2024-02-15 17:52:25

by Kalle Valo

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: wireless: orphan qfnfmac and plfxlc drivers?

Kalle Valo <[email protected]> writes:

> (changing subject)
>
> Alexis LothorĂ© <[email protected]> writes:
>
>> Also, my mail provider returns error 550 (No Such User Here) for quantenna
>> driver maintainer (<[email protected]>, taken from MAINTAINERS). I've
>> seen no recent activity from him on the ML, is he still around ?
>
> I found a bounce for [email protected] from 2022 so I guess it's
> time to orphan qtnfmac?
>
> Also the purelife maintainer Srini Raju (CCed) is bouncing, that's
> another candidate to orphan.

And confirmed, I just got bounces for both of these maintainers. Patches
welcome to orphan these drivers.

<[email protected]>: host
purelifi-com.mail.protection.outlook.com[52.101.68.16] said: 550 5.4.1
Recipient address rejected: Access denied.
[DB5PEPF00014B8D.eurprd02.prod.outlook.com 2024-02-15T17:07:03.735Z
08DC2C530F4F7910] (in reply to RCPT TO command)

<[email protected]>: host mail.quantenna.com[50.87.249.29] said: 550 No
Such User Here (in reply to RCPT TO command)

--
https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-wireless/list/

https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/developers/documentation/submittingpatches


2024-02-15 19:19:15

by Jeff Johnson

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: wireless: orphan qfnfmac and plfxlc drivers?

On 2/15/2024 9:21 AM, Kalle Valo wrote:
> <[email protected]>: host mail.quantenna.com[50.87.249.29] said: 550 No
> Such User Here (in reply to RCPT TO command)

Apparently Quantenna was acquired by ON Semi in 2019[1], and in 2022
they closed it down[2]. Seems pretty abandoned to me.

[1]
https://www.eetimes.com/on-semi-to-acquire-wi-fi-chip-vendor-quantenna-for-1-billion/
[2]
https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2022/09/20/onsemi-close-down-quantenna.html


2024-02-16 09:37:48

by Kalle Valo

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: wireless: orphan qfnfmac and plfxlc drivers?

Jeff Johnson <[email protected]> writes:

> On 2/15/2024 9:21 AM, Kalle Valo wrote:
>> <[email protected]>: host mail.quantenna.com[50.87.249.29] said: 550 No
>> Such User Here (in reply to RCPT TO command)
>
> Apparently Quantenna was acquired by ON Semi in 2019[1], and in 2022
> they closed it down[2]. Seems pretty abandoned to me.

Thanks Jeff. I do wonder is anyone even using qtnfmac and plfxlc? Maybe
we should just delete the drivers as nobody seems to care about them?

--
https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-wireless/list/

https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/developers/documentation/submittingpatches

2024-02-26 02:13:42

by Igor Mitsyanko

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: wireless: orphan qfnfmac and plfxlc drivers?

On 2/16/24 01:37, Kalle Valo wrote:
> Jeff Johnson <[email protected]> writes:
>
>> On 2/15/2024 9:21 AM, Kalle Valo wrote:
>>> <[email protected]>: host mail.quantenna.com[50.87.249.29] said: 550 No
>>> Such User Here (in reply to RCPT TO command)
>> Apparently Quantenna was acquired by ON Semi in 2019[1], and in 2022
>> they closed it down[2]. Seems pretty abandoned to me.
> Thanks Jeff. I do wonder is anyone even using qtnfmac and plfxlc? Maybe
> we should just delete the drivers as nobody seems to care about them?
>
(replacing [email protected] with my personal email)

Hi Kalle, Jeff,

that's right, Quantenna division was shutdown by ON. To my knowledge no
users of qtnfmac drivers are left after that. I would think removing
driver altogether is the right approach. I'm not associated with ON
anymore so it's just my personal opinion.

CCing Krystal Heaton who I found on ON "contacts" web page (just in case
someone from ON wants to comment if removing qtnfmac driver from Linux
kernel is a concern).



2024-02-27 14:08:40

by Kalle Valo

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: wireless: orphan qfnfmac and plfxlc drivers?

Igor Mitsyanko <[email protected]> writes:

> On 2/16/24 01:37, Kalle Valo wrote:
>> Jeff Johnson <[email protected]> writes:
>>
>>> On 2/15/2024 9:21 AM, Kalle Valo wrote:
>>>> <[email protected]>: host mail.quantenna.com[50.87.249.29] said: 550 No
>>>> Such User Here (in reply to RCPT TO command)
>>> Apparently Quantenna was acquired by ON Semi in 2019[1], and in 2022
>>> they closed it down[2]. Seems pretty abandoned to me.
>> Thanks Jeff. I do wonder is anyone even using qtnfmac and plfxlc? Maybe
>> we should just delete the drivers as nobody seems to care about them?
>>
> (replacing [email protected] with my personal email)
>
> Hi Kalle, Jeff,
>
> that's right, Quantenna division was shutdown by ON. To my knowledge
> no users of qtnfmac drivers are left after that. I would think
> removing driver altogether is the right approach. I'm not associated
> with ON anymore so it's just my personal opinion.
>
> CCing Krystal Heaton who I found on ON "contacts" web page (just in
> case someone from ON wants to comment if removing qtnfmac driver from
> Linux kernel is a concern).

Sad news but thanks for letting us know. So unless anyone else objects
the plan is to remove qtnfmac driver in the near future.

--
https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-wireless/list/

https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/developers/documentation/submittingpatches

2024-02-28 03:03:28

by Stefan Lippers-Hollmann

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: wireless: orphan qfnfmac and plfxlc drivers?

Hi

On 2024-02-27, Kalle Valo wrote:
> Igor Mitsyanko <[email protected]> writes:
> > On 2/16/24 01:37, Kalle Valo wrote:
> >> Jeff Johnson <[email protected]> writes:
> >>> On 2/15/2024 9:21 AM, Kalle Valo wrote:
[...]
> > that's right, Quantenna division was shutdown by ON. To my knowledge
> > no users of qtnfmac drivers are left after that. I would think
> > removing driver altogether is the right approach. I'm not associated
> > with ON anymore so it's just my personal opinion.
> >
> > CCing Krystal Heaton who I found on ON "contacts" web page (just in
> > case someone from ON wants to comment if removing qtnfmac driver from
> > Linux kernel is a concern).
>
> Sad news but thanks for letting us know. So unless anyone else objects
> the plan is to remove qtnfmac driver in the near future.

In theory, there would be quite a few /potential/ users for qtnfmac
and QT3840BC 'Topaz' (QSR1000) on a variety of early 802.11ac routers
and APs (particularly on ipq8064 SOCs[0]), but as the required qtnfmac
firmware for these chipsets has never been published, there is
no wireless support for (the typically 5 GHz-) "Topaz" wlan chipset
on those devices at all.

The devices are out there (albeit not the most common- or long-lived
combination), but they never had wireless support in the first place
(first because qtnfmac didn't support QSR1000, after that was
rectified[1], because the required firmware for qtnfmac/ QSR1000 has
never been published). It's a bit sad that these never got supported.

Regards
Stefan Lippers-Hollmann

--
[0] e.g. Linksys E8350, Linksys E8400, Netgear R7500,
ZyXEL NBG6816 (Armor Z1), ZyXEL WAP6806 (Armor X1) (on mt7621)
[Disclaimer: I don't own any of these myself, but I regularly
see requests for Topaz wireless support on the r7500 and e8350]
[1] Tue Oct 16 10:23:58 2018 +0000, qtnfmac: add support for Topaz
chipsets
e401fa25cfa23df8b17960a656ff11f49facae84