I have a server that needs to use proprietary nvidia driver, but its release are typically weeks behind the kernel driver, creating a constant kernel mismatch update. For example, the current kernel-default version is 7.1.4-1.1 but nvidia’s is 580.159.03_k7.0.12_1-60.1.
I had to create a script to check kernel version match before system update and that’s how I found out that it’s a normal state of affair.
How does everybody with nvidia driver even get by??
The proprietary kernel packages (kmp) are automatically rebuild on the user machine with each new kernel. There is only a new kernel kmp package required when there are kABI breakages between different kernel versions.
There aren’t/shouln’t be any problems. Or do you encounter any issues when installing this kmp? Any driver/application issues?
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The server is MicroOS TW. nvidia driver package installed is “nvidia-driver-G06-kmp-meta” including “nvidia-driver-G06-kmp-default”. I used to encounter nvidia module not loading after system update/ reboot. Turned out nvidia package had a different version with updated kernel. Then I made a script to lock kernel package whenever it detects kernel version update does not match nvidia driver package update.
After weeks, kernel package doesn’t update because nvidia driver package’s kernel version is stuck to the same version all this time.
Are you saying I can unlock my kernel package and update it to 7.1.4 even if nvidia driver stays at 580.159.03_k7.0.12 _1-60.1?
@VIVADE if dkms (from the nvidia repo) is installed and the service enabled, it should auto rebuild?
Reading installed packages...
S | Name | Type | Version | Arch | Repository
---+-------------------------------+---------+---------------------------+--------+------------------
i+ | kernel-default | package | 7.1.4-1.1 | x86_64 | repo-oss
i+ | kernel-default-devel | package | 7.1.4-1.1 | x86_64 | repo-oss
i+ | nvidia-driver-G06-kmp-default | package | 580.159.03_k7.0.12_1-60.1 | x86_64 | repo-non-free
i+ | nvidia-driver-G06-kmp-meta | package | 580.159.03-53.1 | x86_64 | repo-non-free
That driver builds and works here with the 7.1.4 kernel.
I don’t know if MicroOS has special provisions, but no dkms (package or service) here?
You are saying kernel version can be shown mismatched in nvidia driver’s package name and nvidia module can still load?
I don’t know if it’s good news or bad news but it’s getting weirder as I can’t tell when kernel mismatch in names would cause problems now. And my ‘smart’ update script becomes pointless now?
Will try unlock and update to see.
edit: not sure if dkms is needed but it’s not installed.
Yes, that is true for the G06 proprietary driver package: the source code is downloaded from Nvidia server and is built (and rebuilt upon upgrade) for the kernel-default-devel version last installed.
Every now and then, for instance with a major version kernel update, the kABI changes and a new driver package is needed, but that is hard to predict “automatically”.
A different story for the open driver, where the driver is pre-built for each kernel version and the two packages must match, otherwise the nvidia kernel module doesn’t even load.
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