Release Information

Version 2.2.0.0

BuildStreaM Pipeline Architecture and API Enhancements

Enhanced BuildStreaM pipeline architecture and API capabilities with resume & retry functionality, pipeline decomposition, dynamic child pipeline generation, image group lifecycle tracking, manual cleanup operations, and PowerScale S3 backend support.

BMC Discovery via Dell OpenManage Enterprise

Automated BMC discovery via Dell OpenManage Enterprise (OME) with paginated API queries, automatic extraction of service tags and iDRAC details, Scalable Unit extraction, timestamped file generation, and OME group mapping.

Multi-Subnet DHCP for Rack-Based Provisioning

Multi-subnet DHCP configuration for rack-based network provisioning with per-rack /24 subnet assignment, CoreDHCP multi-subnet configuration generation, and CoreDNS forward and reverse zone generation.

CoreDNS-Based Hostname Resolution for Slurm and MPI

Dynamic DNS resolution powered by coresmd replacing static /etc/hosts file management with automatic hostname resolution, real-time inventory updates from OpenCHAMI SMD, cloud-init based /etc/resolv.conf configuration, and K8s CoreDNS forwarding.

Vector Telemetry Pipeline for Data Routing

Vector high-performance data pipeline for collecting, transforming, and routing telemetry data from LDMS and OME sources to VictoriaMetrics and VictoriaLogs with dedicated write-buffer components.

PowerScale Telemetry for Storage Monitoring

PowerScale Telemetry for comprehensive storage observability collecting storage performance metrics and logs from Dell PowerScale storage nodes with CSM Metrics, OpenTelemetry Collector, and CSI Driver integration.

UFM Telemetry to VictoriaMetrics

UFM (Unified Fabric Manager) telemetry collection for InfiniBand fabric monitoring through vmagent scraping with secure HTTPS, TLS certificate validation, and dual-destination forwarding to local and remote VictoriaMetrics clusters.

VAST Storage Telemetry Integration

VAST storage telemetry integration through VMagent scraping of VAST Prometheus endpoints and VLAgent syslog log collection with secure HTTPS, TLS authentication, and dual-destination forwarding.

External Log Aggregation to VictoriaLogs

Centralized log collection from external sources including network devices, storage systems, and fabric managers through VLAgent with syslog (plaintext/TLS) and HTTP forwarding support, TLS certificate validation, and JSON Lines format ingestion.

Configurable Pod Replicas for vmagent and vlagent

Configurable replica counts for vmagent and vlagent pods with default value of 2 replicas each, providing improved availability and scalability for telemetry data collection and log aggregation.

Minimal OS Functional Groups

Minimal OS functional groups (os_x86_64 and os_aarch64) providing a clean operating system baseline designed specifically for downstream platform software installation.

NVIDIA DCGM and CUDA Toolkit Provisioning for Slurm GPU Nodes

End-to-end automated GPU readiness for Slurm clusters with NVIDIA driver installation, CUDA toolkit distribution to shared cluster storage, and DCGM setup during stateless node provisioning.

NVIDIA HPC SDK Provisioning for Slurm Clusters

Cluster-wide deployment of NVIDIA HPC SDK (nvhpc) for Slurm compiler and compute nodes with single installation on compiler node, NFS sharing, and bind mount distribution.

Vast Repo and Vast Client Installation

Vast NFS client installation streamlined by building Vast repository from source, hosting RPMs on HTTP server, configuring repository, and automatic installation during provisioning when InfiniBand NIC is present.

One-Shot Combined Log Extraction for Debugging

One-shot log collection playbook for gathering cluster logs from Kubernetes and Slurm nodes with full and curated support collection modes, log collection from all node types, and timestamped tar.gz bundle output.

ETCD on Local Disk Support for Kubernetes Service Cluster

ETCD deployment on local disk instead of NFS for Kubernetes service cluster with configurable etcd_on_local_disk setting in omnia_config.yml, automatic disk selection prioritizing BOSS cards (BOSS-N1/N2) with fallback to SSD/SATA disks, /var/lib/etcd mount point, support for pre-configured RAID 1 or RAID 10 on BOSS cards, and minimum 20 GB disk space recommendation.

Version 2.1.0.0

BuildStream: Catalog-Driven Build Automation

Omnia BuildStreaM provides a comprehensive automation solution for managing infrastructure build workflows. It uses a catalog-driven approach where you define your build requirements in a structured catalog file, and BuildStreaM executes automated pipelines to create and deploy images according to your specifications.

