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CVEDIA-RT AI Appliance

The CVEDIA-RT AI Appliance is a pre-configured, ready-to-deploy solution that provides a turnkey installation of CVEDIA-RT on compatible hardware. Based on Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS, the appliance offers a fully automated installation process with built-in support for multiple AI accelerators.

System Requirements

Operating System

  • Base OS: Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS
  • Kernel: 6.14 (automatically installed)
  • Architecture: x86_64

Supported Hardware

The AI Appliance ISO supports the following hardware platforms and accelerators:

CPU Support

The AI Appliance supports any x86_64 compatible CPU, with optimal performance on recent Intel processor generations:

Optimized for:

  • Intel N-series (Alder Lake-N / Raptor Lake-N):

    • Intel N50, N97, N100, N200, N250, N305
    • All N-series processors

  • Intel Core Ultra (Meteor Lake / Lunar Lake):

    • Intel Core Ultra 5, 7, 9
    • Intel Core Ultra Series 2

General Compatibility:

  • Any x86_64 CPU (Intel, AMD, or compatible)
  • Older Intel and AMD processors will work but may not achieve optimal performance

AI Accelerators

  • NVIDIA GPUs: All GPUs with Compute Capability 7.5 or higher

    • Automatic CUDA toolkit installation
    • TensorRT support
    • See NVIDIA GPU for detailed compatibility

  • Blaize SDK 25.2.0:

    • Xplorer X1600E
    • Xplorer X600E M.2
    • Xplorer X1600P PCIe
    • Xplorer X1600P-Q PCIe
    • See Blaize for more details

  • Hailo:

    • Hailo-8
    • Hailo-8L
    • Hailo-15
    • See Hailo for more details

Storage Warning

The installation process will erase all data on the target storage device. Ensure you have backed up any important data before proceeding.

Installation Process

The AI Appliance installation is a fully automated two-stage process that requires no user interaction, network connectivity, or even a display.

Prerequisites

  • Compatible hardware (see Supported Hardware)
  • USB drive (16GB minimum recommended)
  • ISO image downloaded from CVEDIA

Step 1: Create Bootable USB

Flash the ISO image to a USB drive using one of the following tools:

Windows:

macOS:

Linux:

# Replace /dev/sdX with your USB device
sudo dd if=cvedia-rt-appliance.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=32M status=progress iflag=fullblock oflag=direct

Identifying the USB Device

On Linux, use lsblk or fdisk -l to identify your USB device. Be careful to select the correct device to avoid data loss.

Step 2: First Boot

  1. Insert the USB drive into the target system
  2. Boot from the USB drive (may require BIOS/UEFI configuration)
  3. The system will automatically:
    • Boot from the installation media
    • Copy the installer to a temporary location
    • Shutdown automatically (typically within 1-2 minutes)

USB Drive Safe to Remove

After the first shutdown, you can safely disconnect the USB drive. The second boot will continue from the internal storage.

Step 3: Second Boot

  1. Power on the system (USB drive can remain disconnected)
  2. The system will automatically:
    • Partition and format the storage device
    • Install Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS
    • Detect installed hardware accelerators
    • Install appropriate drivers (NVIDIA CUDA, Hailo, Blaize)
    • Install and configure CVEDIA-RT
    • Shutdown automatically when complete (typically 10-30 minutes depending on hardware)

Installation Without Display

The entire installation process is completely automated and does not require a display, keyboard, or mouse. Simply power on the system after each boot and wait for it to shutdown automatically.

Step 4: First Use

  1. Power on the system
  2. Wait for the boot process to complete
  3. Access CVEDIA-RT:
    • Web Interface: http://<system-ip>:9090
    • SSH Access: User cvedia, Password cvedia

Finding the System IP

Check your DHCP server/router for the assigned IP address, or connect a display and keyboard to run ip addr show after login.

Hardware Detection and Driver Installation

The AI Appliance automatically detects and configures the following hardware during installation:

NVIDIA GPUs

When NVIDIA hardware is detected:

  • The open-source Nouveau driver is automatically blacklisted
  • NVIDIA proprietary drivers and CUDA toolkit are installed
  • TensorRT libraries are configured
  • Installation is verified with nvidia-smi

No Reboot Required

Unlike manual installations, the Nouveau driver is preemptively blacklisted during installation, eliminating the need for an additional reboot.

Hailo Accelerators

When Hailo hardware is detected:

  • HailoRT runtime is installed
  • Device firmware is verified
  • Installation is confirmed with hailortcli fw-control identify

Blaize Accelerators

When Blaize hardware is detected:

  • Blaize SDK 25.2.0 is installed
  • Required dependencies are configured
  • Multi-device support is enabled

Network Configuration

The AI Appliance uses DHCP for network configuration by default:

  • DNS Servers: Google DNS (8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4) and Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1)
  • IPv4: DHCP
  • IPv6: Disabled by default

To configure a static IP after installation:

# Edit netplan configuration
sudo nano /etc/netplan/50-cloud-init.yaml

# Apply changes
sudo netplan apply

Offline Installation

The AI Appliance does not require internet connectivity during installation. All necessary packages, including hardware drivers, are pre-packaged in the ISO for offline deployment.

Online connectivity is only needed for:

  • Downloading software updates
  • Accessing cloud-based features
  • Remote management

Troubleshooting

Installation Logs

All installation activities are logged to /var/log/cvedia_firstboot.log. To view the log:

sudo cat /var/log/cvedia_firstboot.log

Common Issues

System doesn't shutdown after first boot:

  • Wait up to 5 minutes before manually powering off
  • Check USB drive connectivity

System doesn't boot after installation:

  • Ensure USB boot drive is removed
  • Check BIOS/UEFI boot order settings
  • Verify storage device is detected in BIOS

Hardware accelerator not detected:

  • Check hardware is properly seated
  • Review /var/log/cvedia_firstboot.log for detection errors
  • Verify hardware is in the supported list

Cannot access web interface:

  • Verify system IP address with ip addr show
  • Check firewall settings: sudo ufw status
  • Ensure port 8080 is not blocked by network policies

Recovery

If installation fails, simply reboot from the USB drive and repeat the installation process. The installer will automatically erase and reconfigure the storage device.

Security Considerations

Default Credentials

The default SSH credentials (cvedia/cvedia) should be changed immediately after first login:

# Change password
passwd

# Optionally, add SSH key authentication and disable password login
ssh-copy-id cvedia@<system-ip>

The appliance includes:

  • SSH enabled by default for remote access
  • cvedia user with sudo privileges
  • Automatic security updates (online installations only)
  • Firewall configured with UFW

Version Information

  • Ubuntu: 24.04.3 LTS
  • Kernel: 6.14
  • CVEDIA-RT: Varies by ISO release
  • Blaize SDK: 25.2.0 (when Blaize hardware detected)

Check the ISO filename or release notes for the specific CVEDIA-RT version included.

Support

For installation support or hardware compatibility questions, please contact CVEDIA Support.