[PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU

[PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU

[许玲燕]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1043 bytes --]

Dear Team,
I hope this email finds you well.
I am writing to propose a new driver for the Metax GPU, which I believe will significantly enhance our support and performance for this hardware. The patch attached includes the initial implementation of the driver, with key features such as:

 * Basic initialization and configuration 
 * Memory management and allocation 
 * Core functionality for rendering and compute tasks 
Please review the code and let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions. I am more than happy to make any necessary adjustments and improvements.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
Best regards,
 Lingyan Xu
lingyan.xu@metax-tech.com


    超大附件列表            0001-gpu-metax-add-new-driver-for-Metax-GPU.patch  [42KB]
        进入下载页面  https://qiye.aliyun.com/alimail/openLinks/downloadMimeMetaDiskBigAttach?id=netdiskid%3Av001%3Afile%3ADzzzzzzNqZy%3BJYiJwCficINAoHh55iyjKdydQzW5hDE%2FGjddF2Xp4ghl2ujmlGlWdfhgNCLOb5s3Se97Eeiv616mY0prafzaq%2F%2FPGnrPJfO1Xc%2BWnHr%2FKRwIkHzWFe5IwvZv86mJQYbb    

[-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 4596 bytes --]

Re: [PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU

[Thomas Monjalon]

Hello,

01/06/2026 07:47, 许玲燕:
> I am writing to propose a new driver for the Metax GPU,

How do you access the GPU?
Are you using a specific library or kernel module?

> which I believe will significantly enhance our support
> and performance for this hardware.
> The patch attached includes the initial implementation of the driver,
> with key features such as:
> 
>  * Basic initialization and configuration 
>  * Memory management and allocation 
>  * Core functionality for rendering and compute tasks 

I am familiar with connecting compute tasks of a GPU
with DPDK networking, but I'm surprised by the rendering functionality.
Do you mean graphical rendering of data coming from the network?

> Please review the code and let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions.
> I am more than happy to make any necessary adjustments and improvements.

Thank you for working on this.

I recommend following this guide to introduce a new driver:
https://doc.dpdk.org/guides/contributing/new_driver.html

回复：[PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU

[许玲燕]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 4124 bytes --]

Hi,
Thank you for the detailed feedback and for reviewing the proposal for the Metax GPU driver.
Based on the questions raised and the analysis of the code implementation, here are the clarifications and my action plan:
1. Regarding GPU Access Method
The driver interfaces with the Metax GPU hardware through a combination of the vendor-provided MC Runtime (Metax Compute Runtime) library and GDRCopy (GPU Direct RDMA) technology.

 * 
User-space Library: As seen in the maca.c code, the driver dynamically loads (dlopen) the libmcruntime.so library. It uses mc_runtime_api.h to manage GPU contexts, memory allocation, and device attributes.

 * 
Kernel Module: The driver relies on the underlying Metax kernel driver (for PCI probing and basic device access) and the gdrapi (GDRCopy) kernel module to facilitate zero-copy data transfer between CPU and GPU memory.

 * 
Dependency: The build log confirms the detection of headers like mc_runtime_api.h and gdrapi.h, which are essential for this integration.
2. Clarification on "Rendering" Functionality
I apologize for the confusion caused by the term "Rendering" in the initial description. Upon reviewing the code and your feedback, I realize this was an inaccurate choice of words.

 * 
Correction: The intended functionality is purely "Compute/Data Processing" and "Memory Management".

 * 
Explanation: The driver's core logic (as shown in the patch) focuses on memory registration, allocation, and CPU/GPU data synchronization (via maca_mem_cpu_map and gdrcopy_pin), which are essential for network data processing acceleration rather than graphical rendering. I will correct this terminology in the documentation to avoid further confusion.
3. Action Plan: Following the Contribution Guide
I have reviewed the <"Adding a New Driver"> guide you linked.

 * 
Patch Splitting: I understand that the current monolithic patch is not suitable. I will rework the submission and split it into a logical patch series:
 * 
Patch 1: Add the basic infrastructure (Meson files, maintainers, configuration).

 * 
Patch 2: Implement core device functionality (PCI probing, initialization, context management).

