Open Source XP Drivers

[l337programmer]

Is there any chance we will see the RadeonHD driver 'ported' to Windows XP/Vista? Such reasons for doing so include playing 'Counter-Strike: Source' running on Windows XP installed on a Linux/Xen system.

The DomU video driver must be modified (Xen-ified) so that DMA will map to 'physical memory' (allocated from Xen) properly.

http://readlist.com/lists/lists.xensource.com/xen-users/3/15680.html

[l337programmer]

Since I didn't get a response from the OP, I have come up with a pretty good idea too.



Imagine with me, if you will: You have a modern desktop system with a screaming ATi graphics card with 100% open source, working 3D drivers. You have Xen installed with Linux as Dom0 and Windows XP as a DomU.

Would it be remotely possible to use the Windows drivers in the DomU, and have WINE intercept the DirectX code from the drivers to interpret them to run on the open source drivers in the Dom0?



[Leveraging WINE for only DirectX and using XP for the rest can be useful in a variety of situations.]



The possibilities that can happen with Xen fascinate and intrigue me... and excites me. I have a decent idea on how to convert the masses to Linux if Xen DomU's can have working 3D support.

[neuron]

First you'd need to make a open source driver for windows, as the ml thread says, it's technically possible, but it's quite a big task.

[Redeeman]

xen is dead...

[l337programmer]

First you'd need to make a open source driver for windows, as the ml thread says, it's technically possible, but it's quite a big task.

I think using WINE and having a decent virtual device created on the fly in Xen (including possibly an IOMMU), open source Windows drivers aren't necessary.

Counter-Strike:Source -> XP driver -> WINE -> Linux driver

Or

DomU[ DirectX application -> binary Windows drivers ] ---> Dom0[ ( Xen 3D virtual device + translate DirectX into OpenGL ) -> Linux drivers ]

On one physical graphics card.




Or am I just thoroughly confused?



This guy is running two nVidia 7800GTXs. One for Dom0 and one for DomU. He's able to play two instances of UT22004, one on Dom0, one on DomU. If nVidia's cards work if you have two, I'm sure with open drivers, we can make it work with one card

[neuron]

I think using WINE and having a decent virtual device created on the fly in Xen (including possibly an IOMMU), open source Windows drivers aren't necessary.

Counter-Strike:Source -> XP driver -> WINE -> Linux driver

Or

DomU[ DirectX application -> binary Windows drivers ] ---> Dom0[ ( Xen 3D virtual device + translate DirectX into OpenGL ) -> Linux drivers ]

On one physical graphics card.




Or am I just thoroughly confused?

For that you could just use wine, the complicated parts in wine + 3d gaming is directx, not the basic windows api.

This guy is running two nVidia 7800GTXs. One for Dom0 and one for DomU. He's able to play two instances of UT22004, one on Dom0, one on DomU. If nVidia's cards work if you have two, I'm sure with open drivers, we can make it work with one card

Yes, on linux, which means he can recompile the linux driver to make that work. You'd need to modify the windows driver in order to get a windows working version.

[deanjo]

xen is dead...

ROTFLMAO! mmmmm k.

[Redeeman]

ROTFLMAO! mmmmm k.

its pretty much not a secret..

redhat is changing, as is novell.

xen is dead because
1: they dont want to move upstream
2: they dont want people doing "Xen" solutions.

whomever owns xen now (citrix?) is pretty much gonna be the only ones bothering to use it..

KVM is the successor.

[deanjo]

So where do you get the idea that novell is moving away from xen?

[Redeeman]

just wait and see.. :P