Deploying kernel modules

KMM watches Node and Module resources in the cluster to determine if a kernel module should be loaded on or unloaded from a node.
To be eligible for a Module, a Node must:

• have labels that match the Module's .spec.selector field;
• run a kernel version matching one of the items in the Module's .spec.moduleLoader.container.kernelMappings;
• if ordered upgrade is configured in the Module, have a label that matches its .spec.moduleLoader.container.version field.

When KMM needs to reconcile nodes with the desired state as configured in the Module resource, it creates worker Pods on the target node(s) to run the necessary action.
The operator monitors the outcome of those Pods and records that information. It uses it to label Node objects when the module was successfully loaded, and to run the device plugin (if configured).

Worker Pods

Worker pods run the KMM worker binary that

• pulls the kmod image configured in the Module resource;
• extract it in the Pod's filesystem;
• runs modprobe with the right arguments to perform the necessary action.

kmod images are standard OCI images that contains .ko files. Learn more about how to build a kmod image.

Device plugin

If .spec.devicePlugin is configured in a Module, then KMM will create a device plugin DaemonSet in the cluster. That DaemonSet will target nodes:

• that match the Module's .spec.selector;
• on which the kernel module is loaded.

Module CRD

The Module Custom Resource Definition represents a kernel module that should be loaded on all or select nodes in the cluster, through a kmod image. A Module specifies one or more kernel versions it is compatible with, as well as a node selector.

The compatible versions for a Module are listed under .spec.moduleLoader.container.kernelMappings. A kernel mapping can either match a literal version, or use regexp to match many of them at the same time.

The reconciliation loop for Module runs the following steps:

1. list all nodes matching .spec.selector;
2. build a set of all kernel versions running on those nodes;
3. for each kernel version:
   1. go through .spec.moduleLoader.container.kernelMappings and find the appropriate container image name. If the kernel mapping has build or sign defined and the container image does not already exist, run the build and / or signing pod as required;
   2. create a worker Pod pulling the container image determined at the previous step and running modprobe;
   3. if .spec.devicePlugin is defined, create a device plugin DaemonSet using the configuration specified under .spec.devicePlugin.container;
4. garbage-collect:
   1. obsolete device plugin DaemonSets that do not target any node;
   2. successful build pods;
   3. successful signing pods.

Soft dependencies between kernel modules

Some setups may require that several kernel modules be loaded in a specific order to work properly, although the modules do not directly depend on each other through symbols. depmod is usually not aware of those dependencies, and they do not appear in the files it produces.
If mod_a has a soft dependency on mod_b, modprobe mod_a will not load mod_b.

Soft dependencies can be declared in the Module CRD via the .spec.moduleLoader.container.modprobe.modulesLoadingOrder field:

modulesLoadingOrder:  # optional
  - mod_a
  - mod_b

With the configuration above:

• the loading order will be mod_b, then mod_a;
• the unloading order will be mod_a, then mod_b.

The first value in the list, to be loaded last, must be equivalent to the moduleName.

Replacing an in-tree module

Some modules loaded by KMM may replace in-tree modules already loaded on the node.
To unload an in-tree module before loading your module, set the .spec.moduleLoader.container.inTreeModuleToRemove:

spec:
  moduleLoader:
    container:
      modprobe:
        moduleName: mod_a
        # ...

      # Other fields removed for brevity
      inTreeModuleToRemove: mod_b

The worker Pod will first try to unload the in-tree mod_b before loading mod_a from the kmod image.
When the worker Pod is terminated and mod_a is unloaded, mod_b will not be loaded again.

Example resource

Below is an annotated Module example with most options set. More information about specific features is available in the dedicated pages:

• in-cluster builds
• kernel module signing

apiVersion: kmm.sigs.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Module
metadata:
  name: my-kmod
spec:
  moduleLoader:
    container:
      modprobe:
        moduleName: my-kmod  # Required

        dirName: /opt  # Optional

        # Optional. Will copy /firmware/* on the node into the path specified
        # in the `kmm-operator-manager-config` at `worker.setFirmwareClassPath`
        # before `modprobe` is called to insert the kernel module..
        firmwarePath: /firmware

        parameters:  # Optional
          - param=1

        modulesLoadingOrder:  # optional
          - my-kmod
          - my_dep_a
          - my_dep_b

      imagePullPolicy: Always  # optional

      inTreeModuleToRemove: my-kmod-intree  # optional

      kernelMappings:  # At least one item is required
        - literal: 5.14.0-70.58.1.el9_0.x86_64
          containerImage: some.registry/org/my-kmod:5.14.0-70.58.1.el9_0.x86_64

