Install via DKMS

This guide covers installing the datadev driver using DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support) so it rebuilds automatically when the kernel is upgraded.

DKMS allows kernel modules to be installed once and automatically rebuilt for each new kernel version, eliminating the need to manually recompile drivers after kernel updates.

Prerequisites

Ubuntu / Debian

DKMS is available in the standard repositories:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install dkms build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Rocky Linux 9 / RHEL 9

DKMS requires the EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux) repository:

# Enable EPEL
sudo dnf install epel-release

# Install DKMS and build dependencies
sudo dnf install dkms kernel-devel kernel-headers gcc gcc-c++ make elfutils-libelf-devel

CentOS 7 / RHEL 7

DKMS requires the EPEL repository:

# Enable EPEL
sudo yum install epel-release

# Install DKMS and build dependencies
sudo yum install dkms kernel-devel kernel-headers gcc gcc-c++ make elfutils-libelf-devel

RHEL with Subscription

If using RHEL with an active subscription, enable CodeReady Builder first:

# RHEL 9
sudo subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-9-$(arch)-rpms
sudo dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm
sudo dnf install dkms kernel-devel kernel-headers gcc gcc-c++ make elfutils-libelf-devel

# RHEL 7
sudo subscription-manager repos --enable rhel-7-server-optional-rpms
sudo yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-7.noarch.rpm
sudo yum install dkms kernel-devel kernel-headers gcc gcc-c++ make elfutils-libelf-devel

Installation Methods

There are two installation methods:

Pre-built Tarball (Recommended) — Download and install a release tarball
Manual Source Copy — Copy sources to DKMS tree and configure manually

Method 1: Install from Release Tarball (Recommended)

This method works on all distributions (Ubuntu, Debian, Rocky Linux, CentOS, RHEL).

Download the appropriate tarball from the Releases page:

CPU version (no GPU support): datadev-dkms-7.2.2.tar.gz
GPU version (with GPUDirect RDMA): datadev-gpu-dkms-7.2.2.tar.gz

Note

Release tags do not carry a v prefix (e.g. 7.2.2, not v7.2.2). Use the bare version string in both the download URL and the dkms commands.

CPU Version

# Download the CPU tarball
VERSION=7.2.2  # Replace with latest release
wget https://github.com/slaclab/aes-stream-drivers/releases/download/${VERSION}/datadev-dkms-${VERSION}.tar.gz

# Install with DKMS
sudo dkms ldtarball datadev-dkms-${VERSION}.tar.gz
sudo dkms install datadev-dkms/${VERSION}

# Load the module
sudo modprobe datadev

GPU Version

# Download the GPU tarball
VERSION=7.2.2  # Replace with latest release
wget https://github.com/slaclab/aes-stream-drivers/releases/download/${VERSION}/datadev-gpu-dkms-${VERSION}.tar.gz

# Install with DKMS
sudo dkms ldtarball datadev-gpu-dkms-${VERSION}.tar.gz
sudo dkms install datadev-gpu-dkms/${VERSION}

# Load the module
sudo modprobe datadev

Note

The GPU variant requires NVIDIA Open Kernel Modules to be installed first. See Set Up GPUDirect RDMA for GPU prerequisites.

Method 2: Manual Source Installation

Use this method if you’re building from a git checkout rather than a release.

Step 1 — Copy Sources to the DKMS Tree

VERSION=7.2.2   # Replace with your version
sudo mkdir -p /usr/src/datadev-dkms-${VERSION}
sudo cp -r data_dev/driver/src/* /usr/src/datadev-dkms-${VERSION}/
sudo cp data_dev/driver/Makefile /usr/src/datadev-dkms-${VERSION}/
sudo cp data_dev/driver/dkms.conf /usr/src/datadev-dkms-${VERSION}/
sudo cp data_dev/driver/datadev.conf /usr/src/datadev-dkms-${VERSION}/
sudo cp data_dev/driver/rc.local.in /usr/src/datadev-dkms-${VERSION}/

Step 2 — Set the Package Version

Warning

The dkms.conf file in the repository has PACKAGE_VERSION commented out. You must set it before running dkms add, or the command will fail.

echo "PACKAGE_VERSION=${VERSION}" | sudo tee -a /usr/src/datadev-dkms-${VERSION}/dkms.conf

After editing, the key fields in dkms.conf should read:

MAKE="make"
CLEAN="make clean"
BUILT_MODULE_NAME=datadev
BUILT_MODULE_LOCATION=.
DEST_MODULE_LOCATION="/kernel/modules/misc"
PACKAGE_NAME=datadev-dkms
PACKAGE_VERSION=7.2.2
REMAKE_INITRD=no
AUTOINSTALL="yes"

Step 3 — Add, Build, and Install

sudo dkms add datadev-dkms/${VERSION}
sudo dkms build datadev-dkms/${VERSION}
sudo dkms install datadev-dkms/${VERSION}
sudo modprobe datadev

Verification

Check Installation Status

dkms status

Expected output:

datadev-dkms/7.2.2, 5.15.0-91-generic, x86_64: installed

Or for GPU variant:

datadev-gpu-dkms/7.2.2, 5.15.0-91-generic, x86_64: installed

Verify Module Information

modinfo datadev

Expected output should show version, description, and parameters:

filename:       /lib/modules/5.15.0-91-generic/updates/dkms/datadev.ko
license:        GPL
description:    AXI Stream Driver
srcversion:     ABC123DEF456
depends:
...

Load the Module

sudo modprobe datadev

# Verify device node created
ls -l /dev/datadev_0

Auto-load on Boot

To load the module automatically at boot:

Ubuntu / Debian

echo "datadev" | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/datadev.conf

Rocky Linux / CentOS / RHEL

echo "datadev" | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/datadev.conf

Uninstallation

Remove DKMS Module

VERSION=7.2.2  # Your installed version

# Unload the module
sudo modprobe -r datadev

# Uninstall from DKMS (use datadev-gpu-dkms for the GPU variant)
sudo dkms uninstall datadev-dkms/${VERSION}
sudo dkms remove datadev-dkms/${VERSION} --all

# Remove auto-load configuration
sudo rm -f /etc/modules-load.d/datadev.conf

Platform-Specific Notes

Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04

Works out of the box with the standard linux-headers-$(uname -r) package.

Rocky Linux 9

Kernel 5.14+ (frankenstein kernel)
EPEL repository required for DKMS
Use dnf package manager

CentOS 7

Kernel 3.10
EPEL repository required for DKMS
CentOS 7 reached EOL June 2024, use vault mirrors
Use yum package manager

Debian Testing / Experimental

Latest upstream kernel
DKMS available in standard repositories
May require linux-headers-amd64 metapackage

Troubleshooting

DKMS Build Failures

If dkms install fails with compilation errors:

# Check kernel headers are installed
ls /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/build

# View detailed build log
sudo dkms status -m datadev-dkms
cat /var/lib/dkms/datadev-dkms/${VERSION}/build/make.log

Missing Kernel Headers

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Rocky Linux 9:

sudo dnf install kernel-devel-$(uname -r) kernel-headers

CentOS 7:

sudo yum install kernel-devel-$(uname -r) kernel-headers

EPEL Not Available

If EPEL installation fails on RHEL:

# Verify subscription is active
sudo subscription-manager status

# Enable required repositories
sudo subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-9-$(arch)-rpms

Module Load Failures

If modprobe datadev fails:

# Check for errors
sudo dmesg | tail -20

# Verify module file exists
find /lib/modules/$(uname -r) -name datadev.ko

Kernel Version Mismatch

DKMS must rebuild modules for each kernel. If you boot a different kernel:

# Check if module is built for current kernel
dkms status

# Rebuild for current kernel if missing
sudo dkms autoinstall

Install via DKMS

Prerequisites

Ubuntu / Debian

Rocky Linux 9 / RHEL 9

CentOS 7 / RHEL 7

RHEL with Subscription

Installation Methods

Method 1: Install from Release Tarball (Recommended)

CPU Version

GPU Version

Method 2: Manual Source Installation

Step 1 — Copy Sources to the DKMS Tree

Step 2 — Set the Package Version

Step 3 — Add, Build, and Install

Verification

Check Installation Status

Verify Module Information

Load the Module

Auto-load on Boot

Ubuntu / Debian

Rocky Linux / CentOS / RHEL

Uninstallation

Remove DKMS Module

Platform-Specific Notes

Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04

Rocky Linux 9

CentOS 7

Debian Testing / Experimental

Troubleshooting

DKMS Build Failures

Missing Kernel Headers

EPEL Not Available

Module Load Failures

Kernel Version Mismatch

See Also