toy 0.8.0

data/vendor/ggml/src/ggml-rpc/ggml-rpc.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,1974 @@
+#include "ggml-rpc.h"
+#include "ggml-impl.h"
+#include "ggml-backend-impl.h"
+#include "ggml-cpp.h"
+#include "transport.h"
+
+#include <array>
+#include <cinttypes>
+#include <optional>
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+#include <memory>
+#include <mutex>
+#include <unordered_map>
+#include <unordered_set>
+#include <cstring>
+#include <fstream>
+#include <filesystem>
+#include <algorithm>
+
+static const char * RPC_DEBUG = std::getenv("GGML_RPC_DEBUG");
+
+#define LOG_DBG(...) \
+    do { if (RPC_DEBUG) GGML_LOG_DEBUG(__VA_ARGS__); } while (0)
+
+
+namespace fs = std::filesystem;
+
+// macro for nicer error messages on server crash
+#define RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(x) if (!(x)) GGML_ABORT("Remote RPC server crashed or returned malformed response")
+
+// all RPC structures must be packed
+#pragma pack(push, 1)
+// ggml_tensor is serialized into rpc_tensor
+struct rpc_tensor {
+    uint64_t id;
+    uint32_t type;
+    uint64_t buffer;
+    uint32_t ne[GGML_MAX_DIMS];
+    uint32_t nb[GGML_MAX_DIMS];
+    uint32_t op;
+    int32_t  op_params[GGML_MAX_OP_PARAMS / sizeof(int32_t)];
+    int32_t  flags;
+    uint64_t src[GGML_MAX_SRC];
+    uint64_t view_src;
+    uint64_t view_offs;
+    uint64_t data;
+    char name[GGML_MAX_NAME];
+
+    char padding[4];
+};
+
+static_assert(sizeof(rpc_tensor) % 8 == 0, "rpc_tensor size must be multiple of 8");
+
+// RPC commands
+enum rpc_cmd {
+    RPC_CMD_ALLOC_BUFFER = 0,
+    RPC_CMD_GET_ALIGNMENT,
+    RPC_CMD_GET_MAX_SIZE,
+    RPC_CMD_BUFFER_GET_BASE,
+    RPC_CMD_FREE_BUFFER,
+    RPC_CMD_BUFFER_CLEAR,
+    RPC_CMD_SET_TENSOR,
+    RPC_CMD_SET_TENSOR_HASH,
+    RPC_CMD_GET_TENSOR,
+    RPC_CMD_COPY_TENSOR,
+    RPC_CMD_GRAPH_COMPUTE,
+    RPC_CMD_GET_DEVICE_MEMORY,
+    RPC_CMD_INIT_TENSOR,
+    RPC_CMD_GET_ALLOC_SIZE,
+    RPC_CMD_HELLO,
+    RPC_CMD_DEVICE_COUNT,
+    RPC_CMD_GRAPH_RECOMPUTE,
+    RPC_CMD_COUNT,
+};
+
+static_assert(RPC_CMD_HELLO == 14, "RPC_CMD_HELLO must be always 14");
+
+// Try RPC_CMD_SET_TENSOR_HASH first when data size is larger than this threshold
+const size_t HASH_THRESHOLD = 10 * 1024 * 1024;
+
+struct rpc_msg_hello_req {
+    uint8_t conn_caps[RPC_CONN_CAPS_SIZE];
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_hello_rsp {
+    uint8_t major;
+    uint8_t minor;
+    uint8_t patch;
+    uint8_t padding;
+    uint8_t conn_caps[RPC_CONN_CAPS_SIZE];
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_device_count_rsp {
+    uint32_t device_count;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_get_alloc_size_req {
+    uint32_t   device;
+    rpc_tensor tensor;
+    rpc_tensor srcs[GGML_MAX_SRC];
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_get_alloc_size_rsp {
+    uint64_t alloc_size;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_init_tensor_req {
+    rpc_tensor tensor;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_alloc_buffer_req {
+    uint32_t device;
+    uint64_t size;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_alloc_buffer_rsp {
+    uint64_t remote_ptr;
+    uint64_t remote_size;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_get_alignment_req {
+    uint32_t device;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_get_alignment_rsp {
+    uint64_t alignment;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_get_max_size_req {
+    uint32_t device;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_get_max_size_rsp {
+    uint64_t max_size;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_buffer_get_base_req {
+    uint64_t remote_ptr;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_buffer_get_base_rsp {
+    uint64_t base_ptr;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_free_buffer_req {
+    uint64_t remote_ptr;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_buffer_clear_req {
+    uint64_t remote_ptr;
+    uint8_t value;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_set_tensor_hash_req {
+    rpc_tensor tensor;
+    uint64_t offset;
+    uint64_t hash;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_set_tensor_hash_rsp {
+    uint8_t result;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_get_tensor_req {
+    rpc_tensor tensor;
+    uint64_t offset;
+    uint64_t size;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_copy_tensor_req {
+    rpc_tensor src;
+    rpc_tensor dst;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_copy_tensor_rsp {
+    uint8_t result;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_get_device_memory_req {
+    uint32_t device;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_get_device_memory_rsp {
+    uint64_t free_mem;
+    uint64_t total_mem;
+};
+
+struct rpc_msg_graph_recompute_req {
+    uint32_t device;
+};
+
+#pragma pack(pop)
+
+// RPC data structures
+
+static ggml_guid_t ggml_backend_rpc_guid() {
+    static ggml_guid guid = {0x99, 0x68, 0x5b, 0x6c, 0xd2, 0x83, 0x3d, 0x24, 0x25, 0x36, 0x72, 0xe1, 0x5b, 0x0e, 0x14, 0x03};
+    return &guid;
+}
+
+struct ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context {
+    std::string endpoint;
+    uint32_t    device;
+    std::string name;
+    size_t      alignment;
+    size_t      max_size;
+};
+
+struct ggml_backend_rpc_context {
+    std::string endpoint;
+    uint32_t    device;
+    std::string name;
+    uint64_t    last_graph_uid;
+};
+
+struct ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context {
+    std::shared_ptr<socket_t> sock;
+    void * base_ptr;
+    uint64_t remote_ptr;
+};
+
+// RPC helper functions
+
+// Computes FNV-1a hash of the data
+static uint64_t fnv_hash(const uint8_t * data, size_t len) {
+    const uint64_t fnv_prime = 0x100000001b3ULL;
+    uint64_t hash = 0xcbf29ce484222325ULL;
+
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < len; ++i) {
+        hash ^= data[i];
+        hash *= fnv_prime;
+    }
+    return hash;
+}
+
+static bool send_msg(socket_ptr sock, const void * msg, size_t msg_size) {
+    if (!sock->send_data(&msg_size, sizeof(msg_size))) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    return sock->send_data(msg, msg_size);
+}
+
+static bool recv_msg(socket_ptr sock, void * msg, size_t msg_size) {
+    uint64_t size;
+    if (!sock->recv_data(&size, sizeof(size))) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (size != msg_size) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    return sock->recv_data(msg, msg_size);
+}
+
+static bool recv_msg(socket_ptr sock, std::vector<uint8_t> & input) {
+    uint64_t size;
+    if (!sock->recv_data(&size, sizeof(size))) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    try {
+        input.resize(size);
+    } catch (const std::bad_alloc & e) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("Failed to allocate input buffer of size %" PRIu64 "\n", size);
+        return false;
+    }
+    return sock->recv_data(input.data(), size);
+}
+
+static bool parse_endpoint(const std::string & endpoint, std::string & host, int & port) {
+    size_t pos = endpoint.find(':');
+    if (pos == std::string::npos) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    host = endpoint.substr(0, pos);
+    try {
+        port = std::stoi(endpoint.substr(pos + 1));
+    } catch (...) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    return true;
+}
+
+// RPC request : | rpc_cmd (1 byte) | request_size (8 bytes) | request_data (request_size bytes) |
+// No response
+static bool send_rpc_cmd(socket_ptr sock, enum rpc_cmd cmd, const void * input, size_t input_size) {
+    uint8_t cmd_byte = cmd;
+    if (!sock->send_data(&cmd_byte, sizeof(cmd_byte))) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (!sock->send_data(&input_size, sizeof(input_size))) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (!sock->send_data(input, input_size)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    return true;
+}
+
+// RPC request : | rpc_cmd (1 byte) | request_size (8 bytes) | request_data (request_size bytes) |
+// RPC response: | response_size (8 bytes) | response_data (response_size bytes) |
+static bool send_rpc_cmd(socket_ptr sock, enum rpc_cmd cmd, const void * input, size_t input_size, void * output, size_t output_size) {
+    if (!send_rpc_cmd(sock, cmd, input, input_size)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    uint64_t out_size;
+    if (!sock->recv_data(&out_size, sizeof(out_size))) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (out_size != output_size) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (!sock->recv_data(output, output_size)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    return true;
+}
+
+// RPC client-side implementation
+
+// Performs HELLO handshake with transport auto-negotiation.
+// Advertises local capabilities via conn_caps; if the server responds with
+// matching capabilities, the socket is upgraded transparently.
