refactor(snapshot): add manifest-based snapshotctl flow and shared workload builders (#7671)

Signed-off-by: Schwinn Saereesitthipitak <schwinns@nvidia.com>

deploy/operator/api/config/v1alpha1/types.go

@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@ import (
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 )
 
-// Checkpoint storage type constants
+// Checkpoint storage type constants retained for compatibility with older
+// operator configuration files.
 const (
 	CheckpointStorageTypePVC = "pvc"
 	CheckpointStorageTypeS3  = "s3"
@@ -245,46 +246,49 @@ type CheckpointConfiguration struct {
 	// ReadyForCheckpointFilePath signals model readiness for checkpoint jobs
 	// +kubebuilder:default="/tmp/ready-for-checkpoint"
 	ReadyForCheckpointFilePath string `json:"readyForCheckpointFilePath"`
-	// Storage holds storage backend configuration
+	// Deprecated: Storage is retained for compatibility and ignored by the
+	// current snapshot flow. Snapshot storage is discovered from the
+	// snapshot-agent DaemonSet instead.
 	Storage CheckpointStorageConfiguration `json:"storage"`
 }
 
-// CheckpointStorageConfiguration holds storage backend configuration for checkpoints.
+// Deprecated: CheckpointStorageConfiguration is retained for compatibility and
+// ignored by the current snapshot flow.
 type CheckpointStorageConfiguration struct {
-	// Type is the storage backend type: pvc, s3, or oci
-	// +kubebuilder:default="pvc"
+	// Type is the legacy storage backend type: pvc, s3, or oci.
 	Type string `json:"type"`
-	// PVC configuration (used when Type=pvc)
+	// PVC configuration for legacy pvc-based settings.
 	PVC CheckpointPVCConfig `json:"pvc"`
-	// S3 configuration (used when Type=s3)
+	// S3 configuration for legacy s3-based settings.
 	S3 CheckpointS3Config `json:"s3"`
-	// OCI configuration (used when Type=oci)
+	// OCI configuration for legacy oci-based settings.
 	OCI CheckpointOCIConfig `json:"oci"`
 }
 
-// CheckpointPVCConfig holds PVC storage configuration.
+// Deprecated: CheckpointPVCConfig is retained for compatibility and ignored by
+// the current snapshot flow.
 type CheckpointPVCConfig struct {
-	// PVCName is the name of the PVC
-	// +kubebuilder:default="snapshot-pvc"
+	// PVCName is the legacy PVC name.
 	PVCName string `json:"pvcName"`
-	// BasePath is the base directory within the PVC
-	// +kubebuilder:default="/checkpoints"
+	// BasePath is the legacy base directory within the PVC.
 	BasePath string `json:"basePath"`
 }
 
-// CheckpointS3Config holds S3 storage configuration.
+// Deprecated: CheckpointS3Config is retained for compatibility and ignored by
+// the current snapshot flow.
 type CheckpointS3Config struct {
-	// URI is the S3 URI (s3://[endpoint/]bucket/prefix)
+	// URI is the legacy S3 URI (s3://[endpoint/]bucket/prefix).
 	URI string `json:"uri"`
-	// CredentialsSecretRef is the name of the credentials secret
+	// CredentialsSecretRef is the legacy credentials secret name.
 	CredentialsSecretRef string `json:"credentialsSecretRef"`
 }
 
-// CheckpointOCIConfig holds OCI registry storage configuration.
+// Deprecated: CheckpointOCIConfig is retained for compatibility and ignored by
+// the current snapshot flow.
 type CheckpointOCIConfig struct {
-	// URI is the OCI URI (oci://registry/repository)
+	// URI is the legacy OCI URI (oci://registry/repository).
 	URI string `json:"uri"`
-	// CredentialsSecretRef is the name of the docker config secret
+	// CredentialsSecretRef is the legacy docker config secret name.
 	CredentialsSecretRef string `json:"credentialsSecretRef"`
 }
 

deploy/operator/api/config/validation/validation.go

@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ func ValidateOperatorConfiguration(config *configv1alpha1.OperatorConfiguration)
 	allErrs = append(allErrs, validateMPI(&config.MPI, field.NewPath("mpi"))...)
 	allErrs = append(allErrs, validateInfrastructure(&config.Infrastructure, field.NewPath("infrastructure"))...)
 	allErrs = append(allErrs, validateDiscovery(&config.Discovery, field.NewPath("discovery"))...)
-	allErrs = append(allErrs, validateCheckpoint(&config.Checkpoint, field.NewPath("checkpoint"))...)
 	allErrs = append(allErrs, validateRBAC(config)...)
 	allErrs = append(allErrs, validateOrchestrators(&config.Orchestrators, field.NewPath("orchestrators"))...)
 	allErrs = append(allErrs, validateIngress(&config.Ingress, field.NewPath("ingress"))...)
@@ -127,33 +126,6 @@ func validateDiscovery(discovery *configv1alpha1.DiscoveryConfiguration, fldPath
 	return allErrs
 }
 
-func validateCheckpoint(checkpoint *configv1alpha1.CheckpointConfiguration, fldPath *field.Path) field.ErrorList {
-	allErrs := field.ErrorList{}
-
-	if !checkpoint.Enabled {
-		return allErrs
-	}
-
-	storagePath := fldPath.Child("storage")
-	switch checkpoint.Storage.Type {
-	case configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypePVC:
-		// PVC is the default, no additional required fields
-	case configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypeS3:
-		if checkpoint.Storage.S3.URI == "" {
-			allErrs = append(allErrs, field.Required(storagePath.Child("s3", "uri"), "S3 URI is required when storage type is s3"))
-		}
-	case configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypeOCI:
-		if checkpoint.Storage.OCI.URI == "" {
-			allErrs = append(allErrs, field.Required(storagePath.Child("oci", "uri"), "OCI URI is required when storage type is oci"))
-		}
-	default:
-		allErrs = append(allErrs, field.NotSupported(storagePath.Child("type"), checkpoint.Storage.Type,
-			[]string{configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypePVC, configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypeS3, configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypeOCI}))
-	}
-
-	return allErrs
-}
-
 // validateRBAC is mode-aware: validates RBAC fields based on namespace mode.
 func validateRBAC(config *configv1alpha1.OperatorConfiguration) field.ErrorList {
 	allErrs := field.ErrorList{}

deploy/operator/api/config/validation/validation_test.go

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 package validation
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -31,7 +32,10 @@ func validConfig() *configv1alpha1.OperatorConfiguration {
 	configv1alpha1.SetDefaultsOperatorConfiguration(cfg)
 	cfg.MPI.SSHSecretName = "mpi-ssh"
 	cfg.MPI.SSHSecretNamespace = "default"
+	// Cluster-wide validation requires chart-provided RBAC names.
 	cfg.RBAC.PlannerClusterRoleName = "planner-role"
+	cfg.RBAC.DGDRProfilingClusterRoleName = "dgdr-profiling-role"
+	cfg.RBAC.EPPClusterRoleName = "epp-role"
 	return cfg
 }
 
@@ -41,6 +45,8 @@ func validNamespaceScopedConfig() *configv1alpha1.OperatorConfiguration {
 	cfg.Namespace.Restricted = "my-namespace"
 	// RBAC not required in namespace mode
 	cfg.RBAC.PlannerClusterRoleName = ""
+	cfg.RBAC.DGDRProfilingClusterRoleName = ""
+	cfg.RBAC.EPPClusterRoleName = ""
 	return cfg
 }
 
@@ -120,45 +126,42 @@ func TestValidateOperatorConfiguration_NamespaceScopedLeaseRenewExceedsDuration(
 	}
 }
 
-func TestValidateOperatorConfiguration_CheckpointS3MissingURI(t *testing.T) {
+func TestValidateOperatorConfiguration_CheckpointEnabledRequiresNoStorageConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := validConfig()
 	cfg.Checkpoint.Enabled = true
-	cfg.Checkpoint.Storage.Type = configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypeS3
-	cfg.Checkpoint.Storage.S3.URI = ""
 
 	errs := ValidateOperatorConfiguration(cfg)
-	if len(errs) != 1 {
-		t.Errorf("expected 1 error for missing S3 URI, got %d: %v", len(errs), errs)
+	if len(errs) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("expected no errors for checkpoint config without storage settings, got: %v", errs)
 	}
 }
 
-func TestValidateOperatorConfiguration_CheckpointOCIMissingURI(t *testing.T) {
+func TestValidateOperatorConfiguration_CheckpointDeprecatedStorageConfigIsAccepted(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := validConfig()
-	cfg.Checkpoint.Enabled = true
-	cfg.Checkpoint.Storage.Type = configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypeOCI
-	cfg.Checkpoint.Storage.OCI.URI = ""
-
-	errs := ValidateOperatorConfiguration(cfg)
-	if len(errs) != 1 {
-		t.Errorf("expected 1 error for missing OCI URI, got %d: %v", len(errs), errs)
+	rawConfig := []byte(`{
+		"checkpoint": {
+			"enabled": true,
+			"storage": {
+				"type": "s3",
+				"s3": {
+					"uri": "s3://legacy-bucket/checkpoints"
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}`)
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(rawConfig, cfg); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to unmarshal compatibility config: %v", err)
 	}
-}
-
-func TestValidateOperatorConfiguration_CheckpointInvalidStorageType(t *testing.T) {
-	cfg := validConfig()
-	cfg.Checkpoint.Enabled = true
-	cfg.Checkpoint.Storage.Type = "nfs"
 
 	errs := ValidateOperatorConfiguration(cfg)
-	if len(errs) != 1 {
-		t.Errorf("expected 1 error for invalid storage type, got %d: %v", len(errs), errs)
+	if len(errs) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("expected no errors for deprecated checkpoint storage config, got: %v", errs)
 	}
 }
 
 func TestValidateOperatorConfiguration_CheckpointDisabledSkipsValidation(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := validConfig()
 	cfg.Checkpoint.Enabled = false
-	cfg.Checkpoint.Storage.Type = "invalid"
 
 	errs := ValidateOperatorConfiguration(cfg)
 	if len(errs) != 0 {

deploy/operator/api/v1alpha1/dynamocheckpoint_types.go

@@ -31,13 +31,15 @@ const (
 	DynamoCheckpointPhasePending DynamoCheckpointPhase = "Pending"
 	// DynamoCheckpointPhaseCreating indicates the checkpoint Job is running
 	DynamoCheckpointPhaseCreating DynamoCheckpointPhase = "Creating"
-	// DynamoCheckpointPhaseReady indicates the checkpoint tar file is available on the PVC
+	// DynamoCheckpointPhaseReady indicates the checkpoint artifact is available
 	DynamoCheckpointPhaseReady DynamoCheckpointPhase = "Ready"
 	// DynamoCheckpointPhaseFailed indicates the checkpoint creation failed
 	DynamoCheckpointPhaseFailed DynamoCheckpointPhase = "Failed"
 )
 
-// DynamoCheckpointStorageType defines the supported storage backends for checkpoints
+// Deprecated: StorageType is retained for compatibility with older
+// DynamoCheckpoint status consumers. The current checkpoint flow publishes
+// PVC-backed artifacts discovered from the snapshot-agent DaemonSet.
 // +kubebuilder:validation:Enum=pvc;s3;oci
 type DynamoCheckpointStorageType string
 
@@ -109,10 +111,10 @@ type DynamoCheckpointJobConfig struct {
 	// +kubebuilder:validation:Minimum=0
 	BackoffLimit *int32 `json:"backoffLimit,omitempty"`
 
-	// TTLSecondsAfterFinished specifies how long to keep the Job after completion
+	// Deprecated: TTLSecondsAfterFinished is ignored. Checkpoint Jobs use a fixed
+	// 300 second TTL.
 	// +optional
 	// +kubebuilder:validation:Minimum=0
-	// +kubebuilder:default=300
 	TTLSecondsAfterFinished *int32 `json:"ttlSecondsAfterFinished,omitempty"`
 }
 
@@ -148,14 +150,13 @@ type DynamoCheckpointStatus struct {
 	// +optional
 	IdentityHash string `json:"identityHash,omitempty"`
 
-	// Location is the full URI/path to the checkpoint in the storage backend
-	// For PVC: same as TarPath (e.g., /checkpoints/{hash}.tar)
-	// For S3: s3://bucket/prefix/{hash}.tar
-	// For OCI: oci://registry/repo:{hash}
+	// Deprecated: Location is ignored and no longer populated. It is retained
+	// only so older objects continue to validate.
 	// +optional
 	Location string `json:"location,omitempty"`
 
