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axdevice — Device Detection and Configuration

The axdevice tool lists and configures all Axelera AIPU devices installed in your system. It is the first tool you should run after installation to confirm your hardware is detected.

Quick reference​

# List all devices
axdevice

# Target a specific device
axdevice -d0
axdevice -dmetis-0:3:0

# Generate a support report
axdevice --report

What the output means​

Device 0: metis-0:1:0 4GiB pcie flver=1.3.0 bcver=1.4 clock=800MHz(0-3:800MHz) mvm=0-3:100%
FieldMeaning
Device 0Device index — use this with -d0 to target it
metis-0:1:0Device name — PCIe bus address (bus:device:function)
4GiBOn-device DDR memory
pcieConnection type (PCIe or M.2)
flver=1.3.0Firmware loader version
bcver=1.4Board controller version
clock=800MHzCurrent clock speed
(0-3:800MHz)Per-core clock speeds (cores 0 through 3)
mvm=0-3:100%MVM (Matrix-Vector Multiply) utilization per core

Options​

Device selection​

axdevice -d \<device\>

Select a specific device by index or name. If omitted, commands apply to all devices.

axdevice -d1 --set-clock 400        # By index
axdevice -dmetis-0:3:0 --set-clock 400  # By name

Clock speed​

axdevice --set-clock \<MHz\>

Set the clock speed for all cores. Valid values: 100, 200, 400, 600, 700, 800.

axdevice --set-core-clock <core-spec>

Set clock speed per core:

axdevice --set-core-clock 0-1:800,2-3:400   # Cores 0-1 at 800, cores 2-3 at 400
axdevice --set-core-clock 600                # All cores at 600

MVM limitation​

axdevice --set-mvm-limitation <core-spec>

Restrict MVM utilization per core (1-100%):

axdevice --set-mvm-limitation 0:100,1-3:50   # Core 0 full, cores 1-3 at 50%
axdevice --set-mvm-limitation 75              # All cores at 75%
Why limit MVM?

Reducing MVM utilization lowers power consumption and heat. Useful when running multiple models or in thermally constrained environments.

Device recovery​

CommandWhat it does
--pcie-scanList all Axelera devices on the PCIe bus (uses lspci)
--reload-firmwareReload device runtime firmware
--pcie-rescanRemove and re-enumerate all Axelera PCIe devices
--refreshRun --pcie-rescan then --reload-firmware (try up to 3 times)
--rebootPower cycle the device. Interrupts any in-flight inference.
tip

If axdevice shows no devices after boot, run axdevice --refresh up to three times. Some hosts have PCIe enumeration timing issues on cold boot.

Metis PCIe 4-AIPU cards

Some early Metis PCIe 4-AIPU cards may fail to recover when cascaded with other PCIe devices on the same bus. In this case, disable the multi-device service to prevent interference with the recovery process:

sudo systemctl disable axelera-multi-device

Support report​

axdevice --report

Generates a ZIP file (e.g., report-2025-06-05_11_56_12.zip) containing:

  • System information (OS, RAM, kernel version)
  • lspci output
  • Firmware versions and device configuration
  • Device error logs
  • Kernel dmesg log

Attach this file when contacting Axelera Support.

Important note​

When using inference.py with a YAML pipeline, the pipeline automatically configures the device at startup. This overwrites any clock or MVM settings you set manually. To prevent this, set:

export AXELERA_CONFIGURE_DEVICE=0

See also​