+static bool negotiate_hello(const std::shared_ptr<socket_t> & sock) {
+    rpc_msg_hello_req request = {};
+    rpc_msg_hello_rsp response = {};
+
+    sock->get_caps(request.conn_caps);
+
+    bool status = send_rpc_cmd(sock, RPC_CMD_HELLO, &request, sizeof(request), &response, sizeof(response));
+    RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+
+    if (response.major != RPC_PROTO_MAJOR_VERSION || response.minor > RPC_PROTO_MINOR_VERSION) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("RPC server version mismatch: %d.%d.%d\n",
+                       response.major, response.minor, response.patch);
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    sock->update_caps(response.conn_caps);
+    return true;
+}
+
+static std::shared_ptr<socket_t> get_socket(const std::string & endpoint) {
+    static std::mutex mutex;
+    std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(mutex);
+    static std::unordered_map<std::string, std::weak_ptr<socket_t>> sockets;
+
+    auto it = sockets.find(endpoint);
+    if (it != sockets.end()) {
+        if (auto sock = it->second.lock()) {
+            return sock;
+        }
+    }
+    std::string host;
+    int port;
+    if (!parse_endpoint(endpoint, host, port)) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("Failed to parse endpoint: %s\n", endpoint.c_str());
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+
+    if (!rpc_transport_init()) {
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+    auto sock = socket_t::connect(host.c_str(), port);
+    if (sock == nullptr) {
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+    if (!negotiate_hello(sock)) {
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] connected to %s\n", __func__, endpoint.c_str());
+    sockets[endpoint] = sock;
+    return sock;
+}
+
+static void ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_free_buffer(ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context *)buffer->context;
+    rpc_msg_free_buffer_req request = {ctx->remote_ptr};
+    bool status = send_rpc_cmd(ctx->sock, RPC_CMD_FREE_BUFFER, &request, sizeof(request), nullptr, 0);
+    RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+    delete ctx;
+}
+
+static void * ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_get_base(ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context *)buffer->context;
+    if (ctx->base_ptr != nullptr) {
+        return ctx->base_ptr;
+    }
+    rpc_msg_buffer_get_base_req request = {ctx->remote_ptr};
+    rpc_msg_buffer_get_base_rsp response;
+    bool status = send_rpc_cmd(ctx->sock, RPC_CMD_BUFFER_GET_BASE, &request, sizeof(request), &response, sizeof(response));
+    RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+    ctx->base_ptr = reinterpret_cast<void *>(response.base_ptr);
+    return ctx->base_ptr;
+}
+
+static bool ggml_backend_buffer_is_rpc(ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer) {
+    return buffer->iface.free_buffer == ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_free_buffer;
+}
+
+static rpc_tensor serialize_tensor(const ggml_tensor * tensor) {
+    rpc_tensor result;
+    if (!tensor) {
+        memset(&result, 0, sizeof(result));
+        return result;
+    }
+
+    result.id = reinterpret_cast<uint64_t>(tensor);
+    result.type = tensor->type;
+    if (tensor->buffer && ggml_backend_buffer_is_rpc(tensor->buffer)) {
+        ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer = tensor->buffer;
+        ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context *)buffer->context;
+        result.buffer = ctx != nullptr ? ctx->remote_ptr : 0;
+        result.data = reinterpret_cast<uint64_t>(tensor->data);
+    } else {
+        result.buffer = 0;
+        result.data   = 0;
+    }
+    for (uint32_t i = 0; i < GGML_MAX_DIMS; i++) {
+        result.ne[i] = tensor->ne[i];
+        result.nb[i] = tensor->nb[i];
+    }
+    result.op = tensor->op;
+    for (uint32_t i = 0; i < GGML_MAX_OP_PARAMS / sizeof(int32_t); i++) {
+        result.op_params[i] = tensor->op_params[i];
+    }
+    result.flags = tensor->flags;
+    for (uint32_t i = 0; i < GGML_MAX_SRC; i++) {
+        result.src[i] = reinterpret_cast<uint64_t>(tensor->src[i]);
+    }
+    result.view_src = reinterpret_cast<uint64_t>(tensor->view_src);
+    result.view_offs = tensor->view_offs;
+
+    // Avoid sending uninitialized data over the wire
+    memset(result.name, 0, sizeof(result.name));
+    memset(result.padding, 0, sizeof(result.padding));
+
+    snprintf(result.name, GGML_MAX_NAME, "%s", tensor->name);
+    return result;
+}
+
+static enum ggml_status ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_init_tensor(ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer, ggml_tensor * tensor) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context *)buffer->context;
+
+    // CUDA backend on the server pads everything to 512 due to CUDA limitations.
+    // Due to bandwidth constraints, we only call the server init tensor functions if necessary.
+    // In particular, only quantized tensors need padding
+    if (ggml_is_quantized(tensor->type) && (tensor->ne[0] % 512 != 0) && (tensor->view_src == nullptr)) {
+        rpc_msg_init_tensor_req request;
+
+        request.tensor = serialize_tensor(tensor);
+
+        bool status = send_rpc_cmd(ctx->sock, RPC_CMD_INIT_TENSOR, &request, sizeof(request), nullptr, 0);
+        RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+    }
+    return GGML_STATUS_SUCCESS;
+}
+
+static void ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_set_tensor(ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer, ggml_tensor * tensor, const void * data, size_t offset, size_t size) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context *)buffer->context;
+    rpc_tensor rpc_tensor = serialize_tensor(tensor);
+    if (size > HASH_THRESHOLD) {
+        rpc_msg_set_tensor_hash_req request;
+        request.tensor = rpc_tensor;
+        request.offset = offset;
+        request.hash = fnv_hash((const uint8_t*)data, size);
+        rpc_msg_set_tensor_hash_rsp response;
+        bool status = send_rpc_cmd(ctx->sock, RPC_CMD_SET_TENSOR_HASH, &request, sizeof(request), &response, sizeof(response));
+        RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+        if (response.result) {
+            // the server has the same data, no need to send it
+            return;
+        }
+    }
+    // input serialization format: | rpc_tensor | offset (8 bytes) | data (size bytes)
+    size_t input_size = sizeof(rpc_tensor) + sizeof(uint64_t) + size;
+    std::vector<uint8_t> input(input_size, 0);
+    memcpy(input.data(), &rpc_tensor, sizeof(rpc_tensor));
+    memcpy(input.data() + sizeof(rpc_tensor), &offset, sizeof(offset));
+    memcpy(input.data() + sizeof(rpc_tensor) + sizeof(offset), data, size);
+    bool status = send_rpc_cmd(ctx->sock, RPC_CMD_SET_TENSOR, input.data(), input.size());
+    RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+}
+
+static void ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_get_tensor(ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer, const ggml_tensor * tensor, void * data, size_t offset, size_t size) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context *)buffer->context;
+    rpc_msg_get_tensor_req request;
+    request.tensor = serialize_tensor(tensor);
+    request.offset = offset;
+    request.size = size;
+    bool status = send_rpc_cmd(ctx->sock, RPC_CMD_GET_TENSOR, &request, sizeof(request), data, size);
+    RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+}
+
+static bool ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_cpy_tensor(ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer, const ggml_tensor * src, ggml_tensor * dst) {
+    if (ggml_backend_buffer_is_rpc(src->buffer)) {
+        // check if src and dst are on the same server
+        ggml_backend_buffer_t src_buffer = src->buffer;
+        ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context * src_ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context *)src_buffer->context;
+        ggml_backend_buffer_t dst_buffer = dst->buffer;
+        ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context * dst_ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context *)dst_buffer->context;
+        if (src_ctx->sock != dst_ctx->sock) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context *)buffer->context;
+        rpc_msg_copy_tensor_req request;
+        request.src = serialize_tensor(src);
+        request.dst = serialize_tensor(dst);
+        rpc_msg_copy_tensor_rsp response;
+        bool status = send_rpc_cmd(ctx->sock, RPC_CMD_COPY_TENSOR, &request, sizeof(request), &response, sizeof(response));
+        RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+        return response.result;
+    }
+    return false;
+}
+
+static void ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_clear(ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer, uint8_t value) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context *)buffer->context;
+    rpc_msg_buffer_clear_req request = {ctx->remote_ptr, value};
+    bool status = send_rpc_cmd(ctx->sock, RPC_CMD_BUFFER_CLEAR, &request, sizeof(request), nullptr, 0);
+    RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+}
+
+static ggml_backend_buffer_i ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_interface = {
+    /* .free_buffer     = */ ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_free_buffer,
+    /* .get_base        = */ ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_get_base,
+    /* .init_tensor     = */ ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_init_tensor,
+    /* .memset_tensor   = */ NULL,
+    /* .set_tensor      = */ ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_set_tensor,
+    /* .get_tensor      = */ ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_get_tensor,
+    /* .set_tensor_2d   = */ NULL,
+    /* .get_tensor_2d   = */ NULL,
+    /* .cpy_tensor      = */ ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_cpy_tensor,
+    /* .clear           = */ ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_clear,
+    /* .reset           = */ NULL,
+};
+
+static const char * ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_name(ggml_backend_buffer_type_t buft) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context * buft_ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context *)buft->context;
+    return buft_ctx->name.c_str();
+}
+
+static ggml_backend_buffer_t ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_alloc_buffer(ggml_backend_buffer_type_t buft, size_t size) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context * buft_ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context *)buft->context;
+    rpc_msg_alloc_buffer_req request = {buft_ctx->device, size};
+    rpc_msg_alloc_buffer_rsp response;
+    auto sock = get_socket(buft_ctx->endpoint);
+    bool status = send_rpc_cmd(sock, RPC_CMD_ALLOC_BUFFER, &request, sizeof(request), &response, sizeof(response));
+    RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+    if (response.remote_ptr != 0) {
+        ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer = ggml_backend_buffer_init(buft,
+            ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_interface,
+            new ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_context{sock, nullptr, response.remote_ptr},
+            response.remote_size);
+        return buffer;
+    } else {
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+}
+
+static size_t get_alignment(const std::shared_ptr<socket_t> & sock, uint32_t device) {
+    rpc_msg_get_alignment_req request = {device};
+    rpc_msg_get_alignment_rsp response;
+    bool status = send_rpc_cmd(sock, RPC_CMD_GET_ALIGNMENT, &request, sizeof(request), &response, sizeof(response));
+    RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+    return response.alignment;
+}
+
+static size_t ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_get_alignment(ggml_backend_buffer_type_t buft) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context * buft_ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context *)buft->context;
+    return buft_ctx->alignment;
+}
+
+static size_t get_max_size(const std::shared_ptr<socket_t> & sock, uint32_t device) {
+    rpc_msg_get_max_size_req request = {device};
+    rpc_msg_get_max_size_rsp response;
+    bool status = send_rpc_cmd(sock, RPC_CMD_GET_MAX_SIZE, &request, sizeof(request), &response, sizeof(response));
+    RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+    return response.max_size;
+}
+
+static size_t ggml_backend_rpc_get_max_size(ggml_backend_buffer_type_t buft) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context * buft_ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context *)buft->context;
+    return buft_ctx->max_size;
+}
+
+static size_t ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_get_alloc_size(ggml_backend_buffer_type_t buft, const ggml_tensor * tensor) {
+    // should we query the remote server for the actual size
+    bool rpc_get = false;
+
+    // See comments in init_tensor.