-	// StorageType indicates the storage backend type used for this checkpoint
+	// Deprecated: StorageType is ignored and no longer populated. It is retained
+	// only so older objects continue to validate.
 	// +optional
 	StorageType DynamoCheckpointStorageType `json:"storageType,omitempty"`
 
@@ -163,7 +164,7 @@ type DynamoCheckpointStatus struct {
 	// +optional
 	JobName string `json:"jobName,omitempty"`
 
-	// CreatedAt is the timestamp when the checkpoint tar was created
+	// CreatedAt is the timestamp when the checkpoint became ready
 	// +optional
 	CreatedAt *metav1.Time `json:"createdAt,omitempty"`
 

deploy/operator/config/crd/bases/nvidia.com_dynamocheckpoints.yaml

@@ -8173,8 +8173,9 @@ spec:
                         - message: sharedMemory.size must not be set when sharedMemory.disabled is true
                           rule: '!(has(self.disabled) && self.disabled && has(self.size))'
                     ttlSecondsAfterFinished:
-                      default: 300
-                      description: TTLSecondsAfterFinished specifies how long to keep the Job after completion
+                      description: |-
+                        Deprecated: TTLSecondsAfterFinished is ignored. Checkpoint Jobs use a fixed
+                        300 second TTL.
                       format: int32
                       minimum: 0
                       type: integer
@@ -8245,7 +8246,7 @@ spec:
                     type: object
                   type: array
                 createdAt:
-                  description: CreatedAt is the timestamp when the checkpoint tar was created
+                  description: CreatedAt is the timestamp when the checkpoint became ready
                   format: date-time
                   type: string
                 identityHash:
@@ -8258,10 +8259,8 @@ spec:
                   type: string
                 location:
                   description: |-
-                    Location is the full URI/path to the checkpoint in the storage backend
-                    For PVC: same as TarPath (e.g., /checkpoints/{hash}.tar)
-                    For S3: s3://bucket/prefix/{hash}.tar
-                    For OCI: oci://registry/repo:{hash}
+                    Deprecated: Location is ignored and no longer populated. It is retained
+                    only so older objects continue to validate.
                   type: string
                 message:
                   description: Message provides additional information about the current state
@@ -8275,7 +8274,9 @@ spec:
                     - Failed
                   type: string
                 storageType:
-                  description: StorageType indicates the storage backend type used for this checkpoint
+                  description: |-
+                    Deprecated: StorageType is ignored and no longer populated. It is retained
+                    only so older objects continue to validate.
                   enum:
                     - pvc
                     - s3

deploy/operator/config/rbac/role.yaml

@@ -38,6 +38,14 @@ rules:
   - get
   - list
   - watch
+- apiGroups:
+  - apps
+  resources:
+  - daemonsets
+  verbs:
+  - get
+  - list
+  - watch
 - apiGroups:
   - apps
   resources:

deploy/operator/config/samples/nvidia.com_v1alpha1_dynamocheckpoint.yaml

@@ -16,46 +16,60 @@
 apiVersion: nvidia.com/v1alpha1
 kind: DynamoCheckpoint
 metadata:
-  name: llama3-8b-bf16
+  name: qwen3-06b-bf16
 spec:
   # Identity - determines the checkpoint hash
   identity:
-    model: "meta-llama/Meta-Llama-3-8B-Instruct"
+    model: "Qwen/Qwen3-0.6B"
     backendFramework: "vllm"
-    dynamoVersion: "0.6.0"
     tensorParallelSize: 1
     pipelineParallelSize: 1
     dtype: "bfloat16"
-    maxModelLen: 8192
-    extraParameters:
-      enableChunkedPrefill: "true"
+    maxModelLen: 2048
 
   # Job configuration for checkpoint creation
   job:
     activeDeadlineSeconds: 3600
-    ttlSecondsAfterFinished: 300
     podTemplateSpec:
       spec:
+        restartPolicy: Never
+        imagePullSecrets:
+          - name: ngc-secret
+        volumes:
+          - name: hf-cache
+            persistentVolumeClaim:
+              claimName: hf-cache-pvc
         containers:
-          - name: checkpoint-worker
-            image: nvcr.io/nvidia/ai-dynamo/dynamo-vllm:latest
-            command: ["python", "-m", "vllm.entrypoints.openai.api_server"]
+          - name: worker
+            image: registry.example.com/dynamo/vllm-placeholder:1.0.0
+            command:
+              - python3
             args:
+              - "-m"
+              - "dynamo.vllm"
               - "--model"
-              - "meta-llama/Meta-Llama-3-8B-Instruct"
-              - "--tensor-parallel-size"
-              - "1"
+              - "Qwen/Qwen3-0.6B"
               - "--dtype"
               - "bfloat16"
+              - "--tensor-parallel-size"
+              - "1"
               - "--max-model-len"
-              - "8192"
+              - "2048"
+            envFrom:
+              - secretRef:
+                  name: hf-token-secret
             env:
-              - name: HF_TOKEN
-                valueFrom:
-                  secretKeyRef:
-                    name: hf-secret
-                    key: token
+              - name: HF_HOME
+                value: /home/dynamo/.cache/huggingface
+              - name: NCCL_DEBUG
+                value: ERROR
+              - name: TORCH_CPP_LOG_LEVEL
+                value: ERROR
+              - name: TORCH_DISTRIBUTED_DEBUG
+                value: "OFF"
+            volumeMounts:
+              - name: hf-cache
+                mountPath: /home/dynamo/.cache/huggingface
             resources:
               limits:
-                nvidia.com/gpu: 1
-        restartPolicy: Never
+                nvidia.com/gpu: "1"

deploy/operator/go.mod

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ go 1.25.0
 require (
 	emperror.dev/errors v0.8.1
 	github.com/Masterminds/semver/v3 v3.4.0
+	github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/snapshot v0.0.0
 	github.com/ai-dynamo/grove/operator/api v0.1.0-alpha.6
 	github.com/bsm/gomega v1.27.10
 	github.com/go-logr/logr v1.4.3
@@ -15,6 +16,8 @@ require (
 	github.com/open-policy-agent/cert-controller v0.14.0
 	github.com/prometheus-operator/prometheus-operator/pkg/apis/monitoring v0.71.2
 	github.com/prometheus/client_golang v1.23.2
+	github.com/prometheus/client_model v0.6.2
+	github.com/prometheus/common v0.67.5
 	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.11.1
 	golang.org/x/crypto v0.48.0
 	istio.io/api v1.23.1
@@ -31,6 +34,8 @@ require (
 	volcano.sh/apis v1.12.2
 )
 
+replace github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/snapshot => ../snapshot
+
 require (
 	cel.dev/expr v0.25.1 // indirect
 	github.com/antlr4-go/antlr/v4 v4.13.0 // indirect
@@ -68,8 +73,6 @@ require (
 	github.com/munnerz/goautoneg v0.0.0-20191010083416-a7dc8b61c822 // indirect
 	github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1 // indirect
 	github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.1-0.20181226105442-5d4384ee4fb2 // indirect
-	github.com/prometheus/client_model v0.6.2 // indirect
-	github.com/prometheus/common v0.67.5 // indirect
 	github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.17.0 // indirect
 	github.com/spf13/cobra v1.9.1 // indirect
 	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.10 // indirect

deploy/operator/go.sum

-cel.dev/expr v0.24.0 h1:56OvJKSH3hDGL0ml5uSxZmz3/3Pq4tJ+fb1unVLAFcY=
-cel.dev/expr v0.24.0/go.mod h1:hLPLo1W4QUmuYdA72RBX06QTs6MXw941piREPl3Yfiw=
 cel.dev/expr v0.25.1 h1:1KrZg61W6TWSxuNZ37Xy49ps13NUovb66QLprthtwi4=
 cel.dev/expr v0.25.1/go.mod h1:hrXvqGP6G6gyx8UAHSHJ5RGk//1Oj5nXQ2NI02Nrsg4=
 emperror.dev/errors v0.8.1 h1:UavXZ5cSX/4u9iyvH6aDcuGkVjeexUGJ7Ij7G4VfQT0=
@@ -258,12 +256,8 @@ gonum.org/v1/gonum v0.16.0 h1:5+ul4Swaf3ESvrOnidPp4GZbzf0mxVQpDCYUQE7OJfk=
 gonum.org/v1/gonum v0.16.0/go.mod h1:fef3am4MQ93R2HHpKnLk4/Tbh/s0+wqD5nfa6Pnwy4E=
 google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/api v0.0.0-20251202230838-ff82c1b0f217 h1:fCvbg86sFXwdrl5LgVcTEvNC+2txB5mgROGmRL5mrls=
 google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/api v0.0.0-20251202230838-ff82c1b0f217/go.mod h1:+rXWjjaukWZun3mLfjmVnQi18E1AsFbDN9QdJ5YXLto=
-google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/rpc v0.0.0-20251124214823-79d6a2a48846 h1:Wgl1rcDNThT+Zn47YyCXOXyX/COgMTIdhJ717F0l4xk=
-google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/rpc v0.0.0-20251124214823-79d6a2a48846/go.mod h1:7i2o+ce6H/6BluujYR+kqX3GKH+dChPTQU19wjRPiGk=
 google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/rpc v0.0.0-20251202230838-ff82c1b0f217 h1:gRkg/vSppuSQoDjxyiGfN4Upv/h/DQmIR10ZU8dh4Ww=
 google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/rpc v0.0.0-20251202230838-ff82c1b0f217/go.mod h1:7i2o+ce6H/6BluujYR+kqX3GKH+dChPTQU19wjRPiGk=
-google.golang.org/grpc v1.76.0 h1:UnVkv1+uMLYXoIz6o7chp59WfQUYA2ex/BXQ9rHZu7A=
-google.golang.org/grpc v1.76.0/go.mod h1:Ju12QI8M6iQJtbcsV+awF5a4hfJMLi4X0JLo94ULZ6c=
 google.golang.org/grpc v1.79.3 h1:sybAEdRIEtvcD68Gx7dmnwjZKlyfuc61Dyo9pGXXkKE=
 google.golang.org/grpc v1.79.3/go.mod h1:KmT0Kjez+0dde/v2j9vzwoAScgEPx/Bw1CYChhHLrHQ=
 google.golang.org/protobuf v1.36.11 h1:fV6ZwhNocDyBLK0dj+fg8ektcVegBBuEolpbTQyBNVE=

deploy/operator/internal/checkpoint/checkpoint_test.go

@@ -21,11 +21,12 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"testing"
 
-	configv1alpha1 "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/config/v1alpha1"
 	nvidiacomv1alpha1 "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/v1alpha1"
 	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/consts"
+	snapshotprotocol "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/snapshot/protocol"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	appsv1 "k8s.io/api/apps/v1"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
@@ -39,19 +40,6 @@ const (
 	testNamespace = "default"
 )
 
-func testPVCConfig() *configv1alpha1.CheckpointConfiguration {
-	return &configv1alpha1.CheckpointConfiguration{
-		Enabled: true,
-		Storage: configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageConfiguration{
-			Type: configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypePVC,
-			PVC: configv1alpha1.CheckpointPVCConfig{
-				PVCName:  "snapshot-pvc",
-				BasePath: "/checkpoints",
-			},
-		},
-	}
-}
-
 func testIdentity() nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointIdentity {
 	return nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointIdentity{
 		Model:            "meta-llama/Llama-2-7b-hf",
@@ -74,6 +62,7 @@ func testScheme() *runtime.Scheme {
 	s := runtime.NewScheme()
 	_ = nvidiacomv1alpha1.AddToScheme(s)
 	_ = corev1.AddToScheme(s)
+	_ = appsv1.AddToScheme(s)
 	return s
 }
 
@@ -81,6 +70,39 @@ func testInfo() *CheckpointInfo {
 	return &CheckpointInfo{Enabled: true, Hash: testHash}
 }
 
