Installation - Installation

Installation - Installation - UG1586

Onload User Guide (UG1586)

Document ID

UG1586

Release Date

2026-01-22

Revision

1.4 English

The docker run command will create a container named onload. The container is created from the centos:latest base image and a bash shell terminal will be started in the container.
If MACVLAN driver support and namespace support are required, refer to MACVLAN Support below before creating the container.
```
# docker run \
        --net=host \
        --device=/dev/onload \
        --device=/dev/onload_epoll \
        --name=onload \
        -it \
        -v /src/onload-201502.tgz:/tmp/onload-201502.tgz \
        centos:latest \
        /bin/bash
```
The example above copies the onload-201502.tgz file from the /src directory on the host and placed this file into /tmp in the container root file system. All subsequent commands are run inside the container unless host is specified.

Note: The directive --device=/dev/sfc_char is required when used with ef_vi.
Install required OS tools/packages in the container:
```
# yum install perl autoconf automake libtool tar gcc make net-tools ethtool
```
Different docker base images might require additional OS packages installed.
Unpack the tarball to build the onload-<version> sub-directory:
```
# /usr/bin/tar -zxvf /tmp/onload-201502.tgz
```
Note: It is not possible to use tools/utilities (such as tar) from the host file system on files in the container file system.
Change directory to the onload-<version>/scripts directory:
```
# cd /tmp/onload-201502/scripts
```
Build the Onload user-level components in the container:
```
# ./onload_build --user
```
If the build process identifies any missing dependencies, return to step 2 to install missing components.
Install the Onload user-level components in the container:
```
# ./onload_install --userfiles --nobuild
```
The following warning might appear at the end of the install process, but it is not necessary to reload the drivers:
```
onload_install: To load the newly installed drivers run:  onload_tool reload
```

Check Onload installation:

# onload
OpenOnload 201502
Copyright 2006-2012 Solarflare Communications, 2002-2005 Level 5 Networks
Built: Feb  5 2015 12:41:04 (release)
Kernel module: 201502

usage:
  onload [options] <command> <command-args>

options:
  --profile=<profile>    -- comma sep list of config profile(s)
  --force-profiles       -- profile settings override environment
  --no-app-handler       -- do not use app-specific settings
  --app=<app-name>       -- identify application to run under onload
  --version              -- print version information
  -v                     -- verbose
  -h --help              -- this help message

On the host, check that the container has been created and is running:

# docker ps -a


CONTAINER ID  IMAGE          COMMAND      CREATED        STATUS         PORTS   NAMES
e2a12a635359  centos:latest "/bin/bash"  15 seconds ago  Up 14 seconds         onload

Configure network interfaces.
Configure network adapter interfaces in the host. Interfaces will also be visible and usable from the container:
```
# ifconfig -a
```
Onload is now installed and ready to use in the container.