        # For each node running a kernel matching the regexp below,
        # KMM will create a DaemonSet running the image specified in containerImage
        # with ${KERNEL_FULL_VERSION} replaced with the kernel version.
        - regexp: '^.+\el9\.x86_64$'
          containerImage: "some.other.registry/org/my-kmod:${KERNEL_FULL_VERSION}"

        # For any other kernel, build the image using the Dockerfile in the my-kmod ConfigMap.
        - regexp: '^.+$'
          containerImage: "some.registry/org/my-kmod:${KERNEL_FULL_VERSION}"
          inTreeModuleToRemove: my-other-kmod-intree  # optional
          build:
            buildArgs:  # Optional
              - name: ARG_NAME
                value: some-value
            secrets:  # Optional
              - name: some-kubernetes-secret  # Will be available in the build environment at /run/secrets/some-kubernetes-secret.
            baseImageRegistryTLS:
              # Optional and not recommended! If true, the build will be allowed to pull the image in the Dockerfile's
              # FROM instruction using plain HTTP.
              insecure: false
              # Optional and not recommended! If true, the build will skip any TLS server certificate validation when
              # pulling the image in the Dockerfile's FROM instruction using plain HTTP.
              insecureSkipTLSVerify: false
            dockerfileConfigMap:  # Required
              name: my-kmod-dockerfile
          sign:
            certSecret:
              name: cert-secret  # Required
            keySecret:
              name: key-secret  # Required
            filesToSign:
              - /opt/lib/modules/${KERNEL_FULL_VERSION}/my-kmod.ko
          registryTLS:
            # Optional and not recommended! If true, KMM will be allowed to check if the container image already exists
            # using plain HTTP.
            insecure: false
            # Optional and not recommended! If true, KMM will skip any TLS server certificate validation when checking if
            # the container image already exists.
            insecureSkipTLSVerify: false

    serviceAccountName: sa-module-loader  # Optional

  devicePlugin:  # Optional
    container:
      image: some.registry/org/device-plugin:latest  # Required if the devicePlugin section is present

      env:  # Optional
        - name: MY_DEVICE_PLUGIN_ENV_VAR
          value: SOME_VALUE

      volumeMounts:  # Optional
        - mountPath: /some/mountPath
          name: device-plugin-volume

    volumes:  # Optional
      - name: device-plugin-volume
        configMap:
          name: some-configmap

    serviceAccountName: sa-device-plugin  # Optional

  imageRepoSecret:  # Optional. Used to pull kmod and device plugin images
    name: secret-name

  selector:
    node-role.kubernetes.io/worker: ""

Variable substitution

The following Module fields support shell-like variable substitution:

• .spec.moduleLoader.container.containerImage;
• .spec.moduleLoader.container.kernelMappings[*].containerImage;
• .spec.moduleLoader.container.sign.filesToSign;
• .spec.moduleLoader.container.kernelMappings[*].sign.filesToSign;

The following variables will be substituted:

Name	Description	Example
KERNEL_FULL_VERSION	The kernel version we are building for	5.14.0-70.58.1.el9_0.x86_64
MOD_NAME	The Module's name	my-mod
MOD_NAMESPACE	The Module's namespace	my-namespace

Unloading the kernel module

To unload a module loaded with KMM from nodes, simply delete the corresponding Module resource. KMM will then create worker Pods where required to run modprobe -r and unload the kernel module from nodes.

Security and permissions

Loading kernel modules is a highly sensitive operation. Once loaded, kernel modules have all possible permissions to do any kind of operation on the node.

ServiceAccounts and SecurityContextConstraints

Pod Security admission and SecurityContextConstraints (SCCs) restrict privileged workload in most namespaces by default; namespaces that are part of the cluster payload are an exception to that rule. In namespaces where Pod Security admission and SCC synchronization are enabled, the KMM workload needs to be manually allowed through RBAC. This is done by configuring a ServiceAccount that is allowed to use the privileged SCC in the Module. The authorization model depends on the Module's namespace, as well as its spec:

• if the .spec.moduleLoader.serviceAccountName or .spec.devicePlugin.serviceAccountName fields are set, they are always used;
• if those fields are not set, then:
  • if the Module is created in the operator's namespace (openshift-kmm by default), then KMM will use its default, powerful ServiceAccounts to run the worker and device plugin Pods;
  • if the Module is created in any other namespace, then KMM will run the Pods with the namespace's default ServiceAccount, which cannot run privileged workload unless you manually allow it to use the privileged SCC.

To allow any ServiceAccount to use the privileged SCC and hence to run worker and / or device plugin Pods, use the following command:

oc adm policy add-scc-to-user privileged -z "${serviceAccountName}" [ -n "${namespace}" ]

Pod Security standards

OpenShift runs a synchronization mechanism that sets the namespace's Pod Security level automatically based on the security contexts in use. No action is needed.