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Linux 4.4 appears with graphics driver for the Raspberry Pi

Summary

Linux 4.4 appeared in January 2016 with a free graphics driver for the Raspberry Pi and graphics acceleration in virtual machines. RAID and BPF code were also improved. Even before development began, Greg Kroah-Hartman had announced that 4.4 would be maintained as a longterm kernel for at least two years.

Ideas

  • A free graphics driver makes the Raspberry Pi less dependent on binary components.
  • Virtual machines received accelerated graphics.
  • Long-term maintenance was announced before development.

Insights

  • Predictable longterm kernels make the choice easier for manufacturers and distributions.
  • Free drivers for popular hobbyist hardware strengthen the whole Linux community.

Facts

  • The driver supports the VideoCore 4 GPU of the BCM2835 and BCM2836 SoCs.
  • It had been developed since 2014 by Eric Anholt on behalf of Broadcom.
  • In 4.4 the kernel driver still lacked power management and 3D acceleration.
  • 3D acceleration for the Virtio GPU was fully implemented in 4.4.

References

Critique

  • The report does not say when distributions would use the free driver by default.

Remarks

  • Linux 4.4 was eventually maintained until early 2022 and served as the basis for many embedded devices.

Recommendations

  • For devices with a long service life, choose a longterm kernel.
  • On the Raspberry Pi, use the free Mesa drivers instead of proprietary graphics stacks.

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