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| author | Open-IOV <dev@open-iov.org> | 2026-09-23 05:44:08 -0400 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Open-IOV <dev@open-iov.org> | 2026-09-23 05:46:43 -0400 |
| commit | 2302fc09080bad51c73f293294e19fd4db464eb0 (patch) | |
| tree | c722d186347fdef5a34131e9e143b1549b1daf8e /docs/VERSION_UPGRADE.md | |
| download | open-iov-2302fc09080bad51c73f293294e19fd4db464eb0.tar.gz open-iov-2302fc09080bad51c73f293294e19fd4db464eb0.zip | |
Open-IOV: initial public release
Open-IOV virtualizes NVIDIA GPUs so that unmodified guest drivers run with
real GPU functionality - CUDA first, 3D and video to follow - on unmodified
hosts, without a proprietary vGPU license and without patching any driver,
firmware or hypervisor.
Core principle: emulate the interface, pass through the work.
kernel/ open-iov-vfio.ko - host VFIO mdev driver: virtual GPU device
(PCI config space, BAR shadows, MSI-X), GSP boot emulation,
GSP-RM message-queue/RPC emulation, memory model (GPU-VA to
guest-PA discovery) and the semaphore-completion service that
advances guest UVM progress.
userspace/ libiov.so management API and examples.
tools/ guest diagnostics, firmware analysis wrappers, RM probes.
scripts/ stack manager, VM harness, build/load/test automation.
config/ hardware/version profiles (the portability surface).
docs/ documentation tree - start at docs/README.md.
wiki/ long-form firmware and protocol deep dives.
Status: initialization works end to end for a stock 570.144 Linux guest on
Turing (TU104): driver probe, nvidia-smi, the full GSP-RM control battery,
object creation and the early CUDA/UVM start-up path. GPU work forwarding -
the step that makes CUDA kernels execute on real hardware - is the active
work item; see docs/04-implementation/01-known-knowns-and-unknowns.md.
License: BSD-3-Clause for the project; GPL-2.0 for kernel modules that link
GPL-only kernel interfaces. See LICENSE and docs/09-reference/legal-and-licensing.md.
Diffstat (limited to 'docs/VERSION_UPGRADE.md')
| -rw-r--r-- | docs/VERSION_UPGRADE.md | 137 |
1 files changed, 137 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/docs/VERSION_UPGRADE.md b/docs/VERSION_UPGRADE.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..94c7d68 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/VERSION_UPGRADE.md @@ -0,0 +1,137 @@ +# Open-IOV Version Upgrade Guide + +> How to support a new NVIDIA driver version (e.g. moving from 570.144 to a +> 610-series release) end-to-end: firmware acquisition → reverse engineering → +> config → host driver → guest validation. The goal is that a version bump is +> **configuration + analysis**, not a rewrite. + +--- + +## 0. Version discipline (read first) + +Four components must stay in lock-step; a mismatch between any two produces +failures that are indistinguishable from emulation bugs: + +``` +guest nvidia driver == host OpenRM nvidia.ko == host GSP firmware == emulation target (decompiled GSP) +``` + +Today that anchor is **570.144** everywhere. When you bump one, you bump all +four. Verify with `docs/DEBUGGING.md` §7 before any deep debugging. + +--- + +## 1. Acquire the new firmware + matching OpenRM tag + +1. Download the Linux x86_64 runfile for the target version: + `https://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/<VER>/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-<VER>.run` + (the `tesla/` path 404s for consumer releases). +2. Extract the GSP firmware (`gsp_tu10x.bin` / arch-specific) — or fetch the + versioned blob from `linux-firmware.git`: + `nvidia/<VER>/gsp_tu10x.bin`. +3. Extract the `.fwimage` section (host boot image) and record the MD5: + ```bash + objcopy --only-section=.fwimage gsp_tu10x.bin gsp-<VER>.fwimage.bin + md5sum gsp-<VER>.fwimage.bin + ``` +4. Note the matching OpenRM tag at + `github.com/NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules` (e.g. `570.144`). + +## 2. Lay down versioned directories (never overwrite a working version) + +``` +firmware/<SERIES>-GSP/<VER>/ # e.g. firmware/61X-GSP/610.XX/ + gsp-<VER>.fwimage.bin + decompiled/ # ghidra output lands here +config/versions/<MAJOR>.yaml # e.g. config/versions/610.yaml +``` + +Copy the analysis scripts from the previous version dir +(`firmware/57X-GSP/570.144/*.py`) into the new one — they are script-relative. + +## 3. Reverse-engineer the new firmware (Ghidra headless) + +```bash +cd tools/ghidra +python3 analyze_fwimage.py \ + ../../firmware/<SERIES>-GSP/<VER>/gsp-<VER>.fwimage.bin \ + /tmp/ghidra_project_<VER> "gsp_<VER>" +cd ../../firmware/<SERIES>-GSP/<VER> +python3 analyze_firmware.py gsp-<VER>.fwimage.bin +``` + +What to extract (compare against `wiki/Address-Reference.md` for 570.144W): + +| Artifact | Why it matters | +|----------|----------------| +| Primary RPC dispatcher + jump table | RPC types/subcommands may shift | +| BAR trap / WPR handlers | BAR emulation behavior | +| Entry/boot sequence | GSP boot RPC ordering the guest driver expects | +| Migration tables | migration protocol (if enabled) | +| RPC message layouts | struct changes break the emulator silently | +| Version string/signature | runtime firmware matching | + +Sanity checks: still RV64IMAC? still the same 12 top-level RPC types? new +subcommands? Confidential-computing/TEE additions? + +## 4. Produce the version config + +Update `config/versions/<MAJOR>.yaml` with: +- `version.name/major/minor` and `firmware.gsp_version` +- discovered dispatcher/handler addresses (if tracked in yaml) +- `features` toggles per what the firmware actually has +- `symbols` (the nvidia.ko vGPU VFIO interface — verify against the new + OpenRM tag; renamed exports break the nvidia build) + +## 5. Update the runtime signature database + +`kernel/firmware_analyzer.c` matches firmware by CRC32/SHA256 + patterns. +Add the new entry to `known_signatures[]` (version string, hashes, discovered +addresses). This is what lets one `open-iov-vfio.ko` serve multiple firmware +versions safely. + +## 6. Rebuild host + guest against the new anchor + +1. Point `patches/nvidia/` at the new OpenRM tag (rebase our delta; verify + `modinfo nvidia.ko | grep depends` still shows `open-iov-vfio`). +2. `./scripts/stack_manager.sh build-all` (kernel → nvidia → userspace). +3. Install the new host firmware to `/lib/firmware/` + (`stack_manager.sh install-firmware`). +4. **Guest**: install the *matching* stock driver in the VM (runfile for the + exact version), replacing the old one. Keep the guest able to boot without + nvidia auto-loading during the swap (temporarily move dkms-built modules + aside — see `docs/DEBUGGING.md`). + +## 7. Validate (same checklist every version) + +Run the full bring-up checklist in `docs/DEBUGGING.md` §5: +module load → mdev → VM boot → guest probe → `nvidia-smi` → teardown +regression → unit test. Then the workload tests (CUDA vectorAdd, graphics). +Only after the checklist is green do performance comparisons +(`docs/PERFORMANCE.md`). + +## 8. Rollback plan + +Keep the previous version's directory + config untouched. Rollback = +`git checkout` the repo tag/commit for the old anchor + reinstall the old +guest driver. Because versions live in parallel directories, the working +setup is never destroyed by a forward attempt. + +## 9. Multi-version testing matrix (target state) + +For each supported anchor version × each supported GPU family +(`config/hardware/*.yaml`), the CI matrix should run the §7 checklist. When +adding a version, extend the matrix rather than replacing the old column — +regressions across versions are the cheapest bugs to catch. + +## 10. Common pitfalls (learned the hard way) + +- **Runfile version drift**: Ubuntu's `nvidia-driver-XXX-open` metapackages + can resolve to a *newer* major (570-open pulled 580). Always check the + candidate version before installing; prefer the exact-version runfile. +- **GSP firmware filename**: guest driver requests `nvidia/<VER>/gsp_tu10x.bin`; + a wrong-version firmware file = probe failure that looks like an emulation bug. +- **Kernel text addresses differ per build**: re-derive Ghidra addresses per + firmware; never carry 570.144 addresses into a 610 config. +- **Symbol renames across OpenRM tags**: `nvidia_vgpu_vfio_*` renames break + the nvidia build with `Unknown symbol` — check `kernel-open` diffs. |
