Question on intel arc a380 support wrt plex

[jbeez]

Does anyone have an intel arc A380 gpu working in a truenas scale for plex transcoding? I'm setting up a new truenas install on a dell r730xd and I'm trying to hammer out how I'm handling plex. Presently I just nfs export my media to a nuc that uses quicksync to do this.

Thanks,

 

[HoneyBadger]

Hi @jbeez

My understanding is that the ARC A-series GPUs require Linux kernel 6.2 or newer in their drivers. SCALE is presently on 5.15.79 so unfortunately it lacks support for the A380 at this time.

Apologies!

 

[skittlebrau]

One option you can use while you wait for Linux kernel 6.2 to be adopted by SCALE is to isolate the Arc A380 GPU and use PCI passthrough with a VM running Plex or Plex in Docker or whatever container method you like. You can then install whatever distro in the VM you want that supports the GPU.

Once SCALE supports Arc, then you can decomission the VM and use the Plex app.

 

[jbeez]

One option you can use while you wait for Linux kernel 6.2 to be adopted by SCALE is to isolate the Arc A380 GPU and use PCI passthrough with a VM running Plex or Plex in Docker or whatever container method you like. You can then install whatever distro in the VM you want that supports the GPU.

Once SCALE supports Arc, then you can decomission the VM and use the Plex app.

That sounds like a good idea, I'll give that a shot. I should have all my hardware this week i think.

 

[d4v3r0y]

One option you can use while you wait for Linux kernel 6.2 to be adopted by SCALE is to isolate the Arc A380 GPU and use PCI passthrough with a VM running Plex or Plex in Docker or whatever container method you like. You can then install whatever distro in the VM you want that supports the GPU.

Once SCALE supports Arc, then you can decomission the VM and use the Plex app.

If anyone is successful with this, please post how you did it. If you have suggestions - I'm your huckleberry.

I passed through the PCI the A380 GPU and was successfully able to install the driver based on what is showing in the device manager. But in every other aspect of the VM, it's not there. I tried with the GPU isolated and without it isolated. TrueNas see's it as a GPU and allows you to isolate it, but it just doesn't work. (I know, kernel driver 6.2 is required)

Upon boot, the A380 device is giving Windows error 43. When you remove the device and it reinstalls the driver, it shows as if it's working again. I've also tried the intel arc app to remove and reinstall new drivers.


I even tried the Intel Driver & Support Assistant app/site just for good measure...

I also cannot pass through to docker with the GPU isolated or without it isolated.

Also - if you get the annoying mouse cursor disappearing after you install VirtIO drivers issue, turn the mouse pointer trail on the shortest setting. It's annoying, but you can at least see your mouse.

 

[skittlebrau]

Out of curiosity, do you have any displays or 'dummy plugs' plugged in to the Arc GPU? I know others have had odd behaviour with the driver working if they boot the VM with a display or dummy plug connected.

I ended up using Proxmox (kernel 6.2.11-1) and passing through my Intel Arc A380 to an Ubuntu 23.04 VM which worked pretty much out-of-the-box.

I wasn't able to isolate my A380 on TrueNAS SCALE, but only because I needed the ACS override patch which TN SCALE doesn't appear to have support for (even if you append it to the kernel command line).

 

[NickF]

If anyone is successful with this, please post how you did it. If you have suggestions - I'm your huckleberry.

I passed through the PCI the A380 GPU and was successfully able to install the driver based on what is showing in the device manager. But in every other aspect of the VM, it's not there. I tried with the GPU isolated and without it isolated. TrueNas see's it as a GPU and allows you to isolate it, but it just doesn't work. (I know, kernel driver 6.2 is required)
View attachment 66831
Upon boot, the A380 device is giving Windows error 43. When you remove the device and it reinstalls the driver, it shows as if it's working again. I've also tried the intel arc app to remove and reinstall new drivers.
View attachment 66829 View attachment 66830

I even tried the Intel Driver & Support Assistant app/site just for good measure...

I also cannot pass through to docker with the GPU isolated or without it isolated.

Also - if you get the annoying mouse cursor disappearing after you install VirtIO drivers issue, turn the mouse pointer trail on the shortest setting. It's annoying, but you can at least see your mouse.

This may be an issue clientside driver in the virtualized Windows box. I've had similar weird quirks with passing through AMD consumer cards of a few different generations through to a VM in ESXI as an example. Did you at any point try to pass it through to a Linux VM?

@skittlebrau Did you at any point try it on Windows under Proxmox?

We got a couple of different variables here I am trying to eliminate. ARC not working in an App under SCALE is not surprising. ARC not working in a VM it was passed through is possibly a different problem all together.

 

[skittlebrau]

I'll try passthrough to a Windows VM today and see how it goes.

 

[NickF]

I'll try passthrough to a Windows VM today and see how it goes.

Thanks, that would be really helpful

 

[skittlebrau]

Just tried it out on a fresh Windows 11 VM.

It works if you set the Arc GPU as primary GPU. When I tried to boot the VM using a virtualised display adapter (SPICE, VMWare Compatible, Standard VGA etc.) in addition to the Arc GPU, I got a black screen and couldn't proceed further on Windows startup. So I enabled Remote Desktop before passing through the GPU, shut down the VM, disabled the virtual display adaptor, re-added the GPU via passthrough, started the VM and then connected via RDP. Works fine.