+    rpc_get |= ggml_is_quantized(tensor->type) && (tensor->ne[0] % 512 != 0) && (tensor->view_src == nullptr);
+
+    // ops that require additional memory for fleeting data on certain backends
+    // ref: https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp/pull/15966
+    rpc_get |= tensor->op == GGML_OP_FLASH_ATTN_EXT;
+    rpc_get |= tensor->op == GGML_OP_MUL_MAT_ID;
+
+    if (rpc_get) {
+        ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context * buft_ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context *)buft->context;
+        auto sock = get_socket(buft_ctx->endpoint);
+
+        rpc_msg_get_alloc_size_req request = {
+            /*.device =*/ buft_ctx->device,
+            /*.tensor =*/ serialize_tensor(tensor),
+            /*.srcs   =*/ {},
+        };
+
+        // .get_alloc_size could be a function of the tensor's srcs, so we must serialize them as well
+        for (int i = 0; i < GGML_MAX_SRC; i++) {
+            request.srcs[i] = serialize_tensor(tensor->src[i]);
+        }
+
+        // TODO: cache the alloc responses to avoid extra RPC calls?
+        rpc_msg_get_alloc_size_rsp response;
+        bool status = send_rpc_cmd(sock, RPC_CMD_GET_ALLOC_SIZE, &request, sizeof(request), &response, sizeof(response));
+        RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+
+        return response.alloc_size;
+    }
+
+    return ggml_nbytes(tensor);
+}
+
+static ggml_backend_buffer_type_i ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_interface = {
+    /* .get_name         = */ ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_name,
+    /* .alloc_buffer     = */ ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_alloc_buffer,
+    /* .get_alignment    = */ ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_get_alignment,
+    /* .get_max_size     = */ ggml_backend_rpc_get_max_size,
+    /* .get_alloc_size   = */ ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_get_alloc_size,
+    /* .is_host          = */ NULL,
+};
+
+static const char * ggml_backend_rpc_name(ggml_backend_t backend) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_context * rpc_ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_context *)backend->context;
+
+    return rpc_ctx->name.c_str();
+}
+
+static void ggml_backend_rpc_free(ggml_backend_t backend) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_context * rpc_ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_context *)backend->context;
+    delete rpc_ctx;
+    delete backend;
+}
+
+static void ggml_backend_rpc_synchronize(ggml_backend_t backend) {
+    GGML_UNUSED(backend);
+    // this is no-op because we don't have any async operations
+}
+
+static void add_tensor(ggml_tensor * tensor, std::vector<rpc_tensor> & tensors, std::unordered_set<ggml_tensor*> & visited) {
+    if (tensor == nullptr) {
+        return;
+    }
+    if (visited.find(tensor) != visited.end()) {
+        return;
+    }
+    visited.insert(tensor);
+    for (int i = 0; i < GGML_MAX_SRC; i++) {
+        add_tensor(tensor->src[i], tensors, visited);
+    }
+    add_tensor(tensor->view_src, tensors, visited);
+    tensors.push_back(serialize_tensor(tensor));
+}
+
+static void serialize_graph(uint32_t device, const ggml_cgraph * cgraph, std::vector<uint8_t> & output) {
+    uint32_t n_nodes = cgraph->n_nodes;
+    std::vector<rpc_tensor> tensors;
+    std::unordered_set<ggml_tensor*> visited;
+    for (uint32_t i = 0; i < n_nodes; i++) {
+        add_tensor(cgraph->nodes[i], tensors, visited);
+    }
+    // serialization format:
+    // | device (4 bytes) | n_nodes (4 bytes) | nodes (n_nodes * sizeof(uint64_t) | n_tensors (4 bytes) | tensors (n_tensors * sizeof(rpc_tensor)) |
+    uint32_t n_tensors = tensors.size();
+    int output_size = 2*sizeof(uint32_t) + n_nodes * sizeof(uint64_t) + sizeof(uint32_t) + n_tensors * sizeof(rpc_tensor);
+    output.resize(output_size, 0);
+    uint8_t * dest = output.data();
+    memcpy(dest, &device, sizeof(device));
+    dest += sizeof(device);
+    memcpy(dest, &n_nodes, sizeof(n_nodes));
+    dest += sizeof(n_nodes);
+    for (uint32_t i = 0; i < n_nodes; i++) {
+        memcpy(dest + i * sizeof(uint64_t), &cgraph->nodes[i], sizeof(uint64_t));
+    }
+    dest += n_nodes * sizeof(uint64_t);
+    memcpy(dest, &n_tensors, sizeof(n_tensors));
+    dest += sizeof(n_tensors);
+    rpc_tensor * out_tensors = (rpc_tensor *)dest;
+    memcpy(out_tensors, tensors.data(), n_tensors * sizeof(rpc_tensor));
+}
+
+static enum ggml_status ggml_backend_rpc_graph_compute(ggml_backend_t backend, ggml_cgraph * cgraph) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_context * rpc_ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_context *)backend->context;
+
+    GGML_ASSERT(cgraph->n_nodes > 0);
+    bool reuse = cgraph->uid != 0 && rpc_ctx->last_graph_uid == cgraph->uid;
+    if (reuse) {
+        rpc_msg_graph_recompute_req request;
+        request.device = rpc_ctx->device;
+        auto sock = get_socket(rpc_ctx->endpoint);
+        bool status = send_rpc_cmd(sock, RPC_CMD_GRAPH_RECOMPUTE, &request, sizeof(request));
+        RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+    } else {
+        rpc_ctx->last_graph_uid = cgraph->uid;
+        std::vector<uint8_t> input;
+        serialize_graph(rpc_ctx->device, cgraph, input);
+        auto sock = get_socket(rpc_ctx->endpoint);
+        bool status = send_rpc_cmd(sock, RPC_CMD_GRAPH_COMPUTE, input.data(), input.size());
+        RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+    }
+    return GGML_STATUS_SUCCESS;
+}
+
+static ggml_backend_i ggml_backend_rpc_interface = {
+    /* .get_name                = */ ggml_backend_rpc_name,
+    /* .free                    = */ ggml_backend_rpc_free,
+    /* .set_tensor_async        = */ NULL,
+    /* .get_tensor_async        = */ NULL,
+    /* .set_tensor_2d_async     = */ NULL,
+    /* .get_tensor_2d_async     = */ NULL,
+    /* .cpy_tensor_async        = */ NULL,
+    /* .synchronize             = */ ggml_backend_rpc_synchronize,
+    /* .graph_plan_create       = */ NULL,
+    /* .graph_plan_free         = */ NULL,
+    /* .graph_plan_update       = */ NULL,
+    /* .graph_plan_compute      = */ NULL,
+    /* .graph_compute           = */ ggml_backend_rpc_graph_compute,
+    /* .event_record            = */ NULL,
+    /* .event_wait              = */ NULL,
+    /* .graph_optimize          = */ NULL,
+};
+
+ggml_backend_buffer_type_t ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type(const char * endpoint, uint32_t device) {
+    static std::mutex mutex;
+    std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(mutex);
+    std::string buft_name = "RPC" + std::to_string(device) + "[" + std::string(endpoint) + "]";
+    // NOTE: buffer types are allocated and never freed; this is by design
+    static std::unordered_map<std::string, ggml_backend_buffer_type_t> buft_map;
+    auto it = buft_map.find(buft_name);
+    if (it != buft_map.end()) {
+        return it->second;
+    }
+    auto sock = get_socket(endpoint);
+    if (sock == nullptr) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("Failed to connect to %s\n", endpoint);
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+    size_t alignment = get_alignment(sock, device);
+    size_t max_size = get_max_size(sock, device);
+    ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context * buft_ctx = new ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context {
+        /* .endpoint  = */ endpoint,
+        /* .device    = */ device,
+        /* .name      = */ buft_name,
+        /* .alignment = */ alignment,
+        /* .max_size  = */ max_size
+    };
+    auto reg = ggml_backend_rpc_add_server(endpoint);
+    ggml_backend_buffer_type_t buft = new ggml_backend_buffer_type {
+        /* .iface   = */ ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_interface,
+        /* .device  = */ ggml_backend_reg_dev_get(reg, device),
+        /* .context = */ buft_ctx
+    };
+    buft_map[buft_name] = buft;
+    return buft;
+}
+
+ggml_backend_t ggml_backend_rpc_init(const char * endpoint, uint32_t device) {
+    std::string dev_name = "RPC" + std::to_string(device) + "[" + std::string(endpoint) + "]";
+    ggml_backend_rpc_context * ctx = new ggml_backend_rpc_context {
+        /* .endpoint       = */ endpoint,
+        /* .device         = */ device,
+        /* .name           = */ dev_name,
+        /* .last_graph_uid = */ 0,
+    };
+    auto reg = ggml_backend_rpc_add_server(endpoint);
+    ggml_backend_t backend = new ggml_backend {
+        /* .guid    = */ ggml_backend_rpc_guid(),
+        /* .iface   = */ ggml_backend_rpc_interface,
+        /* .device  = */ ggml_backend_reg_dev_get(reg, device),
+        /* .context = */ ctx
+    };
+    return backend;
+}
+
+bool ggml_backend_is_rpc(ggml_backend_t backend) {
+    return backend != NULL && ggml_guid_matches(backend->guid, ggml_backend_rpc_guid());
+}
+
