NVIDIA Developer Opens Feature Pull Request For Open-Source NVK Driver

[jeisom]

The only console using Nvidia is Switch. May be Nintendo is pressuring them?

I recall recently Nvidia mentioned that they were working on something for non-nintendo handhelds for later this year, but details were lacking. Speculation was they'd partner with Intel, but I think AMD would be the better off the shelf option with their chiplets. We will see if anything happens.

[dlq84]

The only console using Nvidia is Switch. May be Nintendo is pressuring them?

Since when is Nintendo basing their OS on Linux?

[shmerl]

Since when is Nintendo basing their OS on Linux?

That's not necessarily a blocker if they can reuse the Vulkan driver.

[avis]

I think they are simply practical.

Old Nouveau sucked as base for potential open source driver so they didn't see future there and they know they cannot just opensource propertiary driver. But current NVK+Nova+zink means essentially, they get some kind of kernel driver, they get modern Vulkan driver, and can forget largely about legacy openGL support.

The only question is how far they will go with CUDA. Will there be some propertiary user mode CUDA driver hooked to opensource normal driver or will there be something truly open source as CUDA driver or simply no CUDA at all for open source stack. There could be also something crazy like CUDA to Vulkan translation layer with bunch of special Vulkan extensions.

The user mode driver has already existed for ages. CUDA can perfectly work on top of an open source driver.

Installation

Because the two flavors of kernel modules are mutually exclusive, you need to choose which to use at install time. This can be selected with the "--kernel-module-build-directory" .run file option, or its short form "-m". Use "-m=kernel" to install the proprietary flavor of kernel modules (the default). Use "-m=kernel-open" to install the open flavor of kernel modules.
E.g.,

sh ./NVIDIA-Linux-[...].run -m=kernel-open
As a convenience, the open kernel modules distributed in the .run file are pre-compiled.

NVIDIA has been more open than people could have imagined aside from their GSP which however is OS independent, so it could be overlooked.

[piotrj3]

The user mode driver has already existed for ages. CUDA can perfectly work on top of an open source driver.

It can work on top of open source kernel driver, but CUDA driver rely on proprietary user space driver.

[avis]

It can work on top of open source kernel driver, but CUDA driver rely on proprietary user space driver.

"User space driver" is a misnomer. It's a user space library. You need it, you install it. You don't need CUDA? You don't install it.

[novideo]

Since when is Nintendo basing their OS on Linux?

Since when does Mesa only run on Linux?

[You-]

I think they are simply practical.

Old Nouveau sucked as base for potential open source driver so they didn't see future there and they know they cannot just opensource propertiary driver. But current NVK+Nova+zink means essentially, they get some kind of kernel driver, they get modern Vulkan driver, and can forget largely about legacy openGL support.

Nova is still pretty much irrelevant as Nouveau is still the only open driver being used.

Do you know what the main difference between the old driver and the new driver is?

Old driver (for now old graphics cards) wasn't able to use signed firmware due to nvidia shenanigans. Now that the driver can use and redistribute latest firmware, suddenly its no longer considered shit.

The open driver writers were always awesome and managed to work miracles from nothing, however nvidia royally screwed them over for like a good decade and a half (from when they deliberately obfuscated the opensource nv driver until they released their own opensource though not to be upstreamed drm driver

[cend]

"User space driver" is a misnomer. It's a user space library. You need it, you install it. You don't need CUDA? You don't install it.

Graphics drivers notably require userspace components for Vulkan or OpenGL support. Without these you simply can't get accelerated 3D. Similar for Bluetooth which on Linux hard depends on the userspace component bluez.

There are two free kernel-space components for Nvidia cards: nouveau in mainline and Nvidia out-of-tree. nouveau won't work with CUDA and Nvidia kernel drivers won't work with Mesa and NVK.^{[citation needed]}

[ezst036]

Phoronix: NVIDIA Developer Opens Feature Pull Request For Open-Source NVK Driver

Just simply opening a request. That's the headline. The fact that this is big-time news shows the sad state of affairs in OSS/Nvidia relations.