Microchip Switchtec PCIe switch Non-Transparent Bridge
Supports the Non-Transparent Bridge feature of Microchip (formerly Microsemi) Switchtec PCIe switches, which let two independent host systems share a PCIe fabric and exchange data across partitions. The Switchtec family is used in data center storage, communications, automotive, defense and industrial systems, with Gen 6 parts still launching in 2025.
recommendation
It should stay because Microchip's Switchtec PCIe switches remain a current product line, with new Gen 6 parts announced as recently as October 2025, and the kernel code is still receiving routine fixes through 2026 stable backports. While Non-Transparent Bridge setups are a niche enterprise and embedded feature, no other in-tree driver covers this hardware.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
The driver file was still being carried into maintained stable kernels in March 2026, indicating ongoing upstream maintenance rather than abandonment.
- microchip.com
Microchip still markets the Switchtec PCIe switch family, including PSX/PFX families with Non-Transparent Bridges (NTBs), for current data center, storage, automotive, communications, defense and industrial uses.
- microchip.com
Microchip announced new Switchtec Gen 6 PCIe switches on October 13, 2025, showing the product line remained active in 2025.
- cateee.net
LKDDb shows CONFIG_NTB_SWITCHTEC is still present in current kernel series and builds module ntb_hw_switchtec from drivers/ntb/hw/mscc.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
`exec_command` on the tree showed Kconfig/MODULE_DESCRIPTION identify this as the Microsemi Switchtec NTB driver (`CONFIG_NTB_SWITCHTEC`, module `ntb_hw_switchtec`). `lore_file_timeline` on `drivers/ntb/hw/mscc/ntb_hw_switchtec.c` showed continued 2024-2026 activity and produced the cited lore URL; no removal/deprecation signal was found, only ongoing carry/fix traffic. `web.search_query` produced the Microchip product and 2025 press-release URLs, which show the Switchtec family remained commercially active in 2025; this supports `hardware_still_sold_new_in_2025=true`. Deployment is `low` because NTB-capable PCIe switch partitions are a niche enterprise/embedded feature, but the hardware is not obsolete. No upstream replacement covers the same Switchtec NTB use case, so `replacement_driver` is null.