Intel is bringing virtualisation features to their next gen integrated graphics for Nova Lake via this new linux kernel patch. Which is important for users working with virtual machines, as it means several virtual instances can now share a physical GPU more effectively. This update is for desktop and mobile versions of the processor series.
New kernel patch enables SR-IOV for Nova Lake and Crescent Island GPUs
The changes bring support for Nova Lake-S and Nova Lake-P GPUs to the Linux Xe VFIO driver. It includes device ids for Crescent Island which is Intel's Intel GPU D Series marketed name. These new features mean it can now find and operate with these specific devices for virtualisation purposes.
The use of SR-IOV means a physical GPU can have multiple virtual functions available, which can be passed directly to specific virtual machines. Which is a bit different to typical PCIe passthrough as it enables more effective sharing and separation between virtual machines. The change in the kernel update modifies the xe-vfio-pci driver to work with the new device id's and virtualisation support.
This is coming after some of the previous changes to the Xe driver for Nova Lake. Which mirrors what AMD has been doing recently for their next gen Ryzen AI XDNA NPUs. As we spoke about the last time Intel Nova Lake was updated, there was a lot of talk around the same balance and stability areas. This is a move to help improve the virtualisation of graphics more effectively for enterprise and power users on desktop.
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