linux-drivers/
drivers/usb/misc/sisusbvga

SiSUSB USB-to-VGA display dongles (Net2280/SiS315)

A family of USB 2.0 to VGA adapter dongles built around the PLX Net2280 USB controller paired with a SiS 315 graphics core, sold in the mid-2000s to give laptops and thin clients an extra external monitor over USB before DisplayLink-based adapters became the norm.

keep-annotate conf=0.77 deploy=low replacement=none subsystem=usb category=media-other
77%

recommendation

Worth keeping but documenting its niche, because the hardware is an obsolete USB 2.0 video adapter that is no longer sold and rarely shows up in modern hardware probes, yet the code is still receiving routine bug-fix patches on the linux-usb list as recently as 2026. There is no drop-in replacement driver for the same Net2280/SiS315 silicon, so users who still own one of these dongles depend on it staying in tree.

repository signals

6 files
4,097 source lines
8 commits, 5y
+25 / −2,975 lines added / removed, 5y
5 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 8 total · active in 5/61 months
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sources

  1. lore.kernel.org

    The driver still receives upstream bug-fix patches in 2026, so it is not fully abandoned.

  2. lore.kernel.org

    Recent activity is maintenance-oriented bug fixing, not new feature development or removal work.

  3. cateee.net

    LKDDb identifies this as support for Net2280/SiS315 USB 2.0 SVGA dongles and shows the config persists in current kernels.

  4. linux-hardware.org

    Public hardware probes for a sisusbvga-supported device are sparse, consistent with low present-day deployment.

  5. forum.digilent.com

    A 2024 forum post shows the hardware still appears in legacy use, but as an old niche adapter rather than a mainstream current product.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Local Kconfig read via shell identifies the hardware as a Net2280/SiS315 USB2VGA dongle. lore_file_timeline on sisusbvga.c showed fresh 2026 linux-usb fixes and no clear removal signal, so static obsolescence is offset by active bug-fix traffic; that fits keep-annotate rather than deprecate/remove. Web search yielded LKDDb for device scope, linux-hardware for sparse modern probe evidence, and a 2024 forum thread showing lingering legacy use. I infer the hardware is obsolete and not meaningfully sold new in 2025, but without a solid vendor EOL page I leave last_widely_available_year unknown. No direct upstream replacement driver cleanly supports the same Net2280/SiS315 hardware, so replacement_driver is null.