ATI's X.Org DDX Driver Gets KMS Ready

[phoronix]

Phoronix: ATI's X.Org DDX Driver Gets KMS Ready

With the forthcoming Linux 2.6.31 kernel there is finally Radeon kernel mode-setting support so that those running ATI graphics cards on Linux will be able to experience a cleaner boot process, faster VT switching, improved security, and other overdue features for Linux. Using kernel mode-setting with ATI Radeon hardware will require a supported kernel that is built with the appropriate kernel configuration options. In addition, an updated DDX driver is also necessary so it realizes the kernel is handling the mode-setting process...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=NzM1Ng

[Louise]

So this is a vital patch before KMS for R600 and R700 can be implemented?

[smitty3268]

Originally Posted by Louise

So this is a vital patch before KMS for R600 and R700 can be implemented?

This was required before ANY radeon card could use KMS, both R600+ and the older generations. I believe the stuff that isn't working just for the newer cards is in the kernel and Mesa codebases. Not sure about DRM.

[r1348]

The transition to KMS should be quite straight-forward, as it has been enabled in Fedora for a year now, providing a pretty long testing time frame.

[Louise]

Originally Posted by smitty3268

This was required before ANY radeon card could use KMS, both R600+ and the older generations. I believe the stuff that isn't working just for the newer cards is in the kernel and Mesa codebases. Not sure about DRM.

I see

It would be nice with a dependency tree. E.g.

KMS -> 3D -> Power Management

... and all the other stuff at
http://www.x.org/wiki/RadeonFeature

[MùPùF]

I've just tried this out and it didn't work well !
I didn't take the time to figure out why, just wanted to say recompiling was not sufficient for me.

I've fall back on the kms branch that kind of "works".

[smitty3268]

Originally Posted by Louise

It would be nice with a dependency tree.

As I understand it:

possible to work on now:
r600+ 3D (OpenGL1.4)
video acceleration (shader, not UVD2)
power management (already in master branch)

memory manager -> KMS
memory manager -> DRI2
memory manager -> Gallium

Gallium -> more advanced 3D (OpenGL2.0+)
Gallium -> generic video acceleration framework

KMS -> more advanced power management

[bridgman]

AFAICS this patch merges some of the existing KMS support into master. Kernel and mesa support have already been merged (2.6.31 for the kernel, radeon-rewrite merge for mesa), so once this merge is done all the big pieces for KMS support will be in their respective master trees.

I don't think this does anything specific for 6xx/7xx but it does mean that work can now be based on master rather than on another branch, which is really nice.

Smitty3268, I made a few minor changes, see below. Otherwise your list looks good.

memory manager -> KMS
memory manager -> DRI2 / RDR (RDR is what everyone really wants)
memory manager -> Gallium3D
memory manager -> more advanced 3D (OpenGL 1.5+) via chip-specific code

Gallium3D -> more advanced 3D (OpenGL 1.5+) via generic code
Gallium3D -> generic video acceleration framework

KMS -> more advanced power management (dynamic control of clocks etc..)

[tormod]

Originally Posted by MùPùF

I've just tried this out and it didn't work well !
I didn't take the time to figure out why, just wanted to say recompiling was not sufficient for me.

I've fall back on the kms branch that kind of "works".

The commit in question, which was applied to master, does not provide KMS support. It is just some preparations for the final KMS patch to land later. So you will still have to use the kms-support branch for a while.

[Louise]

If I combine the brances on the dependency tree, it becomes

memory manager -+-> KMS -> more advanced power management (dynamic control of clocks etc..)
                |
                +-> DRI2 / RDR (RDR is what everyone really wants)
                |
                +-> more advanced 3D (OpenGL 1.5+) via chip-specific code
                |
                +-> Gallium3D -+-> more advanced 3D (OpenGL 1.5+) via generic code
                               |
                               +-> generic video acceleration framework

Edit: branch 1 and 3 are not the same My bad

But can I ask where these go on the tree?:

* OpenCL
* TV-out
* GLSL
* Display Port