+static void get_device_memory(const std::shared_ptr<socket_t> & sock, uint32_t device, size_t * free, size_t * total) {
+    rpc_msg_get_device_memory_req request;
+    request.device = device;
+    rpc_msg_get_device_memory_rsp response;
+    bool status = send_rpc_cmd(sock, RPC_CMD_GET_DEVICE_MEMORY, &request, sizeof(request), &response, sizeof(response));
+    RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+    *free = response.free_mem;
+    *total = response.total_mem;
+}
+
+void ggml_backend_rpc_get_device_memory(const char * endpoint, uint32_t device, size_t * free, size_t * total) {
+    auto sock = get_socket(endpoint);
+    if (sock == nullptr) {
+        *free = 0;
+        *total = 0;
+        return;
+    }
+    get_device_memory(sock, device, free, total);
+}
+
+// RPC server-side implementation
+
+class rpc_server {
+public:
+    rpc_server(std::vector<ggml_backend_t> all_backends, const char * cache_dir)
+        : backends(std::move(all_backends)), cache_dir(cache_dir) {
+        stored_graphs.resize(backends.size());
+    }
+    ~rpc_server();
+
+    void hello(rpc_msg_hello_rsp & response);
+    bool alloc_buffer(const rpc_msg_alloc_buffer_req & request, rpc_msg_alloc_buffer_rsp & response);
+    bool get_alignment(const rpc_msg_get_alignment_req & request, rpc_msg_get_alignment_rsp & response);
+    bool get_max_size(const rpc_msg_get_max_size_req & request, rpc_msg_get_max_size_rsp & response);
+    bool buffer_get_base(const rpc_msg_buffer_get_base_req & request, rpc_msg_buffer_get_base_rsp & response);
+    bool free_buffer(const rpc_msg_free_buffer_req & request);
+    bool buffer_clear(const rpc_msg_buffer_clear_req & request);
+    bool set_tensor(const std::vector<uint8_t> & input);
+    bool set_tensor_hash(const rpc_msg_set_tensor_hash_req & request, rpc_msg_set_tensor_hash_rsp & response);
+    bool get_tensor(const rpc_msg_get_tensor_req & request, std::vector<uint8_t> & response);
+    bool copy_tensor(const rpc_msg_copy_tensor_req & request, rpc_msg_copy_tensor_rsp & response);
+    bool graph_compute(const std::vector<uint8_t> & input);
+    bool graph_recompute(const rpc_msg_graph_recompute_req & request);
+    bool init_tensor(const rpc_msg_init_tensor_req & request);
+    bool get_alloc_size(const rpc_msg_get_alloc_size_req & request, rpc_msg_get_alloc_size_rsp & response);
+    bool get_device_memory(const rpc_msg_get_device_memory_req & request, rpc_msg_get_device_memory_rsp & response);
+
+    struct stored_graph {
+        std::vector<uint8_t>   buffer;
+        ggml_cgraph          * graph;
+    };
+
+private:
+    bool get_cached_file(uint64_t hash, std::vector<uint8_t> & data);
+    ggml_tensor * deserialize_tensor(struct ggml_context * ctx, const rpc_tensor * tensor);
+    ggml_tensor * create_node(uint64_t id,
+                              struct ggml_context * ctx,
+                              const std::unordered_map<uint64_t, const rpc_tensor*> & tensor_ptrs,
+                              std::unordered_map<uint64_t, struct ggml_tensor*> & tensor_map);
+
+
+    std::vector<ggml_backend_t> backends;
+    const char * cache_dir;
+    std::unordered_set<ggml_backend_buffer_t> buffers;
+    // store the last computed graph for each backend
+    std::vector<stored_graph> stored_graphs;
+};
+
+void rpc_server::hello(rpc_msg_hello_rsp & response) {
+    response.major = RPC_PROTO_MAJOR_VERSION;
+    response.minor = RPC_PROTO_MINOR_VERSION;
+    response.patch = RPC_PROTO_PATCH_VERSION;
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] version: %d.%d.%d\n", __func__, response.major, response.minor, response.patch);
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::get_alloc_size(const rpc_msg_get_alloc_size_req & request, rpc_msg_get_alloc_size_rsp & response) {
+    uint32_t dev_id = request.device;
+    if (dev_id >= backends.size()) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    ggml_backend_buffer_type_t buft;
+    struct ggml_init_params params {
+        /*.mem_size   =*/ ggml_tensor_overhead()*(1 + GGML_MAX_SRC),
+        /*.mem_buffer =*/ NULL,
+        /*.no_alloc   =*/ true,
+    };
+
+    ggml_context_ptr ctx_ptr { ggml_init(params) };
+    GGML_ASSERT(ctx_ptr != nullptr);
+    ggml_context * ctx = ctx_ptr.get();
+
+    ggml_tensor * tensor = deserialize_tensor(ctx, &request.tensor);
+    if (tensor == nullptr) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("Null tensor pointer passed to server get_alloc_size function.\n");
+        return false;
+    }
+    for (int i = 0; i < GGML_MAX_SRC; i++) {
+        if (request.srcs[i].id != 0) {
+            tensor->src[i] = deserialize_tensor(ctx, &request.srcs[i]);
+        }
+    }
+
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] device: %d, buffer: %p, data: %p\n", __func__, dev_id, (void*)tensor->buffer, tensor->data);
+    if (tensor->buffer == nullptr) {
+        //No buffer allocated.
+        buft = ggml_backend_get_default_buffer_type(backends[dev_id]);
+    } else {
+        buft = tensor->buffer->buft;
+    }
+
+    response.alloc_size = ggml_backend_buft_get_alloc_size(buft, tensor);
+
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::alloc_buffer(const rpc_msg_alloc_buffer_req & request, rpc_msg_alloc_buffer_rsp & response) {
+    uint32_t dev_id = request.device;
+    if (dev_id >= backends.size()) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    ggml_backend_buffer_type_t buft = ggml_backend_get_default_buffer_type(backends[dev_id]);
+    ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer = ggml_backend_buft_alloc_buffer(buft, request.size);
+    response.remote_ptr = 0;
+    response.remote_size = 0;
+    if (buffer != nullptr) {
+        response.remote_ptr = reinterpret_cast<uint64_t>(buffer);
+        response.remote_size = buffer->size;
+        LOG_DBG("[%s] device: %d, size: %" PRIu64 " -> remote_ptr: %" PRIx64 ", remote_size: %" PRIu64 "\n",
+            __func__, dev_id, request.size, response.remote_ptr, response.remote_size);
+        buffers.insert(buffer);
+    } else {
+        LOG_DBG("[%s] device: %d, size: %" PRIu64 " -> failed\n", __func__, dev_id, request.size);
+    }
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::get_alignment(const rpc_msg_get_alignment_req & request, rpc_msg_get_alignment_rsp & response) {
+    uint32_t dev_id = request.device;
+    if (dev_id >= backends.size()) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    ggml_backend_buffer_type_t buft = ggml_backend_get_default_buffer_type(backends[dev_id]);
+    size_t alignment = ggml_backend_buft_get_alignment(buft);
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] device: %d, alignment: %lu\n", __func__, dev_id, alignment);
+    response.alignment = alignment;
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::get_max_size(const rpc_msg_get_max_size_req & request, rpc_msg_get_max_size_rsp & response) {
+    uint32_t dev_id = request.device;
+    if (dev_id >= backends.size()) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    ggml_backend_buffer_type_t buft = ggml_backend_get_default_buffer_type(backends[dev_id]);
+    size_t max_size = ggml_backend_buft_get_max_size(buft);
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] device: %d, max_size: %lu\n", __func__, dev_id, max_size);
+    response.max_size = max_size;
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::buffer_get_base(const rpc_msg_buffer_get_base_req & request, rpc_msg_buffer_get_base_rsp & response) {
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] remote_ptr: %" PRIx64 "\n", __func__, request.remote_ptr);
+    ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer = reinterpret_cast<ggml_backend_buffer_t>(request.remote_ptr);
+    if (buffers.find(buffer) == buffers.end()) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] buffer not found\n", __func__);
+        return false;
+    }
+    void * base = ggml_backend_buffer_get_base(buffer);
+    response.base_ptr = reinterpret_cast<uint64_t>(base);
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::free_buffer(const rpc_msg_free_buffer_req & request) {
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] remote_ptr: %" PRIx64 "\n", __func__, request.remote_ptr);
+    ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer = reinterpret_cast<ggml_backend_buffer_t>(request.remote_ptr);
+    if (buffers.find(buffer) == buffers.end()) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] buffer not found\n", __func__);
+        return false;
+    }
+    ggml_backend_buffer_free(buffer);
+    buffers.erase(buffer);
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::buffer_clear(const rpc_msg_buffer_clear_req & request) {
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] remote_ptr: %" PRIx64 ", value: %u\n", __func__, request.remote_ptr, request.value);
+    ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer = reinterpret_cast<ggml_backend_buffer_t>(request.remote_ptr);
