Create a Custom Hardware Model

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Introduction

If your edge hardware is not available in the ZEDEDA hardware catalog, you can create a custom hardware model from scratch. This process requires discovering the physical adapter layout of your device and entering that information manually into the console. Because the ZEDEDA console does not auto-detect adapter information, you must SSH into a device running EVE-OS (Edge Virtualization Engine) to identify the adapters and their addresses. You then use the hardware model creation form in the Marketplace to define the model. This article uses an Advantech UNO 148 as an example. All hardware models differ, but the process is similar. Creating custom hardware models is available to cluster and CSP (cloud service provider) administrators only.

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Prerequisites

• You have the cluster admin or CSP admin role in your enterprise. See Manage Roles.
• SSH access to a device running EVE-OS. See Get an SSH-Enabled EVE-OS Image for setup instructions.
• EVE-OS is installed and running on the edge device.

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Discover Adapter Information

Before creating the hardware model, SSH into the device to identify its physical adapter layout. EVE-OS provides built-in tools for this discovery.

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Run spec.sh

The spec.sh script generates a best-effort list of the adapters detected on the device. Use its output as a starting reference.

1. SSH into your edge device using the credentials you configured during setup.
2. Run the following command.
   spec.sh
   
3. Review the ioMemberList section of the output. For each adapter entry, record the following values.
   • phylabel: the physical label that identifies the adapter on the device.
   • logicallabel: the logical name used by EVE-OS to identify the adapter.
   • assigngrp: the IOMMU (Input-Output Memory Management Unit) group assignment that controls which adapters are assigned together.
   • ztype: a numeric code identifying the adapter type.

The spec.sh output is a best-effort result. Verify it against the commands in the following steps before entering values into the hardware model form.

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Validate PCI adapters

Use lspci -k to list all Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) devices and their kernel drivers. Cross-reference each PCI device with the corresponding entry in the spec.sh output.

1. Run the following command.
   lspci -k
   
2. For each PCI adapter in the spec.sh output, confirm that the PciLong address matches what appears in the lspci -k output.
3. Run the following command to verify IOMMU group assignments.
   find /sys/kernel/iommu_groups/ -type l
   
4. Confirm that each adapter’s assigngrp value in the spec.sh output corresponds to the correct IOMMU group in the find output. If the group is missing or incorrect, record the correct group for use when creating the hardware model.

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Validate USB adapters

Use lsusb to list USB devices and verify USB adapter entries from the spec.sh output.

1. Run the following command.
   lsusb
   
2. Run the following command to see the USB topology.
   lsusb -t
   
3. Note which physical USB ports map to which USB controllers. EVE-OS treats multiple physical ports that share a single controller as a single assignable unit. All ports in the group must use the same assigngrp value.

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Validate serial (COM) ports

Use dmesg to verify that the serial ports detected by EVE-OS correspond to physical COM ports on the device.

1. Run the following command.
   dmesg | grep -i ttyS
   
2. Confirm that each serial port (ttyS0, ttyS1, and so on) in the output matches the I/O port addresses and IRQ values in the spec.sh output for COM adapters.

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Summarize adapter information

Before proceeding, record the following values for each adapter you want to include in the hardware model. You will enter these values into the creation form in the next section.

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Manage Brands

Hardware models are grouped by brand. If your hardware brand does not already exist in the catalog, create it before creating the model.

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Create a brand

1. In the sidebar, select Marketplace.
2. Select Catalog.
3. Select the Hardware filter tab.
4. Select the Brands sub-tab.
5. Select Create Brand.
6. Complete the following fields.

   Field	Required	Description
   Name	Yes	A unique identifier for the brand. The name cannot be changed after creation.
   Title	Yes	A display name for the brand.
   Description	No	An optional description of the brand.

7. Select Create.

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Edit a brand

Select the brand and update the Title or Description fields. The Name field is read-only after creation.

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Delete a brand

1. In the Brands sub-tab, select the brand you want to delete.
2. Select Delete Brand.
3. Confirm the deletion.

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Create the Hardware Model

With your adapter information recorded and a brand available, create the hardware model in the console.

1. In the sidebar, select Marketplace.
2. Select Catalog.
3. Select the Hardware filter tab.
4. Select Create Model.
5. Complete the Identity fields.

   Field	Required	Description
   Name	Yes	A unique slug identifier for the model. Entering a name automatically populates the Title field.
   Title	Yes	A display name for the hardware model.
   Description	No	An optional description of the model.

6. Complete the Classification fields.

   Field	Required	Description
   Brand	Yes	Select the brand you created in the preceding section, or select an existing brand.
   Architecture	Yes	Select AMD64 or ARM64 based on the processor architecture of the device.

7. Optionally, enter values for CPUs, Memory GB, and Storage GB under the Resource section.
8. Add I/O adapters. For each adapter recorded in the preceding sections, select Add I/O and complete the following fields.

   Field	Description
   Adapter Type	The adapter category. Select from the dropdown. Available types include Ethernet, USB Controller, USB Device, COM, WWAN, NVMe, HDMI, Audio, WLAN, LTE, SATA, ETH PF, ETH VF, CAN, and others.
   Physical label	The physical label from the spec.sh output (phylabel).
   Logical label	The logical label from the spec.sh output (logicallabel).
   Assign group	The IOMMU group recorded and verified earlier (assigngrp).

9. Repeat the previous step for each adapter you want to include in the model.
10. Select Create to save the hardware model.

The hardware model appears in the catalog with the Global origin type, immediately available for all tenant enterprises to import.

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Next Steps