linux-drivers/
drivers/net/ethernet/netronome/nfp

Netronome and Corigine NFP SmartNIC Ethernet adapters

Programmable datacenter SmartNICs built around the Netronome Flow Processor (NFP-3800/4000/5000/6000), sold under the Agilio CX and Agilio FX brands. They are PCIe network cards used in cloud and telco datacenters to offload virtual switching, eBPF, and OVS workloads from the host CPU; originally from Netronome and now sold by Corigine, which acquired the product line.

keep conf=0.88 deploy=low replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-ethernet
88%

recommendation

It should stay in the kernel because the hardware is still sold new in 2025 by Corigine, the vendor is actively contributing feature work upstream (substantial Corigine-authored patches landed in 2023, and the code was still being touched in 2025 networking treewide changes), and there is no successor driver to replace it. Deployments are niche but real, and nothing in the lore history suggests removal is on the table.

repository signals

100 files
55,897 source lines
311 commits, 5y
+16,172 / −5,373 lines added / removed, 5y
100 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 311 total · active in 56/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 1 commit · +1 −0 2021-05: 1 commit · +3 −3 2021-06: 20 commits · +1,620 −48 2021-07: 14 commits · +1,113 −230 2021-08: 4 commits · +13 −12 2021-09: 4 commits · +6 −20 2021-10: 10 commits · +57 −33 2021-11: 6 commits · +12 −31 2021-12: 3 commits · +37 −20 2022-01: 3 commits · +30 −61 2022-02: 10 commits · +589 −35 2022-03: 36 commits · +6,114 −3,004 2022-04: 5 commits · +84 −23 2022-05: 18 commits · +844 −490 2022-06: 15 commits · +470 −135 2022-07: 11 commits · +278 −120 2022-08: 10 commits · +321 −41 2022-09: 11 commits · +420 −99 2022-10: 4 commits · +141 −56 2022-11: 12 commits · +913 −67 2022-12: 6 commits · +153 −13 2023-01: 7 commits · +707 −37 2023-02: 8 commits · +402 −129 2023-03: 9 commits · +272 −74 2023-04: 3 commits · +4 −3 2023-05: 5 commits · +55 −52 2023-06: 1 commit · +2 −2 2023-07: 3 commits · +107 −60 2023-08: 1 commit · +0 −3 2023-09: 1 commit · +1 −1 2023-10: 6 commits · +101 −31 2023-11: 4 commits · +730 −6 2023-12: 6 commits · +208 −101 2024-01: 3 commits · +49 −10 2024-02: 4 commits · +7 −4 2024-03: 4 commits · +52 −26 2024-04: 3 commits · +6 −4 2024-05: 2 commits · +3 −3 2024-06: 1 commit · +4 −0 2024-07: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-08: 4 commits · +6 −5 2024-09: 1 commit · +2 −3 2024-10: 2 commits · +11 −11 2024-11: 1 commit · +2 −2 2024-12: 1 commit · +1 −1 2025-01: 1 commit · +2 −1 2025-02: 3 commits · +7 −46 2025-03: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-04: 4 commits · +9 −10 2025-05: 1 commit · +1 −1 2025-06: 2 commits · +10 −10 2025-07: 1 commit · +10 −5 2025-08: 3 commits · +14 −31 2025-09: 2 commits · +2 −2 2025-10: 1 commit · +4 −2 2025-11: 2 commits · +23 −12 2025-12: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-01: 1 commit · +8 −3 2026-02: 5 commits · +130 −141 2026-03: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. lore.kernel.org

    Netdev saw feature work for NFP in 2023 from Corigine, indicating active vendor-backed upstream maintenance rather than abandonment.

  2. lore.kernel.org

    The driver was still being mechanically updated in 2025 in treewide networking work, confirming it remains part of the actively maintained kernel build.

  3. corigine.com

    Corigine marketed Agilio CX SmartNICs with NFP-4000 and NFP-5000 parts and showed current product detail pages with purchase links, supporting that hardware was still sold new in 2025.

  4. corigine.com

    Corigine marketed Agilio FX SmartNICs built on NFP-4000, reinforcing that the NFP family remained an active product line.

  5. kernel.org

    Kernel documentation describes this driver as supporting NFP4000/NFP5000/NFP6000 devices and Agilio SmartNICs, confirming the covered hardware family and use case.

  6. help.netronome.com

    Netronome support documentation describes operational firmware handling for the NFP driver, indicating continued deployed-base support expectations for these adapters.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Real PCI driver code in-tree for Netronome/Corigine NFP PF/VF devices; local shell inspection showed PCI IDs for NFP3800/4000/5000/6000 plus vendor IDs for Netronome and Corigine. Lore evidence came from `lore_file_timeline` on `drivers/net/ethernet/netronome/nfp/nfp_main.c`, which showed touches through 2025 and earlier substantive Corigine-authored feature work in 2023; no removal signal was found from the lore history sampled. Product/sales evidence came from `web.search_query` results on Corigine/Netronome Agilio pages and kernel docs. Conclusion: niche datacenter SmartNICs with ongoing but limited deployments and no natural successor driver in-tree, so keep rather than deprecate.