ROCm-docker/README.md

ROCm-docker

Radeon Open Compute Platform for docker

This repository contains a framework for building the software layers defined in the Radeon Open Compute Platform into portable docker images. The following are docker dependencies, which should be installed on the target machine.

• Docker on Ubuntu systems or Fedora systems
• Highly recommended: Docker-Compose to simplify container management

ROCm docker quick start guide

1. Install the ROCK kernel

• Installing on Ubuntu 14.04
  • wget -qO - http://packages.amd.com/rocm/apt/debian/rocm.gpg.key | sudo apt-key add -
  • sudo sh -c 'echo deb [arch=amd64] http://packages.amd.com/rocm/apt/debian/ trusty main > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/rocm.list'
  • sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install rocm-kernel

2. Clone this repository

• git clone https://github.com/RadeonOpenCompute/ROCm-docker
• cd ROCm-docker

3. Build the container

• Not using docker-compose
  • docker build -t rocm/rocm-terminal rocm-project
  • docker run -it --rm --device="/dev/kfd" rocm/rocm-terminal
• If using docker-compose
  • docker-compose run --rm rocm

5. Verify a working container-based ROCm software stack

• After step #2 or #3, a bash login prompt to a running docker container should be available
  • hcc --version should display version information of the AMD heterogeneous compiler
• Execute sample application
  • cd /opt/rocm/hsa/sample
  • make
  • ./vector-copy
  • Text displaying successful creation of a GPU device, successful kernel compilation and successful shutdown should be printed to stdout

Details

Docker does not virtualize or package the linux kernel inside of an image or container. This is a design decision of docker to provide the lightweight and fast containerization. The implication for this on the ROCm compute stack is that in order for the docker framework to function, the ROCm kernel and corresponding modules must be installed on the host machine. All containers share the host kernel, The ROCm component that can not be used in a docker image is the ROCK-Kernel-Driver¹.

Installing ROCK on the host machine.

An apt-get repository is available to automate the installation of the required kernel and kernel modules.

How to build ROCm containers from source

While it is nice to quickly bring up a ROCm container from the latest apt-get release version, sometimes it is nice to be able to play with the latest development code. At the root of this repository is a bash script ./rocm-setup. It creates a set of Dockerfiles building the ROCm software components from source, with a yaml file used by docker-compose to manage the relationships between these containers.

Usage: ./rocm-setup [--master | --develop] [--release | --debug]
Default flags: --master --release

--master) Build dockerfiles from stable master branches; exclusive with --develop
--develop) Build dockerfiles from integration branches; exclusive with --master
--release) Build release containers; minimizes size of docker images; exclusive with --debug
--debug) Build debug containers; symbols generated and build tree intact for debugging; exclusive with --release

./rocm-setup generates Dockerfiles from textual template files ending with the .template suffix. Each sub-directory of this repository corresponds to a docker 'build context' responsible for a software layer in the ROCm stack. After running the script, each directory contains a generated 'Dockerfile'. The parameters to the script control the flavor of the components to build, for instance: debug builds of the /develop branches.

ROCm component dictionary

ROC component
roct	the kernel thunk library
rocr	the runtime
hcc-hsail	the compiler that generates HSAIL IL from the backend
hcc-lc	the compiler that generates GPU ISA from the backend

What git branches are built with ./rocm-setup

	--master	--develop
roct	master	dev
rocr	master	dev
hcc-hsail	master	develop
hcc-lc	testing	master

Docker compose

./rocm-setup prepares an environment that can be controlled with Docker Compose. An output of the script is a docker-compose.yml file in the root of the repository, which coordinates the relationships between the various ROCm software layers. Additionally, the docker-compose.yml file can be extended to easily launch interactive application or development containers built on top of the ROCm software stack.

Running a ROCm container using binaries built from source

Using docker-compose, a target is provided that will import the data-only containers which build the individual ROCm components. If the images are not yet built, docker-compose will make sure to build them in the proper order. If they have already been built, it will re-use existing images.

• docker-compose run --rm rocm-from-src

Creating a custom application/development container

The /rocm-project sub-directory contains a Dockerfile to build an image specifically built for ROCm software development. Useful development tools are pre-installed into the container, and it's meant to serve as a starting point for interested developers to customize a dockerfile for their own projects. To begin, simply:

1. copy the /rocm-project sub-directory into a new directory name, such as /my-rocm-project
2. open and customize the Dockerfile; pre-install dependencies and services
3. modify the docker-compose.yml.template file and add a new service which prepares a new image

• copy the 'rocm' target to build a container using the latest ROCm binary release
• copy the 'rocm-from-src' target to build a container using the latest ROCm source

4. Run ./rocm-setup script to generate a new docker-compose.yml
5. docker-compose run --rm <new-target-name>

For illustration, yaml source for an image that builds ROCm from source looks like

new-rocm-app:                         # docker-compose target name; was 'rocm-from-src'
  build:
    context: ./my-app                 # new directory used as build context
    dockerfile: Dockerfile
  devices:
    - "/dev/kfd"
  image: rocm/rocm-app               # the name of the generated docker image
  volumes:
    - ~:/usr/local/src/host-home     # add as many host directories to map into container as needed here
  volumes_from:                      # this section imports the binaries built from source
    - roct:ro
    - rocr:ro
    - hcc-lc:ro
    - hcc-hsail:ro

Running an application using docker-compose

You run the new container (and its dependencies) with docker-compose. When the container is fully loaded and running, you will be presented with a root prompt within the container.

docker-compose run --rm <my-rocm-project>

Docker command reference
docker-compose	docker compose executable
run	sub-command to bring up interactive container
--rm	when shutting the container down, delete it
my-rocm-project	application service defined in docker-compose.yml

To shut down ROCm dependencies and clean up

docker-compose down -v

Docker command reference
docker-compose	docker compose executable
down	sub-command to shut containers down and remove them
-v	clean-up shared volumes

Footnotes:

[1] It can be installed into a container, it just doesn't do anything because containers do not go through the traditional boot process. We actually do provide a container for ROCK-Kernel-Driver, but it not used by the rest of the docker images. It does provide isolation and a reproducible environment for kernel development.