USB 3.2 Work Is On The Way For The Linux 4.18 Kernel
We haven't seen much in the way of USB 3.2 mentions in the Linux kernel yet but then again we haven't really seen USB 3.2 devices yet. USB 3.2 brings a multi-lane operation mode for hosts and devices using existing Type-C cables as well as a minor update to the USB hub specification. USB 3.2 allows for new 10 Gbit/s and 20 Gbit/s rates using two lanes, USB 3.2 Gen 1x2 and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, respectively.
It's looking like kernel developers are now working on getting their USB 3.2 Linux support in order. We were tipped off that as of last week there are some USB 3.2 patches queued in the usb-next tree maintained by Greg Kroah-Hartman's.
These patches by Intel's Mathias Nyman add underlying code for handling USB 3.2's dual-lane mode, storing the lane count used by USB 3.2, exposing the dual-lane devices as with the "x2" postfix during device enumeration, and exposing the number of USB 3.2 lanes now via sysfs.
As there still is about five weeks or so until the Linux 4.18 kernel merge window opens, we'll see what more comes of USB 3.2 Linux support in that time.
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