linux-drivers/
drivers/s390/char

IBM Z mainframe console, terminal, and tape character devices

Character-device support for IBM Z and LinuxONE mainframes, covering the classic 3215 and 3270 operator consoles, the SCLP service-call interface, z/VM and Hardware Management Console channels, Ultravisor communication, and attached tape drives. This is the glue Linux uses to talk to the basic operator and management hardware on every IBM mainframe from the System/390 era through today's z17.

keep conf=0.87 last_sold=2026 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=s390 category=platform-vendor
87%

recommendation

It should stay because IBM is still selling the underlying hardware new in 2025, including the z17 mainframe and TS7700 virtual tape library, and the code is actively maintained upstream with SCLP, raw3270, and con3215 patches landing as recently as early 2026. Anyone running Linux on a current IBM mainframe relies on these character devices for console access and tape I/O.

repository signals

65 files
23,798 source lines
275 commits, 5y
+4,813 / −7,223 lines added / removed, 5y
57 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 275 total · active in 57/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 1 commit · +2 −2 2021-05: 5 commits · +15 −35 2021-06: 10 commits · +17 −607 2021-07: 4 commits · +24 −23 2021-08: 3 commits · +229 −7 2021-09: 8 commits · +27 −15 2021-10: 2 commits · +9 −6 2021-11: 5 commits · +7 −8 2021-12: 1 commit · +1 −1 2022-01: 4 commits · +5 −7 2022-02: 1 commit · +2 −0 2022-03: 2 commits · +6 −11 2022-04: 1 commit · +83 −57 2022-05: 2 commits · +269 −0 2022-06: 5 commits · +5 −1 2022-07: 6 commits · +38 −41 2022-08: 3 commits · +16 −32 2022-09: 6 commits · +202 −76 2022-10: 2 commits · +7 −1 2022-11: 39 commits · +1,490 −2,006 2022-12: 24 commits · +327 −363 2023-01: 3 commits · +10 −8 2023-02: 1 commit · +4 −4 2023-03: 1 commit · +5 −5 2023-04: 2 commits · +3 −2 2023-05: 1 commit · +40 −1 2023-06: 6 commits · +230 −13 2023-07: 3 commits · +4 −8 2023-08: 5 commits · +24 −26 2023-09: 6 commits · +23 −23 2023-10: 1 commit · +1 −1 2023-11: 2 commits · +3 −1 2023-12: 2 commits · +18 −18 2024-01: 3 commits · +37 −11 2024-02: 2 commits · +1 −2 2024-03: 10 commits · +71 −66 2024-04: 1 commit · +4 −2 2024-05: 1 commit · +3 −17 2024-06: 8 commits · +40 −17 2024-07: 3 commits · +3 −2 2024-08: 2 commits · +1 −3 2024-09: 1 commit · +0 −8 2024-10: 9 commits · +80 −21 2024-11: 5 commits · +83 −41 2024-12: 3 commits · +9 −38 2025-01: 4 commits · +7 −14 2025-02: 6 commits · +72 −22 2025-03: 1 commit · +2 −2 2025-04: 4 commits · +28 −21 2025-05: 2 commits · +7 −6 2025-06: 2 commits · +10 −3 2025-07: 1 commit · +2 −2 2025-08: 4 commits · +500 −493 2025-09: 3 commits · +8 −15 2025-10: 14 commits · +360 −341 2025-11: 4 commits · +50 −123 2025-12: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-01: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-02: 12 commits · +258 −2,533 2026-03: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. lore.kernel.org

    Recent upstream feature work touched `drivers/s390/char` via `s390/sclp: Detect ASTFLEIE 2 facility` on 2026-02-26.

  2. lore.kernel.org

    Recent upstream maintenance touched `drivers/s390/char` via `s390/raw3270: add unregister in raw3270_init()` on 2026-01-25.

  3. lore.kernel.org

    Recent upstream maintenance touched `drivers/s390/char` via `s390/con3215: add unregister in tty3215_init()` on 2026-01-25.

  4. ibm.com

    IBM was selling the current IBM z17 mainframe platform in 2025/2026, so the underlying IBM Z hardware family is not obsolete.

  5. ibm.com

    IBM was also selling the TS7700/TS7780 virtual tape family for IBM Z workloads in 2025/2026, matching the in-tree s390 tape support use case.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Real driver directory, confirmed by local `Kconfig`/source inspection with `exec_command`: it contains IBM Z console/terminal (3215/3270/SCLP), z/VM, HMC, UV, and tape char drivers. Active upkeep is evidenced by lore URLs obtained with `mcp__lore_http__.lore_regex` (recent 2026 SCLP/raw3270/con3215 patches). Current deployment evidence comes from IBM product pages obtained with `web.search_query` and opened from results: IBM z17 and TS7700/TS7780 are current products, so this is still-deployed enterprise hardware rather than legacy-only gear. I did not obtain positive evidence of an active removal/deprecation series in the successful lore queries; given broad recent maintenance and current hardware availability, the directory should be kept.