+    if (buffers.find(buffer) == buffers.end()) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] buffer not found\n", __func__);
+        return false;
+    }
+    ggml_backend_buffer_clear(buffer, request.value);
+    return true;
+}
+
+ggml_tensor * rpc_server::deserialize_tensor(struct ggml_context * ctx, const rpc_tensor * tensor) {
+    // Validate tensor type before using it
+    if (tensor->type >= GGML_TYPE_COUNT) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] invalid tensor type received: %u\n", __func__, tensor->type);
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+
+    // Fix: Prevent division by zero if blck_size is 0 (e.g., deprecated types)
+    if (ggml_blck_size((enum ggml_type)tensor->type) == 0) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] invalid tensor type received (blck_size is 0): %u\n", __func__, tensor->type);
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+
+    ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor_4d(ctx, (ggml_type) tensor->type,
+        tensor->ne[0], tensor->ne[1], tensor->ne[2], tensor->ne[3]);
+
+    // ggml_new_tensor_4d might fail if dimensions are invalid, although less likely to crash than invalid type
+    if (result == nullptr) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] ggml_new_tensor_4d failed for type %u\n", __func__, tensor->type);
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+
+    for (uint32_t i = 0; i < GGML_MAX_DIMS; i++) {
+        result->nb[i] = tensor->nb[i];
+    }
+    result->buffer = reinterpret_cast<ggml_backend_buffer_t>(tensor->buffer);
+    if (result->buffer && buffers.find(result->buffer) == buffers.end()) {
+        result->buffer = nullptr;
+    }
+
+    if (result->buffer) {
+        // require that the tensor data does not go beyond the buffer end
+        uint64_t tensor_size = (uint64_t) ggml_nbytes(result);
+        uint64_t buffer_start = (uint64_t) ggml_backend_buffer_get_base(result->buffer);
+        uint64_t buffer_size = (uint64_t) ggml_backend_buffer_get_size(result->buffer);
+        GGML_ASSERT(tensor->data + tensor_size >= tensor->data); // check for overflow
+        GGML_ASSERT(tensor->data >= buffer_start && tensor->data + tensor_size <= buffer_start + buffer_size);
+    }
+
+    result->op = (ggml_op) tensor->op;
+    for (uint32_t i = 0; i < GGML_MAX_OP_PARAMS / sizeof(int32_t); i++) {
+        result->op_params[i] = tensor->op_params[i];
+    }
+    result->flags = tensor->flags;
+    result->data = reinterpret_cast<void *>(tensor->data);
+    ggml_set_name(result, tensor->name);
+    return result;
+}
+
+
+bool rpc_server::set_tensor(const std::vector<uint8_t> & input) {
+    // serialization format: | rpc_tensor | offset (8 bytes) | data (size bytes) |
+    if (input.size() < sizeof(rpc_tensor) + sizeof(uint64_t)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    const rpc_tensor * in_tensor = (const rpc_tensor *)input.data();
+    uint64_t offset;
+    memcpy(&offset, input.data() + sizeof(rpc_tensor), sizeof(offset));
+    const size_t size = input.size() - sizeof(rpc_tensor) - sizeof(offset);
+
+    struct ggml_init_params params {
+        /*.mem_size   =*/ ggml_tensor_overhead(),
+        /*.mem_buffer =*/ NULL,
+        /*.no_alloc   =*/ true,
+    };
+    ggml_context_ptr ctx_ptr { ggml_init(params) };
+    GGML_ASSERT(ctx_ptr != nullptr);
+    ggml_context * ctx = ctx_ptr.get();
+    ggml_tensor * tensor = deserialize_tensor(ctx, in_tensor);
+    if (tensor == nullptr || tensor->buffer == nullptr) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] error deserializing tensor\n", __func__);
+        return false;
+    }
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] buffer: %p, data: %p, offset: %" PRIu64 ", size: %zu\n", __func__, (void*)tensor->buffer, tensor->data, offset, size);
+
+    // sanitize tensor->data
+    {
+        const size_t p0 = (size_t) ggml_backend_buffer_get_base(tensor->buffer);
+        const size_t p1 = p0 + ggml_backend_buffer_get_size(tensor->buffer);
+
+        if (in_tensor->data + offset < p0 || in_tensor->data + offset >= p1 || size > (p1 - in_tensor->data - offset)) {
+            GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] tensor data region (data=0x%" PRIx64 ", offset=%" PRIu64 ", size=%zu) out of buffer bounds [0x%zx, 0x%zx)\n",
+                           __func__, in_tensor->data, offset, size, p0, p1);
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    const void * data = input.data() + sizeof(rpc_tensor) + sizeof(offset);
+    if (cache_dir && size > HASH_THRESHOLD) {
+        uint64_t hash = fnv_hash((const uint8_t*)data, size);
+        char hash_str[17];
+        snprintf(hash_str, sizeof(hash_str), "%016" PRIx64, hash);
+        // save to cache_dir/hash_str
+        fs::path cache_file = fs::path(cache_dir) / hash_str;
+        std::ofstream ofs(cache_file, std::ios::binary);
+        ofs.write((const char *)data, size);
+        GGML_LOG_INFO("[%s] saved to '%s'\n", __func__, cache_file.string().c_str());
+    }
+    ggml_backend_tensor_set(tensor, data, offset, size);
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::get_cached_file(uint64_t hash, std::vector<uint8_t> & data) {
+    if (!cache_dir) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    char hash_str[17];
+    snprintf(hash_str, sizeof(hash_str), "%016" PRIx64, hash);
+    fs::path cache_file = fs::path(cache_dir) / hash_str;
+    std::error_code ec;
+    if (!fs::exists(cache_file, ec)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    std::ifstream ifs(cache_file, std::ios::binary);
+    ifs.seekg(0, std::ios::end);
+    size_t size = ifs.tellg();
+    ifs.seekg(0, std::ios::beg);
+    data.resize(size);
+    ifs.read((char *)data.data(), size);
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::set_tensor_hash(const rpc_msg_set_tensor_hash_req & request, rpc_msg_set_tensor_hash_rsp & response)
+{
+    std::vector<uint8_t> cached_file;
+    if (!get_cached_file(request.hash, cached_file)) {
+        response.result = 0;
+        return true;
+    }
+    size_t size = cached_file.size();
+    struct ggml_init_params params {
+        /*.mem_size   =*/ ggml_tensor_overhead(),
+        /*.mem_buffer =*/ NULL,
+        /*.no_alloc   =*/ true,
+    };
+    ggml_context_ptr ctx_ptr { ggml_init(params) };
+    GGML_ASSERT(ctx_ptr != nullptr);
+    ggml_context * ctx = ctx_ptr.get();
+    ggml_tensor * tensor = deserialize_tensor(ctx, &request.tensor);
+    if (tensor == nullptr || tensor->buffer == nullptr) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] error deserializing tensor\n", __func__);
+        return false;
+    }
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] buffer: %p, data: %p, offset: %" PRIu64 ", size: %zu, hash: %" PRIx64 "\n",
+            __func__, (void*)tensor->buffer, tensor->data, request.offset, size, request.hash);
+
+    // sanitize tensor->data
+    {
+        const size_t p0 = (size_t) ggml_backend_buffer_get_base(tensor->buffer);
+        const size_t p1 = p0 + ggml_backend_buffer_get_size(tensor->buffer);
+
+        if (request.tensor.data + request.offset < p0
+         || request.tensor.data + request.offset >= p1
+         || size > (p1 - request.tensor.data - request.offset)) {
+            GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] tensor data region (data=0x%" PRIx64 ", offset=%" PRIu64 ", size=%zu, hash=0x%" PRIx64 ") out of buffer bounds [0x%zx, 0x%zx)\n",
+                           __func__, request.tensor.data, request.offset, size, request.hash, p0, p1);
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+    ggml_backend_tensor_set(tensor, cached_file.data(), request.offset, size);
+    response.result = 1;
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::init_tensor(const rpc_msg_init_tensor_req & request) {
+    struct ggml_init_params params {
+        /*.mem_size   =*/ ggml_tensor_overhead(),
+        /*.mem_buffer =*/ NULL,
+        /*.no_alloc   =*/ true,
+    };
+    ggml_context_ptr ctx_ptr { ggml_init(params) };
+    GGML_ASSERT(ctx_ptr != nullptr);
+    ggml_context * ctx = ctx_ptr.get();
+    ggml_tensor * tensor = deserialize_tensor(ctx, &request.tensor);
+    if (tensor == nullptr) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("Null tensor pointer passed to server init_tensor function.\n");
+        return false;
+    }
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] buffer: %p, data: %p\n", __func__, (void*)tensor->buffer, tensor->data);
+    // Call the backend's buffer_init_tensor function
+    ggml_backend_buffer_t buffer = tensor->buffer;
+    if (buffer && buffer->iface.init_tensor) {
+        buffer->iface.init_tensor(buffer, tensor);
+    } else {
+        if (!buffer) {
+            GGML_LOG_ERROR("Tensor with null buffer passed to init_tensor function\n");
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (tensor->extra != nullptr) {
+        // This pointer can either be passed around client/server, or probably better stored server-side and kept track of.