+func testSnapshotAgentDaemonSet() *appsv1.DaemonSet {
+	return &appsv1.DaemonSet{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+			Name:      "snapshot-agent",
+			Namespace: testNamespace,
+			Labels: map[string]string{
+				snapshotprotocol.SnapshotAgentLabelKey: snapshotprotocol.SnapshotAgentLabelValue,
+			},
+		},
+		Spec: appsv1.DaemonSetSpec{
+			Template: corev1.PodTemplateSpec{
+				Spec: corev1.PodSpec{
+					Containers: []corev1.Container{{
+						Name: snapshotprotocol.SnapshotAgentContainerName,
+						VolumeMounts: []corev1.VolumeMount{{
+							Name:      "checkpoints",
+							MountPath: "/checkpoints",
+						}},
+					}},
+					Volumes: []corev1.Volume{{
+						Name: "checkpoints",
+						VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
+							PersistentVolumeClaim: &corev1.PersistentVolumeClaimVolumeSource{
+								ClaimName: "snapshot-pvc",
+							},
+						},
+					}},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
 type createHookClient struct {
 	client.Client
 	onCreate func(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object) error
@@ -97,71 +119,6 @@ func (c *createHookClient) Create(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object, opts .
 	return c.Client.Create(ctx, obj, opts...)
 }
 
-// --- Resource helper tests ---
-
-func TestHelpers(t *testing.T) {
-	// checkpointInfoFromObject — ready
-	hash, err := ComputeIdentityHash(testIdentity())
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	ckpt := &nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint{
-		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: hash},
-		Spec:       nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointSpec{Identity: testIdentity()},
-		Status: nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStatus{
-			Phase:        nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseReady,
-			IdentityHash: hash,
-			Location:     "/checkpoints/" + hash,
-			StorageType:  "pvc",
-		},
-	}
-	info, err := checkpointInfoFromObject(ckpt)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.True(t, info.Enabled)
-	assert.True(t, info.Ready)
-	assert.Equal(t, hash, info.Hash)
-	assert.Equal(t, "/checkpoints/"+hash, info.Location)
-	assert.Equal(t, ckpt.Name, info.CheckpointName)
-
-	// checkpointInfoFromObject — not ready
-	ckpt.Status.Phase = nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseCreating
-	info, err = checkpointInfoFromObject(ckpt)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.False(t, info.Ready)
-}
-
-func TestArtifactVersionHelpers(t *testing.T) {
-	t.Run("new checkpoints default to version 1", func(t *testing.T) {
-		ckpt := &nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint{}
-		assert.Nil(t, ckpt.Annotations)
-		assert.Equal(t, "checkpoint-job-"+testHash+"-"+consts.DefaultCheckpointArtifactVersion, "checkpoint-job-"+testHash+"-"+consts.DefaultCheckpointArtifactVersion)
-	})
-
-	t.Run("annotation overrides desired version", func(t *testing.T) {
-		ckpt := &nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint{
-			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-				Annotations: map[string]string{
-					consts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointArtifactVersion: "3",
-				},
-			},
-		}
-		assert.Equal(t, "3", ckpt.Annotations[consts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointArtifactVersion])
-		assert.Equal(t, "checkpoint-job-"+testHash+"-3", "checkpoint-job-"+testHash+"-"+ckpt.Annotations[consts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointArtifactVersion])
-	})
-}
-
-func TestResolveCheckpointStorage(t *testing.T) {
-	config := testPVCConfig()
-
-	location, storageType, err := ResolveCheckpointStorage(testHash, "", config)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, "/checkpoints/"+testHash+"/versions/"+consts.DefaultCheckpointArtifactVersion, location)
-	assert.Equal(t, nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStorageType("pvc"), storageType)
-
-	location, storageType, err = ResolveCheckpointStorage(testHash, "7", config)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, "/checkpoints/"+testHash+"/versions/7", location)
-	assert.Equal(t, nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStorageType("pvc"), storageType)
-}
-
 func TestCreateOrGetAutoCheckpointDeduplicatesConcurrentSameHashCheckpoint(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	s := testScheme()
@@ -175,7 +132,7 @@ func TestCreateOrGetAutoCheckpointDeduplicatesConcurrentSameHashCheckpoint(t *te
 			Name:      "friendly-checkpoint",
 			Namespace: testNamespace,
 			Labels: map[string]string{
-				consts.KubeLabelCheckpointHash: hash,
+				consts.KubeLabelCheckpointID: hash,
 			},
 		},
 		Spec: nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointSpec{
@@ -223,184 +180,59 @@ func TestCreateOrGetAutoCheckpointSetsDefaultArtifactVersion(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, consts.DefaultCheckpointArtifactVersion, ckpt.Annotations[consts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointArtifactVersion])
 }
 
-// --- Injection idempotency tests ---
-
-func TestInjectionIdempotency(t *testing.T) {
-	// Volume injection is idempotent
-	podSpec := &corev1.PodSpec{Volumes: []corev1.Volume{{Name: consts.CheckpointVolumeName}, {Name: consts.PodInfoVolumeName}}}
-	InjectCheckpointVolume(podSpec, "snapshot-pvc")
-	InjectPodInfoVolume(podSpec)
-	assert.Len(t, podSpec.Volumes, 2)
-
-	// Mount injection is idempotent
-	container := &corev1.Container{VolumeMounts: []corev1.VolumeMount{
-		{Name: consts.CheckpointVolumeName}, {Name: consts.PodInfoVolumeName},
-	}}
-	InjectCheckpointVolumeMount(container, "/checkpoints")
-	InjectPodInfoVolumeMount(container)
-	assert.Len(t, container.VolumeMounts, 2)
-}
-
-func TestApplyCheckpointPodMetadata(t *testing.T) {
-	t.Run("checkpoint source metadata uses annotations for location and storage", func(t *testing.T) {
-		labels := map[string]string{}
-		annotations := map[string]string{}
-
-		ApplyCheckpointSourcePodMetadata(labels, annotations, testHash, "/checkpoints/"+testHash, "pvc")
-
-		assert.Equal(t, consts.KubeLabelValueTrue, labels[consts.KubeLabelIsCheckpointSource])
-		assert.Equal(t, testHash, labels[consts.KubeLabelCheckpointHash])
-		assert.Equal(t, "/checkpoints/"+testHash, annotations[consts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointLocation])
-		assert.Equal(t, "pvc", annotations[consts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointStorageType])
-	})
-
-	t.Run("restore metadata clears stale values when checkpoint is not ready", func(t *testing.T) {
-		labels := map[string]string{
-			consts.KubeLabelIsRestoreTarget: consts.KubeLabelValueTrue,
-			consts.KubeLabelCheckpointHash:  "stale-hash",
-		}
-		annotations := map[string]string{
-			consts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointLocation:    "/checkpoints/stale-hash",
-			consts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointStorageType: "pvc",
-		}
-
-		ApplyRestorePodMetadata(labels, annotations, &CheckpointInfo{Enabled: true, Ready: false})
-
-		_, hasRestoreTarget := labels[consts.KubeLabelIsRestoreTarget]
-		_, hasCheckpointHash := labels[consts.KubeLabelCheckpointHash]
-		_, hasLocation := annotations[consts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointLocation]
-		_, hasStorageType := annotations[consts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointStorageType]
-		assert.False(t, hasRestoreTarget)
-		assert.False(t, hasCheckpointHash)
-		assert.False(t, hasLocation)
-		assert.False(t, hasStorageType)
-	})
-}
-
 // --- InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec tests ---
 
 func TestInjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(t *testing.T) {
-	t.Run("nil or disabled info is a no-op", func(t *testing.T) {
-		for _, info := range []*CheckpointInfo{nil, {Enabled: false}} {
+	t.Run("ready checkpoint injects podinfo and overrides command", func(t *testing.T) {
 		podSpec := testPodSpec()
-			require.NoError(t, InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(podSpec, info, testPVCConfig()))
-			assert.Equal(t, []string{"python3"}, podSpec.Containers[0].Command)
-		}
-	})
-
-	t.Run("ready checkpoint overrides command to sleep infinity", func(t *testing.T) {
-		podSpec := testPodSpec()
-		info := &CheckpointInfo{Enabled: true, Ready: true, Hash: testHash}
-		require.NoError(t, InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(podSpec, info, testPVCConfig()))
+		info := &CheckpointInfo{Enabled: true, Ready: true, Identity: ptr.To(testIdentity())}
+		reader := fake.NewClientBuilder().WithScheme(testScheme()).WithObjects(testSnapshotAgentDaemonSet()).Build()
+		require.NoError(t, InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(context.Background(), reader, testNamespace, podSpec, info))
 		assert.Equal(t, []string{"sleep", "infinity"}, podSpec.Containers[0].Command)
 		assert.Nil(t, podSpec.Containers[0].Args)
-	})
+		assert.Len(t, info.Hash, 16)
 
-	t.Run("ready checkpoint preserves published versioned location", func(t *testing.T) {
-		podSpec := testPodSpec()
-		info := &CheckpointInfo{
-			Enabled:     true,
-			Ready:       true,
-			Hash:        testHash,
-			Location:    "/checkpoints/" + testHash + "/versions/2",
-			StorageType: "pvc",
+		volumes := map[string]corev1.Volume{}
+		for _, volume := range podSpec.Volumes {
+			volumes[volume.Name] = volume
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(podSpec, info, testPVCConfig()))
-		assert.Equal(t, "/checkpoints/"+testHash+"/versions/2", info.Location)
-		assert.Equal(t, nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStorageType("pvc"), info.StorageType)
-	})
-
-	t.Run("not-ready checkpoint preserves original command", func(t *testing.T) {
-		podSpec := testPodSpec()
-		require.NoError(t, InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(podSpec, testInfo(), testPVCConfig()))
-		assert.Equal(t, []string{"python3"}, podSpec.Containers[0].Command)
-	})
-
-	t.Run("sets seccomp profile", func(t *testing.T) {
-		podSpec := testPodSpec()
-		require.NoError(t, InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(podSpec, testInfo(), testPVCConfig()))
-		require.NotNil(t, podSpec.SecurityContext)
-		require.NotNil(t, podSpec.SecurityContext.SeccompProfile)
-		assert.Equal(t, corev1.SeccompProfileTypeLocalhost, podSpec.SecurityContext.SeccompProfile.Type)
-		assert.Equal(t, consts.SeccompProfilePath, *podSpec.SecurityContext.SeccompProfile.LocalhostProfile)
-	})
+		require.Contains(t, volumes, consts.PodInfoVolumeName)
+		require.NotNil(t, volumes[consts.PodInfoVolumeName].DownwardAPI)
 
-	t.Run("preserves existing security context", func(t *testing.T) {
-		podSpec := testPodSpec()
-		podSpec.SecurityContext = &corev1.PodSecurityContext{RunAsUser: ptr.To(int64(1000))}
-		require.NoError(t, InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(podSpec, testInfo(), testPVCConfig()))
-		assert.Equal(t, int64(1000), *podSpec.SecurityContext.RunAsUser)
-		require.NotNil(t, podSpec.SecurityContext.SeccompProfile)
-	})
-
-	t.Run("PVC storage injects volumes and mounts", func(t *testing.T) {
-		podSpec := testPodSpec()
-		require.NoError(t, InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(podSpec, testInfo(), testPVCConfig()))
-
-		// Volumes
-		volNames := make(map[string]bool)
-		for _, v := range podSpec.Volumes {
-			volNames[v.Name] = true
-			if v.Name == consts.CheckpointVolumeName {
-				assert.Equal(t, "snapshot-pvc", v.PersistentVolumeClaim.ClaimName)
-			}
-			if v.Name == consts.PodInfoVolumeName {
-				require.NotNil(t, v.DownwardAPI)
-				fieldPaths := map[string]string{}
-				for _, item := range v.DownwardAPI.Items {
+		fields := map[string]string{}
+		for _, item := range volumes[consts.PodInfoVolumeName].DownwardAPI.Items {
 			if item.FieldRef != nil {
-						fieldPaths[item.Path] = item.FieldRef.FieldPath
+				fields[item.Path] = item.FieldRef.FieldPath
 			}
 		}
-				assert.Equal(t, "metadata.labels['"+consts.KubeLabelDynamoNamespace+"']", fieldPaths[consts.PodInfoFileDynNamespace])
-				assert.Equal(t, "metadata.labels['"+consts.KubeLabelDynamoWorkerHash+"']", fieldPaths[consts.PodInfoFileDynNamespaceWorkerSuffix])
-				assert.Equal(t, "metadata.labels['"+consts.KubeLabelDynamoComponentType+"']", fieldPaths[consts.PodInfoFileDynComponent])
-				assert.Equal(t, "metadata.labels['"+consts.KubeLabelDynamoGraphDeploymentName+"']", fieldPaths[consts.PodInfoFileDynParentDGDName])
-				assert.Equal(t, consts.PodInfoFieldPodNamespace, fieldPaths[consts.PodInfoFileDynParentDGDNamespace])
+		assert.Equal(t, "metadata.labels['"+consts.KubeLabelDynamoNamespace+"']", fields[consts.PodInfoFileDynNamespace])
+		assert.Equal(t, "metadata.labels['"+consts.KubeLabelDynamoWorkerHash+"']", fields[consts.PodInfoFileDynNamespaceWorkerSuffix])
+		assert.Equal(t, "metadata.labels['"+consts.KubeLabelDynamoComponentType+"']", fields[consts.PodInfoFileDynComponent])
+		assert.Equal(t, "metadata.labels['"+consts.KubeLabelDynamoGraphDeploymentName+"']", fields[consts.PodInfoFileDynParentDGDName])
+		assert.Equal(t, consts.PodInfoFieldPodNamespace, fields[consts.PodInfoFileDynParentDGDNamespace])
+
+		mountPaths := map[string]string{}
+		for _, mount := range podSpec.Containers[0].VolumeMounts {
+			mountPaths[mount.Name] = mount.MountPath
 		}
-		}
-		assert.True(t, volNames[consts.CheckpointVolumeName])
-		assert.True(t, volNames[consts.PodInfoVolumeName])
-
-		// Mounts
-		mountPaths := make(map[string]string)
-		for _, m := range podSpec.Containers[0].VolumeMounts {
-			mountPaths[m.Name] = m.MountPath
-		}
-		assert.Equal(t, "/checkpoints", mountPaths[consts.CheckpointVolumeName])
 		assert.Equal(t, consts.PodInfoMountPath, mountPaths[consts.PodInfoVolumeName])
 	})
 
