NVIDIA's next generation of graphics cards, under the "Blackwell-Next" name, began their integration into the Linux kernel some time ago. The latest set of patches now includes updates for handling Compute Express Link (CXL). This particular patch is intriguing because it refers to the next generation of NVIDIA GPUs with the "Blackwell-Next" architecture, even though NVIDIA has publicly confirmed the codenames for its upcoming GPU architectures multiple times. From the "Blackwell" generation, we have seen another variant called "Blackwell Ultra" in the B300 series. However, the next-generation architecture has been publicly confirmed to be called "Rubin." Therefore, it is unclear why NVIDIA's engineers are referring to the next generation GPU design as "Blackwell-Next," given that the codenames have been public for some time.

Furthermore, this is not a case of separating consumer and server products, as both consumer GeForce RTX GPUs are available in "Blackwell" and will be available in "Rubin" variants. This is also true for server-grade AI accelerators. We have learned that NVIDIA plans to update its RTX Spark SoC with the "Vera" CPU and "Rubin" GPU, ensuring name consistency across both server and consumer products. This makes the "Blackwell-Next" patch an isolated case, but it serves as a good reminder that progress toward the general launch of the first "Rubin" GPUs is underway.