I've finally got AI working on my B70. I had searched a lot online and nothing was coming up due to software support not being available. Here is what I found was working, and what you'll need.


- The graphics card NEEDS to be connected to a baremetal PC running windows first! The Intel driver installer contains a firmware update for the card, and this is the only delivery method. I would not suggest doing this through a pass-through VM.
- Bios up-to-date, Resizable BAR (ReBAR) enabled, 'Above 4G' enabled.
- Running Unraid 7.3.1. or above.
- Have the plugin 'Intel GPU TOP' installed.

I have tried multiple AI docker containers, and found that only llama.cpp works best, others don't work, or have very very little functionality. Check previous findings here if you're interested. Here are me settings for this docker container.

Llama.cpp

Post Arguments: -m /models/NAMEofAImodelHERE.gguf --port 8000 --host 0.0.0.0 --n-gpu-layers 999 --device SYCL0

WebUI: (your desire port here)

Container Port: 8000

GPU device: /dev/dri

Container Device: /dev/dri

ZES_ENABLE_SYSMAN: 1

Container Variable: 1

GGML_SYCL_DEVICE: 0

Notes:
- The model location has to be inside of your selected models folder defined in "Model Storage Path". For the post argument, you only need to add the file name.
- My setup has an intel 14700K which has integrated iGPU, it is possible you may need to change the Post Argument last part to --device SYCL1 (or maybe remove that part), if you have more cards or a different setup.

Con to this setup, when you have to change the model you have to do it in the post argument, it can't be done from the UI or from open-webUI.

My open-webUI connection looks like this:

Edited June 22Jun 22 by JustOverride
Typo, and more notes added.

Since Latest version of Unraid uses 6.x kernel and new GPUs like this show large improvements using a 7.x kernel......would it not be better to just use SR-IOV to pass the GPU into a VM and do your work there?

At least until Unraid kernel version catches up?

Unraid is limited to runinng LTS kernels becuase of ZFS, next LTS kernel shodul be out at then end of this year.

14 hours ago, Stupifier said:

Since Latest version of Unraid uses 6.x kernel and new GPUs like this show large improvements using a 7.x kernel......would it not be better to just use SR-IOV to pass the GPU into a VM and do your work there?

At least until Unraid kernel version catches up?

I thought of this but the best way to keep the most resources is to not have to split the card and not have to run a VM. This works pretty well and will hold me up until better support becomes available.

ONE NOTE: I forgot to add, this (and maybe other ARC cards as well) need to be connected to a baremetal PC running windows first! The Intel Drivers installer also contains a firmware update for the card, and this is the only delivery method. I would not suggest doing this through a pass-through VM.

13 hours ago, JustOverride said:

ONE NOTE: I forgot to add, this (and maybe other ARC cards as well) need to be connected to a baremetal PC running windows first! The Intel Drivers installer also contains a firmware update for the card, and this is the only delivery method. I would not suggest doing this through a pass-through VM.

OMG....That sucks! I don't have a baremetal PC lying around that can hold a card like that. Yikes......I technically could temporarily repurpose my unraid server to install Windows on an SSD, but that is a pain to do.

Hard to even find a changelog to see what is in any firmware update

Edited June 20Jun 20 by Stupifier

Here is the information I found, I've checked it for accuracy. Sources included. At the end of the day, you always want firmware up-to-date.


The bundled firmware update inside the Intel Arc Windows driver installer primarily delivers low-level Video BIOS (vBIOS) and Graphics Security Control (GSC) microcode updates directly to the hardware. Intel integrated this behavior to ensure cards function correctly without relying on separate flashing tools or Windows Update. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Because these updates are embedded directly within the standard driver packages, they do not usually have standalone release notes, but they provide the foundational mechanics for several critical GPU behaviors. [1, 2]

What is Included and Managed by the Firmware Update

• HDMI & DisplayPort Compatibility: Updates core display handshaking protocols to resolve "no signal" issues and blank screens when waking a computer from sleep or during a cold boot. [1]

• System Stability Fixes: Adjusts low-level power states to fix hard system hangs, sleep-to-wake crashes, and erratic power-cycling bugs inherent to the physical board. [1, 2]

• Fan Curves & Thermal Management: Recalibrates fan controller behavior on reference models to optimize thermal throttling limits and reduce fan-speed oscillation.

• Resizable BAR (ReBAR) Optimization: Tweaks how the GPU maps its VRAM memory allocation to the CPU, which is vital for the card's overall stability and frame-rate delivery.

• Security & Virtualization Adjustments: Modifies the integrated Graphics Security Control (GSC) processor. On enterprise variant cards (like the Arc Pro series), firmware changes are used to regulate and limit SR-IOV Virtual Functions. [1, 2, 3]

Important Installation Notes

• It Installs Automatically: The Intel Arc driver installer will flash the firmware automatically if it detects your card is running an older vBIOS version.

• Longer Install Times: When a firmware bundle is being applied, the installer will take significantly longer to complete. Your screen may flicker or remain black longer than a normal driver update.

• Do Not Interrupt: It is critical that you do not power down, restart, or unplug your PC while this installer is running to avoid corrupting the GPU's onboard flash memory. [1]

Maybe this can eventually be used to update firmware on Intel Arc GPU from Linux

GitHub

GitHub - fwupd/fwupd: A system daemon to allow session so...

A system daemon to allow session software to update firmware - fwupd/fwupd

Hi guys. I have just purchased but not yet received an intel arc pro b50. I intent on using this in my unraid server to use the sr iov feature to split the card between running windows vm's and docker. The system has a supermicro h11ssl V2 motherboard with epic 7k62 48 core CPU and 128gb ram etc.

After doing more research ( perhaps too late!) I find my motherboard does not support resizable bar, at least not without hacking the bios which I don't want to do. It does support the above 4gb decode and sr iov. I also read that with some operating systems resizable bar is not important, as the os can deal with that if you add a command to the startup sequence. Resizable bar is an issue more for window machines? And as I am not passing the entire card to any one Windows VM.

So my query is will I need resizable bar or not with the latest unraid? Do I need to a command to the go file or similar?

Thanks in advance, des.