14 DAY TRIAL // Nvidia is making some changes to the way it's installing its drivers on the Linux systems and they are now using a new kernel module source layout. It's not something that will directly impact users, but it's interesting to see that Nvidia is starting to shake things a little bit.
The current distribution and installation model for Nvidia drivers hasn't changed all the much for many years, and with the exception of a few minor changes, we have the safe kind of stuff that we had half a decade ago. There aren't too many users who choose to install the Nvidia drivers manually, but the ones who do that know it's a hassle. On Ubuntu, for example, you need to kill the display manager, install the drivers from TTY, and reboot.
This is the good scenario. A couple of years back, you could end up with a non-functioning OS because the headers were not installed or you could encounter problems after a kernel update. Users had to manually install the Nvidia header for the new kernel, if they wanted to make it work.
The Nvidia drivers are changing
Changes come in small doses and Nvidia is not about to release a super friendly installer that anyone can use. Fortunately, they aren't sitting still either and they are making some modifications.
"Beginning with the 355.xx release of the NVIDIA Linux driver, a new layout and kernel module build system will be used for the kernel modules that are included in the installer package. As this new build system may prove disruptive to existing tools which repackage the NVIDIA driver, NVIDIA is providing example installer packages which demonstrate the new layout. These packages include the driver components from the already released 352.21 driver, with the layout of the kernel module source files updated to reflect the layout that will be used in the upcoming 355.xx and later driver releases," reads the announcement made by Daniel Dadap from Nvidia.
It will take a while until this new build model spreads in the Linux community. Many of the repos still have the older drivers, but that will change soon enough.