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FreeBSD Is Slowly But Surely Trying To Catch Up With Linux Graphics Drivers

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  • FreeBSD Is Slowly But Surely Trying To Catch Up With Linux Graphics Drivers

    Phoronix: FreeBSD Is Slowly But Surely Trying To Catch Up With Linux Graphics Drivers

    Jean-S?bastien P?dron of the FreeBSD project gave an update at this week's XDC2014 conference about the state of the graphics stack on FreeBSD...

    Phoronix, Linux Hardware Reviews, Linux hardware benchmarks, Linux server benchmarks, Linux benchmarking, Desktop Linux, Linux performance, Open Source graphics, Linux How To, Ubuntu benchmarks, Ubuntu hardware, Phoronix Test Suite

  • #2
    Originally posted by phoronix View Post
    - Additionally, to potentially allow a root-less X Server by coming up with a workable alternative to systemd's logind that's needed for the root-less server.
    only DRM is needed to run X rootless
    console-kit logind is needed so a display manager can run X as the user that logs in
    alternative would be to put the user in, example, "input" group and allow that group to read /dev/input/*, as input is the last thing standing

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    • #3
      Do they have to reverse this stuff from Linux to avoid the GPL?
      This makes me wonder if AMD's open source effort will be GPL based. Any thoughts on what that means for BSD?

      Honestly, though... this is FreeBSD. You use that OS because you want a rock solid server platform, not because you want to game.
      If I were them I would not invest in the graphics stack at all... for now. I would double down in what they are known for... improving the network stack, zfs improvements, security enhancements, and defect resolution for a more stable platform. I would wait for all this Wayland, GLNext, Open AMD stuff to fall out first.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by bpetty View Post
        Honestly, though... this is FreeBSD. You use that OS because you want a rock solid server platform, not because you want to game.
        There are uses for graphics stuff besides gaming. Render farms, graphics workstations, industrial and scientific simulations. Lacking good graphics hardware support locks you out of a lot of high-performance computing.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by bpetty View Post
          Do they have to reverse this stuff from Linux to avoid the GPL?
          Most of the open-source Linux graphics code is MIT/BSD.
          Michael Larabel
          https://www.michaellarabel.com/

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          • #6
            Originally posted by bpetty View Post
            Do they have to reverse this stuff from Linux to avoid the GPL?
            Honestly, though... this is FreeBSD. You use that OS because you want a rock solid server platform, not because you want to game.
            I don't know man. I was using FreeBSD for gaming 7 years ago, with the Linux API layer (it ran quicker than on Windows and Linux for that matter).
            I'm just hoping for FreeBSD to catch up in the graphics department so that I can say Linux goodbye again.

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            • #7
              FreeBSD is designed as a general purpose operating system, similar to NetBSD and OpenBSD, but unlike those, which have focuses on portability and code-correctness/security, FreeBSD is designed to be a compromise of the BSD family, and it does it pretty well.

              I have used FreeBSD as a desktop with an Nvidia GPU, which surprisingly works well. I'm not worried about using a binary blob, because it works, and works well. Currently due to work I'm using a Windows 7 laptop, but when I get back into school come 2015 I'll be back on my FreeBSD workstation converted from a server, alongside my SGI Octane2 running IRIX and my Raspberry Pi running NetBSD.

              To the FreeBSD team, I say Kanpai! You all do a great job, keep up the pace and don't get discouraged. Hell, maybe I'll join the FreeBSD team.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by demonkoryu View Post
                I don't know man. I was using FreeBSD for gaming 7 years ago, with the Linux API layer (it ran quicker than on Windows and Linux for that matter).
                I'm just hoping for FreeBSD to catch up in the graphics department so that I can say Linux goodbye again.
                Aren't NVIDIAs FreeBSD drivers, basically the same as on Linux? So hardware compatibility and performance should be pretty good.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by gens View Post
                  only DRM is needed to run X rootless
                  console-kit logind is needed so a display manager can run X as the user that logs in
                  alternative would be to put the user in, example, "input" group and allow that group to read /dev/input/*, as input is the last thing standing
                  Managing access to devices per user is only one of the basic functionalities that logind API provides. The reason why one tries running root-less X server seems also building a complete, robust and maintained multi-seat system.
                  http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Soft...emd/multiseat/

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by TeamBlackFox View Post
                    FreeBSD is designed as a general purpose operating system, similar to NetBSD and OpenBSD, but unlike those, which have focuses on portability and code-correctness/security, FreeBSD is designed to be a compromise of the BSD family, and it does it pretty well.

                    I have used FreeBSD as a desktop with an Nvidia GPU, which surprisingly works well. I'm not worried about using a binary blob, because it works, and works well. Currently due to work I'm using a Windows 7 laptop, but when I get back into school come 2015 I'll be back on my FreeBSD workstation converted from a server, alongside my SGI Octane2 running IRIX and my Raspberry Pi running NetBSD.

                    To the FreeBSD team, I say Kanpai! You all do a great job, keep up the pace and don't get discouraged. Hell, maybe I'll join the FreeBSD team.
                    IIRC(too lazy for a quickl google) Net/Open*SD were forks of FreeBSD. One targetted at supporting more archs and the other "better" security.

                    That said, personally I generally use *BSD for servers, and linux for desktop.

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