gpu_plugin_with_level_zero.md

GPU plugin Level Zero support

OpenVINO GPU plugin can be compiled with experimental Level Zero support. When enabled, plugin will use Level Zero as GPU compute API instead of OpenCL.

How to build with Level Zero support

1. Configure cmake with the following additional option:
   • -DGPU_RT_TYPE=ZE
2. Build OpenVINO
   • cmake --build . --config Release

How to check what runtime is used

With DEBUG_CAPS cmake option

0. Prerequisite: Build OpenVINO with DEBUG_CAPS cmake option
1. Set OV_VERBOSE=1 environment variable.
2. Run workload
3. Find what variant of stream is reported in the logs (ze_stream or ocl_stream)
   • Example output for Level Zero runtime: ze_stream: [GPU] Created Level Zero stream

Without DEBUG_CAPS

• Check which libraries are loaded at runtime.
  • On Linux, use strace to confirm that Level Zero libraries are loaded.
  • On Windows, use Process Explorer to confirm that Level Zero libraries are loaded.
  • If you see Level Zero libraries such as ze_loader.dll and ze_intel_gpu64.dll, Level Zero is in use.
• Use clintercept to check whether any OpenCL calls are made.
  • If no OpenCL calls appear, Level Zero is in use.