side driver that virtual machines and containers use to talk to virtualised slices of Intel's current server NICs, including the still-shipping 800 series (E810/E830) as well as the older XL710, X710, and X722 cards. Intel released a fresh iavf package as recently as November 2025, and the in-tree code has seen 232 commits from 66 contributors in the last five years, so it is firmly part of active cloud and virtualization deployments.

repository signals

26 files
19,030 source lines
254 commits, 5y
+8,280 / −5,501 lines added / removed, 5y
77 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 254 total · active in 53/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 4 commits · +776 −14 2021-05: 0 commits · +0 −0 2021-06: 17 commits · +112 −47 2021-07: 1 commit · +10 −8 2021-08: 11 commits · +235 −190 2021-09: 6 commits · +74 −25 2021-10: 3 commits · +91 −14 2021-11: 9 commits · +1,330 −276 2021-12: 2 commits · +1 −4 2022-01: 8 commits · +437 −192 2022-02: 10 commits · +130 −85 2022-03: 3 commits · +16 −6 2022-04: 0 commits · +0 −0 2022-05: 2 commits · +175 −22 2022-06: 9 commits · +165 −55 2022-07: 3 commits · +20 −6 2022-08: 4 commits · +165 −43 2022-09: 5 commits · +15 −12 2022-10: 4 commits · +8 −6 2022-11: 5 commits · +31 −20 2022-12: 3 commits · +77 −79 2023-01: 3 commits · +18 −24 2023-02: 1 commit · +1 −0 2023-03: 5 commits · +15 −5 2023-04: 3 commits · +73 −78 2023-05: 3 commits · +6 −8 2023-06: 9 commits · +234 −257 2023-07: 6 commits · +51 −65 2023-08: 5 commits · +196 −92 2023-09: 3 commits · +72 −11 2023-10: 14 commits · +85 −1,046 2023-11: 5 commits · +229 −102 2023-12: 6 commits · +135 −69 2024-01: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-02: 3 commits · +2 −11 2024-03: 2 commits · +5 −7 2024-04: 7 commits · +171 −1,139 2024-05: 2 commits · +4 −4 2024-06: 1 commit · +2 −3 2024-07: 3 commits · +316 −85 2024-08: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-09: 2 commits · +17 −15 2024-10: 2 commits · +331 −4 2024-11: 10 commits · +1,521 −307 2024-12: 1 commit · +2 −2 2025-01: 4 commits · +87 −50 2025-02: 3 commits · +10 −6 2025-03: 3 commits · +7 −10 2025-04: 9 commits · +287 −523 2025-05: 3 commits · +64 −131 2025-06: 2 commits · +19 −47 2025-07: 1 commit · +1 −1 2025-08: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-09: 1 commit · +1 −1 2025-10: 2 commits · +218 −25 2025-11: 3 commits · +29 −8 2025-12: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-01: 1 commit · +4 −0 2026-02: 8 commits · +91 −116 2026-03: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. docs.kernel.org

    Upstream kernel documentation describes iavf as the Intel Ethernet Adaptive Virtual Function driver, formerly i40evf, for Intel XL710/X710/X722/XXV710 class VFs.

  2. intel.com

    Intel's Linux iavf download page was current in late 2025 and lists supported controllers spanning 700-series, E810/E822/E823, and E830 devices, indicating ongoing vendor support and current hardware relevance.

  3. intel.com

    Intel's SR-IOV FAQ, reviewed on 2025-02-11, says Linux VF drivers are available and lists SR-IOV-capable Intel Ethernet 800, X722, and XL710 families.

  4. intel.com

    Intel's 800-series support page shows an iavf Linux VF driver release dated 2025-11-21, evidence that the driver and corresponding hardware line remained active through 2025.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Active in-tree maintenance is strongly suggested by the provided static history: 232 substantive commits in 5 years, latest substantive touch on 2026-03-23, and 66 unique authors, which is inconsistent with deprecation. I found no removal/deprecation discussion in web searches targeting lore.kernel.org, so there is no evidence to escalate toward remove. The cited kernel-doc URL was obtained via web search result turn2search0; Intel URLs were obtained via web search results turn0search1, turn0search2, and turn0search4. This driver is the VF side of Intel SR-IOV for still-sold 700/800-series server NICs, so deployments are not universal but remain meaningful in virtualization and cloud/server environments; there is no single upstream replacement covering the same installed base.