-	t.Run("computes hash from identity when hash is empty", func(t *testing.T) {
-		podSpec := testPodSpec()
-		identity := testIdentity()
-		info := &CheckpointInfo{Enabled: true, Identity: &identity}
-		require.NoError(t, InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(podSpec, info, testPVCConfig()))
-		assert.Len(t, info.Hash, 16)
-	})
-
-	t.Run("S3 and OCI storage set location", func(t *testing.T) {
-		for _, tc := range []struct {
-			storageType string
-			config      configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageConfiguration
-			wantLoc     string
-		}{
-			{"s3", configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageConfiguration{
-				Type: configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypeS3,
-				S3:   configv1alpha1.CheckpointS3Config{URI: "s3://bucket/prefix"},
-			}, "s3://bucket/prefix/" + testHash + ".tar"},
-			{"oci", configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageConfiguration{
-				Type: configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypeOCI,
-				OCI:  configv1alpha1.CheckpointOCIConfig{URI: "oci://registry/repo"},
-			}, "oci://registry/repo:" + testHash},
-		} {
-			t.Run(tc.storageType, func(t *testing.T) {
-				podSpec := testPodSpec()
-				info := &CheckpointInfo{Enabled: true, Hash: testHash}
-				require.NoError(t, InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(podSpec, info, &configv1alpha1.CheckpointConfiguration{Storage: tc.config}))
-				assert.Equal(t, tc.wantLoc, info.Location)
-			})
+	t.Run("ready checkpoint targets the container named main", func(t *testing.T) {
+		podSpec := &corev1.PodSpec{
+			Containers: []corev1.Container{
+				{Name: "sidecar", Image: "sidecar:latest", Command: []string{"sidecar"}, Args: []string{"run"}},
+				{Name: consts.MainContainerName, Image: "main:latest", Command: []string{"python3"}, Args: []string{"-m", "dynamo.vllm"}},
+			},
 		}
+		info := &CheckpointInfo{Enabled: true, Ready: true, Hash: testHash}
+		reader := fake.NewClientBuilder().WithScheme(testScheme()).WithObjects(testSnapshotAgentDaemonSet()).Build()
+
+		require.NoError(t, InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(context.Background(), reader, testNamespace, podSpec, info))
+		assert.Equal(t, []string{"sidecar"}, podSpec.Containers[0].Command)
+		assert.Equal(t, []string{"run"}, podSpec.Containers[0].Args)
+		assert.Equal(t, []string{"sleep", "infinity"}, podSpec.Containers[1].Command)
+		assert.Nil(t, podSpec.Containers[1].Args)
 	})
 
 	t.Run("error cases", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -408,35 +240,21 @@ func TestInjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(t *testing.T) {
 			name    string
 			podSpec *corev1.PodSpec
 			info    *CheckpointInfo
-			config  *configv1alpha1.CheckpointConfiguration
+			reader  client.Reader
 			errMsg  string
 		}{
-			{"hash empty and identity nil", testPodSpec(), &CheckpointInfo{Enabled: true}, testPVCConfig(), "identity is nil"},
-			{"no containers", &corev1.PodSpec{}, testInfo(), testPVCConfig(), "no container found"},
-			{"PVC name missing", testPodSpec(), testInfo(), &configv1alpha1.CheckpointConfiguration{
-				Storage: configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageConfiguration{Type: "pvc", PVC: configv1alpha1.CheckpointPVCConfig{BasePath: "/checkpoints"}},
-			}, "no PVC name"},
-			{"S3 URI missing", testPodSpec(), testInfo(), &configv1alpha1.CheckpointConfiguration{
-				Storage: configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageConfiguration{Type: "s3"},
-			}, "S3"},
-			{"OCI URI missing", testPodSpec(), testInfo(), &configv1alpha1.CheckpointConfiguration{
-				Storage: configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageConfiguration{Type: "oci"},
-			}, "OCI"},
+			{"hash empty and identity nil", testPodSpec(), &CheckpointInfo{Enabled: true}, fake.NewClientBuilder().WithScheme(testScheme()).WithObjects(testSnapshotAgentDaemonSet()).Build(), "identity is nil"},
+			{"no containers", &corev1.PodSpec{}, testInfo(), fake.NewClientBuilder().WithScheme(testScheme()).WithObjects(testSnapshotAgentDaemonSet()).Build(), "no container found"},
+			{"main container missing", &corev1.PodSpec{Containers: []corev1.Container{{Name: "sidecar", Image: "img", Command: []string{"python3"}}}}, testInfo(), fake.NewClientBuilder().WithScheme(testScheme()).WithObjects(testSnapshotAgentDaemonSet()).Build(), "main container not found"},
+			{"snapshot daemonset missing", testPodSpec(), testInfo(), fake.NewClientBuilder().WithScheme(testScheme()).Build(), "no snapshot-agent daemonset found"},
 		} {
 			t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-				err := InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(tc.podSpec, tc.info, tc.config)
+				err := InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(context.Background(), tc.reader, testNamespace, tc.podSpec, tc.info)
 				require.Error(t, err)
 				assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), tc.errMsg)
 			})
 		}
 	})
-
-	t.Run("falls back to first container when main not found", func(t *testing.T) {
-		podSpec := &corev1.PodSpec{Containers: []corev1.Container{{Name: "sidecar", Image: "img", Command: []string{"python3"}}}}
-		info := &CheckpointInfo{Enabled: true, Ready: true, Hash: testHash}
-		require.NoError(t, InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(podSpec, info, testPVCConfig()))
-		assert.Equal(t, []string{"sleep", "infinity"}, podSpec.Containers[0].Command)
-	})
 }
 
 // --- ResolveCheckpointForService tests ---
@@ -463,8 +281,6 @@ func TestResolveCheckpointForService(t *testing.T) {
 			Status: nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStatus{
 				Phase:        nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseReady,
 				IdentityHash: hash,
-				Location:     "/checkpoints/" + hash,
-				StorageType:  "pvc",
 			},
 		}
 		c := fake.NewClientBuilder().WithScheme(s).WithObjects(ckpt).WithStatusSubresource(ckpt).Build()
@@ -477,7 +293,6 @@ func TestResolveCheckpointForService(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.True(t, info.Exists)
 		assert.True(t, info.Ready)
 		assert.Equal(t, hash, info.Hash)
-		assert.Equal(t, "/checkpoints/"+hash, info.Location)
 		assert.Equal(t, hash, info.CheckpointName)
 	})
 
@@ -541,8 +356,6 @@ func TestResolveCheckpointForService(t *testing.T) {
 			Status: nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStatus{
 				Phase:        nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseReady,
 				IdentityHash: hash,
-				Location:     "/checkpoints/" + hash,
-				StorageType:  "pvc",
 			},
 		}
 		c := fake.NewClientBuilder().WithScheme(s).WithObjects(ckpt).WithStatusSubresource(ckpt).Build()

deploy/operator/internal/checkpoint/podinfo.go

+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+package checkpoint
+
+import (
+	commonconsts "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/consts"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+)
+
+func EnsurePodInfoVolume(podSpec *corev1.PodSpec) {
+	for _, volume := range podSpec.Volumes {
+		if volume.Name == commonconsts.PodInfoVolumeName {
+			return
+		}
+	}
+
+	podSpec.Volumes = append(podSpec.Volumes, corev1.Volume{
+		Name: commonconsts.PodInfoVolumeName,
+		VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
+			DownwardAPI: &corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeSource{
+				Items: []corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeFile{
+					{
+						Path: "pod_name",
+						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
+							FieldPath: commonconsts.PodInfoFieldPodName,
+						},
+					},
+					{
+						Path: "pod_uid",
+						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
+							FieldPath: commonconsts.PodInfoFieldPodUID,
+						},
+					},
+					{
+						Path: "pod_namespace",
+						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
+							FieldPath: commonconsts.PodInfoFieldPodNamespace,
+						},
+					},
+					{
+						Path: commonconsts.PodInfoFileDynNamespace,
+						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
+							FieldPath: "metadata.labels['" + commonconsts.KubeLabelDynamoNamespace + "']",
+						},
+					},
+					{
+						Path: commonconsts.PodInfoFileDynNamespaceWorkerSuffix,
+						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
+							FieldPath: "metadata.labels['" + commonconsts.KubeLabelDynamoWorkerHash + "']",
+						},
+					},
+					{
+						Path: commonconsts.PodInfoFileDynComponent,
+						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
+							FieldPath: "metadata.labels['" + commonconsts.KubeLabelDynamoComponentType + "']",
+						},
+					},
+					{
+						Path: commonconsts.PodInfoFileDynParentDGDName,
+						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
+							FieldPath: "metadata.labels['" + commonconsts.KubeLabelDynamoGraphDeploymentName + "']",
+						},
+					},
+					{
+						Path: commonconsts.PodInfoFileDynParentDGDNamespace,
+						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
+							FieldPath: commonconsts.PodInfoFieldPodNamespace,
+						},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	})
+}
+
+func EnsurePodInfoMount(container *corev1.Container) {
+	for _, mount := range container.VolumeMounts {
+		if mount.Name == commonconsts.PodInfoVolumeName {
+			return
+		}
+	}
+
+	container.VolumeMounts = append(container.VolumeMounts, corev1.VolumeMount{
+		Name:      commonconsts.PodInfoVolumeName,
+		MountPath: commonconsts.PodInfoMountPath,
+		ReadOnly:  true,
+	})
+}

deploy/operator/internal/checkpoint/podspec.go

@@ -18,177 +18,32 @@
 package checkpoint
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
 
-	configv1alpha1 "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/config/v1alpha1"
-	nvidiacomv1alpha1 "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/v1alpha1"
 	commonconsts "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/consts"
+	snapshotprotocol "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/snapshot/protocol"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
-	"k8s.io/utils/ptr"
+	ctrlclient "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 )
 
