[SOLVED] Help Me Understand nouveau/nvidia Kernel Modules

[TracyTiger]

Greetings!

I'm new to Salix and loving it.

I'm hoping someone can spend a moment and improve my understanding of the installation of video drivers/modules in the 64bit version of Salix 14.1. I have three questions.

I've followed the instructions in the wiki regarding installation of nVidia drivers
http://docs.salixos.org/wiki/How_to_Ins ... DIA_driver
This involved the following steps ...

• - Blacklisted nouveau
  - Installed Kernel Sources
  - Installed nVidia driver

I've rebooted the system (a few times) and the nVidia driver appears to work - additional screen resolutions are available.
However I'd like to understand a few items.


1. Why is the kernel module nouveau still showing up? Is this proper?

lspci -v shows the following for the video device ...

Code: Select all

Kernel Driver in use:  nvidia
Kernel Modules: nvidiafb, nouveau, nvidia

The entry "blacklist nouveau" is in the file BLACKLIST-nouveau.conf in the directory /etc/modprobe.d/.
(Additionally the entry "blacklist nvidiafb" is in the file /lib/modprobe.d/framebuffers.conf.)

Is this the expected results or is there a problem? Is the nouveau module built in to the huge kernel? I ask because I had read that leaving the nouveau module running can interfere with the nvidia driver.

If it's built in to the huge kernel what is the configuration option? The file /boot/config file shows "CONFIG_DRM_NOUVEAU=m".


2. Is it proper to add "^xf86-video-nouveau" to the EXCLUDE= line in the /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc file in release 14.1?

I read this additional step was necessary to prevent problems when automatically updating the software in Salix 13.37. I didn't see it in the Salix installation wiki mentioned above.

The link to this advice on the previous release is here. http://broadcast.oreilly.com/2012/04/so ... -with.html


3. Which version of the kernel source should be installed; -2 or -3?

The command "slapt-get --search kernel-source" yields two results:

• kernel-source-3.10.17-noarch-2
  kernel-source-3.10.17-noarch-3

I'm using the salix.hostingxtreme.com repository.

The command "slapt-get -i kernel-source" results in the -2 version being installed.

The information that Gslapt shows is that -2 has a Priority of "Default" and fixes CVE-2014-0038. It shows that -3 has a Priority of "Official". They both show that the most recent version is -2. Does the larger number (-3) in this case not necessarily mean the most recent or the best to use?

Does it matter which of these two versions of the kernel source is installed?

--------------------------

Although the video is generally working with the nvidia driver there are a couple of video issues I'm dealing with. I want to make sure I understand the installation issues before I begin installing Salix on several other older computers with nVidia hardware. I've not used nVidia drivers in many years and I've never used the nouveau driver.

Thanks for educating me or pointing me to where I may become more knowledgeable in this aspect of Salix.

[slack631]

Hi,
Regarding noveau module, if it is blacklisted in /etc/modpobe.d, shouldn't be loaded.
I think thad lspci command doasn't show which modules are loaded.
Modules you can check using command sudo lsmod.
or
lsmod | grep nouveau,or lsmod | grep nvidia
regards

[TracyTiger]

I should have mentioned that lsmod shows the nvidia driver but not the nouveau driver.

So does the lspci line: "Kernel modules: nvidiafb, nouveau, nvidia" just refer to related modules available that may, or may not be used?

EDIT: I see now in the man pages of lspci ...

-k Show kernel drivers handling each device and also kernel modules capable of handling it. Turned on by default when -v is given in the normal mode of output.

Thanks slack631 ! That explains the lspci command.

[slack631]

Yes, that's I meant to answer about the lspci command.
Nevertheless, my knowledge of Linux is not so high that I could answer your questions properly.
I hope someone more competent would reply all in more details.

[gapan]

1. Why is the kernel module nouveau still showing up? Is this proper?

As you found out, that's only a list of available modules.

2. Is it proper to add "^xf86-video-nouveau" to the EXCLUDE= line in the /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc file in release 14.1?

You can remove the xf86-video-nouveau package completely if you're not using it... no risk of updating it by accident then.

3. Which version of the kernel source should be installed; -2 or -3?

You should be getting the -3 version, since it has a higher priority than the -2 version. If you don't it's probably a (rather minor) bug with slapt-get. I'll look into it. But in this case, it shouldn't really matter, the security patch that is applied in -3 has nothing to do with graphics or anything like that.

[gapan]

3. Which version of the kernel source should be installed; -2 or -3?

You should be getting the -3 version, since it has a higher priority than the -2 version. If you don't it's probably a (rather minor) bug with slapt-get. I'll look into it. But in this case, it shouldn't really matter, the security patch that is applied in -3 has nothing to do with graphics or anything like that.

OK, this is not a bug with slapt-get, and you should be getting -2, as you do, which is actually the latest version. It seems Pat@slackware has been confused with numbers this time. -3 is the older package, which was updated on 23-Oct-2013 and -2 is the newer package which has been updated on 14-Feb-2014... Oh well...

[TracyTiger]

Thanks gapan for explaining these two items.