 * 
Patch 3: Add memory management and data path features (allocation, registration, and CPU mapping).
Thank you again for your guidance. I will resubmit the revised patch series shortly.
Best regards,
Lingyan Xu
------------------------------------------------------------------
发件人：Thomas Monjalon <thomas@monjalon.net>
发送时间：2026年6月2日(周二) 18:01
收件人："许玲燕"<lingyan.xu@metax-tech.com>
抄　送：dev<dev@dpdk.org>; eagostini<eagostini@nvidia.com>
主　题：Re: [PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU
Hello,
01/06/2026 07:47, 许玲燕:
> I am writing to propose a new driver for the Metax GPU,
How do you access the GPU?
Are you using a specific library or kernel module?
> which I believe will significantly enhance our support
> and performance for this hardware.
> The patch attached includes the initial implementation of the driver,
> with key features such as:
> 
> * Basic initialization and configuration 
> * Memory management and allocation 
> * Core functionality for rendering and compute tasks 
I am familiar with connecting compute tasks of a GPU
with DPDK networking, but I'm surprised by the rendering functionality.
Do you mean graphical rendering of data coming from the network?
> Please review the code and let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions.
> I am more than happy to make any necessary adjustments and improvements.
Thank you for working on this.
I recommend following this guide to introduce a new driver:
https://doc.dpdk.org/guides/contributing/new_driver.html <https://doc.dpdk.org/guides/contributing/new_driver.html >


    超大附件列表            dpdk-build-test-log.txt  [48KB]
        进入下载页面  https://qiye.aliyun.com/alimail/openLinks/downloadMimeMetaDiskBigAttach?id=netdiskid%3Av001%3Afile%3ADzzzzzzNqZx%3BJYiJwCficINAoHh55iyjKdydQzW5hDE%2FGjddF2Xp4ghl2ujmlGlWdfhgNCLOb5s3BZAHvDXTdZhtzGA3q8HJ%2Fv%2FPGnrPJfO1Xc%2BWnHr%2FKRwIkHzWFe5Iwm1IZrurr9hW    

[-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 132113 bytes --]

Re: 回复：[PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU

[Thomas Monjalon]

Thank you for the detailed answer and your understanding.

One more question: are the lib and module upstreamed already?


09/06/2026 12:22, 许玲燕:
> Hi,
> Thank you for the detailed feedback and for reviewing the proposal for the Metax GPU driver.
> Based on the questions raised and the analysis of the code implementation, here are the clarifications and my action plan:
> 1. Regarding GPU Access Method
> The driver interfaces with the Metax GPU hardware through a combination of the vendor-provided MC Runtime (Metax Compute Runtime) library and GDRCopy (GPU Direct RDMA) technology.
> 
>  * 
> User-space Library: As seen in the maca.c code, the driver dynamically loads (dlopen) the libmcruntime.so library. It uses mc_runtime_api.h to manage GPU contexts, memory allocation, and device attributes.
> 
>  * 
> Kernel Module: The driver relies on the underlying Metax kernel driver (for PCI probing and basic device access) and the gdrapi (GDRCopy) kernel module to facilitate zero-copy data transfer between CPU and GPU memory.
> 
>  * 
> Dependency: The build log confirms the detection of headers like mc_runtime_api.h and gdrapi.h, which are essential for this integration.
> 2. Clarification on "Rendering" Functionality
> I apologize for the confusion caused by the term "Rendering" in the initial description. Upon reviewing the code and your feedback, I realize this was an inaccurate choice of words.
> 
>  * 
> Correction: The intended functionality is purely "Compute/Data Processing" and "Memory Management".
> 
>  * 
> Explanation: The driver's core logic (as shown in the patch) focuses on memory registration, allocation, and CPU/GPU data synchronization (via maca_mem_cpu_map and gdrcopy_pin), which are essential for network data processing acceleration rather than graphical rendering. I will correct this terminology in the documentation to avoid further confusion.
> 3. Action Plan: Following the Contribution Guide
> I have reviewed the <"Adding a New Driver"> guide you linked.
> 
>  * 
> Patch Splitting: I understand that the current monolithic patch is not suitable. I will rework the submission and split it into a logical patch series:
>  * 
> Patch 1: Add the basic infrastructure (Meson files, maintainers, configuration).
> 
>  * 
> Patch 2: Implement core device functionality (PCI probing, initialization, context management).
> 
>  * 
> Patch 3: Add memory management and data path features (allocation, registration, and CPU mapping).
> Thank you again for your guidance. I will resubmit the revised patch series shortly.
> Best regards,
> Lingyan Xu
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> 发件人：Thomas Monjalon <thomas@monjalon.net>
> 发送时间：2026年6月2日(周二) 18:01
> 收件人："许玲燕"<lingyan.xu@metax-tech.com>
> 抄　送：dev<dev@dpdk.org>; eagostini<eagostini@nvidia.com>
> 主　题：Re: [PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU
> Hello,
> 01/06/2026 07:47, 许玲燕:
> > I am writing to propose a new driver for the Metax GPU,
> How do you access the GPU?
> Are you using a specific library or kernel module?
> > which I believe will significantly enhance our support
> > and performance for this hardware.
> > The patch attached includes the initial implementation of the driver,
> > with key features such as:
> > 
> > * Basic initialization and configuration 
> > * Memory management and allocation 
> > * Core functionality for rendering and compute tasks 
> I am familiar with connecting compute tasks of a GPU
> with DPDK networking, but I'm surprised by the rendering functionality.
> Do you mean graphical rendering of data coming from the network?
> > Please review the code and let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions.
> > I am more than happy to make any necessary adjustments and improvements.
> Thank you for working on this.
> I recommend following this guide to introduce a new driver:
> https://doc.dpdk.org/guides/contributing/new_driver.html <https://doc.dpdk.org/guides/contributing/new_driver.html >
> 
> 
>     超大附件列表            dpdk-build-test-log.txt  [48KB]
>         进入下载页面  https://qiye.aliyun.com/alimail/openLinks/downloadMimeMetaDiskBigAttach?id=netdiskid%3Av001%3Afile%3ADzzzzzzNqZx%3BJYiJwCficINAoHh55iyjKdydQzW5hDE%2FGjddF2Xp4ghl2ujmlGlWdfhgNCLOb5s3BZAHvDXTdZhtzGA3q8HJ%2Fv%2FPGnrPJfO1Xc%2BWnHr%2FKRwIkHzWFe5Iwm1IZrurr9hW    
> 

