Panthor Open-Source Driver for Arm Mali-G310, G510, G610, and G710 GPUs Set to Join Linux 6.10

The Panthor open-source GPU kernel driver, developed by Collabora for the third-generation Arm Valhall GPU series including Mali-G310, Mali-G510, Mali-G610, and Mali-G710, is poised to become a part of the Linux 6.10 release, anticipated in July 2024. This significant milestone follows two years of dedicated work by Collabora, with the recent merge of the code into drm-misc paving the way for enhanced open-source graphics support.

Details: For those familiar with Panfrost, the open-source driver for Arm Mali  GPUs, Panthor represents a specific kernel driver tailored to the third-gen Valhall GPUs. Notably, it still relies on the Panfrost driver in userspace. Boris Brezillon from Collabora explains that this move allows popular platforms like the Rockchip RK3588 SoC, featuring an Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU, to benefit from complete open-source graphics support in Linux.

Collaboration and Support: Arm, a key player in the project, not only supplied documentation for the GPU but also offered vital technical support. Two Arm engineers were assigned as co-maintainers of the kernel driver, underscoring Arm's commitment to the success of Panthor. In a recent statement, Arm asserted that "Panfrost is now the GPU driver for the Linux community," emphasizing the growing significance of open-source solutions in GPU development.

Current Capabilities and Future Developments: As of now, the Panthor driver supports OpenGL ES, with ongoing work on Vulkan API integration. A release for Vulkan API support is expected by the end of the year. Collabora is not only focusing on the driver itself but is also actively developing tools for the third-gen Valhall GPUs. These include performance counters, support for devcoredump, and command stream tracing. For those interested in the technical intricacies of the Panthor driver, Collabora has shared detailed information about the implementation, covering aspects such as the Command Stream Frontend and the new uAPI.

Conclusion: With Panthor's integration into the Linux 6.10 release, users can look forward to improved open-source graphics support for third-gen Valhall GPUs. The collaborative efforts of organizations like Collabora and Arm underscore the industry's commitment to advancing open-source GPU drivers, marking a positive step towards a more accessible and collaborative future in GPU development. For those eager to delve into the technical aspects, Collabora's dedicated posts offer valuable insights into the Panthor driver's implementation and ongoing developments. Original post here.