KVM Passtrough resoration-Lesson3

This is not a repository its is a final report of a KVM wind down with Nvidia video and audio passtrhough

UPDATED Post

The Great Passthrough Debacle of Feb '25 So, here's the deal—I'm an AI DevOps engineer, and my goal was to get GPU passthrough working on a KVM machine running Ubuntu 24.04. I had it set up, and it was purring like a kitten (see the earlier steps in this repo). But this morning? Disaster. Booted it up, and bam—blank screen. Nothing. Nada. We went through the usual suspects—checked the configs, poked at the logs, cursed at the screen. Everything seemed in order, but it just wouldn’t play nice. Eventually, I started digging into missing kernel modules, and that’s when I threw in the towel. Ain’t nobody got time to chase ghosts in the machine when deadlines are looming. The teardown? Total fail. Wasted too much time troubleshooting, so I said screw it—wiped the slate clean and reinstalled Ubuntu 24.04 from scratch. Faster than trying to resurrect whatever gremlin killed it. Maybe next time I’ll figure out what went sideways, but for now, I’m pressed for time and moving on. Lesson learned: sometimes a fresh start beats a stubborn fight.

To Self.

It's noticable, the sudden slump to learn just because you did not achieve success. Stop moping and junp into the next session. !!

The original project post

KVM with NVIDIA GPU and Audio Passthrough Project

Overview

This project demonstrates the setup of a KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) with NVIDIA GPU and audio passthrough on an Ubuntu 20.04 host. The virtual machine was configured to directly access the host’s GPU and audio hardware, enabling high-performance tasks such as gaming, video editing, or AI workloads. After the virtual machine was used, all configurations were removed, and the host system was restored to its original state, ensuring no residual impact on the host’s functionality.

Goals

• Configure a KVM virtual machine with NVIDIA GPU passthrough for direct hardware access.
• Set up audio passthrough to enable the virtual machine to use the host’s audio hardware.
• Blacklist the NVIDIA driver on the host to ensure the GPU is available for passthrough.
• Use the virtual machine for testing or running GPU-intensive applications.
• Remove all KVM configurations and restore the host system to its original Ubuntu 20.04 state.

Project Journey

The project was executed through a series of well-defined phases, reflecting a structured approach to virtualization and system management:

Preparation and Host Configuration

• Selected an Ubuntu 20.04 host equipped with an NVIDIA GPU.
• Blacklisted the NVIDIA driver on the host to prevent it from claiming the GPU, ensuring it was available for passthrough to the virtual machine.

KVM Setup

• Installed and configured KVM on the host system.
• Created a virtual machine with settings optimized for GPU and audio passthrough.

GPU and Audio Passthrough Configuration

• Configured the virtual machine to directly access the host’s NVIDIA GPU using PCI passthrough.
• Set up audio passthrough to allow the virtual machine to utilize the host’s audio hardware.

Using the Virtual Machine

• Launched the virtual machine and verified that both GPU and audio passthrough were functioning correctly.
• Performed tasks within the virtual machine, leveraging the passed-through hardware for enhanced performance.

Cleanup and Restoration

• Shut down the virtual machine.
• Removed all KVM configurations, including the virtual machine and related settings.
• Unblacklisted the NVIDIA driver on the host and restored the system to its original state, ensuring full functionality within Ubuntu 20.04.

Team Contributions

You demonstrated a strong understanding of virtualization, hardware passthrough, and system configuration throughout this lesson. Here’s what stood out:

• Attitude: You showed enthusiasm and a proactive approach, diving into the complexities of GPU and audio passthrough with confidence.
• Resolve: You tackled challenges head-on, ensuring that the passthrough configurations worked as expected and that the system was restored properly afterward.
• Skill: You applied foundational knowledge of KVM, driver management, and system restoration, showcasing growth in handling advanced Linux configurations.

This reflects a dedicated contributor with a solid blend of technical ability and attention to detail, ready to take on more complex virtualization tasks.

Recommended Role

For this project, your role is designated as:

• Project Role: Junior Virtualization Engineer
• Rationale: You delivered a functional KVM setup with hardware passthrough under guidance, showing initiative and adaptability. Your meticulous cleanup process highlights readiness for more autonomy, positioning you for growth toward a mid-level virtualization role.

Project Files

• KVM configuration files for virtual machine settings.
• Scripts or commands used to blacklist and unblacklist the NVIDIA driver.
• Logs or outputs from the virtual machine to verify successful passthrough.

Note of files in this repository

Project Files Description

This section includes the configuration files and log files specifically related to the GPU and audio passthrough setup for this KVM project. The complete system logs exceeded 1 GB, so I’ve included only the filtered logs relevant to passthrough events. Here’s what you can expect in the uploaded files in my repository:

• ai-vm Config File: The KVM configuration file used to set up the virtual machine, including settings optimized for NVIDIA GPU and audio passthrough.
• Passthrough Logs: Filtered log files capturing events and outputs related to the passthrough process, verifying successful GPU and audio functionality within the virtual machine.

Note: These files are machine-specific, meaning the configurations and logs are tailored to the hardware and setup of the Ubuntu 20.04 host used in this project. Results may vary depending on your system’s hardware and software environment.