回复：回复：[PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU

[许玲燕]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 5751 bytes --]

Hi,
Regarding your question about whether the lib and module are upstreamed already, I would like to clarify their current status:
Both libmcruntime.so and the corresponding gdrapi libraries are proprietary user-space libraries provided by Metax. They are not upstreamed to the DPDK mainline repository.
However, please rest assured that the current patch interacts with them via standard dlopen (dynamic loading) at runtime. We do not link directly against their source code or require them as hard build-time dependencies. Therefore, this approach will not introduce any additional compilation dependencies or licensing issues to the DPDK main tree.
------------------------------------------------------------------
发件人：Thomas Monjalon <thomas@monjalon.net>
发送时间：2026年6月9日(周二) 18:44
收件人："许玲燕"<lingyan.xu@metax-tech.com>
抄　送：dev<dev@dpdk.org>; eagostini<eagostini@nvidia.com>
主　题：Re: 回复：[PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU
Thank you for the detailed answer and your understanding.
One more question: are the lib and module upstreamed already?
09/06/2026 12:22, 许玲燕:
> Hi,
> Thank you for the detailed feedback and for reviewing the proposal for the Metax GPU driver.
> Based on the questions raised and the analysis of the code implementation, here are the clarifications and my action plan:
> 1. Regarding GPU Access Method
> The driver interfaces with the Metax GPU hardware through a combination of the vendor-provided MC Runtime (Metax Compute Runtime) library and GDRCopy (GPU Direct RDMA) technology.
> 
> * 
> User-space Library: As seen in the maca.c code, the driver dynamically loads (dlopen) the libmcruntime.so library. It uses mc_runtime_api.h to manage GPU contexts, memory allocation, and device attributes.
> 
> * 
> Kernel Module: The driver relies on the underlying Metax kernel driver (for PCI probing and basic device access) and the gdrapi (GDRCopy) kernel module to facilitate zero-copy data transfer between CPU and GPU memory.
> 
> * 
> Dependency: The build log confirms the detection of headers like mc_runtime_api.h and gdrapi.h, which are essential for this integration.
> 2. Clarification on "Rendering" Functionality
> I apologize for the confusion caused by the term "Rendering" in the initial description. Upon reviewing the code and your feedback, I realize this was an inaccurate choice of words.
> 
> * 
> Correction: The intended functionality is purely "Compute/Data Processing" and "Memory Management".
> 
> * 
> Explanation: The driver's core logic (as shown in the patch) focuses on memory registration, allocation, and CPU/GPU data synchronization (via maca_mem_cpu_map and gdrcopy_pin), which are essential for network data processing acceleration rather than graphical rendering. I will correct this terminology in the documentation to avoid further confusion.
> 3. Action Plan: Following the Contribution Guide
> I have reviewed the <"Adding a New Driver"> guide you linked.
> 
> * 
> Patch Splitting: I understand that the current monolithic patch is not suitable. I will rework the submission and split it into a logical patch series:
> * 
> Patch 1: Add the basic infrastructure (Meson files, maintainers, configuration).
