Broadcom/LSI Fusion-MPT SAS-2, SAS-3, and Tri-Mode storage controllers
A widely deployed family of Broadcom (originally LSI/Avago) Fusion-MPT host bus adapters and hardware RAID cards that connect servers to SAS, SATA, and (on Tri-Mode parts like the SAS3808) NVMe drives. They have been the standard storage HBAs in enterprise servers, storage appliances, and OEM-branded RAID cards from roughly 2010 through today.
recommendation
It should stay in the kernel because the hardware is still being sold new in 2025 — Broadcom's SAS3808 Tri-Mode controllers ship in current OEM server add-in cards — and upstream development is clearly active, with substantive fixes and even new 22.5 Gbps SAS link-rate support landing in 2025-2026. The newer mpi3mr driver only handles Broadcom's next-generation MPI3/24G controllers, so it is not a migration path for the large installed base of existing SAS-2, SAS-3, and Tri-Mode cards that depend on this code.
repository signals
sources
- git.kernel.org
Upstream activity is current, with substantive mpt3sas fixes and feature work still landing in 2025-2026 rather than only treewide churn.
- cateee.net
LKDDb shows CONFIG_SCSI_MPT3SAS remains present through current kernel series and covers many Broadcom/LSI SAS2, SAS3, and Tri-Mode PCI IDs.
- docs.broadcom.com
Broadcom's SAS3808 Fusion-MPT Tri-Mode IOC product brief documents current-family 12 Gb/s SAS/SATA/NVMe controllers used for server and storage HBAs.
- gigabyte.com
An OEM server add-in card using the Broadcom SAS3808 was still being marketed recently, indicating ongoing new-system availability of mpt3sas-class hardware.
- cateee.net
Broadcom's newer MPI3/24G controllers use the separate mpi3mr driver, making mpi3mr the natural successor for new designs rather than a direct replacement for installed mpt3sas hardware.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Real driver directory. Local shell inspection of Kconfig and device-ID tables shows a maintained PCI SCSI HBA/RAID driver spanning SAS2/SAS3/Tri-Mode Fusion-MPT chips. Upstream attention was checked first via local `git -c safe.directory=... log -- drivers/scsi/mpt3sas`, which showed multiple non-mechanical fixes/features in 2025-2026 (including new 22.5 Gbps SAS link-rate support and bug fixes); the cited kernel.org log URL is a canonical recall URL corresponding to that path. A direct lore web search did not surface any removal/deprecation thread, so there is no evidence of active retirement work. Deployment is not consumer-high but remains meaningful in enterprise servers, storage appliances, and OEM HBAs. Because the hardware family is still marketed and the driver is active, removal/deprecation is not justified. `mpi3mr` is listed only as the successor for newer MPI3/24G Broadcom controllers, not as a migration path for existing mpt3sas devices.