-func ApplyCheckpointSourcePodMetadata(
-	labels map[string]string,
-	annotations map[string]string,
-	hash string,
-	location string,
-	storageType nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStorageType,
-) {
-	delete(labels, commonconsts.KubeLabelIsRestoreTarget)
-	delete(labels, commonconsts.KubeLabelCheckpointHash)
-	delete(annotations, commonconsts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointLocation)
-	delete(annotations, commonconsts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointStorageType)
-
-	labels[commonconsts.KubeLabelIsCheckpointSource] = commonconsts.KubeLabelValueTrue
-	if hash != "" {
-		labels[commonconsts.KubeLabelCheckpointHash] = hash
-	}
-	if location != "" {
-		annotations[commonconsts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointLocation] = location
-	}
-	if storageType != "" {
-		annotations[commonconsts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointStorageType] = string(storageType)
-	}
-}
-
 func ApplyRestorePodMetadata(labels map[string]string, annotations map[string]string, checkpointInfo *CheckpointInfo) {
-	delete(labels, commonconsts.KubeLabelIsRestoreTarget)
-	delete(labels, commonconsts.KubeLabelCheckpointHash)
-	delete(annotations, commonconsts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointLocation)
-	delete(annotations, commonconsts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointStorageType)
-
-	if checkpointInfo == nil || !checkpointInfo.Enabled || !checkpointInfo.Ready {
-		return
-	}
-
-	labels[commonconsts.KubeLabelIsRestoreTarget] = commonconsts.KubeLabelValueTrue
-	if checkpointInfo.Hash != "" {
-		labels[commonconsts.KubeLabelCheckpointHash] = checkpointInfo.Hash
-	}
-	if checkpointInfo.Location != "" {
-		annotations[commonconsts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointLocation] = checkpointInfo.Location
-	}
-	if checkpointInfo.StorageType != "" {
-		annotations[commonconsts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointStorageType] = string(checkpointInfo.StorageType)
-	}
-}
-
-func InjectCheckpointVolume(podSpec *corev1.PodSpec, pvcName string) {
-	for _, volume := range podSpec.Volumes {
-		if volume.Name == commonconsts.CheckpointVolumeName {
-			return
-		}
-	}
-
-	podSpec.Volumes = append(podSpec.Volumes, corev1.Volume{
-		Name: commonconsts.CheckpointVolumeName,
-		VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
-			PersistentVolumeClaim: &corev1.PersistentVolumeClaimVolumeSource{
-				ClaimName: pvcName,
-				ReadOnly:  false,
-			},
-		},
-	})
-}
-
-func InjectCheckpointVolumeMount(container *corev1.Container, basePath string) {
-	for _, mount := range container.VolumeMounts {
-		if mount.Name == commonconsts.CheckpointVolumeName {
-			return
-		}
-	}
-
-	container.VolumeMounts = append(container.VolumeMounts, corev1.VolumeMount{
-		Name:      commonconsts.CheckpointVolumeName,
-		MountPath: basePath,
-		ReadOnly:  false,
-	})
-}
-
-func InjectPodInfoVolume(podSpec *corev1.PodSpec) {
-	for _, volume := range podSpec.Volumes {
-		if volume.Name == commonconsts.PodInfoVolumeName {
-			return
-		}
-	}
-
-	podSpec.Volumes = append(podSpec.Volumes, corev1.Volume{
-		Name: commonconsts.PodInfoVolumeName,
-		VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
-			DownwardAPI: &corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeSource{
-				Items: []corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeFile{
-					{
-						Path: "pod_name",
-						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-							FieldPath: commonconsts.PodInfoFieldPodName,
-						},
-					},
-					{
-						Path: "pod_uid",
-						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-							FieldPath: commonconsts.PodInfoFieldPodUID,
-						},
-					},
-					{
-						Path: "pod_namespace",
-						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-							FieldPath: commonconsts.PodInfoFieldPodNamespace,
-						},
-					},
-					{
-						Path: commonconsts.PodInfoFileDynNamespace,
-						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-							FieldPath: "metadata.labels['" + commonconsts.KubeLabelDynamoNamespace + "']",
-						},
-					},
-					{
-						Path: commonconsts.PodInfoFileDynNamespaceWorkerSuffix,
-						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-							FieldPath: "metadata.labels['" + commonconsts.KubeLabelDynamoWorkerHash + "']",
-						},
-					},
-					{
-						Path: commonconsts.PodInfoFileDynComponent,
-						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-							FieldPath: "metadata.labels['" + commonconsts.KubeLabelDynamoComponentType + "']",
-						},
-					},
-					{
-						Path: commonconsts.PodInfoFileDynParentDGDName,
-						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-							FieldPath: "metadata.labels['" + commonconsts.KubeLabelDynamoGraphDeploymentName + "']",
-						},
-					},
-					{
-						Path: commonconsts.PodInfoFileDynParentDGDNamespace,
-						FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-							FieldPath: commonconsts.PodInfoFieldPodNamespace,
-						},
-					},
-				},
-			},
-		},
-	})
-}
-
-func InjectPodInfoVolumeMount(container *corev1.Container) {
-	for _, mount := range container.VolumeMounts {
-		if mount.Name == commonconsts.PodInfoVolumeName {
-			return
-		}
-	}
-
-	container.VolumeMounts = append(container.VolumeMounts, corev1.VolumeMount{
-		Name:      commonconsts.PodInfoVolumeName,
-		MountPath: commonconsts.PodInfoMountPath,
-		ReadOnly:  true,
-	})
+	enabled := checkpointInfo != nil && checkpointInfo.Enabled && checkpointInfo.Ready
+	hash := ""
+	artifactVersion := ""
+	if enabled {
+		hash = checkpointInfo.Hash
+		artifactVersion = checkpointInfo.ArtifactVersion
+	}
+	snapshotprotocol.ApplyRestoreTargetMetadata(labels, annotations, enabled, hash, artifactVersion)
 }
 
 func InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(
+	ctx context.Context,
+	reader ctrlclient.Reader,
+	namespace string,
 	podSpec *corev1.PodSpec,
 	checkpointInfo *CheckpointInfo,
-	checkpointConfig *configv1alpha1.CheckpointConfiguration,
 ) error {
 	if checkpointInfo == nil || !checkpointInfo.Enabled {
 		return nil
@@ -207,6 +62,9 @@ func InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(
 		info.Hash = hash
 	}
 
+	if len(podSpec.Containers) == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("no container found to inject checkpoint config")
+	}
 	var mainContainer *corev1.Container
 	for i := range podSpec.Containers {
 		if podSpec.Containers[i].Name == commonconsts.MainContainerName {
@@ -214,83 +72,27 @@ func InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(
 			break
 		}
 	}
-	if mainContainer == nil && len(podSpec.Containers) > 0 {
-		mainContainer = &podSpec.Containers[0]
-	}
 	if mainContainer == nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("no container found to inject checkpoint config")
-	}
-
-	if info.Ready {
-		mainContainer.Command = []string{"sleep", "infinity"}
-		mainContainer.Args = nil
-	}
-
-	if podSpec.SecurityContext == nil {
-		podSpec.SecurityContext = &corev1.PodSecurityContext{}
-	}
-	podSpec.SecurityContext.SeccompProfile = &corev1.SeccompProfile{
-		Type:             corev1.SeccompProfileTypeLocalhost,
-		LocalhostProfile: ptr.To(commonconsts.SeccompProfilePath),
-	}
-
-	storageType := configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypePVC
-	var storageConfig *configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageConfiguration
-	if checkpointConfig != nil {
-		storageConfig = &checkpointConfig.Storage
-		if storageConfig.Type != "" {
-			storageType = storageConfig.Type
-		}
-	}
-	if err := injectCheckpointStorage(podSpec, mainContainer, info, storageType, storageConfig); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("main container not found in pod spec")
+	}
+	if reader == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("checkpoint client is required")
+	}
+	if err := snapshotprotocol.PrepareRestorePodSpecForCheckpoint(
+		ctx,
+		reader,
+		namespace,
+		podSpec,
+		mainContainer,
+		info.Hash,
+		info.ArtifactVersion,
+		commonconsts.SeccompProfilePath,
+		info.Ready,
+	); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	InjectPodInfoVolume(podSpec)
-	InjectPodInfoVolumeMount(mainContainer)
+	EnsurePodInfoVolume(podSpec)
+	EnsurePodInfoMount(mainContainer)
 	return nil
 }
-
-func injectCheckpointStorage(
-	podSpec *corev1.PodSpec,
-	mainContainer *corev1.Container,
-	info *CheckpointInfo,
-	storageType string,
-	storageConfig *configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageConfiguration,
-) error {
-	if info.StorageType == "" {
-		info.StorageType = nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStorageType(storageType)
-	}
-
-	switch storageType {
-	case configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypeS3:
-		if storageConfig == nil || storageConfig.S3.URI == "" {
-			return fmt.Errorf("S3 storage type selected but no S3 URI configured (set checkpoint.storage.s3.uri)")
-		}
-		if info.Location == "" {
-			info.Location = fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s.tar", storageConfig.S3.URI, info.Hash)
-		}
-		return nil
-	case configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypeOCI:
-		if storageConfig == nil || storageConfig.OCI.URI == "" {
-			return fmt.Errorf("OCI storage type selected but no OCI URI configured (set checkpoint.storage.oci.uri)")
-		}
-		if info.Location == "" {
-			info.Location = fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", storageConfig.OCI.URI, info.Hash)
-		}
-		return nil
-	default:
-		if storageConfig == nil || storageConfig.PVC.PVCName == "" {
-			return fmt.Errorf("PVC storage type selected but no PVC name configured (set checkpoint.storage.pvc.pvcName)")
-		}
-		if storageConfig.PVC.BasePath == "" {
-			return fmt.Errorf("PVC storage type selected but no PVC base path configured (set checkpoint.storage.pvc.basePath)")
-		}
-		if info.Location == "" {
-			info.Location = fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", storageConfig.PVC.BasePath, info.Hash)
-		}
-		InjectCheckpointVolume(podSpec, storageConfig.PVC.PVCName)
-		InjectCheckpointVolumeMount(mainContainer, storageConfig.PVC.BasePath)
-		return nil
-	}
-}

deploy/operator/internal/checkpoint/resolve.go

@@ -20,11 +20,9 @@ package checkpoint
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
-	"strings"
 
-	configv1alpha1 "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/config/v1alpha1"
 	nvidiacomv1alpha1 "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/v1alpha1"
-	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/consts"
+	snapshotprotocol "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/snapshot/protocol"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 )
@@ -34,8 +32,7 @@ type CheckpointInfo struct {
 	Exists          bool
 	Identity        *nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointIdentity
 	Hash            string
-	Location       string
-	StorageType    nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStorageType
+	ArtifactVersion string
 	CheckpointName  string
 	Ready           bool
 }
@@ -51,13 +48,19 @@ func checkpointInfoFromObject(ckpt *nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint) (*Checkp
 		Exists:          true,
 		Identity:        &ckpt.Spec.Identity,
 		Hash:            hash,
-		Location:       ckpt.Status.Location,
-		StorageType:    ckpt.Status.StorageType,
+		ArtifactVersion: checkpointArtifactVersion(ckpt),
 		CheckpointName:  ckpt.Name,
 		Ready:           ckpt.Status.Phase == nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseReady,
 	}, nil
 }
 
+func checkpointArtifactVersion(ckpt *nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint) string {
+	if ckpt == nil {
+		return snapshotprotocol.DefaultCheckpointArtifactVersion
+	}
+	return snapshotprotocol.ArtifactVersion(ckpt.Annotations[snapshotprotocol.CheckpointArtifactVersionAnnotation])
+}
+
 func ResolveCheckpointForService(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	c client.Client,
@@ -105,37 +108,3 @@ func ResolveCheckpointForService(
 	info.Identity = config.Identity
 	return info, nil
 }
-
-func ResolveCheckpointStorage(
-	hash string,
-	version string,
-	config *configv1alpha1.CheckpointConfiguration,
-) (string, nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStorageType, error) {
-	version = strings.TrimSpace(version)
-	if version == "" {
-		version = consts.DefaultCheckpointArtifactVersion
-	}
-
-	storageType := configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypePVC
-	if config != nil && config.Storage.Type != "" {
-		storageType = config.Storage.Type
-	}
-
-	switch storageType {
-	case configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypeS3:
-		if config == nil || config.Storage.S3.URI == "" {
-			return "", "", fmt.Errorf("S3 storage type selected but no S3 URI configured (set checkpoint.storage.s3.uri)")
-		}
-		return fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s/versions/%s.tar", config.Storage.S3.URI, hash, version), nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStorageType(storageType), nil
-	case configv1alpha1.CheckpointStorageTypeOCI:
-		if config == nil || config.Storage.OCI.URI == "" {
-			return "", "", fmt.Errorf("OCI storage type selected but no OCI URI configured (set checkpoint.storage.oci.uri)")
-		}
-		return fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s-%s", config.Storage.OCI.URI, hash, version), nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStorageType(storageType), nil
-	default:
-		if config == nil || config.Storage.PVC.BasePath == "" {
-			return "", "", fmt.Errorf("PVC storage type selected but no PVC base path configured (set checkpoint.storage.pvc.basePath)")
-		}
-		return fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s/versions/%s", config.Storage.PVC.BasePath, hash, version), nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStorageType(storageType), nil
-	}
-}