+        // Currently unimplemented.
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("tensor->extra populated by the backend, this is currently unsupported.\n");
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::get_tensor(const rpc_msg_get_tensor_req & request, std::vector<uint8_t> & response) {
+    struct ggml_init_params params {
+        /*.mem_size   =*/ ggml_tensor_overhead(),
+        /*.mem_buffer =*/ NULL,
+        /*.no_alloc   =*/ true,
+    };
+    ggml_context_ptr ctx_ptr { ggml_init(params) };
+    GGML_ASSERT(ctx_ptr != nullptr);
+    ggml_context * ctx = ctx_ptr.get();
+    ggml_tensor * tensor = deserialize_tensor(ctx, &request.tensor);
+    if (tensor == nullptr || tensor->buffer == nullptr) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] error deserializing tensor\n", __func__);
+        return false;
+    }
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] buffer: %p, data: %p, offset: %" PRIu64 ", size: %" PRIu64 "\n", __func__, (void*)tensor->buffer, tensor->data, request.offset, request.size);
+
+    // sanitize tensor->data
+    {
+        const size_t p0 = (size_t) ggml_backend_buffer_get_base(tensor->buffer);
+        const size_t p1 = p0 + ggml_backend_buffer_get_size(tensor->buffer);
+
+        if (request.tensor.data + request.offset < p0 ||
+            request.tensor.data + request.offset >= p1 ||
+            request.size > (p1 - request.tensor.data - request.offset)) {
+                GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] requested tensor region (data=0x%" PRIx64 ", offset=%" PRIu64 ", size=%" PRIu64 ") out of buffer bounds [0x%zx, 0x%zx)\n",
+                               __func__, request.tensor.data, request.offset, request.size, p0, p1);
+                return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    response.resize(request.size, 0);
+    ggml_backend_tensor_get(tensor, response.data(), request.offset, request.size);
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::copy_tensor(const rpc_msg_copy_tensor_req & request, rpc_msg_copy_tensor_rsp & response) {
+    struct ggml_init_params params {
+        /*.mem_size   =*/ 2*ggml_tensor_overhead(),
+        /*.mem_buffer =*/ NULL,
+        /*.no_alloc   =*/ true,
+    };
+    ggml_context_ptr ctx_ptr { ggml_init(params) };
+    GGML_ASSERT(ctx_ptr != nullptr);
+    ggml_context * ctx = ctx_ptr.get();
+
+    ggml_tensor * src = deserialize_tensor(ctx, &request.src);
+    ggml_tensor * dst = deserialize_tensor(ctx, &request.dst);
+    if (src == nullptr || dst == nullptr || src->buffer == nullptr || dst->buffer == nullptr) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] error deserializing tensors\n", __func__);
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    uint64_t src_size   = (uint64_t) ggml_nbytes(src);
+    uint64_t dst_data   = (uint64_t) dst->data;
+    uint64_t dst_base   = (uint64_t) ggml_backend_buffer_get_base(dst->buffer);
+    uint64_t dst_buf_sz = (uint64_t) ggml_backend_buffer_get_size(dst->buffer);
+
+    if (dst_data + src_size > dst_base + dst_buf_sz) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] out-of-bounds write in rpc_server::copy_tensor:\n"
+                         "    write range : [0x%" PRIx64 ", 0x%" PRIx64 "]\n"
+                         "    buffer base: [0x%" PRIx64 ", 0x%" PRIx64 "]\n",
+                         __func__,
+                         dst_data,
+                         dst_data + src_size,
+                         dst_base,
+                         dst_base + dst_buf_sz);
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] src->buffer: %p, dst->buffer: %p\n",
+            __func__, (void*) src->buffer, (void*) dst->buffer);
+
+    response.result = ggml_backend_buffer_copy_tensor(src, dst);
+    return true;
+}
+
+ggml_tensor * rpc_server::create_node(uint64_t id,
+                                      struct ggml_context * ctx,
+                                      const std::unordered_map<uint64_t, const rpc_tensor*> & tensor_ptrs,
+                                      std::unordered_map<uint64_t, struct ggml_tensor*> & tensor_map) {
+    if (tensor_map.find(id) != tensor_map.end()) {
+        return tensor_map[id];
+    }
+    // Safely find the tensor pointer
+    auto it_ptr = tensor_ptrs.find(id);
+    if (it_ptr == tensor_ptrs.end()) {
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+    const rpc_tensor * tensor = it_ptr->second;
+
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = deserialize_tensor(ctx, tensor);
+    if (result == nullptr) {
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+    if (result->buffer == nullptr && result->data != nullptr) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] invalid data ptr", __func__);
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+    tensor_map[id] = result;
+    for (int i = 0; i < GGML_MAX_SRC; i++) {
+        // Check if the source ID is 0 before calling create_node recursively
+        if (tensor->src[i] == 0) {
+            result->src[i] = nullptr;
+        } else {
+            result->src[i] = create_node(tensor->src[i], ctx, tensor_ptrs, tensor_map);
+            // If the recursive call failed for a non-zero ID, propagate the error
+            if (result->src[i] == nullptr) {
+                GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] failed to create source node %d (src_id=%" PRIu64 ") for node id %" PRIu64 "\n",
+                               __func__, i, tensor->src[i], id);
+                // Must return nullptr to signal failure up the call stack
+                return nullptr;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Handle view_src similarly
+    if (tensor->view_src == 0) {
+        result->view_src = nullptr;
+    } else {
+        result->view_src = create_node(tensor->view_src, ctx, tensor_ptrs, tensor_map);
+        // If the recursive call failed for a non-zero ID, propagate the error
+        if (result->view_src == nullptr) {
+            GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] failed to create view_src node (view_src_id=%" PRIu64 ") for node id %" PRIu64 "\n",
+                           __func__, tensor->view_src, id);
+            // Must return nullptr to signal failure up the call stack
+            return nullptr;
+        }
+    }
+    result->view_offs = tensor->view_offs;
+    return result;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::graph_compute(const std::vector<uint8_t> & input) {
+    // serialization format:
+    // | device (4 bytes) | n_nodes (4 bytes) | nodes (n_nodes * sizeof(uint64_t) | n_tensors (4 bytes) | tensors (n_tensors * sizeof(rpc_tensor)) |
+    if (input.size() < 2*sizeof(uint32_t)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    const uint8_t * src = input.data();
+    uint32_t device;
+    memcpy(&device, src, sizeof(device));
+    src += sizeof(device);
+    if (device >= backends.size()) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    uint32_t n_nodes;
+    memcpy(&n_nodes, src, sizeof(n_nodes));
+    src += sizeof(n_nodes);
+    if (input.size() < 2*sizeof(uint32_t) + n_nodes*sizeof(uint64_t) + sizeof(uint32_t)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    const uint64_t * nodes = (const uint64_t *)src;
+    src += n_nodes*sizeof(uint64_t);
+    uint32_t n_tensors;
+    memcpy(&n_tensors, src, sizeof(n_tensors));
+    src += sizeof(n_tensors);
+    if (input.size() < 2*sizeof(uint32_t) + n_nodes*sizeof(uint64_t) + sizeof(uint32_t) + n_tensors*sizeof(rpc_tensor)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    const rpc_tensor * tensors = (const rpc_tensor *)src;
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] device: %u, n_nodes: %u, n_tensors: %u\n", __func__, device, n_nodes, n_tensors);
+
+    size_t buf_size = ggml_tensor_overhead()*(n_nodes + n_tensors) + ggml_graph_overhead_custom(n_nodes, false);
+    if (stored_graphs[device].buffer.size() < buf_size) {
+        stored_graphs[device].buffer.resize(buf_size);
+    }
+    struct ggml_init_params params = {
+        /*.mem_size   =*/ buf_size,
+        /*.mem_buffer =*/ stored_graphs[device].buffer.data(),
+        /*.no_alloc   =*/ true,
+    };
+    ggml_context_ptr ctx_ptr { ggml_init(params) };
+    GGML_ASSERT(ctx_ptr != nullptr);
+    ggml_context * ctx = ctx_ptr.get();
+    struct ggml_cgraph * graph = ggml_new_graph_custom(ctx, n_nodes, false);
+    graph->n_nodes = n_nodes;
+    std::unordered_map<uint64_t, const rpc_tensor*> tensor_ptrs;
+    tensor_ptrs.reserve(n_tensors);
+    for (uint32_t i = 0; i < n_tensors; i++) {
+        tensor_ptrs.emplace(tensors[i].id, &tensors[i]);
+    }
+    std::unordered_map<uint64_t, ggml_tensor*> tensor_map;
+    tensor_map.reserve(n_nodes);
+    for (uint32_t i = 0; i < n_nodes; i++) {
+        int64_t id;
+        memcpy(&id, &nodes[i], sizeof(id));
+        graph->nodes[i] = create_node(id, ctx, tensor_ptrs, tensor_map);
+
+        // Check if create_node failed for a *non-zero* ID.
+        // If id was 0, create_node returning nullptr is expected.
+        // If id was non-zero and create_node returned nullptr, it indicates a deserialization error.
