#Rebuilding Tersler from scratch

These are all the steps from parts to a running server, in order. Each step links to the doc with the details. Everything needed is in this repository. The only things not included are the model weights (downloaded by the installer) and two vendor PDFs (see Reference documents).

Tersler's working title was junk-rig.

#1. Parts

• Buy the parts in the bill of materials: about €620 in total: €250 for the pair of Tesla P100 16 GB cards, ~€350 for the board, CPU, cooler, 64 GB RAM, SSD, PSU and fan, and a used case.
• research.md explains why each part was chosen, and what to check if you substitute one. Most importantly, the board must support Above 4G Decoding and two x16 Gen3 slots on one CPU.
• RAM: start with one 16 GB RDIMM in A1. The full setup has 4× 16 GB (this rig: A1, B1, C1, C2, because its channel D doesn't work; normally one per channel) (hardware notes).

#2. Assembly

Follow hardware-notes.md:

1. Without the GPUs first: CPU, cooler, RAM in A1, PSU and onboard VGA. Check that it POSTs.
2. BIOS: Above 4G Decoding on, VT-d on (BIOS settings).
3. Cards in PCIE6 and PCIE4 (both x16 Gen3). Keep PCIE5 and PCIE3 empty.
4. Power: one card on the PSU's native EPS cable, the other on the 2× PCIe 6+2 → EPS Y-adapter that came with the cards, with both legs connected (power). The P100 takes a CPU-style EPS 8-pin plug, not PCIe. If your cards come without adapters, you can make one (wiring); check the pinout with a meter before you plug it in.
5. Cooling: passive cards need forced air. Use one 120 × 38 mm fan and a printed duct (shroud/p100_front_duct.scad for a tower case, shroud/p100_shroud.scad for an open frame). The board's fan header is then driven by GPU temperature (cooling).

#3. Operating system

Build a ready-to-boot Ubuntu 24.04 image on any Linux PC with KVM, then write it to the SSD with dd. See image/README.md.

image/build-image.sh
zstdcat image/out/tersler.img.zst | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX bs=4M conv=fsync status=progress

The rig boots into SSH (key only). The repository is already in ~/tersler.

#4. Install

On the rig:

cd ~/tersler
cp install/tersler.local.conf.example install/tersler.local.conf   # set MODEL_URL etc.
sudo ./install/install.sh          # all stages; reboot when told, then run it again
sudo ./install/install.sh verify   # driver 580, BAR1 16 GB each, x16 links, P2P, iommu=pt
sudo systemctl start tersler-llama

The installer runs these stages: preflight config base driver cuda kernel build gpu model services verify. Each stage can be run on its own (sudo ./install/install.sh build). --list shows their state.

All versions and server flags are pinned in install/tersler.conf. The rig's own overrides (model, vision encoder, fan mapping, LAN access) are in install/tersler.local.conf.

#5. Tune and check

• tersler-fan-control --discover finds the board's PWM header for the GPU fan. Put it into the local conf.
• tersler-loadtest runs 20 minutes of sustained load. Both cards should stay below ~75 °C. The P100 slows down at 82 °C and shuts down at 85 °C.
• tersler-bench should give ~55-59 tok/s decode on the reference prompts (changelog, benchmarks).

#6. Keep it current

tersler-check-updates reports new fork commits, driver/CUDA updates and model updates. Build a candidate next to the running one, benchmark it, and only then move the pin (keeping-up.md). Record every change with its benchmark in the changelog.

#Reference documents

hardware-notes.md cites section numbers from two vendor PDFs. They are not redistributed here. Get them from the vendors:

• ASUS Z10PA-U8 user guide (E13693): ASUS support site, Z10PA-U8, Manual & Document
• Dell Precision T5810 spec sheet: Dell support site, Precision T5810, Documentation (the reference build's platform, for comparison only)