BuildStreaM addresses the key challenges in HPC cluster image management:

  • Automation: Eliminates manual build and deployment processes

  • Integration: Works seamlessly with existing Omnia deployments

  • Traceability: Provides complete audit trails for all build operations

Support for Installation of Additional Packages

Enables the installation of additional packages on the cluster nodes, allowing to extend cluster functionality with custom software and tools.

Add and Remove Slurm Compute Nodes

Provides the ability to add and remove Slurm compute nodes from the cluster, allowing for dynamic scaling of the cluster.

Support for Apptainer

Run apptainer pull to store the SIF container image on the cluster’s NFS-mounted shared storage. This ensures uniform access across all compute nodes, enabling them to run jobs from the same SIF file.

Telemetry Collection from OME and SFM

Enables collection of telemetry data from OpenManage Enterprise (OME) and Smart Fabric Manager (SFM), providing insights into cluster health, performance, and resource utilization.

PowerVault Storage Integration

The PowerVault integration, with a preconfigured volume, provides persistent storage for critical Slurm controller components using iSCSI block storage with multipath support. This ensures data persistence for Slurm’s StateSaveLocation and the MariaDB/MySQL database.

InfiniBand Networking Support

Provides comprehensive support for InfiniBand (IB) networking in HPC clusters, including automatic DOCA-OFED driver installation for Mellanox InfiniBand cards, and static IP assignment for IB interfaces. InfiniBand Networking requires an InfiniBand subnet manager (SM) configured and running to manage the IB fabric.

Version 2.0.0.0

Support for Podman Containers

Enables deployment of the following Omnia core services as Podman containers, ensuring secure, lightweight, and OCI-compliant environments for HPC clusters. This simplifies lifecycle management, accelerates updates, and improves isolation for critical services:

  • Omnia Core — Orchestrates infrastructure management operations.

  • Omnia Auth — Provides LDAP-based authentication.

  • OpenCHAMI — Powers diskless provisioning workflows.

  • Pulp Repository Service — Hosts local repositories for air-gapped deployments.

Repository Management

Provides a Pulp-based local repository service deployed as a Podman container, enabling secure and efficient package distribution in air-gapped HPC environments. This reduces dependency on external networks and accelerates provisioning workflows.

Authentication Service

Integrates an LDAP server within the Omnia Auth Podman container for centralized authentication and directory services. This enhances security and simplifies identity management across HPC clusters.

Telemetry Collection and Monitoring

Automates the configuration of Kubernetes Service Clusters to host essential monitoring components for telemetry collection and monitoring. The following telemetry capabilities are supported:

  • iDRAC Telemetry — Collects out-of-band system metrics, including power, thermal, and hardware health data, from Dell servers. Telemetry data is streamed as time-series data to Kafka or VictoriaMetrics, depending on deployment requirements. VictoriaPump is included for storing telemetry metrics in the VictoriaMetrics database.

  • LDMS Telemetry — Captures in-band performance metrics such as CPU, memory, network, and I/O usage from Slurm cluster nodes. Metrics are streamed as time-series data to Kafka for scalable ingestion and analysis.

  • Air-gapped telemetry support — Supports telemetry collection in air-gapped or offline environments to meet security and compliance requirements.

Kubernetes Cluster High Availability

Delivers built-in high-availability (HA) failover for Service Kubernetes Cluster control plane nodes, ensuring uninterrupted cluster management and improved resilience for HPC workloads.

Provisioning and Deployment Based on Functional Groups

Enables role-based provisioning for HPC clusters using mapping files. Automatically assigns functional roles (for example, Slurm Control Node and Login Node) and deploys customized operating system images tailored to workload-specific configurations.

The following functional roles are supported:

  • Login Node

  • Login Compiler Node

  • Slurm Node

  • Slurm Control Node

  • Service Kubernetes Node

  • Service Kubernetes Control Plane

Stateless Boot

Introduces stateless provisioning for RHEL 10 using OpenCHAMI, reducing deployment time and storage overhead for HPC clusters.

Automatic CUDA Installation for GPU Workloads

Automatically installs CUDA during node provisioning, ensuring GPU-enabled nodes are ready for HPC workloads immediately after deployment. This reduces manual setup time and accelerates readiness for GPU-intensive applications.

Security Enhancements

Credentials are now encrypted using industry-standard algorithms (for example, AES-256), improving compliance with security best practices and reducing the risk of data exposure.

Platform Support

Supports x86_64 and aarch64 architectures, enabling deployment on both traditional and ARM-based HPC nodes for improved flexibility and energy efficiency.

Input Template and Validator

Provides predefined configuration templates and early input validation to reduce configuration errors and accelerate HPC cluster provisioning. This improves deployment reliability and overall user experience.

If you have any feedback about Omnia documentation, please reach out at omnia.readme@dell.com.