- His contributions to the project date back to as early as 2008 and have played a pivotal role in its evolution.
- Consider AMD Radeon and Intel graphics hardware for superior open-source Linux graphics support.
Ben Skeggs, the maintainer of the Nouveau DRM kernel driver at Red Hat, has announced his resignation from the project. This development comes just hours after he posted a patch series to enhance the Nouveau kernel driver’s compatibility with NVIDIA’s GSP (Graphics Support Package). This effort aimed to improve support for the RTX 20/30 series Graphics processing unit (GPUs) and to enable accelerated graphics support for the upcoming RTX 40 “Ada Lovelace” GPUs.
He has been a central figure in the project for over a decade, diligently working to keep this open-source kernel driver integrated into the mainline Linux kernel. In an official patch and comment, Skeggs resigned, stating, “I have resigned and will no longer be taking as active a role in nouveau development.” He also reaffirmed his decision in another message, indicating that he would be stepping back. He explained that his decision was personal and had been on his mind for several years. He expressed confidence in the project’s direction, particularly with the simplification of future hardware support brought about by the GSP-RM (Graphics Support Package Resource Manager).
This resignation marks a significant loss for Nouveau development and the broader open-source driver ecosystem. Skeggs has been the driving force behind the Nouveau kernel driver for years, particularly during his tenure at Red Hat. The open-source Linux graphics driver landscape will likely change his resignation. For now, those seeking the best open-source graphics driver support on Linux are encouraged to explore options offered by AMD Radeon and Intel graphics hardware.
