Intel needs more devs
Intel layoffs leave key Debian and Ubuntu packages without maintainers
Intel recently announced that its own Clear Linux distribution will no longer be maintained. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only Linux software that’s being affected by a recent wave of Intel layoffs and internal restructuring, which has quietly affected more than just driver development. Several Intel-related software packages used across Debian, Ubuntu, and other Linux distributions are now unmaintained after the original developers were let go, with no one stepping in to replace them, reports Phoronix .
Around a dozen Intel packages in the Debian archive were recently marked as orphaned. These include tools and libraries that enable critical hardware features on Xeon and Core platforms, such as the Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA), QuickAssist Technology (QAT), cache monitoring, thermal management, and NUMA performance tracking.
Source: Phoronix
Among the abandoned packages are:
- accel-config – required for configuring Intel DSA hardware
- qatengine, qatlib, and qatzip – used for QuickAssist acceleration in OpenSSL and compression tasks
- intel-cmt-cat – cache and memory bandwidth monitoring tool
- intel-lpmd – Low Power Model Daemon for idle power optimization
- ipp-crypto and intel-ipsec-mb – cryptography libraries
- numatop – NUMA topology and performance tool
- psst – Power Stress and Shaping Tool
- thermald – Intel Thermal Daemon
- thunderbolt-tools – USB4 and Thunderbolt debugging suite
This follows earlier signs of Intel scaling back open-source engagement, including orphaned Linux kernel drivers, the end of projects like x86-simd-sort, and the discontinuation of Clear Linux.
Perhaps the bigger issue than the lack of updates or orphaned packages is the lack of official information from Intel. We only learn about these changes through sites like Phoronix, which closely monitor such developments. It seems Intel laid off not only software developers but also marketing teams that could have communicated these changes.
Source: Phoronix