drivers/ntb/hw/intel · keep

Intel Non-Transparent Bridge (NTB) for Xeon and Atom

Hardware on Intel Xeon and Atom server chips that lets two separate machines share a PCI Express link as if it were a private bus, used in high-availability storage appliances, clustered servers, and failover systems to move data quickly between paired hosts. Generations span from early Xeon platforms through the latest Xeon 6 / Diamond Rapids parts.

keep conf=0.89 deploy=low replacement=none subsystem=ntb category=bus-other

89%

recommendation

It should stay because Intel is still actively developing it: a patch series adding Gen6 (Diamond Rapids) support landed on the upstream NTB list in early 2026, and the shared NTB API was being refactored as recently as late 2025. Although NTB is a niche feature found mostly in HA appliances and clustered server gear rather than typical workloads, the underlying Xeon hardware is still sold new and the code is clearly maintained.

repository signals

9 files

4,005 source lines

9 commits, 5y

+95 / −32 lines added / removed, 5y

6 authors, 5y

monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 9 total · active in 8/61 months

sources

lore.kernel.org
Recent upstream work added Intel Gen6 NTB support for Diamond Rapids, indicating ongoing enablement rather than retirement.
lore.kernel.org
The driver family is still being refactored in shared NTB API work touching Intel NTB code in late 2025.
intel.com
Intel Xeon 6 was a current Intel server CPU family in 2025, supporting the conclusion that Intel server platforms in this class were still sold new.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Kconfig and local source inspection via shell identified this as the Intel Non-Transparent Bridge driver for Xeon/Atom hardware. lore_file_timeline (MCP) on ntb_hw_gen1.c/gen3.c/gen4.c showed active 2025-2026 development, including a new Gen6/Diamond Rapids enablement patch and late-2025 API work; no removal signal surfaced in those timelines. Intel Xeon 6 product URL is a canonical Intel page recalled from stable vendor URL structure and used only to support 'still sold new in 2025'. NTB deployment is niche server/appliance/HA equipment rather than broad commodity hardware, so deployments_today is low, but active enough to keep.