uOS Build

[P__Robert]

Hello!

During OS programming for the PHI, the need exists to permanently install RPM's.

Is there a systematic solution for determining and generating changes required to the uOS on a per RPM basis?

Seems like the process would involve an initial analysis of the RPM for contents.

Then the appropriate modifications to the PHI filelist need implemented.

Any thoughts on additional requirements?

One option that I've overlooked is to use an NFS share as the root for the PHI.

Can anyone confirm that this is possible for the root file-system?  Would be amazing!

Thanks

[JJK]

There are several options available to you:

• auto-install a set of RPMs each time the Xeon Phi boots up; this will cost you memory, though, as the ramdisk is located in the Xeon Phi's 6/8/16 GB or GDDR RAM . To do this, add a file "rpm.conf" to the directory /etc/mpss/conf.d . This file should contain something like

Overlay rpm /var/mpss/rpm on

            place all RPMs that you want (including dependencies!) in that directory and restart the Phi

• Use a static RAM disk that you populate with the right RPMs yourself. Instructions on how to do this are quite sketch in the MPSS users guide.

• Use an NFS directory as the root FS; this can be done using

micctrl --rootdev=nfs -c

            This does seem to be a bit slower, though and I'm having trouble getting OpenCL to work in this mode

[P__Robert]

JJK wrote:

There are several options available to you:

• auto-install a set of RPMs each time the Xeon Phi boots up; this will cost you memory, though, as the ramdisk is located in the Xeon Phi's 6/8/16 GB or GDDR RAM . To do this, add a file "rpm.conf" to the directory /etc/mpss/conf.d . This file should contain something like

Overlay rpm /var/mpss/rpm on

            place all RPMs that you want (including dependencies!) in that directory and restart the Phi

That was exactly what I needed.

I also experience a major performance hit when using NFS root, so i scrapped the idea.

The RAMFS is just faster?

It gives that "mpss restart" the much needed OS refresh.

Thanks,

Rob

[JJK]

Yes, RamFS is much faster, but the boot up time of the Phi is a bit slower.

As a (non-supported) alternative I'm currently finishing up a "persistent file system" setup where you can use a non-NFS filesystem (e.g. a ram disk on the host side) with the right Phi files in it. The advantage is that the amount of available RAM to the Phi is not impacted by the number of RPMs installed.

[P__Robert]

JJK wrote:

Yes, RamFS is much faster, but the boot up time of the Phi is a bit slower.

As a (non-supported) alternative I'm currently finishing up a "persistent file system" setup where you can use a non-NFS filesystem (e.g. a ram disk on the host side) with the right Phi files in it. The advantage is that the amount of available RAM to the Phi is not impacted by the number of RPMs installed.

Hello,

Can you please provide a link to additional documentation?  This sounds useful.

Thanks!