• Qualcomm Posts Patches For New DSP Accelerator Linux Driver The newest driver proposed for the Linux kernel’s accelerator “accel” subsystem is named QDA and is a Qualcomm DSP Accelerator driver. • A request for comments (RFC) patch series was posted today for this Qualcomm DSP Accelerator driver for Hexagon DPs and provides a standardized interface for offloading computational tasks to DSPs found on Qualcomm SoCs and covering all DSP domains of ADSP, CDSP, SDSP, and GDSP. • This Qualcomm QDA driver aims to be an alternative to Qualcomm’s FastRPC driver living within the kernel’s drivers/misc/ area. • This new accelerator driver jives with the accel subsystem, provides better resource management, and other features similar to other accelerator drivers. • The QDA driver in current form with today’s patch series comes in at 4,665 lines of C code. • There is an open-source user-space driver to interface with QDA via Qualcomm’s FastRPC accel/staging GitHub branch.

Article Summaries:

  • Qualcomm has released a patch series for a new Linux kernel driver, QDA, that adds a Qualcomm DSP Accelerator to the kernel’s “accel” subsystem. The driver, written in 4,665 lines of C, provides a standardized interface for offloading compute tasks to Hexagon DSPs across all Qualcomm DSP domains (ADSP, CDSP, SDSP, GDSP). It replaces the older FastRPC driver in the misc area, offering better resource management, a DRM‑style /dev/accel/ interface, GEM‑based buffer handling, IOMMU isolation, and RPMsg transport. An open‑source user‑space driver is available on Qualcomm’s FastRPC accel/staging GitHub branch.
  • Qualcomm has released a patch series for a new Linux kernel driver called QDA, a Qualcomm DSP Accelerator that integrates with the kernel’s accelerator (“accel”) subsystem. The driver targets Hexagon DSPs across all Qualcomm DSP domains-ADSP, CDSP, SDSP, and GDSP-and offers a standardized interface for offloading compute tasks. With 4,665 lines of C code, QDA provides features such as a DRM‑style /dev/accel interface, GEM‑based buffer management, IOMMU isolation, FastRPC communication, and RPMsg transport. It is positioned as an alternative to Qualcomm’s existing FastRPC driver in drivers/misc/, and an open‑source user‑space driver is available on GitHub.

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