> 
> * 
> Patch 2: Implement core device functionality (PCI probing, initialization, context management).
> 
> * 
> Patch 3: Add memory management and data path features (allocation, registration, and CPU mapping).
> Thank you again for your guidance. I will resubmit the revised patch series shortly.
> Best regards,
> Lingyan Xu
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> 发件人：Thomas Monjalon <thomas@monjalon.net>
> 发送时间：2026年6月2日(周二) 18:01
> 收件人："许玲燕"<lingyan.xu@metax-tech.com>
> 抄 送：dev<dev@dpdk.org>; eagostini<eagostini@nvidia.com>
> 主 题：Re: [PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU
> Hello,
> 01/06/2026 07:47, 许玲燕:
> > I am writing to propose a new driver for the Metax GPU,
> How do you access the GPU?
> Are you using a specific library or kernel module?
> > which I believe will significantly enhance our support
> > and performance for this hardware.
> > The patch attached includes the initial implementation of the driver,
> > with key features such as:
> > 
> > * Basic initialization and configuration 
> > * Memory management and allocation 
> > * Core functionality for rendering and compute tasks 
> I am familiar with connecting compute tasks of a GPU
> with DPDK networking, but I'm surprised by the rendering functionality.
> Do you mean graphical rendering of data coming from the network?
> > Please review the code and let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions.
> > I am more than happy to make any necessary adjustments and improvements.
> Thank you for working on this.
> I recommend following this guide to introduce a new driver:
> https://doc.dpdk.org/guides/contributing/new_driver.html <https://doc.dpdk.org/guides/contributing/new_driver.html > <https://doc.dpdk.org/guides/contributing/new_driver.html <https://doc.dpdk.org/guides/contributing/new_driver.html > >
> 
> 
> 超大附件列表 dpdk-build-test-log.txt [48KB]
> 进入下载页面 https://qiye.aliyun.com/alimail/openLinks/downloadMimeMetaDiskBigAttach?id=netdiskid%3Av001%3Afile%3ADzzzzzzNqZx%3BJYiJwCficINAoHh55iyjKdydQzW5hDE%2FGjddF2Xp4ghl2ujmlGlWdfhgNCLOb5s3BZAHvDXTdZhtzGA3q8HJ%2Fv%2FPGnrPJfO1Xc%2BWnHr%2FKRwIkHzWFe5Iwm1IZrurr9hW <https://qiye.aliyun.com/alimail/openLinks/downloadMimeMetaDiskBigAttach?id=netdiskid%3Av001%3Afile%3ADzzzzzzNqZx%3BJYiJwCficINAoHh55iyjKdydQzW5hDE%2FGjddF2Xp4ghl2ujmlGlWdfhgNCLOb5s3BZAHvDXTdZhtzGA3q8HJ%2Fv%2FPGnrPJfO1Xc%2BWnHr%2FKRwIkHzWFe5Iwm1IZrurr9hW > 
> 

[-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 9618 bytes --]

Re: [PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU

[Thomas Monjalon]

11/06/2026 09:10:
> Both libmcruntime.so and the corresponding gdrapi libraries
> are proprietary user-space libraries provided by Metax.
> They are not upstreamed to the DPDK mainline repository.
> However, please rest assured that the current patch interacts
> with them via standard dlopen (dynamic loading) at runtime.
> We do not link directly against their source code
> or require them as hard build-time dependencies.
> Therefore, this approach will not introduce any additional
> compilation dependencies or licensing issues to the DPDK main tree.

What about the kernel dependency?

Are libraries and kernel module freely available for download?
Can you provide a link?