deploy/operator/internal/checkpoint/resource.go

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 
 	nvidiacomv1alpha1 "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/v1alpha1"
 	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/consts"
+	snapshotprotocol "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/snapshot/protocol"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	apierrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
@@ -55,7 +56,7 @@ func FindCheckpointByIdentityHash(
 		ctx,
 		checkpoints,
 		client.InNamespace(namespace),
-		client.MatchingLabels{consts.KubeLabelCheckpointHash: hash},
+		client.MatchingLabels{consts.KubeLabelCheckpointID: hash},
 	); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to list checkpoints by hash label: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -118,10 +119,10 @@ func CreateOrGetAutoCheckpoint(
 			Name:      fmt.Sprintf("checkpoint-%s", hash),
 			Namespace: namespace,
 			Labels: map[string]string{
-				consts.KubeLabelCheckpointHash: hash,
+				consts.KubeLabelCheckpointID: hash,
 			},
 			Annotations: map[string]string{
-				consts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointArtifactVersion: consts.DefaultCheckpointArtifactVersion,
+				snapshotprotocol.CheckpointArtifactVersionAnnotation: snapshotprotocol.DefaultCheckpointArtifactVersion,
 			},
 		},
 		Spec: nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointSpec{

deploy/operator/internal/checkpointjob/job.go

+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+package checkpointjob
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+
+	configv1alpha1 "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/config/v1alpha1"
+	nvidiacomv1alpha1 "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/v1alpha1"
+	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/checkpoint"
+	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/consts"
+	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/dynamo"
+	snapshotprotocol "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/snapshot/protocol"
+	batchv1 "k8s.io/api/batch/v1"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource"
+)
+
+func DesiredCheckpointJobName(identityHash string, annotations map[string]string) string {
+	return "checkpoint-job-" + identityHash + "-" + snapshotprotocol.ArtifactVersion(annotations[snapshotprotocol.CheckpointArtifactVersionAnnotation])
+}
+
+func buildCheckpointWorkerDefaultEnv(
+	ckpt *nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint,
+	podTemplate *corev1.PodTemplateSpec,
+) []corev1.EnvVar {
+	componentType := consts.ComponentTypeWorker
+	dynamoNamespace := consts.GlobalDynamoNamespace
+	parentGraphDeploymentName := podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoGraphDeploymentName]
+	workerHashSuffix := podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoWorkerHash]
+	discoveryBackend := configv1alpha1.DiscoveryBackendKubernetes
+
+	if podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoNamespace] != "" {
+		dynamoNamespace = podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoNamespace]
+	}
+	if podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoComponentType] != "" &&
+		dynamo.IsWorkerComponent(podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoComponentType]) {
+		componentType = podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoComponentType]
+	}
+
+	defaultContainer, _ := dynamo.NewWorkerDefaults().GetBaseContainer(dynamo.ComponentContext{
+		ComponentType:                  componentType,
+		DynamoNamespace:                dynamoNamespace,
+		ParentGraphDeploymentName:      parentGraphDeploymentName,
+		ParentGraphDeploymentNamespace: ckpt.Namespace,
+		DiscoveryBackend:               discoveryBackend,
+		WorkerHashSuffix:               workerHashSuffix,
+	})
+	return defaultContainer.Env
+}
+
+func BuildCheckpointJob(
+	config *configv1alpha1.OperatorConfiguration,
+	ckpt *nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint,
+	jobName string,
+) (*batchv1.Job, error) {
+	podTemplate := ckpt.Spec.Job.PodTemplateSpec.DeepCopy()
+	hash := ckpt.Status.IdentityHash
+	if hash == "" {
+		var err error
+		hash, err = checkpoint.ComputeIdentityHash(ckpt.Spec.Identity)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to compute identity hash: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if podTemplate.Labels == nil {
+		podTemplate.Labels = make(map[string]string)
+	}
+	if podTemplate.Annotations == nil {
+		podTemplate.Annotations = make(map[string]string)
+	}
+
+	checkpoint.EnsurePodInfoVolume(&podTemplate.Spec)
+
+	if len(podTemplate.Spec.Containers) > 0 {
+		mainContainer := &podTemplate.Spec.Containers[0]
+		mainContainer.Env = dynamo.MergeEnvs(
+			buildCheckpointWorkerDefaultEnv(ckpt, podTemplate),
+			mainContainer.Env,
+		)
+		dynamo.AddStandardEnvVars(mainContainer, config)
+		mainContainer.Env = append(mainContainer.Env, corev1.EnvVar{
+			Name:  consts.EnvReadyForCheckpointFile,
+			Value: config.Checkpoint.ReadyForCheckpointFilePath,
+		})
+		mainContainer.ReadinessProbe = &corev1.Probe{
+			ProbeHandler: corev1.ProbeHandler{
+				Exec: &corev1.ExecAction{
+					Command: []string{"cat", config.Checkpoint.ReadyForCheckpointFilePath},
+				},
+			},
+			InitialDelaySeconds: 15,
+			PeriodSeconds:       2,
+		}
+		mainContainer.LivenessProbe = nil
+		mainContainer.StartupProbe = nil
+		checkpoint.EnsurePodInfoMount(mainContainer)
+		dynamo.ApplySharedMemoryVolumeAndMount(&podTemplate.Spec, mainContainer, ckpt.Spec.Job.SharedMemory)
+	}
+
+	activeDeadlineSeconds := ckpt.Spec.Job.ActiveDeadlineSeconds
+	if activeDeadlineSeconds == nil {
+		defaultDeadline := int64(3600)
+		activeDeadlineSeconds = &defaultDeadline
+	}
+
+	wrapLaunchJob := false
+	if len(podTemplate.Spec.Containers) != 0 {
+		if gpus, ok := podTemplate.Spec.Containers[0].Resources.Limits[corev1.ResourceName(consts.KubeResourceGPUNvidia)]; ok {
+			wrapLaunchJob = gpus.Cmp(*resource.NewQuantity(1, resource.DecimalSI)) > 0
+		}
+	}
+	ttlSecondsAfterFinish := snapshotprotocol.DefaultCheckpointJobTTLSeconds
+
+	return snapshotprotocol.NewCheckpointJob(podTemplate, snapshotprotocol.CheckpointJobOptions{
+		Namespace:             ckpt.Namespace,
+		CheckpointID:          hash,
+		ArtifactVersion:       snapshotprotocol.ArtifactVersion(ckpt.Annotations[snapshotprotocol.CheckpointArtifactVersionAnnotation]),
+		SeccompProfile:        consts.SeccompProfilePath,
+		Name:                  jobName,
+		ActiveDeadlineSeconds: activeDeadlineSeconds,
+		TTLSecondsAfterFinish: &ttlSecondsAfterFinish,
+		WrapLaunchJob:         wrapLaunchJob,
+	})
+}

deploy/operator/internal/checkpointjob/job_test.go

+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+package checkpointjob
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	snapshotprotocol "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/snapshot/protocol"
+)
+
+func TestDesiredCheckpointJobName(t *testing.T) {
+	name := DesiredCheckpointJobName("abc123def4567890", map[string]string{
+		snapshotprotocol.CheckpointArtifactVersionAnnotation: "2",
+	})
+	if name != "checkpoint-job-abc123def4567890-2" {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected checkpoint job name: %s", name)
+	}
+
+	defaultName := DesiredCheckpointJobName("abc123def4567890", nil)
+	if defaultName != "checkpoint-job-abc123def4567890-"+snapshotprotocol.DefaultCheckpointArtifactVersion {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected default checkpoint job name: %s", defaultName)
+	}
+}

deploy/operator/internal/checkpointjob/observation.go

+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+package checkpointjob
+
+import (
+	snapshotprotocol "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/snapshot/protocol"
+	batchv1 "k8s.io/api/batch/v1"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+)
+
+type ObservationPhase string
+
+const (
+	ObservationPhaseRunning                ObservationPhase = "running"
+	ObservationPhaseWaitingForConfirmation ObservationPhase = "waiting_for_confirmation"
+	ObservationPhaseReady                  ObservationPhase = "ready"
+	ObservationPhaseFailed                 ObservationPhase = "failed"
+)
+
+type Observation struct {
+	Phase   ObservationPhase
+	Reason  string
+	Message string
+}
+
+func Observe(job *batchv1.Job, checkpointWorkerActive bool) Observation {
+	jobComplete := false
+	jobFailed := false
+	for _, condition := range job.Status.Conditions {
+		if condition.Status != corev1.ConditionTrue {
+			continue
+		}
+		if condition.Type == batchv1.JobComplete {
+			jobComplete = true
+			continue
+		}
+		if condition.Type == batchv1.JobFailed {
+			jobFailed = true
+		}
+	}
+
+	status := job.Annotations[snapshotprotocol.CheckpointStatusAnnotation]
+	if status == snapshotprotocol.CheckpointStatusFailed {
+		observation := Observation{
+			Phase:   ObservationPhaseFailed,
+			Reason:  "JobFailed",
+			Message: "Checkpoint job failed",
+		}
+		if jobComplete {
+			observation.Reason = "CheckpointVerificationFailed"
+			observation.Message = "Checkpoint job completed but snapshot-agent reported checkpoint failure"
+		}
+		return observation
+	}
+
+	if jobComplete {
+		if status == snapshotprotocol.CheckpointStatusCompleted {
+			return Observation{
+				Phase:   ObservationPhaseReady,
+				Reason:  "JobSucceeded",
+				Message: "Checkpoint job completed successfully",
+			}
+		}
+		if checkpointWorkerActive {
+			return Observation{Phase: ObservationPhaseWaitingForConfirmation}
+		}
+		return Observation{
+			Phase:   ObservationPhaseFailed,
+			Reason:  "CheckpointVerificationFailed",
+			Message: "Checkpoint job completed without snapshot-agent completion confirmation",
+		}
+	}
+
+	if jobFailed {
+		return Observation{
+			Phase:   ObservationPhaseFailed,
+			Reason:  "JobFailed",
+			Message: "Checkpoint job failed",
+		}
+	}
+
+	return Observation{Phase: ObservationPhaseRunning}
+}

deploy/operator/internal/checkpointjob/observation_test.go

+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+package checkpointjob
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	snapshotprotocol "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/snapshot/protocol"
+	batchv1 "k8s.io/api/batch/v1"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+)
+
+func TestObserve(t *testing.T) {
+	makeJob := func(annotation string, conditions ...batchv1.JobCondition) *batchv1.Job {
+		job := &batchv1.Job{
+			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+				Annotations: map[string]string{},
+			},
+			Status: batchv1.JobStatus{
+				Conditions: conditions,
+			},
+		}
+		if annotation != "" {
+			job.Annotations[snapshotprotocol.CheckpointStatusAnnotation] = annotation
+		}
+		return job
+	}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name                   string
+		job                    *batchv1.Job
+		checkpointWorkerActive bool
+		wantPhase              ObservationPhase
+		wantReason             string
+		wantMessage            string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:      "running job stays running",
+			job:       makeJob(""),
+			wantPhase: ObservationPhaseRunning,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "completed job with completion annotation is ready",
+			job: makeJob(
+				snapshotprotocol.CheckpointStatusCompleted,
+				batchv1.JobCondition{Type: batchv1.JobComplete, Status: corev1.ConditionTrue},
+			),
+			wantPhase:   ObservationPhaseReady,
+			wantReason:  "JobSucceeded",
+			wantMessage: "Checkpoint job completed successfully",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "completed job waits for terminal confirmation while worker is active",
+			job: makeJob(
+				"",
+				batchv1.JobCondition{Type: batchv1.JobComplete, Status: corev1.ConditionTrue},
+			),
+			checkpointWorkerActive: true,
+			wantPhase:              ObservationPhaseWaitingForConfirmation,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "completed job fails without confirmation once worker is inactive",
+			job: makeJob(
+				"",
+				batchv1.JobCondition{Type: batchv1.JobComplete, Status: corev1.ConditionTrue},
+			),
+			wantPhase:   ObservationPhaseFailed,
+			wantReason:  "CheckpointVerificationFailed",
+			wantMessage: "Checkpoint job completed without snapshot-agent completion confirmation",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "failed checkpoint annotation wins over completed job",
+			job: makeJob(
+				snapshotprotocol.CheckpointStatusFailed,
+				batchv1.JobCondition{Type: batchv1.JobComplete, Status: corev1.ConditionTrue},
+			),
+			checkpointWorkerActive: true,
+			wantPhase:              ObservationPhaseFailed,
+			wantReason:             "CheckpointVerificationFailed",
+			wantMessage:            "Checkpoint job completed but snapshot-agent reported checkpoint failure",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			observation := Observe(tc.job, tc.checkpointWorkerActive)
+			if observation.Phase != tc.wantPhase {
+				t.Fatalf("phase = %q, want %q", observation.Phase, tc.wantPhase)
+			}
+			if observation.Reason != tc.wantReason {
+				t.Fatalf("reason = %q, want %q", observation.Reason, tc.wantReason)
+			}
+			if observation.Message != tc.wantMessage {
+				t.Fatalf("message = %q, want %q", observation.Message, tc.wantMessage)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}

deploy/operator/internal/consts/consts.go

@@ -140,17 +140,16 @@ const (
 	ResourceStateUnknown  = "unknown"
 
 	// Checkpoint/restore constants
-	// CROSS-REFERENCE: Some constants below are duplicated in the snapshot package at
-	// deploy/snapshot/pkg/config/constants.go. If you change a value here, update there too.
+	// CROSS-REFERENCE: Some constants below are duplicated in deploy/snapshot/protocol.
+	// If you change a value here, update there too.
 
