AMD Releases New "AMDGPU" Linux Kernel Driver & Mesa Support

[89c51]

I'd love NVIDIA to do something similar.

I.e. break their driver into two parts: a kernel driver which is 100% open source and provides a set of APIs to access the hardware and a userspace blob to talk to the driver/hardware beneath it.

This way the kernel driver might be included in the Linux kernel and we could safely update kernels as often as we want to without having to recompile anything else.

I'm a dreamer, ain't I?

I don't see a reason to buy nvidia if you want FOSS drivers. Nouveau is AFAIK in a worst state than Radeon. If AMD fixes a few glitches here and there it will be perfect.

[dungeon]

Same question here. It would be nice if someone from devteam comment on that

I am just a user, but i remember Alex talking about FirePro addon where even amdgpu ddx isn't enough or something like that . Probably that is the reason, to have one unified driver which can cover *nearly* all combinations.

Well there is XDC video, that should answer some questions

[Veto]

I'd love NVIDIA to do something similar.

I.e. break their driver into two parts: a kernel driver which is 100% open source and provides a set of APIs to access the hardware and a userspace blob to talk to the driver/hardware beneath it.

This way the kernel driver might be included in the Linux kernel and we could safely update kernels as often as we want to without having to recompile anything else.

I'm a dreamer, ain't I?

Yes, you are

It has already been discussed in the past, and the kernel guys will not add a kernel driver with the sole purpose of exposing an ABI only to support a proprietary blob - which actually makes sense, if you investigate the reasoning behind.

AMD however can pull of this trick exactly because they also make a fully functional Open Source user space layer (in good faith!) such that the kernel driver has an ABI that can be used by both drivers. In principle AMD could also make Catalyst working upon the current Radeon/RadeonSI kernel DRM drivers, but the current kernel ABI is probably not a good fit for the Catalyst driver. (Can somebody elaborate?)

Until Nvidia changes their minds, you will have to live in pain (or buy AMD)...

[birdie]

I don't see a reason to buy nvidia if you want FOSS drivers. Nouveau is AFAIK in a worst state than Radeon. If AMD fixes a few glitches here and there it will be perfect.

Who said I want open source NVIDIA drivers? I want working, properly supported, feature complete drivers regardless of their openness.

[birdie]

Yes, you are

It has already been discussed in the past, and the kernel guys will not add a kernel driver with the sole purpose of exposing an ABI only to support a proprietary blob - which actually makes sense, if you investigate the reasoning behind.

AMD however can pull of this trick exactly because they also make a fully functional Open Source user space layer (in good faith!) such that the kernel driver has an ABI that can be used by both drivers. In principle AMD could also make Catalyst working upon the current Radeon/RadeonSI kernel DRM drivers, but the current kernel ABI is probably not a good fit for the Catalyst driver. (Can somebody elaborate?)

Until Nvidia changes their minds, you will have to live in pain (or buy AMD)...

Not that much pain actually - once per three months or so ;-) or even more seldom than that. For instance I still haven't updated to kernel 4.0 'cause NVIDIA's kernel interface is slightly incompatible with this release and I don't want to bother with patches.

[agd5f]

Same question here. It would be nice if someone from devteam comment on that

Mainly to support enterprise Linux distros. Most of them do not ship the latest xserver with built in glamor and modesetting. It also enables us to implement device specific options, if necessary, for certain workstation features, etc.

[nanonyme]

Who said I want open source NVIDIA drivers? I want working, properly supported, feature complete drivers regardless of their openness.

Maybe Windows would suit your mood better?

[birdie]

Maybe Windows would suit your mood better?

I use Windows 7 for gaming and working with MS Office documents and I'm not ashamed of that. My primary OS is CentOS 6.6.

I pledge no allegiance to any OS. And the least thing I care about is "openness" because this word doesn't guarantee anything at all except it's useful for the preservation of our digital history but even that isn't that important since we can run most ancient software in virtual machines.

[Gusar]

Maybe Windows would suit your mood better?

Umm, why? This argument never makes sense, so for once I'd like someone to explain the train of thought behind it. Why would someone be served better by Windows when they don't mind using a closed graphics driver in Linux? As if the only difference between them is open source graphics drivers.

[RussianNeuroMancer]

Mainly to support enterprise Linux distros. Most of them do not ship the latest xserver with built in glamor and modesetting. It also enables us to implement device specific options, if necessary, for certain workstation features, etc.

Thanks for explanation!