linux-drivers/
drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ixgbe

Intel 82599, X520, X540, X550, and E610 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapters

A widely deployed family of Intel 10 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express server and workstation network adapters, spanning the original 82598 and 82599 controllers from the late 2000s through the X520, X540, X550, X552, and X553 lines and the current E610 generation. They are standard fare in enterprise servers, storage networks, and virtualization hosts.

keep conf=0.93 deploy=high replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-ethernet
93%

recommendation

It should stay in the kernel because Intel still sells new 10GbE adapters that depend on it (the X550 and the recently introduced E610 families), the installed base across enterprise servers and data centers is enormous, and upstream development is actively ongoing in 2025 with new feature work like 10G-BX support landing alongside routine fixes. There is no replacement driver for these PCI IDs; Intel's newer ice driver targets different chips rather than superseding ixgbe.

repository signals

45 files
55,536 source lines
208 commits, 5y
+11,920 / −3,054 lines added / removed, 5y
96 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 208 total · active in 55/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 0 commits · +0 −0 2021-05: 3 commits · +30 −32 2021-06: 2 commits · +1 −5 2021-07: 2 commits · +3 −2 2021-08: 2 commits · +10 −3 2021-09: 3 commits · +89 −32 2021-10: 3 commits · +8 −5 2021-11: 4 commits · +12 −5 2021-12: 5 commits · +21 −22 2022-01: 2 commits · +32 −38 2022-02: 0 commits · +0 −0 2022-03: 3 commits · +238 −47 2022-04: 8 commits · +43 −32 2022-05: 6 commits · +200 −47 2022-06: 3 commits · +3 −8 2022-07: 4 commits · +107 −39 2022-08: 2 commits · +52 −19 2022-09: 2 commits · +3 −9 2022-10: 3 commits · +60 −34 2022-11: 3 commits · +16 −13 2022-12: 2 commits · +23 −3 2023-01: 5 commits · +200 −75 2023-02: 3 commits · +25 −11 2023-03: 1 commit · +0 −1 2023-04: 6 commits · +32 −52 2023-05: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-06: 1 commit · +1 −1 2023-07: 1 commit · +1 −1 2023-08: 2 commits · +0 −10 2023-09: 3 commits · +19 −20 2023-10: 3 commits · +15 −13 2023-11: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-12: 7 commits · +365 −422 2024-01: 6 commits · +884 −907 2024-02: 4 commits · +128 −56 2024-03: 6 commits · +55 −28 2024-04: 1 commit · +0 −1 2024-05: 3 commits · +5 −58 2024-06: 1 commit · +4 −4 2024-07: 2 commits · +1 −2 2024-08: 1 commit · +10 −13 2024-09: 1 commit · +0 −4 2024-10: 1 commit · +22 −14 2024-11: 3 commits · +5 −3 2024-12: 8 commits · +4,411 −50 2025-01: 2 commits · +10 −15 2025-02: 7 commits · +435 −46 2025-03: 7 commits · +236 −20 2025-04: 18 commits · +3,624 −558 2025-05: 4 commits · +58 −43 2025-06: 3 commits · +31 −28 2025-07: 5 commits · +23 −33 2025-08: 7 commits · +104 −47 2025-09: 4 commits · +18 −16 2025-10: 6 commits · +101 −7 2025-11: 3 commits · +12 −9 2025-12: 3 commits · +63 −21 2026-01: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-02: 5 commits · +44 −53 2026-03: 1 commit · +19 −8 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. docs.kernel.org

    Upstream kernel documentation says ixgbe covers Intel 82598, 82599, X520, X540, X550, X552, and X553 10GbE controllers.

  2. intel.com

    Intel's current ixgbe download page lists supported controllers including 82598, 82599, X520, X540, X550, X552, X553, and E610, indicating ongoing vendor support.

  3. intel.com

    Intel ARK shows E610 10GbE adapters as a current product family, so ixgbe-backed hardware was still sold new in 2025.

  4. intel.com

    Intel product page for X550 adapters shows another ixgbe-backed family still marketed as current product.

  5. cateee.net

    LKDDb shows CONFIG_IXGBE continuing through current kernel series and maps it to PCI devices handled by ixgbe.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Local inspection via exec_command confirmed this is a real PCI net driver (`module_init`/`pci_register_driver` in `ixgbe_main.c`) and `drivers/net/ethernet/intel/Kconfig` names it as Intel 10GbE PCIe adapters support. Local `git -c safe.directory=... log --since=2025-01-01 -- drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ixgbe` showed active upstream maintenance through 2026-04-06, including functional fixes and new feature work (`ixgbe: Add 10G-BX support`), with no evidence of a removal trajectory. Web search produced the cited kernel docs, LKDDb, Intel download page, and Intel product pages. Deployment level is assessed as high from the combination of still-sold E610/X550 hardware, long-lived enterprise/server installed base, and continued active kernel/vendor maintenance. No natural replacement driver exists for the same PCI IDs; newer Intel drivers such as `ice` target different hardware families rather than replacing ixgbe devices.