+        if (graph->nodes[i] == nullptr && id != 0) {
+            GGML_LOG_ERROR("[%s] failed to create graph node %d (id=%" PRId64 ")\n", __func__, i, id);
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+    ggml_status status = ggml_backend_graph_compute(backends[device], graph);
+    GGML_ASSERT(status == GGML_STATUS_SUCCESS && "Unsuccessful graph computations are not supported with RPC");
+    stored_graphs[device].graph = graph;
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::graph_recompute(const rpc_msg_graph_recompute_req & request) {
+    uint32_t device = request.device;
+    if (device >= backends.size()) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (stored_graphs[device].graph == nullptr) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    ggml_cgraph * graph = stored_graphs[device].graph;
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] device: %u\n", __func__, device);
+    ggml_status status = ggml_backend_graph_compute(backends[device], graph);
+    GGML_ASSERT(status == GGML_STATUS_SUCCESS && "Unsuccessful graph computations are not supported with RPC");
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool rpc_server::get_device_memory(const rpc_msg_get_device_memory_req & request, rpc_msg_get_device_memory_rsp & response) {
+    uint32_t dev_id = request.device;
+    if (dev_id >= backends.size()) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    size_t free, total;
+    ggml_backend_dev_t dev = ggml_backend_get_device(backends[dev_id]);
+    ggml_backend_dev_memory(dev, &free, &total);
+    response.free_mem = free;
+    response.total_mem = total;
+    LOG_DBG("[%s] device: %u, free_mem: %" PRIu64 ", total_mem: %" PRIu64 "\n", __func__, dev_id, response.free_mem, response.total_mem);
+    return true;
+}
+
+rpc_server::~rpc_server() {
+    for (auto buffer : buffers) {
+        ggml_backend_buffer_free(buffer);
+    }
+}
+
+static void rpc_serve_client(const std::vector<ggml_backend_t> & backends, const char * cache_dir,
+                             socket_ptr sock) {
+    rpc_server server(backends, cache_dir);
+    uint8_t cmd;
+    if (!sock->recv_data(&cmd, 1)) {
+        return;
+    }
+    if (cmd != RPC_CMD_HELLO) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("Expected HELLO command, update client\n");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // Read input_size and validate protocol version
+    uint64_t hello_input_size;
+    if (!sock->recv_data(&hello_input_size, sizeof(hello_input_size))) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if (hello_input_size != sizeof(rpc_msg_hello_req)) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("HELLO request size mismatch (%zu vs %zu) — client needs upgrade to protocol v%d.x\n",
+                       (size_t)hello_input_size, sizeof(rpc_msg_hello_req), RPC_PROTO_MAJOR_VERSION);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    rpc_msg_hello_req req = {};
+    if (!sock->recv_data(&req, sizeof(req))) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    rpc_msg_hello_rsp rsp = {};
+    server.hello(rsp);
+    // Advertise server transport capabilities based on client's caps
+    sock->get_caps(rsp.conn_caps);
+    if (!send_msg(sock, &rsp, sizeof(rsp))) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // Activate transport upgrade using client's caps
+    sock->update_caps(req.conn_caps);
+    while (true) {
+        if (!sock->recv_data(&cmd, 1)) {
+            break;
+        }
+        if (cmd >= RPC_CMD_COUNT) {
+            // fail fast if the command is invalid
+            GGML_LOG_ERROR("Unknown command: %d\n", cmd);
+            break;
+        }
+        switch (cmd) {
+            case RPC_CMD_HELLO: {
+                // HELLO command is handled above
+                return;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_DEVICE_COUNT: {
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, nullptr, 0)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                rpc_msg_device_count_rsp response;
+                response.device_count = backends.size();
+                if (!send_msg(sock, &response, sizeof(response))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_ALLOC_BUFFER: {
+                rpc_msg_alloc_buffer_req request;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, &request, sizeof(request))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                rpc_msg_alloc_buffer_rsp response;
+                if (!server.alloc_buffer(request, response)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!send_msg(sock, &response, sizeof(response))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_GET_ALLOC_SIZE: {
+                rpc_msg_get_alloc_size_req request;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, &request, sizeof(request))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                rpc_msg_get_alloc_size_rsp response;
+                if (!server.get_alloc_size(request, response)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!send_msg(sock, &response, sizeof(response))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_GET_ALIGNMENT: {
+                rpc_msg_get_alignment_req request;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, &request, sizeof(request))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                rpc_msg_get_alignment_rsp response;
+                if (!server.get_alignment(request, response)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!send_msg(sock, &response, sizeof(response))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_GET_MAX_SIZE: {
+                rpc_msg_get_max_size_req request;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, &request, sizeof(request))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                rpc_msg_get_max_size_rsp response;
+                if (!server.get_max_size(request, response)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!send_msg(sock, &response, sizeof(response))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_BUFFER_GET_BASE: {
+                rpc_msg_buffer_get_base_req request;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, &request, sizeof(request))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                rpc_msg_buffer_get_base_rsp response;
+                if (!server.buffer_get_base(request, response)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!send_msg(sock, &response, sizeof(response))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_FREE_BUFFER: {
+                rpc_msg_free_buffer_req request;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, &request, sizeof(request))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!server.free_buffer(request)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!send_msg(sock, nullptr, 0)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_BUFFER_CLEAR: {
+                rpc_msg_buffer_clear_req request;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, &request, sizeof(request))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!server.buffer_clear(request)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!send_msg(sock, nullptr, 0)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_SET_TENSOR: {
+                std::vector<uint8_t> input;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, input)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!server.set_tensor(input)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_SET_TENSOR_HASH: {
+                rpc_msg_set_tensor_hash_req request;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, &request, sizeof(request))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                rpc_msg_set_tensor_hash_rsp response;
+                if (!server.set_tensor_hash(request, response)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!send_msg(sock, &response, sizeof(response))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_INIT_TENSOR: {
+                rpc_msg_init_tensor_req request;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, &request,sizeof(request))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!server.init_tensor(request)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!send_msg(sock, nullptr, 0)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_GET_TENSOR: {
+                rpc_msg_get_tensor_req request;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, &request, sizeof(request))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                std::vector<uint8_t> response;
+                if (!server.get_tensor(request, response)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!send_msg(sock, response.data(), response.size())) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_COPY_TENSOR: {
+                rpc_msg_copy_tensor_req request;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, &request, sizeof(request))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                rpc_msg_copy_tensor_rsp response;
+                if (!server.copy_tensor(request, response)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!send_msg(sock, &response, sizeof(response))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_GRAPH_COMPUTE: {
+                std::vector<uint8_t> input;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, input)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!server.graph_compute(input)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_GRAPH_RECOMPUTE: {
+                rpc_msg_graph_recompute_req request;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, &request, sizeof(request))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!server.graph_recompute(request)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case RPC_CMD_GET_DEVICE_MEMORY: {
+                rpc_msg_get_device_memory_req request;
+                if (!recv_msg(sock, &request, sizeof(request))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                rpc_msg_get_device_memory_rsp response;
+                if (!server.get_device_memory(request, response)) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (!send_msg(sock, &response, sizeof(response))) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            default: {
+                GGML_LOG_ERROR("Unknown command: %d\n", cmd);
+                return;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+void ggml_backend_rpc_start_server(const char * endpoint, const char * cache_dir,
+                                   size_t n_threads, size_t n_devices, ggml_backend_dev_t * devices) {
+    if (n_devices == 0 || devices == nullptr) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Invalid arguments to ggml_backend_rpc_start_server\n");
+        return;
+    }
+    std::vector<ggml_backend_t> backends;
+    printf("Starting RPC server v%d.%d.%d\n",
+        RPC_PROTO_MAJOR_VERSION,
+        RPC_PROTO_MINOR_VERSION,
+        RPC_PROTO_PATCH_VERSION);
+    printf("  endpoint       : %s\n", endpoint);
+    printf("  local cache    : %s\n", cache_dir ? cache_dir : "n/a");
+    printf("Devices:\n");
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < n_devices; i++) {
+        auto dev = devices[i];
+        size_t free, total;
+        ggml_backend_dev_memory(dev, &free, &total);
+        printf("  %s: %s (%zu MiB, %zu MiB free)\n", ggml_backend_dev_name(dev), ggml_backend_dev_description(dev),
