AMD Instinct MI200 GPU accelerator fully ready for Linux 5.18 open-source use
One year ago, AMD issued the initial Aldebaran Linux support and resumed working on the upstream Linux open-source support for the CDNA-based hardware accelerator. This was ahead of the official Instinct MI200 release. This Arcturus successor has evolved with new Linux kernel versions and is finalized in time for the official launch. The AMD Instinct MI200 series is the company’s first CDNA2 device that offers up to 220 compute units, as much as 128GB of HBM2E memory, and up to 880 2nd Gen Matrix Cores. The Instinct MI200 series is composed of as many as 58 billion transistors, manufactured on a 6nm process technology. Currently, Aldebaran support is hiding in the “AMD_EXP_HW_SUPPORT” section. The AMD hardware support flag labeled as “experimental” stops the hardware support from activating immediately with the AMDGPU/AMDKFD kernel driver until an override module parameter can be set. The amdgpu.exp_hw_support=1 module parameter is necessary to ensure the use of the “experimental” hardware support, identical to the Intel graphics driver on Linux mandating a “force probe” alternative for its early hardware support. A patch was officially released today, allowing for Aldebaran PCI IDs to no longer be utilizing the experimental hardware support flag and authorizing for complete support upon use. Alex Deucher, AMD’s AMDGPU process manager, remarked on the new patch: It is relieving to know that the Aldebaran support is regarded as ready for production, allowing for the support to be implemented into the Linux 5.18 kernel. The one issue that would delay it from Linux 5.17 use is if it will be considered fixed in the following weeks. Now, AMD Instinct MI200 series Linux users can rest easy knowing that support is ready upon use. Source: Phoronix