 	// Kubernetes labels
 	KubeLabelIsCheckpointSource             = "nvidia.com/snapshot-is-checkpoint-source" // Pod label that triggers DaemonSet auto-checkpoint
-	KubeLabelCheckpointHash                 = "nvidia.com/snapshot-checkpoint-hash"      // Checkpoint identity hash used for lookup/reuse (may differ from DynamoCheckpoint metadata.name)
+	KubeLabelCheckpointID                   = "nvidia.com/snapshot-checkpoint-id"        // Checkpoint identity label; the operator stores the resolved identity hash as the value
 	KubeLabelIsRestoreTarget                = "nvidia.com/snapshot-is-restore-target"    // Pod label that triggers DaemonSet auto-restore
 	KubeAnnotationCheckpointArtifactVersion = "nvidia.com/snapshot-artifact-version"     // Checkpoint artifact generation; changing it triggers a new immutable capture attempt
 	DefaultCheckpointArtifactVersion        = "1"
-	KubeAnnotationCheckpointLocation        = "nvidia.com/snapshot-checkpoint-location"     // Pod annotation that tells snapshot-agent where the checkpoint lives
-	KubeAnnotationCheckpointStorageType     = "nvidia.com/snapshot-checkpoint-storage-type" // Pod annotation that tells snapshot-agent which storage backend owns the checkpoint
+	DefaultCheckpointJobTTLSeconds          = int32(300)
 
 	// Environment variables injected into pods
 	EnvReadyForCheckpointFile = "DYN_READY_FOR_CHECKPOINT_FILE" // Ready-for-checkpoint file path — checkpoint job pods

deploy/operator/internal/controller/dynamocheckpoint_controller.go

@@ -20,19 +20,15 @@ package controller
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
-	"strings"
 	"time"
 
-	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/dynamo"
 	batchv1 "k8s.io/api/batch/v1"
 	coordinationv1 "k8s.io/api/coordination/v1"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	apierrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/record"
-	"k8s.io/utils/ptr"
 	ctrl "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/builder"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
@@ -43,16 +39,11 @@ import (
 	configv1alpha1 "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/config/v1alpha1"
 	nvidiacomv1alpha1 "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/v1alpha1"
 	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/checkpoint"
+	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/checkpointjob"
 	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/consts"
 	commonController "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/controller_common"
 )
 
-const (
-	checkpointStatusAnnotation = "nvidia.com/snapshot-checkpoint-status"
-	checkpointStatusCompleted  = "completed"
-	checkpointStatusFailed     = "failed"
-)
-
 // CheckpointReconciler reconciles a DynamoCheckpoint object
 type CheckpointReconciler struct {
 	client.Client
@@ -66,37 +57,6 @@ func (r *CheckpointReconciler) GetRecorder() record.EventRecorder {
 	return r.Recorder
 }
 
-func checkpointLeaseExpired(lease *coordinationv1.Lease, now time.Time) bool {
-	if lease.Spec.LeaseDurationSeconds == nil {
-		return true
-	}
-	leaseTime := lease.Spec.RenewTime
-	if leaseTime == nil {
-		leaseTime = lease.Spec.AcquireTime
-	}
-	if leaseTime == nil {
-		return true
-	}
-	return now.After(leaseTime.Time.Add(time.Duration(*lease.Spec.LeaseDurationSeconds) * time.Second))
-}
-
-func desiredArtifactVersion(ckpt *nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint) string {
-	version := consts.DefaultCheckpointArtifactVersion
-	if ckpt.Annotations == nil {
-		return version
-	}
-
-	annotatedVersion := strings.TrimSpace(ckpt.Annotations[consts.KubeAnnotationCheckpointArtifactVersion])
-	if annotatedVersion != "" {
-		version = annotatedVersion
-	}
-	return version
-}
-
-func desiredCheckpointJobName(ckpt *nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint, identityHash string) string {
-	return "checkpoint-job-" + identityHash + "-" + desiredArtifactVersion(ckpt)
-}
-
 // +kubebuilder:rbac:groups=nvidia.com,resources=dynamocheckpoints,verbs=get;list;watch;create;update;patch;delete
 // +kubebuilder:rbac:groups=nvidia.com,resources=dynamocheckpoints/status,verbs=get;update;patch
 // +kubebuilder:rbac:groups=nvidia.com,resources=dynamocheckpoints/finalizers,verbs=update
@@ -126,8 +86,8 @@ func (r *CheckpointReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request)
 	if ckpt.Labels == nil {
 		ckpt.Labels = map[string]string{}
 	}
-	if ckpt.Labels[consts.KubeLabelCheckpointHash] != identityHash {
-		ckpt.Labels[consts.KubeLabelCheckpointHash] = identityHash
+	if ckpt.Labels[consts.KubeLabelCheckpointID] != identityHash {
+		ckpt.Labels[consts.KubeLabelCheckpointID] = identityHash
 		if err := r.Update(ctx, ckpt); err != nil {
 			return ctrl.Result{}, err
 		}
@@ -157,7 +117,7 @@ func (r *CheckpointReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request)
 		}
 		return ctrl.Result{}, nil
 	}
-	desiredJobName := desiredCheckpointJobName(ckpt, identityHash)
+	desiredJobName := checkpointjob.DesiredCheckpointJobName(identityHash, ckpt.Annotations)
 	switch ckpt.Status.Phase {
 	case "", nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhasePending, nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseCreating, nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseReady, nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseFailed:
 	default:
@@ -221,17 +181,12 @@ func (r *CheckpointReconciler) handlePending(ctx context.Context, ckpt *nvidiaco
 			return ctrl.Result{}, fmt.Errorf("failed to compute checkpoint identity hash: %w", err)
 		}
 	}
-	version := desiredArtifactVersion(ckpt)
-	jobName := desiredCheckpointJobName(ckpt, hash)
-	location, storageType, err := checkpoint.ResolveCheckpointStorage(hash, version, &r.Config.Checkpoint)
-	if err != nil {
-		return ctrl.Result{}, err
-	}
+	jobName := checkpointjob.DesiredCheckpointJobName(hash, ckpt.Annotations)
 
 	// Use SyncResource to create/update the checkpoint Job
 	modified, _, err := commonController.SyncResource(ctx, r, ckpt, func(ctx context.Context) (*batchv1.Job, bool, error) {
-		job := r.buildCheckpointJob(ckpt, jobName)
-		return job, false, nil
+		job, err := checkpointjob.BuildCheckpointJob(r.Config, ckpt, jobName)
+		return job, false, err
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		logger.Error(err, "Failed to sync checkpoint Job")
@@ -245,8 +200,6 @@ func (r *CheckpointReconciler) handlePending(ctx context.Context, ckpt *nvidiaco
 	// Update status to Creating phase
 	ckpt.Status.Phase = nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseCreating
 	ckpt.Status.JobName = jobName
-	ckpt.Status.Location = location
-	ckpt.Status.StorageType = storageType
 	ckpt.Status.CreatedAt = nil
 	ckpt.Status.Message = ""
 	meta.SetStatusCondition(&ckpt.Status.Conditions, metav1.Condition{
@@ -298,103 +251,39 @@ func (r *CheckpointReconciler) handleCreating(ctx context.Context, ckpt *nvidiac
 		return ctrl.Result{}, err
 	}
 
-	jobComplete := false
-	jobFailed := false
-	for _, condition := range job.Status.Conditions {
-		if condition.Status != corev1.ConditionTrue {
-			continue
-		}
-		if condition.Type == batchv1.JobComplete {
-			jobComplete = true
-			continue
-		}
-		if condition.Type == batchv1.JobFailed {
-			jobFailed = true
-		}
-	}
-
-	status := job.Annotations[checkpointStatusAnnotation]
-	if status == checkpointStatusFailed {
-		reason := "JobFailed"
-		message := "Checkpoint job failed"
-		if jobComplete {
-			reason = "CheckpointVerificationFailed"
-			message = "Checkpoint job completed but snapshot-agent reported checkpoint failure"
-		}
-
-		logger.Info("Checkpoint Job failed", "job", job.Name, "checkpoint_status", status)
-		r.Recorder.Event(ckpt, corev1.EventTypeWarning, "CheckpointFailed", message)
-
-		ckpt.Status.Phase = nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseFailed
-		ckpt.Status.Message = message
-		meta.SetStatusCondition(&ckpt.Status.Conditions, metav1.Condition{
-			Type:               string(nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointConditionJobCompleted),
-			Status:             metav1.ConditionFalse,
-			Reason:             reason,
-			Message:            message,
-			LastTransitionTime: metav1.Now(),
-		})
-
-		if err := r.Status().Update(ctx, ckpt); err != nil {
-			return ctrl.Result{}, err
-		}
-		return ctrl.Result{}, nil
-	}
-
-	if jobComplete {
-		if status != checkpointStatusCompleted {
-			lease := &coordinationv1.Lease{}
+	var lease *coordinationv1.Lease
 	leaseKey := client.ObjectKey{Namespace: job.Namespace, Name: job.Name}
+	lease = &coordinationv1.Lease{}
 	if err := r.Get(ctx, leaseKey, lease); err != nil {
 		if !apierrors.IsNotFound(err) {
 			return ctrl.Result{}, err
 		}
-			} else if !checkpointLeaseExpired(lease, time.Now()) {
-				logger.V(1).Info("Checkpoint job is complete but checkpoint lease is still active; waiting for terminal watcher status", "job", job.Name)
-				return ctrl.Result{RequeueAfter: time.Second}, nil
+		lease = nil
 	}
 
-			reason := "CheckpointVerificationFailed"
-			message := "Checkpoint job completed without snapshot-agent completion confirmation"
-			if status == checkpointStatusFailed {
-				message = "Checkpoint job completed but snapshot-agent reported checkpoint failure"
+	now := time.Now()
+	checkpointWorkerActive := false
+	if lease != nil && lease.Spec.LeaseDurationSeconds != nil {
+		// The snapshot-agent owns and renews this lease while it is still finalizing
+		// checkpoint state. A Job can complete before the agent writes the terminal
+		// checkpoint annotation, so we keep requeuing until the lease is no longer active.
+		lastRenewal := lease.Spec.RenewTime
+		if lastRenewal == nil {
+			lastRenewal = lease.Spec.AcquireTime
 		}
-
-			logger.Info("Checkpoint Job completed without usable artifact", "job", job.Name, "checkpoint_status", status)
-			r.Recorder.Event(ckpt, corev1.EventTypeWarning, "CheckpointFailed", message)
-
-			ckpt.Status.Phase = nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseFailed
-			ckpt.Status.Message = message
-			meta.SetStatusCondition(&ckpt.Status.Conditions, metav1.Condition{
-				Type:               string(nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointConditionJobCompleted),
-				Status:             metav1.ConditionFalse,
-				Reason:             reason,
-				Message:            message,
-				LastTransitionTime: metav1.Now(),
-			})
-
-			if err := r.Status().Update(ctx, ckpt); err != nil {
-				return ctrl.Result{}, err
+		if lastRenewal != nil {
+			checkpointWorkerActive = !now.After(lastRenewal.Time.Add(time.Duration(*lease.Spec.LeaseDurationSeconds) * time.Second))
 		}
-			return ctrl.Result{}, nil
 	}
 