I should mention I installed the latest WHQL Intel Arc graphics driver from Intel's website. No code 43 error. Works fine.

If you're having problems, the above hopefully provides some clues. Seems like the Arc driver doesn't co-exist well with QXL or other virtual display adaptors?

 

[NickF]

Just tried it out on a fresh Windows 11 VM.

It works if you set the Arc GPU as primary GPU. When I tried to boot the VM using a virtualised display adapter (SPICE, VMWare Compatible, Standard VGA etc.) in addition to the Arc GPU, I got a black screen and couldn't proceed further on Windows startup. So I enabled Remote Desktop before passing through the GPU, shut down the VM, disabled the virtual display adaptor, re-added the GPU via passthrough, started the VM and then connected via RDP. Works fine.

I should mention I installed the latest WHQL Intel Arc graphics driver from Intel's website. No code 43 error. Works fine.

If you're having problems, the above hopefully provides some clues. Seems like the Arc driver doesn't co-exist well with QXL or other virtual display adaptors?

Interesting.

OP can you try enabling RDP and removing the VNC monitor from the hardware section of your vm?

 

[d4v3r0y]

I’m not sure what’s going on tbh, but i tried in fresh install of Windows 11, turned on Remote Desktop, shut down the system, removed the display/vnc, added the GPU, started it back up, installed the driver, still no where.

Just tried it out on a fresh Windows 11 VM.

It works if you set the Arc GPU as primary GPU. When I tried to boot the VM using a virtualised display adapter (SPICE, VMWare Compatible, Standard VGA etc.) in addition to the Arc GPU, I got a black screen and couldn't proceed further on Windows startup. So I enabled Remote Desktop before passing through the GPU, shut down the VM, disabled the virtual display adaptor, re-added the GPU via passthrough, started the VM and then connected via RDP. Works fine.

I should mention I installed the latest WHQL Intel Arc graphics driver from Intel's website. No code 43 error. Works fine.

If you're having problems, the above hopefully provides some clues. Seems like the Arc driver doesn't co-exist well with QXL or other virtual display adaptors?

Could you post screenshots of your VM configs? I want to check basics to make sure it’s not something simple…

 

[skittlebrau]

I can post the kvm/qemu raw command if that helps. Since I'm using Proxmox, it might be of limited use to you however.

 

[d4v3r0y]

I can post the kvm/qemu raw command if that helps. Since I'm using Proxmox, it might be of limited use to you however.

No need. I guess i overlooked where you said you ended up using proxmox. I’ll keep working on it and reply if i can figure it out. Next stop - Ubuntu!

 

[lostcowboy]

Hi @jbeez

My understanding is that the ARC A-series GPUs require Linux kernel 6.2 or newer in their drivers. SCALE is presently on 5.15.79 so unfortunately it lacks support for the A380 at this time.

Apologies!

Hello new to the forum. I am working on building a small NAS, being that I know nothing about Linux I was thinking about using either Unraid or TrueNAS. But neither has support for Intel ARC GPU at this time.
It is not true that Intell requires Linux kernel 6.2 for their driver, At least by their installation documentation, see Intel ARC Drivers installation doc the top is for servers like in a data center, starting at 5. Clients: is are for regular desktops. I don't know if TrueNAS uses a server or desktop. configuration. Note all the Linux commands are based on your using Ubuntu, Intel says the easiest way is using Ubuntu 23.04 (Lunar) because it uses kernel 6.2. but both "Ubuntu Server 22.04.1 (5.15 LTS kernel)" and "Ubuntu Desktop 22.04 (Jammy) LTS" can use the Intel Arc GPUs by doing an out-of-tree kernel-mode driver install. I hope this helps someone more knowledgeable than me.

 

[HoneyBadger]

It can certainly be investigated, but Intel's instructions (section 5.1.5.1) also include a request to install a generic 5.19 kernel when running under Ubuntu 22.04 - and SCALE is based on Debian with kernel 5.15.107 in the latest release.

 

[LxFx]

If it is of interest to anyone, I was able to isolate and passthrough my Sparkle Intel Arc A380 from Truenas Scale Cobia to an EndeavourOS (Arch) VM and use it with a Jellyfin docker for hardware accelerated transcoding. This might indeed be a good stopgap solution until Truenas Scale supports linux kernel 6.2 or higher. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Aaron Gould]

I am currently going down this road right now. Running Scale Cobia myself.

I'm using an older C232 chipset (SuperMicro X11SSL-cF w/i3-6100) that doesn't allow GPU passthrough. Would installing an ARC GPU work, or would I still be somehow constrained by the chipset/CPU combo?

 

[HoneyBadger]

I'm using an older C232 chipset (SuperMicro X11SSL-cF w/i3-6100) that doesn't allow GPU passthrough.

GPU passthrough won't be an option if you only have a single GPU (including the embedded iGPU) as TrueNAS needs to have at least one display device assigned for host OS use, but your CPU supports the necessary bits for device isolation (VT-d) so I'd be very surprised if the C232 doesn't allow for it.

 

[Etorix]

Reportedly, passing the iGPU to Plex requires a C2x6 chipset, not C2x2.