nouveau and kernel GPU VMA management
summary
Nouveau now uses NVIDIA GSP firmware so reclocking works and GPUs run at expected speeds; firmwares are large at 20–30 MB firmwares which forces distro/initramfs changes and messy version churn. A driver-independent GPU VA manager (VM bind API) is upstreamed and replaces per-driver VM hacks, with scheduler and sync fixes merged around kernel 66/67. Userland NVK Vulkan stacks land in Mesa with a new compiler and near-term Vulkan 1.x conformance, though replayable fault handling and sensor reporting remain unfinished.
AI-written summary · about
chapters (10)
- 0:00Introduction
- 0:34GSP firmware project
- 9:40GSP status and challenges
- 12:56Driver development strategy
- 15:28GPU memory evolution
- 20:10VM bind and commonality
- 25:03Fence signaling issues
- 29:23Modern driver status
- 31:08User space and NVK driver
- 34:23Q&A session
related talks
33mnouveau in the times of nvidia firmware and open source kernel module
08mNova GPU Workshop: vGPU + VFIO: status and 2026 plans
05mNova GPU Workshop: Nova: status update + 2026 plans
15mNova GPU Workshop: GPU Firmware: status and 2026 plans
47mEverything Awesome about GPU Drivers
39mOverview of a Modern DRM Driver
39mOverview of a Modern DRM Driver
58mNova GPU Workshop: User mode command submission for GPUs