+               total / 1024 / 1024, free / 1024 / 1024);
+        auto backend = ggml_backend_dev_init(dev, nullptr);
+        if (!backend) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "Failed to create backend for device %s\n", dev->iface.get_name(dev));
+            return;
+        }
+        backends.push_back(backend);
+        ggml_backend_reg_t reg = dev ? ggml_backend_dev_backend_reg(dev) : nullptr;
+        if (reg) {
+            auto ggml_backend_set_n_threads_fn = (ggml_backend_set_n_threads_t) ggml_backend_reg_get_proc_address(reg, "ggml_backend_set_n_threads");
+            if (ggml_backend_set_n_threads_fn) {
+                ggml_backend_set_n_threads_fn(backend, n_threads);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    std::string host;
+    int port;
+    if (!parse_endpoint(endpoint, host, port)) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+#ifdef GGML_RPC_RDMA
+    printf("  transport      : TCP (RDMA auto-negotiate enabled)\n");
+#else
+    printf("  transport      : TCP\n");
+#endif // GGML_RPC_RDMA
+    if (!rpc_transport_init()) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Failed to initialize RPC transport\n");
+        return;
+    }
+    auto server_socket = socket_t::create_server(host.c_str(), port);
+    if (server_socket == nullptr) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Failed to create server socket\n");
+        return;
+    }
+    while (true) {
+        auto client_socket = server_socket->accept();
+        if (client_socket == nullptr) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "Failed to accept client connection\n");
+            return;
+        }
+        printf("Accepted client connection\n");
+        fflush(stdout);
+        rpc_serve_client(backends, cache_dir, client_socket);
+        printf("Client connection closed\n");
+        fflush(stdout);
+    }
+    rpc_transport_shutdown();
+    for (auto backend : backends) {
+        ggml_backend_free(backend);
+    }
+}
+
+// device interface
+
+struct ggml_backend_rpc_device_context {
+    std::string endpoint;
+    uint32_t    device;
+    std::string name;
+    std::string description;
+};
+
+static const char * ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_name(ggml_backend_dev_t dev) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_device_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_device_context *)dev->context;
+
+    return ctx->name.c_str();
+}
+
+static const char * ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_description(ggml_backend_dev_t dev) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_device_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_device_context *)dev->context;
+
+    return ctx->description.c_str();
+}
+
+static void ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_memory(ggml_backend_dev_t dev, size_t * free, size_t * total) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_device_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_device_context *)dev->context;
+
+    ggml_backend_rpc_get_device_memory(ctx->endpoint.c_str(), ctx->device, free, total);
+}
+
+static enum ggml_backend_dev_type ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_type(ggml_backend_dev_t dev) {
+    // TODO: obtain value from the server
+    return GGML_BACKEND_DEVICE_TYPE_GPU;
+
+    GGML_UNUSED(dev);
+}
+
+static void ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_props(ggml_backend_dev_t dev, struct ggml_backend_dev_props * props) {
+    props->name        = ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_name(dev);
+    props->description = ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_description(dev);
+    props->type        = ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_type(dev);
+    ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_memory(dev, &props->memory_free, &props->memory_total);
+    props->caps = {
+        /* .async                 = */ false,
+        /* .host_buffer           = */ false,
+        /* .buffer_from_host_ptr  = */ false,
+        /* .events                = */ false,
+    };
+}
+
+static ggml_backend_t ggml_backend_rpc_device_init(ggml_backend_dev_t dev, const char * params) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_device_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_device_context *)dev->context;
+
+    return ggml_backend_rpc_init(ctx->endpoint.c_str(), ctx->device);
+
+    GGML_UNUSED(params);
+}
+
+static ggml_backend_buffer_type_t ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_buffer_type(ggml_backend_dev_t dev) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_device_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_device_context *)dev->context;
+
+    return ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type(ctx->endpoint.c_str(), ctx->device);
+
+    GGML_UNUSED(dev);
+}
+
+static bool ggml_backend_rpc_device_supports_op(ggml_backend_dev_t dev, const struct ggml_tensor * op) {
+    GGML_UNUSED(dev);
+    GGML_UNUSED(op);
+    //TODO: call the remote backend and cache the results
+    return true;
+}
+
+static bool ggml_backend_rpc_device_supports_buft(ggml_backend_dev_t dev, ggml_backend_buffer_type_t buft) {
+    if (!buft || buft->iface.get_name != ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_name) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context * buft_ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type_context *)buft->context;
+    ggml_backend_rpc_device_context * dev_ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_device_context *)dev->context;
+    return buft_ctx->endpoint == dev_ctx->endpoint && buft_ctx->device == dev_ctx->device;
+}
+
+static const struct ggml_backend_device_i ggml_backend_rpc_device_i = {
+    /* .get_name             = */ ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_name,
+    /* .get_description      = */ ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_description,
+    /* .get_memory           = */ ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_memory,
+    /* .get_type             = */ ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_type,
+    /* .get_props            = */ ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_props,
+    /* .init_backend         = */ ggml_backend_rpc_device_init,
+    /* .get_buffer_type      = */ ggml_backend_rpc_device_get_buffer_type,
+    /* .get_host_buffer_type = */ NULL,
+    /* .buffer_from_host_ptr = */ NULL,
+    /* .supports_op          = */ ggml_backend_rpc_device_supports_op,
+    /* .supports_buft        = */ ggml_backend_rpc_device_supports_buft,
+    /* .offload_op           = */ NULL,
+    /* .event_new            = */ NULL,
+    /* .event_free           = */ NULL,
+    /* .event_synchronize    = */ NULL,
+};
+
+// backend reg interface
+
+struct ggml_backend_rpc_reg_context {
+    std::string                     name;
+    std::vector<ggml_backend_dev_t> devices;
+};
+
+static const char * ggml_backend_rpc_reg_get_name(ggml_backend_reg_t reg) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_reg_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_reg_context *)reg->context;
+    return ctx ? ctx->name.c_str() : "RPC";
+}
+
+static size_t ggml_backend_rpc_reg_get_device_count(ggml_backend_reg_t reg) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_reg_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_reg_context *)reg->context;
+    return ctx ? ctx->devices.size() : 0;
+}
+
+static ggml_backend_dev_t ggml_backend_rpc_reg_get_device(ggml_backend_reg_t reg, size_t index) {
+    ggml_backend_rpc_reg_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_rpc_reg_context *)reg->context;
+    if (ctx == nullptr) {
+        GGML_ABORT("The RPC backend does not have enumerated devices - use ggml_backend_rpc_add_server instead");
+    } else {
+        GGML_ASSERT(index < ctx->devices.size());
+        return ctx->devices[index];
+    }
+}
+
+static void * ggml_backend_rpc_get_proc_address(ggml_backend_reg_t reg, const char * name) {
+    if (std::strcmp(name, "ggml_backend_rpc_add_server") == 0) {
+        return (void *)ggml_backend_rpc_add_server;
+    }
+    if (std::strcmp(name, "ggml_backend_rpc_start_server") == 0) {
+        return (void *)ggml_backend_rpc_start_server;
+    }
+    return NULL;
+
+    GGML_UNUSED(reg);
+}
+
+static const struct ggml_backend_reg_i ggml_backend_rpc_reg_i = {
+    /* .get_name         = */ ggml_backend_rpc_reg_get_name,
+    /* .get_device_count = */ ggml_backend_rpc_reg_get_device_count,
+    /* .get_device       = */ ggml_backend_rpc_reg_get_device,
+    /* .get_proc_address = */ ggml_backend_rpc_get_proc_address,
+};
+
+ggml_backend_reg_t ggml_backend_rpc_reg(void) {
+    static struct ggml_backend_reg ggml_backend_rpc_reg = {
+        /* .api_version = */ GGML_BACKEND_API_VERSION,
+        /* .iface       = */ ggml_backend_rpc_reg_i,
+        /* .context     = */ NULL,
+    };
+
+    return &ggml_backend_rpc_reg;
+}
+
+static uint32_t ggml_backend_rpc_get_device_count(const char * endpoint) {
+    auto sock = get_socket(endpoint);
+    if (sock == nullptr) {
+        GGML_LOG_ERROR("Failed to connect to %s\n", endpoint);
+        return 0;
+    }
+    rpc_msg_device_count_rsp response;
+    bool status = send_rpc_cmd(sock, RPC_CMD_DEVICE_COUNT, nullptr, 0, &response, sizeof(response));
+    RPC_STATUS_ASSERT(status);
+    return response.device_count;
+}
+
+static const ggml_backend_reg_i ggml_backend_rpc_reg_interface = {
+    /* .get_name          = */ ggml_backend_rpc_reg_get_name,
+    /* .get_device_count  = */ ggml_backend_rpc_reg_get_device_count,
+    /* .get_device        = */ ggml_backend_rpc_reg_get_device,
+    /* .get_proc_address  = */ ggml_backend_rpc_get_proc_address,
+};
+
+ggml_backend_reg_t ggml_backend_rpc_add_server(const char * endpoint) {
+    static std::unordered_map<std::string, ggml_backend_reg_t> reg_map;
+    static std::mutex mutex;
+    static uint32_t dev_id = 0;
+    std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(mutex);
+    if (reg_map.find(endpoint) != reg_map.end()) {
+        return reg_map[endpoint];
+    }
+    uint32_t dev_count = ggml_backend_rpc_get_device_count(endpoint);
+    if (dev_count == 0) {
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+    ggml_backend_rpc_reg_context * ctx = new ggml_backend_rpc_reg_context;
+    ctx->name = "RPC[" + std::string(endpoint) + "]";
+    for (uint32_t ind = 0; ind < dev_count; ind++) {
+        std::string dev_name = "RPC" + std::to_string(dev_id);
+        std::string dev_desc = std::string(endpoint);
+        ggml_backend_rpc_device_context * dev_ctx = new ggml_backend_rpc_device_context {
+            /* .endpoint    = */ endpoint,
+            /* .device      = */ ind,
+            /* .name        = */ dev_name,
+            /* .description = */ dev_desc
+        };
+
+        ggml_backend_dev_t dev = new ggml_backend_device {
+            /* .iface   = */ ggml_backend_rpc_device_i,
+            /* .reg     = */ ggml_backend_rpc_reg(),
+            /* .context = */ dev_ctx,
+        };
+        ctx->devices.push_back(dev);
+        dev_id++;
+    }
+    ggml_backend_reg_t reg = new ggml_backend_reg {
+        /* .api_version = */ GGML_BACKEND_API_VERSION,
+        /* .iface       = */ ggml_backend_rpc_reg_interface,
+        /* .context     = */ ctx
+    };
+    reg_map[endpoint] = reg;
+    return reg;
+}
+
+
+GGML_BACKEND_DL_IMPL(ggml_backend_rpc_reg)