NVIDIA Transitioning To Official, Open-Source Linux GPU Kernel Driver

[user1]

I would also add to my last post that I will truly consider nVidia good if they open up the CUDA API/ABIs for everybody else. That way other vendors can provide CUDA implementations, and existing CUDA applications can be used as-is, without jumping through a million hoops.

You do realise that if Nvidia will open source Cuda, it will lose its competitive advantage in GPU compute sphere? I mean Cuda is the reason many buy Nvidia GPU's so I think that's the least likely thing Nvidia will open source.

[Murple]

This definitely isn't as big as you want it to be: https://twitter.com/marcan42/status/1524615058688724992

100% this

[Adarion]

Well, this is a first step in the right direction. So we probably have KMS, energy management and FW loading on freedom kernel code there. That is good for a start and can also serve as a base for Nouveau work.
But then, the "mesa" part is still closed.

Well, let's see how things develop.

(And of course, it is simpler to deploy stuff now, no recompiling of things, this is basically what AMD did years before, so one can also install the former-fglrx blob easily on the kernel, just that AMD also offers the whole stack as freedom software. But nonetheless, a first step in the right direction for nvidia.)

[Murple]

Does AMD have open source firmware for they GPU? Does Intel have it?
No, go F**** yourself.

This isn't a thread about AMD or intel. I'll happily curse them out elsewhere, a million times over.

Also what is a F****?

[royce]

elmo.jpg

Finally

[baka0815]

Wow, it's getting cold in here - did hell freeze over or something like that?

Well, most of the interesting part is still in the firmware, but it's a good move nonetheless!

[Britoid]

IIRC, the kernel folks are unlikely to allow this upstream without an open source userspace. This is not likely to lead to a significant change in the status quo near term. Our best bets remain with Nouveau, who can hopefully benefit from this release, and maybe get reclocking working on newer systems :shrug:. Still, this does appear to significantly improve the prospects of Nouveau, and if there's an open userspace still coming, that changes everything. Kudos to Nvidia for being less shit than normal.

Eh, I wouldn't be shocked if at some point Mesa supports this as a kernel driver.

[arunbupathy]

You do realise that if Nvidia will open source Cuda, it will lose its competitive advantage in GPU compute sphere? I mean Cuda is the reason many buy Nvidia GPU's so I think that's the least likely thing Nvidia will open source.

Yes sir. But do you realize that there is AMD's HIP, which is almost exactly CUDA, with the only difference being that the CUDA API/C functions are replaced with similar looking functions? There is technically no reason for nVidia to not open up CUDA. But they want us to suffer in hell trying to port our code/application to HIP.

[Slartifartblast]

For everyone here praising AMD and (still) condemning NVIDIA:

* AMD also had a strictly closed source driver before they went open source. Everyone has to start somewhere. (However AMDs/ATIs close source driver was a bigger shit show than NVIDIAs ever was.).
* AMD also only released open source drivers for the newer card generations at the time. I still remember that, because I (also) was pissed that I still had to cling to their closed source driver back then, even though they now were praised for their opensource strategy.

So yes, AMD is a few years ahead in regards to an open source (or maybe open-core?) strategy, but IMO that doesn't take anything away from NVIDIA also (finally) taking that course. So calm down everyone and be happy that we are on a promising road now.

This 👍

[kpedersen]

Well, most of the interesting part is still in the firmware, but it's a good move nonetheless!

Very true but at least that part is "platform agnostic" and won't get in the way of it one day supporting many more open platforms i.e OpenBSD.