Following yesterday’s Linux 6.18 kernel release, GNU Linux-libre 6.18-gnu is out today as the latest release of this free software purist kernel that will drop/block drivers from loading microcode/firmware considered non-free-software and other restrictions in the name of not pushing binary blobs even when needed for hardware support/functionality on otherwise open-source drivers.
With Linux 6.18 there are more upstream kernel drivers dependent upon binary-only firmware/microcode. Among the drivers called out this cycle are the open-source NVIDIA Nova-Core Rust driver as well as the modern Intel Xe driver. Nova-Core is exclusively designed around the NVIDIA GPU System Processor (GSP) usage and thus without its firmware the driver is inoperable. Similarly, with the newer Intel Xe driver depending upon the GuC micro-controller without its firmware the support is also rendered useless. There are also network drivers in Linux 6.18 needing new firmware, new Qualcomm hardware, and more:
– Newly-added upstream drivers for FourSemi digital audio amplifier (library and FS2104/5S), for TI TAS2783 speaker amplifier, and for Qualcomm GENI Serial Engine would attempt to load blobs if we didn’t neuter them;
*blob* *blob* *blob*
– Nova-Core, Intel XE, TI PRU Ethernet, and Marvell WiFi-Ex had changesin their blob loading logic upstream, and required adjustments in our cleaning up;
*blob*
– TI WL1273 FM Radio driver was removed upstream, so we could drop its cleaning-up logic;
– The Lantiq GSWIP driver moved in the source tree, requiring adjustments in our cleaning-up machinery;
– Multiple new devicetree files for Qualcomm, Mediatek and TI ARM64 devices mentioned binary blobs upstream, and we have cleaned them up.
*blob* *blob* *blob* *blob*
Per their release announcement. Besides the de-blobbing action, they also continue to put out new imagery for each release:
GNU Linux-libre 6,18-gnu is available from fsfla.org.