回复：[PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU

[许玲燕]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 2058 bytes --]

Hi,
Thank you for the follow-up. Please find the clarifications below regarding the kernel dependency and availability:
1. Kernel Dependency
While it is not upstreamed into the mainline Linux kernel, it is actively maintained by Metax to interface with our hardware.
2. Availability and Download Link
Yes, both the proprietary user-space libraries and the corresponding kernel modules are freely available for download. You can access them via the Metax Software Download Center:
Download Link: https://sw-download.metax-tech.com/ <https://sw-download.metax-tech.com/ >
How to obtain the files:

 * 
Register and log in to the portal.

 * 
Navigate to "SDK Development Kit".

 * 
Select your specific GPU Type.

 * 
Choose your target OS. We currently support Linux (aarch64 & x86_64) across mainstream distributions, including but not limited to:
 * 
Ubuntu (18.04 - 24.04)

 * 
RHEL / CentOS / RockyOS (8.x / 9.x)

 * 
Domestic distros: KylinV10/V11, OpenCloudOS, TencentOS, etc.
Best regards,
------------------------------------------------------------------
发件人：Thomas Monjalon <thomas@monjalon.net>
发送时间：2026年6月11日(周四) 17:17
收件人："许玲燕"<lingyan.xu@metax-tech.com>
抄　送：dev<dev@dpdk.org>; eagostini<eagostini@nvidia.com>; "王冬冬"<dongdong.wang@metax-tech.com>
主　题：Re: [PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU
11/06/2026 09:10:
> Both libmcruntime.so and the corresponding gdrapi libraries
> are proprietary user-space libraries provided by Metax.
> They are not upstreamed to the DPDK mainline repository.
> However, please rest assured that the current patch interacts
> with them via standard dlopen (dynamic loading) at runtime.
> We do not link directly against their source code
> or require them as hard build-time dependencies.
> Therefore, this approach will not introduce any additional
> compilation dependencies or licensing issues to the DPDK main tree.
What about the kernel dependency?
Are libraries and kernel module freely available for download?
Can you provide a link?

[-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 71291 bytes --]

Re: 回复：[PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU

[Thomas Monjalon]

Would it be possible to have a direct download link
not requiring any registration? At least for the library?
Do you have an english version of the website?


12/06/2026 09:19, 许玲燕:
> Hi,
> Thank you for the follow-up. Please find the clarifications below regarding the kernel dependency and availability:
> 1. Kernel Dependency
> While it is not upstreamed into the mainline Linux kernel, it is actively maintained by Metax to interface with our hardware.
> 2. Availability and Download Link
> Yes, both the proprietary user-space libraries and the corresponding kernel modules are freely available for download. You can access them via the Metax Software Download Center:
> Download Link: https://sw-download.metax-tech.com/ <https://sw-download.metax-tech.com/ >
> How to obtain the files:
> 
>  * 
> Register and log in to the portal.
> 
>  * 
> Navigate to "SDK Development Kit".
> 
>  * 
> Select your specific GPU Type.
> 
>  * 
> Choose your target OS. We currently support Linux (aarch64 & x86_64) across mainstream distributions, including but not limited to:
>  * 
> Ubuntu (18.04 - 24.04)
> 
>  * 
> RHEL / CentOS / RockyOS (8.x / 9.x)
> 
>  * 
> Domestic distros: KylinV10/V11, OpenCloudOS, TencentOS, etc.
> Best regards,
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> 发件人：Thomas Monjalon <thomas@monjalon.net>
> 发送时间：2026年6月11日(周四) 17:17
> 收件人："许玲燕"<lingyan.xu@metax-tech.com>
> 抄　送：dev<dev@dpdk.org>; eagostini<eagostini@nvidia.com>; "王冬冬"<dongdong.wang@metax-tech.com>
> 主　题：Re: [PATCH] gpu/metax: add new driver for Metax GPU
> 11/06/2026 09:10:
> > Both libmcruntime.so and the corresponding gdrapi libraries
> > are proprietary user-space libraries provided by Metax.
> > They are not upstreamed to the DPDK mainline repository.
> > However, please rest assured that the current patch interacts
> > with them via standard dlopen (dynamic loading) at runtime.
> > We do not link directly against their source code
> > or require them as hard build-time dependencies.
> > Therefore, this approach will not introduce any additional
> > compilation dependencies or licensing issues to the DPDK main tree.
> What about the kernel dependency?
> Are libraries and kernel module freely available for download?
> Can you provide a link?
>