Microchip LAN966x and SparX-5/LAN969x Ethernet switch SerDes PHYs
Configures the high-speed SerDes lanes inside Microchip's LAN966x and SparX-5/LAN969x Ethernet switch chips, the analog blocks that turn on-chip switch ports into usable copper or fiber links. These switches power industrial Ethernet, automotive, and small carrier-grade equipment built throughout the 2020s and still shipping in 2025.
recommendation
It should stay in the kernel because the underlying Microchip switch silicon (LAN9662, LAN969x, VSC7549) is still listed as in production, evaluation boards are actively sold in 2025, and the code itself was still receiving upstream fixes as recently as early 2026. This is current industrial and embedded networking hardware with ongoing maintainer attention.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
Both `lan966x_serdes.c` and `sparx5_serdes.c` were still being touched in linux-phy in March 2026, indicating ongoing upstream maintenance rather than abandonment.
- microchip.com
Microchip lists LAN9662 with status 'In Production', showing the LAN966x family was still an actively sold product family.
- microchip.com
Microchip's Ethernet-switch catalog page still advertises purchasable LAN969x and LAN9662 evaluation boards, evidence of current deployment targeting and commercial support.
- microchip.com
Microchip offers the LAN969x 10x10G evaluation board for LAN9694/LAN9696/LAN9698, showing ongoing enablement around the SparX-5/LAN969x-class switch silicon.
- microchip.com
Microchip lists VSC7549 from the SparX-5 family as 'In Production', supporting that the matching SerDes-capable switch family is not obsolete.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Local source inspection (`drivers/phy/microchip/Kconfig` and module metadata via shell `rg`/`sed`) shows this directory contains real platform PHY drivers for Microchip LAN966x and SparX-5/LAN969x switch SerDes blocks, not helper code. Lore evidence came from `lore_file_timeline` and `lore_activity`; both files show activity through 2026, with a March 27 2026 linux-phy touch at the cited lore URL. A broad `lore_regex` removal scan timed out and a `lei` fallback could not start in the sandbox, so I found no positive removal evidence. Deployment/sales evidence came from web search on official Microchip pages: LAN9662 and VSC7549 are shown as 'In Production', and current LAN9662/LAN969x eval boards are advertised with purchasing options. This looks like active industrial/embedded networking hardware with continuing upstream fixes, so the directory should be kept.