Qualcomm Atheros Ethernet PHY transceivers (AR803x, QCA83xx, QCA807x, QCA808x)
Ethernet PHY chips from Qualcomm Atheros that handle the physical-layer signaling for Gigabit and 2.5 Gigabit copper and fiber links. They are widely used on routers, switches, single-board computers, and the integrated networking blocks of Qualcomm's IPQ Wi-Fi SoCs, including the IPQ5018 platform's internal Gigabit PHY.
recommendation
It should stay in the kernel because the hardware is current and the code is actively maintained. Qualcomm still sells parts like the QCA8081 in 2025, and upstream patch series in early-to-mid 2025 were adding new features such as qca807x SFP/phy_port support and enabling the IPQ5018 internal Gigabit PHY — clear signs of fresh hardware enablement rather than sunset.
repository signals
sources
- lists.infradead.org
A 2025 net-next patch series adds qca807x SFP/phy_port support, showing ongoing upstream feature work rather than sunset/removal.
- lists.openwall.net
A 2025 patch series adds IPQ5018 internal GE PHY support to at803x under this directory, indicating new Qualcomm hardware enablement and fresh deployment relevance.
- qualcomm.com
Qualcomm still lists QCA8081 as a current product, supporting the conclusion that at least part of this PHY family was still sold new in 2025.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Real driver directory: local `exec_command` inspection of Kconfig/files shows Qualcomm PHY driver code for AR803x, QCA83xx, QCA807x, QCA808x and IPQ5018 support. Local `git log` via `exec_command` shows the directory was created on 2024-01-31 and still had a substantive fix on 2026-02-20, with many non-mechanical commits. The two mailing-list URLs were obtained with `web.search_query` using exact recent patch subjects; they show active 2025 feature and enablement work, not removal. The Qualcomm product URL was obtained with `web.search_query` and supports current-market availability. No removal discussion surfaced in the lore-targeted web searches, so the evidence points strongly to keep, not deprecate.