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06 / Learning Path
Driver Stack
Runtime, driver, and system-level GPU software flow.
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Topic 01
01
NVIDIA Driver Module Responsibilities
Theory
The NVIDIA driver is the control bridge between the operating system and GPU hardware.
It is responsible for isolation, scheduling, command submission, and fault handling so multiple applications can safely share the GPU.
Core responsibilities
- Resource management: allocate VRAM and protect process memory boundaries.
- Instruction submission: translate software requests into GPU command streams and queues.
- Context switching: multiplex GPU access across processes over time slices.
- Error handling: surface XID-class failures, watchdog events, and thermal throttling conditions.