Linux 5.7 Networking Changes Bring Qualcomm IPA, New Intel Driver Additions

The networking changes for the Linux 5.7 kernel have already been merged and as usual there is a lot of new wired and wireless networking driver activity.

Some of the highlights in the networking subsystem for Linux 5.7 include:

- Introducing the Qualcomm IPA driver as the IP Accelerator. The IPA allows for network functionality like filtering, routing, and NAT to be performed without occupying the main application processor. The IPA driver also allows for the modem's LTE network to be made available to the application processor. This driver is based on previous open-source Qualcomm code and has been floating around the mailing list for the past few years while now finally is merged.

- The Google-led work for MAC and audit policy support using eBPF.

- Fixing the latest Intel "IWLWIFI" WiFi driver regression.

- Intel Tiger Lake support within the e1000e network driver.

- 802.11 encapsulation offloading support, hardware offloading of MACSEC, and other hardware offloading work.

- Making BPF compatible with RT kernels.

- With the MPTCP support that added the previous cycle, there is now support for multiple paths, path managers, and counters.

- Bluetooth querying for Wideband Speech (WBS).

- Various additions like QinQ support, E823 Ethernet device support, more E810 PCI IDs, and other additions for the Intel ICE driver.

More details on the plethora of networking changes this cycle via this mailing list post.