Marvell/QLogic FastLinQ 41000 series Ethernet adapters
10/25/40/50 Gigabit Ethernet server adapters from the QLogic FastLinQ 41000 family (now sold under Marvell after the 2019 acquisition), commonly found as PCIe NICs in enterprise servers from Dell, HPE, and other OEMs from the late 2010s onward.
recommendation
It should stay in the kernel because the hardware is still being sold new by Marvell in 2025, Dell and other OEMs continue to ship firmware updates for fielded systems, and netdev traffic from late 2025 shows active maintenance including bug fixes and conversions to current networking APIs. There is no replacement driver for the same silicon and no removal discussion upstream.
repository signals
sources
- git.kernel.org
Driver identifies itself as the QLogic FastLinQ 4xxxx Ethernet driver and binds QLogic/Marvell FastLinQ-class PCI devices.
- spinics.net
Netdev traffic in November 2025 shows a real bug fix for qede was submitted and applied, indicating ongoing upstream maintenance rather than abandonment.
- spinics.net
Netdev traffic in November 2025 shows qede being updated for current kernel networking APIs (ndo_hwtstamp callbacks), another sign of active upkeep.
- marvell.com
Marvell still advertised FastLinQ 41000 series Ethernet NICs in 2025, with multiple QL411xx/QL412xx adapter SKUs listed as current products.
- dell.com
OEM firmware packages for Marvell FastLinQ 41000 adapters remained available from Dell, supporting continued enterprise deployment and fielded systems.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Not an early-exit case: directory contains a loadable PCI Ethernet driver. Local shell inspection of qede_main.c showed MODULE_DESCRIPTION 'QLogic FastLinQ 4xxxx Ethernet Driver' and PCI device table for 57980/AH-family devices. Source acquisition: kernel.org tree URL added by canonical recall for the source file claim; Marvell and Dell URLs obtained via web search; netdev maintenance evidence obtained via web search, which returned Spinics mirrors after lore-specific searches produced no removal/deprecation hits. No active removal discussion was found; instead 2025 threads show bug-fix and API-conversion work, matching the provided recent substantive-commit stats. Because the hardware family was still marketed in 2025 and remains plausible in server/OEM deployments, there is no deprecation signal and no natural in-tree replacement for the same hardware.