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

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

The day has finally come: NVIDIA IS PUBLISHING THEIR LINUX GPU KERNEL MODULES AS OPEN-SOURCE!
What's covered by this NVIDIA open-source initiative - NVIDIA's open kernel modules is already considered "production ready, opt-in" for data center GPUs. For GeForce and workstation GPUs, the open kernel module code is considered "alpha quality" but will be ramped up moving forward with future releases.
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It's genuine open-source kernel code - MIT/GPL dual licensed! NVIDIA has indicated that Canonical / Ubuntu, Red Hat, and SUSE are all preparing to package and use the open kernel modules. Beginning with the new R515 branch of the NVIDIA Linux driver, the driver installer will have the option for users whether they want to use the existing proprietary kernel modules or switch to the open driver code.
NVIDIA's user-space libraries and OpenGL / Vulkan / OpenCL / CUDA drivers remain closed-source -- today's announcement is just about all the excitement in kernel space.

Mainline ambitions for NVIDIA's Linux kernel driver - It won't go upstream though near-term / in its current form. At this point the API/ABI is not stabilized and the open kernel driver code will be tied to particular driver releases. NVIDIA is ultimately working to stabilize its API/ABI as well as the GSP firmware interface.
https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=nvidia-open-kernel&num=1
 
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