+	observation := checkpointjob.Observe(job, checkpointWorkerActive)
+	switch observation.Phase {
+	case checkpointjob.ObservationPhaseWaitingForConfirmation:
+		logger.V(1).Info("Checkpoint job is complete but checkpoint worker is still active; waiting for terminal watcher status", "job", job.Name)
+		return ctrl.Result{RequeueAfter: time.Second}, nil
+	case checkpointjob.ObservationPhaseReady:
 		logger.Info("Checkpoint Job succeeded", "job", job.Name)
-		r.Recorder.Event(ckpt, corev1.EventTypeNormal, "CheckpointReady", "Checkpoint creation completed successfully")
-
-		if ckpt.Status.Location == "" || ckpt.Status.StorageType == "" {
-			version := desiredArtifactVersion(ckpt)
-			location, storageType, err := checkpoint.ResolveCheckpointStorage(
-				ckpt.Status.IdentityHash,
-				version,
-				&r.Config.Checkpoint,
-			)
-			if err != nil {
-				return ctrl.Result{}, err
-			}
-			ckpt.Status.Location = location
-			ckpt.Status.StorageType = storageType
-		}
+		r.Recorder.Event(ckpt, corev1.EventTypeNormal, "CheckpointReady", observation.Message)
 
 		now := metav1.Now()
 		ckpt.Status.Phase = nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseReady
@@ -403,275 +292,34 @@ func (r *CheckpointReconciler) handleCreating(ctx context.Context, ckpt *nvidiac
 		meta.SetStatusCondition(&ckpt.Status.Conditions, metav1.Condition{
 			Type:               string(nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointConditionJobCompleted),
 			Status:             metav1.ConditionTrue,
-			Reason:             "JobSucceeded",
-			Message:            fmt.Sprintf("Checkpoint job completed, available at %s", ckpt.Status.Location),
+			Reason:             observation.Reason,
+			Message:            observation.Message,
 			LastTransitionTime: metav1.Now(),
 		})
-
 		if err := r.Status().Update(ctx, ckpt); err != nil {
 			return ctrl.Result{}, err
 		}
 		return ctrl.Result{}, nil
-	}
-
-	if jobFailed {
-		logger.Info("Checkpoint Job failed", "job", job.Name)
-		r.Recorder.Event(ckpt, corev1.EventTypeWarning, "CheckpointFailed", "Checkpoint creation failed")
+	case checkpointjob.ObservationPhaseFailed:
+		logger.Info("Checkpoint Job failed", "job", job.Name, "message", observation.Message)
+		r.Recorder.Event(ckpt, corev1.EventTypeWarning, "CheckpointFailed", observation.Message)
 
 		ckpt.Status.Phase = nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseFailed
-		ckpt.Status.Message = "Checkpoint job failed"
+		ckpt.Status.Message = observation.Message
 		meta.SetStatusCondition(&ckpt.Status.Conditions, metav1.Condition{
 			Type:               string(nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointConditionJobCompleted),
 			Status:             metav1.ConditionFalse,
-			Reason:             "JobFailed",
-			Message:            "Checkpoint job failed",
+			Reason:             observation.Reason,
+			Message:            observation.Message,
 			LastTransitionTime: metav1.Now(),
 		})
-
 		if err := r.Status().Update(ctx, ckpt); err != nil {
 			return ctrl.Result{}, err
 		}
 		return ctrl.Result{}, nil
-	}
-
-	// Job is still running - we'll be notified via Update event when status changes
+	default:
 		return ctrl.Result{}, nil
-}
-
-func (r *CheckpointReconciler) buildCheckpointWorkerDefaultEnv(
-	ckpt *nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint,
-	podTemplate *corev1.PodTemplateSpec,
-) []corev1.EnvVar {
-	componentType := consts.ComponentTypeWorker
-	dynamoNamespace := consts.GlobalDynamoNamespace
-	parentGraphDeploymentName := podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoGraphDeploymentName]
-	workerHashSuffix := podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoWorkerHash]
-	discoveryBackend := configv1alpha1.DiscoveryBackendKubernetes
-
-	if podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoNamespace] != "" {
-		dynamoNamespace = podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoNamespace]
-	}
-	if podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoComponentType] != "" &&
-		dynamo.IsWorkerComponent(podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoComponentType]) {
-		componentType = podTemplate.Labels[consts.KubeLabelDynamoComponentType]
 	}
-
-	defaultContainer, _ := dynamo.NewWorkerDefaults().GetBaseContainer(dynamo.ComponentContext{
-		ComponentType:                  componentType,
-		DynamoNamespace:                dynamoNamespace,
-		ParentGraphDeploymentName:      parentGraphDeploymentName,
-		ParentGraphDeploymentNamespace: ckpt.Namespace,
-		DiscoveryBackend:               discoveryBackend,
-		WorkerHashSuffix:               workerHashSuffix,
-	})
-	return defaultContainer.Env
-}
-
-func (r *CheckpointReconciler) buildCheckpointJob(ckpt *nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint, jobName string) *batchv1.Job {
-	// Use the pod template from the spec
-	podTemplate := ckpt.Spec.Job.PodTemplateSpec.DeepCopy()
-	hash := ckpt.Status.IdentityHash
-	if hash == "" {
-		hash, _ = checkpoint.ComputeIdentityHash(ckpt.Spec.Identity)
-	}
-	version := desiredArtifactVersion(ckpt)
-
-	// Add checkpoint-related labels
-	if podTemplate.Labels == nil {
-		podTemplate.Labels = make(map[string]string)
-	}
-	if podTemplate.Annotations == nil {
-		podTemplate.Annotations = make(map[string]string)
-	}
-	location, storageType, err := checkpoint.ResolveCheckpointStorage(
-		hash,
-		version,
-		&r.Config.Checkpoint,
-	)
-	if err != nil {
-		location = ""
-		storageType = ""
-	}
-	checkpoint.ApplyCheckpointSourcePodMetadata(podTemplate.Labels, podTemplate.Annotations, hash, location, storageType)
-
-	hasPodInfoVolume := false
-	for _, volume := range podTemplate.Spec.Volumes {
-		if volume.Name == consts.PodInfoVolumeName {
-			hasPodInfoVolume = true
-			break
-		}
-	}
-	if !hasPodInfoVolume {
-		podTemplate.Spec.Volumes = append(podTemplate.Spec.Volumes, corev1.Volume{
-			Name: consts.PodInfoVolumeName,
-			VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
-				DownwardAPI: &corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeSource{
-					Items: []corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeFile{
-						{
-							Path: consts.PodInfoFileDynNamespace,
-							FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-								APIVersion: "v1",
-								FieldPath:  "metadata.labels['" + consts.KubeLabelDynamoNamespace + "']",
-							},
-						},
-						{
-							Path: consts.PodInfoFileDynNamespaceWorkerSuffix,
-							FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-								APIVersion: "v1",
-								FieldPath:  "metadata.labels['" + consts.KubeLabelDynamoWorkerHash + "']",
-							},
-						},
-						{
-							Path: consts.PodInfoFileDynComponent,
-							FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-								APIVersion: "v1",
-								FieldPath:  "metadata.labels['" + consts.KubeLabelDynamoComponentType + "']",
-							},
-						},
-						{
-							Path: consts.PodInfoFileDynParentDGDName,
-							FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-								APIVersion: "v1",
-								FieldPath:  "metadata.labels['" + consts.KubeLabelDynamoGraphDeploymentName + "']",
-							},
-						},
-						{
-							Path: consts.PodInfoFileDynParentDGDNamespace,
-							FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-								APIVersion: "v1",
-								FieldPath:  "metadata.namespace",
-							},
-						},
-						{
-							Path: "pod_name",
-							FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-								APIVersion: "v1",
-								FieldPath:  consts.PodInfoFieldPodName,
-							},
-						},
-						{
-							Path: "pod_uid",
-							FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-								APIVersion: "v1",
-								FieldPath:  consts.PodInfoFieldPodUID,
-							},
-						},
-						{
-							Path: "pod_namespace",
-							FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-								APIVersion: "v1",
-								FieldPath:  consts.PodInfoFieldPodNamespace,
-							},
-						},
-					},
-				},
-			},
-		})
-	}
-
-	// Configure the main container for checkpoint mode.
-	if len(podTemplate.Spec.Containers) > 0 {
-		mainContainer := &podTemplate.Spec.Containers[0]
-
-		// Manual checkpoints start from a raw pod template, so re-apply the worker
-		// runtime env defaults before layering checkpoint-specific env on top.
-		mainContainer.Env = dynamo.MergeEnvs(
-			r.buildCheckpointWorkerDefaultEnv(ckpt, podTemplate),
-			mainContainer.Env,
-		)
-		dynamo.AddStandardEnvVars(mainContainer, r.Config)
-
-		// Add the ready-for-checkpoint signal path.
-		mainContainer.Env = append(mainContainer.Env,
-			corev1.EnvVar{
-				Name:  consts.EnvReadyForCheckpointFile,
-				Value: r.Config.Checkpoint.ReadyForCheckpointFilePath,
-			},
-		)
-		if gpus, ok := mainContainer.Resources.Limits[corev1.ResourceName(consts.KubeResourceGPUNvidia)]; ok && gpus.Cmp(*resource.NewQuantity(1, resource.DecimalSI)) > 0 {
-			mainContainer.Command = append([]string{"cuda-checkpoint", "--launch-job"}, mainContainer.Command...)
-		}
-
-		// Override probes for checkpoint mode
-		// Checkpoint jobs need different probe behavior than regular worker pods:
-		// - Readiness: Wait for model to load before checkpoint
-		// - Liveness/Startup: Remove to prevent restarts during slow model loading
-		mainContainer.ReadinessProbe = &corev1.Probe{
-			ProbeHandler: corev1.ProbeHandler{
-				Exec: &corev1.ExecAction{
-					Command: []string{"cat", r.Config.Checkpoint.ReadyForCheckpointFilePath},
-				},
-			},
-			InitialDelaySeconds: 15,
-			PeriodSeconds:       2,
-		}
-		// Remove liveness probe - we don't want restarts during model loading
-		mainContainer.LivenessProbe = nil
-		// Remove startup probe - not needed for checkpoint jobs
-		mainContainer.StartupProbe = nil
-
-		hasPodInfoMount := false
-		for _, mount := range mainContainer.VolumeMounts {
-			if mount.Name == consts.PodInfoVolumeName {
-				hasPodInfoMount = true
-				break
-			}
-		}
-		if !hasPodInfoMount {
-			mainContainer.VolumeMounts = append(mainContainer.VolumeMounts, corev1.VolumeMount{
-				Name:      consts.PodInfoVolumeName,
-				MountPath: consts.PodInfoMountPath,
-				ReadOnly:  true,
-			})
-		}
-
-		dynamo.ApplySharedMemoryVolumeAndMount(&podTemplate.Spec, mainContainer, ckpt.Spec.Job.SharedMemory)
-	}
-
-	// Set restart policy to Never for Jobs
-	podTemplate.Spec.RestartPolicy = corev1.RestartPolicyNever
-
-	// Apply seccomp profile to block io_uring syscalls
-	// CRIU doesn't support io_uring memory mappings, so we must block these syscalls
-	if podTemplate.Spec.SecurityContext == nil {
-		podTemplate.Spec.SecurityContext = &corev1.PodSecurityContext{}
-	}
-	podTemplate.Spec.SecurityContext.SeccompProfile = &corev1.SeccompProfile{
-		Type:             corev1.SeccompProfileTypeLocalhost,
-		LocalhostProfile: ptr.To(consts.SeccompProfilePath),
-	}
-
-	// Build the Job
-	activeDeadlineSeconds := ckpt.Spec.Job.ActiveDeadlineSeconds
-	if activeDeadlineSeconds == nil {
-		defaultDeadline := int64(3600) // 1 hour
-		activeDeadlineSeconds = &defaultDeadline
-	}
-
-	ttlSeconds := ckpt.Spec.Job.TTLSecondsAfterFinished
-	if ttlSeconds == nil {
-		defaultTTL := int32(300) // 5 minutes
-		ttlSeconds = &defaultTTL
-	}
-
-	job := &batchv1.Job{
-		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-			Name:      jobName,
-			Namespace: ckpt.Namespace,
-			Labels: map[string]string{
-				consts.KubeLabelCheckpointHash: hash,
-			},
-		},
-		Spec: batchv1.JobSpec{
-			ActiveDeadlineSeconds: activeDeadlineSeconds,
-			// Checkpoint jobs are single-attempt to keep snapshot-agent status terminal.
-			BackoffLimit:            ptr.To[int32](0),
-			TTLSecondsAfterFinished: ttlSeconds,
-			Template:                *podTemplate,
-		},
-	}
-
-	return job
 }
 
 // SetupWithManager sets up the controller with the Manager.