openshift-docs/modules/microshift-con-understanding-generic-device-plugin.adoc

// Module included in the following assemblies:
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// microshift_configuring/microshift-gdp.adoc

:_mod-docs-content-type: CONCEPT
[id="microshift-understanding-generic-device-plugin-con_{context}"]
= Understanding the Generic Device Plugin

The Generic Device Plugin (GDP) is a Kubernetes device plugin that enables applications running in pods to access host devices such as serial ports, cameras, and sound cards securely. This capability is especially important for edge and IoT environments where direct hardware interaction is a common requirement. The GDP integrates with the kubelet to advertise available devices to the node and facilitate their allocation to pods without requiring elevated privileges within the container itself.

The GDP is designed to handle devices that are initialized and managed by the operating system and do not require any special initialization procedures or drivers for a pod to use them.

Here are examples of generic devices that are suitable for the GDP:

* Serial ports, for example, `/dev/ttyUSB*`, `/dev/ttyACM*`.
* Video cameras, for example, `/dev/video0`.
* Sound devices, for example, `/dev/snd`, `/dev/snd/controlC0`.
* USB devices specified by Vendor ID and Product ID, or, optionally, by the device serial number.

The following specialized devices are not suitable for the GDP:

* Devices that require specific initialization procedures beyond standard operating system management.
* Specialized hardware that needs additional drivers or kernel modules. Examples of this specialized hardware include GPUs and FPGAs. These types of devices typically require their own specialized device plugins.