Nvidia transitioning to open-source GPU kernel modules for Linux — R560 and later default to open-source for Turing and newer graphics cards
Nvidia announced Wednesday it is expanding its GPU kernel module open-source transition. Nvidia first released production-ready open-source Linux GPU kernel modules for data center compute GPUs in May 2022. Beginning with its upcoming R560 driver release, Nvidia will transition fully to the open-source GPU kernel modules across all platforms.
Nvidia stated that since its GPUs all share a typical driver architecture and capability set, it can utilize the identical fundamental driver regardless of whether the GPU is for home use or used to power cloud-based AI workloads. After two years of development and testing, Nvidia says it’s brought its open-source GPU kernel modules to a state where they offer equivalent or better performance than the proprietary drivers.
Furthermore, Nvidia said its open-source kernel modules can provide “substantial new capabilities.” These include:
