feat: Standalone encoder in dynamo trtllm (#4668)

Signed-off-by: Indrajit Bhosale <iamindrajitb@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Krishnan Prashanth <kprashanth@nvidia.com>
Signed-off-by: KrishnanPrash <140860868+KrishnanPrash@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Krishnan Prashanth <kprashanth@nvidia.com>
Co-authored-by: KrishnanPrash <140860868+KrishnanPrash@users.noreply.github.com>

components/src/dynamo/trtllm/constants.py

+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+from enum import Enum
+
+
+class DisaggregationMode(Enum):
+    AGGREGATED = "prefill_and_decode"
+    PREFILL = "prefill"
+    DECODE = "decode"
+    ENCODE = "encode"

components/src/dynamo/trtllm/encode_helper.py

 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
+import asyncio
 import logging
-from typing import Any, Dict, Union
+from dataclasses import asdict
+from typing import Any, Dict, Optional, Union
 
 import torch
+from tensorrt_llm.inputs import default_multimodal_input_loader
 
 import dynamo.nixl_connect as nixl_connect
+from dynamo.trtllm.utils.disagg_utils import DisaggregatedParamsCodec
 
 
 class EncodeHelper:
@@ -184,68 +188,70 @@ class EncodeHelper:
             # Return just the tensor
             return encodings_tensor
 
+    # =========================================================================
+    # ENCODE REQUEST PROCESSING
+    # =========================================================================
+    #
+    # Two supported flows:
+    #
+    # 1. EMBEDDING-PATH FLOW (Pre-computed embeddings via NIXL)
+    #    - User sends URL ending in .pt/.pth/.bin
+    #    - Encode worker loads tensor, creates NIXL readable op
+    #    - Prefill worker reads embeddings via RDMA
+    #    - Use case: Customer has pre-computed embeddings from custom encoder
+    #
+    # 2. FULL EPD FLOW (Image URLs via MultimodalEncoder)
+    #    - User sends image URL (http/https/base64)
+    #    - Encode worker runs TRT-LLM's MultimodalEncoder.generate()
+    #    - Returns disaggregated_params to prefill worker
+    #    - Use case: Standard VLM inference with TRT-LLM's encoder
+    #
+    # =========================================================================
+
     @staticmethod
-    async def process_embedding_request(
-        request: Dict[str, Any],
+    async def _process_embedding_path_flow(
+        embedding_paths: list,
         multimodal_processor,
         connector: nixl_connect.Connector,
     ):
         """
-        Process embedding request by loading embeddings and creating NIXL readable operation.
+        Process pre-computed embeddings via NIXL transfer.
+
+        Loads embeddings from a file path/URL and creates a NIXL readable operation
+        for the prefill worker to read via RDMA.
 
         Args:
-            request: Request containing messages with embedding paths
-            multimodal_processor: Multimodal processor for loading embeddings
-            connector: NIXL connector for creating readable operations
+            embedding_paths: List of paths to embedding files (.pt/.pth/.bin)
+            multimodal_processor: Processor to load embeddings
+            connector: NIXL connector for RDMA transfer
 
         Yields:
-            Response dictionary with NIXL metadata and embeddings info, or error response
+            Response with NIXL metadata, shape, dtype, and auxiliary data
         """
-        # Load embeddings first to get the actual shape
-        # Extract messages from extra_args (set by Rust preprocessor for multimodal) or fall back to direct field
-        messages = request.get("extra_args", {}).get(
-            "messages", request.get("messages", [])
-        )
-        _, _, embedding_paths = multimodal_processor.extract_prompt_and_media(messages)
-
-        if not embedding_paths:
-            # Placeholder for TRTLLM Encoder to be called
-            # TRTLLM Encoder will return a memory handler on the encoder GPU with the encodings
-            logging.warning(
-                "No embedding paths found, NIXL transfer for image urls not supported by TRTLLM Encoder yet"
-            )
-            yield {"error": "No embedding paths found"}
-            return
-
-        # Load the embeddings data
+        logging.info(f"EncodeHelper: loading embeddings from {embedding_paths[0]}")
         loaded_data = multimodal_processor.load_tensor_from_path_or_url(
             embedding_paths[0]
         )
 
         # Handle both tensor and dictionary formats
         if isinstance(loaded_data, dict):
-            # Dictionary format (e.g., maverick_mm_embed_seashore_v3.pt)
+            # Dictionary format: contains 'mm_embeddings' key plus auxiliary data
             encodings = loaded_data.get("mm_embeddings")
             if encodings is None:
                 yield {"error": "Dictionary embeddings missing 'mm_embeddings' key"}
                 return
-
-            # Store auxiliary data for later transmission
             auxiliary_data = {
                 k: v for k, v in loaded_data.items() if k != "mm_embeddings"
             }
         else:
-            # Tensor format (e.g., llava_next_mm_embed_seashore.pt)
+            # Tensor format: raw embeddings tensor
             encodings = loaded_data
             auxiliary_data = {}
 
-        # Create readable operation with main embeddings tensor (works for both formats)
+        # Create NIXL readable operation for prefill worker to read
         descriptor = nixl_connect.Descriptor(encodings)
         with await connector.create_readable(descriptor) as readable_op:
-            # Get the metadata for the readable operation
             op_metadata = readable_op.metadata()
-
-            # Send back shape info, readable metadata, and serialized auxiliary data
             response = {
                 "nixl_readable_metadata": op_metadata.model_dump(),
                 "embeddings_shape": list(encodings.shape),
@@ -254,9 +260,180 @@ class EncodeHelper:
             }
             yield response
 
-            # Wait for the prefill worker to complete the read operation
+            # Wait for prefill worker to complete the read
             logging.debug(
                 "EncodeHelper waiting for PrefillHandler to read embeddings..."
             )
             await readable_op.wait_for_completion()
             logging.debug("EncodeHelper completed readable operation.")
+
+    @staticmethod
+    async def _process_full_epd_flow(
+        text_prompt: str,
+        image_urls: list,
+        tokenizer,
+        model_dir: str,
+        model_type: str,
+        engine,
+    ):
+        """
+        Process image URLs via TRT-LLM's MultimodalEncoder (full EPD flow).
+
+        Runs MultimodalEncoder.generate() to produce disaggregated_params
+        containing multimodal embedding handles for the prefill worker.
+
+        Args:
+            text_prompt: Text portion of the prompt
+            image_urls: List of image URLs to process
+            tokenizer: Tokenizer for encoding the processed prompt
+            model_dir: Path to model directory (required for AutoProcessor)
+            model_type: Model type string (required for placeholder retrieval)
+            engine: TensorRTLLMEngine with MultimodalEncoder
+
+        Yields:
+            Response with ep_disaggregated_params, processed_prompt, and prompt_token_ids
+        """
+        # NOTE: `default_multimodal_input_loader` requires `model_dir` to load the
+        # HuggingFace AutoProcessor (for chat template application) and as a fallback
+        # for tokenizer loading. `model_type` is needed to retrieve the correct
+        # multimodal placeholders and apply model-specific preprocessing.
+
+        # Pass tokenizer to reuse the pre-initialized tokenizer instead of
+        # creating a new one per request
+        inputs = default_multimodal_input_loader(
+            tokenizer=tokenizer,
+            model_dir=model_dir,
+            model_type=model_type,
+            modality="image",
+            prompts=[text_prompt],
+            media=image_urls[0],
+        )
+
+        # NOTE: MultimodalEncoder.generate() is synchronous. Run it off-thread to avoid
+        # blocking the encode worker's event loop under concurrency.
+        encoder_outputs = await asyncio.to_thread(
+            lambda: list(engine.llm.generate(inputs))
+        )
+
+        if not encoder_outputs:
+            logging.error("ENCODE WORKER: encoder_outputs is empty")
+            yield {"ep_disaggregated_params": None}
+            return
+
+        ep_disaggregated_params = encoder_outputs[0].disaggregated_params
+        if ep_disaggregated_params is None:
+            logging.error(
+                "ENCODE WORKER: encoder_outputs[0].disaggregated_params is None"
+            )
+            yield {"ep_disaggregated_params": None}
+            return
+
+        if ep_disaggregated_params.multimodal_embedding_handles is None:
+            logging.warning(
+                "ENCODE WORKER: ep_disaggregated_params.multimodal_embedding_handles is None"
+            )
+
+        # Prepare for network transfer
+        encoded_params = DisaggregatedParamsCodec.encode(ep_disaggregated_params)
+        params_dict = asdict(encoded_params)
+
+        # Extract processed prompt (includes <image> tokens) for prefill/decode consistency
+        processed_prompt = None
+        prompt_token_ids = None
+        if isinstance(inputs, list) and len(inputs) > 0:
+            first_input = inputs[0]
+            if isinstance(first_input, dict):
+                processed_prompt = first_input.get("prompt")
+            else:
+                processed_prompt = getattr(first_input, "prompt", None)
+
+            # Tokenize the processed prompt for prefill worker
+            if processed_prompt and tokenizer is not None:
+                # NOTE: processed_prompt already contains template/placeholder tokens
+                # (e.g. <image>, [INST], etc.). Adding special tokens here can change
+                # token alignment across EPD stages (prefill/decode), so we explicitly
+                # avoid adding them.
+                prompt_token_ids = tokenizer.encode(
+                    processed_prompt, add_special_tokens=False
+                )
+
+        logging.debug(
+            "ENCODE WORKER: Extracted processed_prompt (len=%s)",
+            len(processed_prompt) if processed_prompt is not None else None,
+        )
+
+        yield {
+            "ep_disaggregated_params": params_dict,
+            "processed_prompt": processed_prompt,
+            "prompt_token_ids": prompt_token_ids,
+        }
+
+    @staticmethod
+    async def process_encode_request(
+        request: Dict[str, Any],
+        multimodal_processor,
+        connector: Optional[nixl_connect.Connector],
+        tokenizer=None,
+        model_dir=None,
+        model_type=None,
+        engine=None,
+    ):
+        """
+        Process an ENCODE-mode request. Dispatches to the appropriate flow.
+
+        Args:
+            request: Request containing OpenAI-format multimodal messages
+            multimodal_processor: Processor to extract prompt/media and load embeddings
+            connector: NIXL connector (required only for embedding_paths flow)
+            tokenizer: Tokenizer for the model
+            model_dir: Path to model directory
+            model_type: Model type string
+            engine: TensorRTLLMEngine instance
+
+        Yields:
+            Response dictionary based on the flow:
+            - Embedding-path flow: nixl_readable_metadata + shape/dtype + auxiliary_data
+            - Full EPD flow: ep_disaggregated_params + processed_prompt + prompt_token_ids
+        """
+        if multimodal_processor is None:
+            yield {"error": "No multimodal_processor configured on encode worker"}
+            return
+
+        # Extract messages and determine which flow to use
+        messages = request.get("extra_args", {}).get(
+            "messages", request.get("messages", [])
+        )
+        (
+            text_prompt,
+            image_urls,
+            embedding_paths,
+        ) = multimodal_processor.extract_prompt_and_media(messages)
+
+        # Flow 1: Embedding-path flow (pre-computed embeddings via NIXL)
+        if embedding_paths:
+            if connector is None:
+                yield {"error": "NIXL connector is required for embedding_paths encode"}
+                return
+            async for response in EncodeHelper._process_embedding_path_flow(
+                embedding_paths, multimodal_processor, connector
+            ):
+                yield response
+
+        # Flow 2: Full EPD flow (image URLs via MultimodalEncoder)
+        elif image_urls and text_prompt:
+            if model_dir is None or model_type is None:
+                yield {
+                    "error": "model_dir and model_type are required for full EPD encode"
+                }
+                return
+            if engine is None:
+                yield {"error": "No engine configured on encode worker for full EPD"}
+                return
+            async for response in EncodeHelper._process_full_epd_flow(
+                text_prompt, image_urls, tokenizer, model_dir, model_type, engine
+            ):
+                yield response
+
+        # No valid multimodal content found
+        else:
+            yield {"error": "No embedding_paths or image_urls found in request"}

components/src/dynamo/trtllm/engine.py

@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ import logging
 from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
 from typing import AsyncGenerator, Optional
 
-from tensorrt_llm import LLM
+from tensorrt_llm import LLM, MultimodalEncoder
+from tensorrt_llm.llmapi.llm import BaseLLM
+
+from dynamo.trtllm.constants import DisaggregationMode
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -19,8 +22,20 @@ class Backend(str, enum.Enum):
 
 
 class TensorRTLLMEngine:
-    def __init__(self, engine_args):
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        engine_args,
+        disaggregation_mode: Optional[DisaggregationMode] = None,
+    ):
         self._llm: Optional[LLM] = None
+        self.disaggregation_mode = (
+            disaggregation_mode
+            if disaggregation_mode is not None
+            else DisaggregationMode.AGGREGATED
+        )
+        # NOTE: `engine_args` may be reused by callers (e.g., for logging or other workers).
+        # Copy it so that our internal `pop()` / pruning doesn't leak side effects.
+        engine_args = dict(engine_args)
         backend = engine_args.pop("backend", Backend.PYTORCH)
         if backend == Backend.PYTORCH:
             self._llm_cls = LLM
@@ -38,7 +53,27 @@ class TensorRTLLMEngine:
 
     async def initialize(self):
         if not self._llm:
-            self._llm = self._llm_cls(**self.engine_args)
+            if self.disaggregation_mode == DisaggregationMode.ENCODE:
+                # Initialize the multimodal encoder for full EPD
+                # Prefill/decode workers initialize the standard TRT-LLM `LLM` from `engine_args`
+                # (model, backend settings, kv cache config, etc.). ENCODE workers instead use
+                # TRT-LLM's `MultimodalEncoder`, which has a different constructor surface.
+                # We intentionally pass only the supported parameters to avoid unexpected kwargs.
+                max_batch_size = self.engine_args.get("max_batch_size", 1)
+                model = self.engine_args.get("model")
+                logging.info(
+                    f"Initializing multimodal encoder with max_batch_size: {max_batch_size}"
+                )
+                # MultimodalEncoder and LLM both inherit from BaseLLM in TRT-LLM,
+                # so storing either in self._llm is valid.
+                self._llm = MultimodalEncoder(
+                    model=model,
+                    max_batch_size=max_batch_size,
+                )
+            else:
+                # Prefill/decode workers: initialize standard TRT-LLM `LLM` with full engine_args
+                # (model path, backend settings, KV cache config, disaggregation settings, etc.)
+                self._llm = self._llm_cls(**self.engine_args)
 
     async def cleanup(self):
         if self._llm:
@@ -50,7 +85,7 @@ class TensorRTLLMEngine:
                 self._llm = None
 
     @property
-    def llm(self):
+    def llm(self) -> BaseLLM:
         if not self._llm:
             raise RuntimeError("Engine not initialized")
         return self._llm
@@ -91,8 +126,11 @@ class TensorRTLLMEngine:
 
 
 @asynccontextmanager
-async def get_llm_engine(engine_args) -> AsyncGenerator[TensorRTLLMEngine, None]:
-    engine = TensorRTLLMEngine(engine_args)
+async def get_llm_engine(
+    engine_args,
+    disaggregation_mode: Optional[DisaggregationMode] = None,
+) -> AsyncGenerator[TensorRTLLMEngine, None]:
+    engine = TensorRTLLMEngine(engine_args, disaggregation_mode)
     try:
         await engine.initialize()
         yield engine

components/src/dynamo/trtllm/main.py

@@ -352,7 +352,7 @@ async def init(runtime: DistributedRuntime, config: Config):
         config.dump_config_to, {"engine_args": engine_args, "dynamo_args": config}
     )
 
-    async with get_llm_engine(engine_args) as engine:
+    async with get_llm_engine(engine_args, config.disaggregation_mode) as engine:
         endpoint = component.endpoint(config.endpoint)
 
         # should ideally call get_engine_runtime_config

components/src/dynamo/trtllm/multimodal_processor.py

@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ class MultimodalRequestProcessor:
         self.allowed_local_media_path = allowed_local_media_path
         self.max_file_size_mb = max_file_size_mb
         self.max_file_size_bytes = max_file_size_mb * 1024 * 1024
+        # Used for streaming delta computation in create_response_chunk()
+        self.previous_decoded_text = ""
 
         # Initialize tokenizer ONCE at startup to avoid per-request overhead
         if tokenizer is not None:
@@ -163,27 +165,42 @@ class MultimodalRequestProcessor:
         return " ".join(text_parts), image_urls, embedding_paths
 
     async def process_openai_request(
-        self, request: Dict, embeddings: Any
+        self, request: Dict, embeddings: Any, ep_disaggregated_params: Any
     ) -> Optional[Any]:
         """Process OpenAI request and return with multimodal data."""
         # Extract messages - check extra_args first (from Rust preprocessor for multimodal)
         # Fall back to direct messages field for backward compatibility
+        self.previous_decoded_text = ""
         messages = request.get("extra_args", {}).get(
             "messages", request.get("messages", [])
         )
         text_prompt, image_urls, embedding_paths = self.extract_prompt_and_media(
             messages
         )
-
-        if not image_urls and not embedding_paths:
+        if not image_urls and not embedding_paths and not ep_disaggregated_params:
             logging.warning("No multimodal content, returning None")
             return None
 
+        processed_prompt_from_encoder = request.get("_epd_processed_prompt")
+
+        # Only use EPD flow if we actually have encoder data
+        # For PD flow (no encoder), fall through to embedding_paths handling
+        if processed_prompt_from_encoder is not None:
+            text_prompt = processed_prompt_from_encoder
+            result = {"prompt": text_prompt}
+            prompt_token_ids = request.get("_epd_prompt_token_ids")
+            if prompt_token_ids:
+                result["prompt_token_ids"] = prompt_token_ids
+            else:
+                logging.warning("MM PROCESSOR: No prompt_token_ids from encoder")
+            return result
         loader_kwargs = {}
         if embeddings is not None:
-            # EPD flow
+            # EPD flow - embeddings received from encode worker via NIXL
             loader_kwargs["mm_embeddings"] = [embeddings]
-            logging.debug(f"Using NIXL embeddings in prefill worker: {embeddings}")
+            logging.info(
+                f"Using NIXL embeddings: shape={embeddings.shape if hasattr(embeddings, 'shape') else 'N/A'}"
+            )
         elif image_urls:
             # Image-only flow
             loader_kwargs["media"] = [image_urls]
@@ -192,7 +209,7 @@ class MultimodalRequestProcessor:
             loader_kwargs["mm_embeddings"] = [
                 self.load_tensor_from_path_or_url(path) for path in embedding_paths
             ]
-            logging.debug(f"Using embedding paths in prefill worker: {embedding_paths}")
+            logging.info(f"Using embedding paths: {embedding_paths}")
 
         # Process with default_multimodal_input_loader
         # Pass self.tokenizer to reuse the pre-initialized tokenizer instead of
@@ -225,10 +242,20 @@ class MultimodalRequestProcessor:
         if self.tokenizer is None:
             raise ValueError("Tokenizer must be provided for creating response chunks.")
 
-        new_tokens = output.token_ids[num_output_tokens_so_far:]
-        # Decode the new token IDs into a string. This is the incremental piece
-        # of text to be sent to the client.
-        delta_text = self.tokenizer.decode(new_tokens)
+        all_tokens = output.token_ids
+        current_text = self.tokenizer.decode(
+            all_tokens, skip_special_tokens=True, clean_up_tokenization_spaces=True
+        )
+        if num_output_tokens_so_far == 0:
+            # First chunk: use all decoded text
+            delta_text = current_text
+            # Store for next iteration
+            self.previous_decoded_text = current_text
+        else:
+            # Incremental chunk: extract delta using cached previous text
+            delta_text = current_text[len(self.previous_decoded_text) :]
+            # Update cache for next iteration
+            self.previous_decoded_text = current_text
         # Assemble the delta payload for the response chunk.
         delta = {"content": delta_text if delta_text else ""}
         if num_output_tokens_so_far == 0:

components/src/dynamo/trtllm/request_handlers/handler_base.py

@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ import logging
 import os
 from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
 from dataclasses import asdict, dataclass
-from enum import Enum
 from typing import Any, AsyncGenerator, Optional, Union
 
 import torch
@@ -34,6 +33,7 @@ from dynamo.logits_processing.examples import HelloWorldLogitsProcessor
 from dynamo.nixl_connect import Connector
 from dynamo.runtime import DistributedRuntime
 from dynamo.runtime.logging import configure_dynamo_logging
+from dynamo.trtllm.constants import DisaggregationMode
 from dynamo.trtllm.engine import TensorRTLLMEngine
 from dynamo.trtllm.logits_processing.adapter import create_trtllm_adapters
 from dynamo.trtllm.multimodal_processor import MultimodalRequestProcessor
@@ -46,13 +46,6 @@ from dynamo.trtllm.utils.disagg_utils import (
 configure_dynamo_logging()
 
 
-class DisaggregationMode(Enum):
-    AGGREGATED = "prefill_and_decode"
-    PREFILL = "prefill"
-    DECODE = "decode"
-    ENCODE = "encode"
-
-
 @dataclass
 class RequestHandlerConfig:
     """
@@ -219,6 +212,296 @@ class HandlerBase:
                 except asyncio.CancelledError:
                     pass
 
+    def _decode_disaggregated_params_from_prefill(
+        self, prefill_result: dict
+    ) -> tuple[Any, dict]:
+        """
+        Extract and decode disaggregated params from prefill_result.
+
+        Args:
+            prefill_result: Result from prefill worker containing encoded disaggregated params
+
+        Returns:
+            Tuple of (disaggregated_params, epd_metadata) where:
+            - disaggregated_params: Decoded LlmDisaggregatedParams object
+            - epd_metadata: Dictionary containing EPD-specific metadata (_epd_processed_prompt, etc.)
+        """
+        params_dict = prefill_result["disaggregated_params"]
+
+        # Remove worker_id if present (added by prefill worker, not needed for decode)
+        params_dict.pop("worker_id", None)
+
+        # Extract EPD metadata that was packed by prefill worker
+        epd_metadata = {}
+        if "_epd_metadata" in params_dict:
+            epd_metadata = params_dict.pop("_epd_metadata")
+            logging.debug(
+                f"DECODE: Extracted _epd_metadata with {len(epd_metadata)} fields"
+            )
+
+        # Decode the disaggregated params
+        disaggregated_params = DisaggregatedParamsCodec.decode(
+            DisaggregatedParams(**params_dict)
+        )
+        # Set to generation_only mode for decode phase
+        disaggregated_params.request_type = "generation_only"
+
+        # In generation-only mode, multimodal embeddings are already processed and in KV cache
+        # Remove multimodal_embedding_handles to avoid TRT-LLM validation error
+        # NOTE: `hasattr` is used because multimodal_embedding_handles may not be present
+        # on DisaggregatedParams in all EPD flows (e.g., text-only requests or certain stages).
+        if (
+            hasattr(disaggregated_params, "multimodal_embedding_handles")
+            and disaggregated_params.multimodal_embedding_handles
+        ):
+            disaggregated_params.multimodal_embedding_handles = None
+
+        logging.debug("DECODE: Set request_type to generation_only")
+
+        return disaggregated_params, epd_metadata
+
+    def _encode_and_pack_disaggregated_params(
+        self,
+        output: GenerationResult,
+        disaggregated_params: Any,
+        request: dict,
+        res: Any,
+        processed_input: Any = None,
+    ) -> Optional[dict]:
+        """
+        Encode and pack disaggregated params for PREFILL mode response.
+
+        Handles:
+        - Choosing between output and input disaggregated params
+        - Preserving multimodal_embedding_handles in EPD flow
+        - Encoding params for transmission
+        - Packing prefill metadata for DECODE optimization
+
+        Args:
+            output: GenerationResult from the engine
+            disaggregated_params: Input disaggregated params
+            request: Original request dict
+            res: RequestOutput object with prompt and prompt_token_ids attributes
+            processed_input: The processed input dict from process_openai_request (contains correct prompt)
+
+        Returns:
+            Dictionary with encoded disaggregated params, or None if encoding failed
+        """
+        # In EPD flow, output.disaggregated_params might be None, use the input params
+        params_to_encode = (
+            output.disaggregated_params
+            if output.disaggregated_params is not None
+            else disaggregated_params
+        )
+
+        # In EPD flow, manually preserve multimodal_embedding_handles from input
+        # because TRT-LLM engine may not propagate them through prefill
+        if params_to_encode is not None and disaggregated_params is not None:
+            input_handles = getattr(
+                disaggregated_params,
+                "multimodal_embedding_handles",
+                None,
+            )
+            output_handles = getattr(
+                params_to_encode, "multimodal_embedding_handles", None
+            )
+
+            if input_handles is not None and output_handles is None:
+                params_to_encode.multimodal_embedding_handles = input_handles
+                # Also preserve hashes if they exist
+                input_hashes = getattr(disaggregated_params, "multimodal_hashes", None)
+                if input_hashes is not None:
+                    params_to_encode.multimodal_hashes = input_hashes
+
+        encoded_params = DisaggregatedParamsCodec.encode(params_to_encode)
+
+        if encoded_params is None:
+            logging.error("PREFILL: encoded_params is None - decode worker will fail!")
+            return None
+
+        logging.debug("PREFILL: Successfully encoded disaggregated params")
+        params_dict = asdict(encoded_params)
+
+        # Pack prefill metadata for DECODE worker optimization
+        # The frontend only forwards disaggregated_params from prefill response
+        # Note: max_tokens is already handled by Rust frontend's PrefillRouter
+        prefill_metadata = {}
+
+        # ALWAYS pack prompt info for DECODE to skip re-processing
+        # Per TRT-LLM team: DECODE never needs to reload images - KV cache has the context
+        # Use processed_input['prompt'] (from process_openai_request) which is the actual
+        # multimodal prompt used by TRT-LLM, not res.prompt which might be raw
+        if (
+            processed_input
+            and isinstance(processed_input, dict)
+            and processed_input.get("prompt")
+        ):
+            prefill_metadata["_prefill_prompt"] = processed_input["prompt"]
+        elif res.prompt:
+            prefill_metadata["_prefill_prompt"] = res.prompt
+        if res.prompt_token_ids:
+            prefill_metadata["_prefill_prompt_token_ids"] = list(res.prompt_token_ids)
+
+        # EPD-specific: use encoder's prompt if available
+        if "_epd_processed_prompt" in request and res.prompt:
+            prefill_metadata["_epd_processed_prompt"] = res.prompt
+        if "_epd_prompt_token_ids" in request and res.prompt_token_ids:
+            prefill_metadata["_epd_prompt_token_ids"] = list(res.prompt_token_ids)
+
+        # Add metadata to the disaggregated_params dict
+        if prefill_metadata:
+            params_dict["_epd_metadata"] = prefill_metadata
+
+        return params_dict
+
+    def _setup_disaggregated_params_for_mode(
+        self,
+        request: dict,
+        ep_disaggregated_params: Optional[Any],
+    ) -> tuple[Any, Any, dict]:
+        """
+        Setup disaggregated_params based on PREFILL/DECODE mode.
+
+        For PREFILL mode:
+        - Uses ep_disaggregated_params from encode worker if available
+        - Otherwise creates new LlmDisaggregatedParams with request_type="context_only"
+
+        For DECODE mode:
+        - Decodes disaggregated_params from prefill_result
+        - Extracts EPD metadata for prompt optimization
+
+        Args:
+            request: Request dictionary (may contain prefill_result)
+            ep_disaggregated_params: Optional params from encode worker (EPD flow)
+
+        Returns:
+            Tuple of (disaggregated_params, ep_disaggregated_params, epd_metadata)
+        """
+        disaggregated_params = None
+        epd_metadata = {}
+
+        # PREFILL mode: setup context_only params
+        if self.disaggregation_mode == DisaggregationMode.PREFILL:
+            if ep_disaggregated_params:
+                ep_disaggregated_params.request_type = "context_only"
+                disaggregated_params = ep_disaggregated_params
+            else:
+                disaggregated_params = LlmDisaggregatedParams(
+                    request_type="context_only"
+                )
+
+        # DECODE mode: decode params from prefill_result
+        prefill_result = request.get("prefill_result")
+        if prefill_result and "disaggregated_params" in prefill_result:
+            (
+                disaggregated_params,
+                epd_metadata,
+            ) = self._decode_disaggregated_params_from_prefill(prefill_result)
+            # For full EPD flow, make decoded params available to multimodal processor
+            ep_disaggregated_params = disaggregated_params
+
+        return disaggregated_params, ep_disaggregated_params, epd_metadata
+
+    async def _prepare_input_for_generation(
+        self,
+        request: dict,
+        embeddings: Optional[Union[torch.Tensor, dict]],
+        ep_disaggregated_params: Optional[Any],
+        epd_metadata: dict,
+    ) -> Any:
+        """
+        Prepare input for TRT-LLM generation (handles multimodal/text flows).
+
+        Three paths:
+        1. DECODE with prefill metadata: Use cached prompt, skip image re-processing
+        2. Multimodal: Process via multimodal_processor
+        3. Text-only: Use token_ids from request
+
+        Args:
+            request: Request dictionary
+            embeddings: Optional embeddings tensor/dict from encode worker
+            ep_disaggregated_params: Optional params from encode worker (EPD flow)
+            epd_metadata: Metadata from prefill worker (DECODE optimization)
+
+        Returns:
+            Processed input for TRT-LLM (dict with prompt/token_ids, or raw token_ids)
+        """
+        # DECODE mode: Use prefill metadata to skip re-processing multimodal content
+        # Per TRT-LLM team: DECODE never needs to reload images - KV cache has the context
+        has_prefill_metadata = epd_metadata and (
+            epd_metadata.get("_prefill_prompt")
+            or epd_metadata.get("_epd_processed_prompt")
+        )
+
+        if (
+            self.disaggregation_mode == DisaggregationMode.DECODE
+            and has_prefill_metadata
+        ):
+            # Use prompt/token_ids from PREFILL, skip image re-processing
+            prefill_prompt = epd_metadata.get("_prefill_prompt") or epd_metadata.get(
+                "_epd_processed_prompt"
+            )
+            prefill_token_ids = epd_metadata.get(
+                "_prefill_prompt_token_ids"
+            ) or epd_metadata.get("_epd_prompt_token_ids")
+
+            # Build input without multimodal data (already in KV cache)
+            # Use the SAME multimodal key that PREFILL used:
+            # - EPD/Embeddings flow: PREFILL used multi_modal_embeddings
+            # - Simple P→D (image URL): PREFILL used multi_modal_data
+            is_epd_flow = epd_metadata.get("_epd_processed_prompt") is not None
+
+            processed_input = {
+                "prompt": prefill_prompt,
+                "prompt_token_ids": prefill_token_ids,
+            }
+            if is_epd_flow:
+                processed_input["multi_modal_embeddings"] = None
+            else:
+                processed_input["multi_modal_data"] = None
+            return processed_input
+
+        # PREFILL/ENCODE/AGGREGATED: Process multimodal content if available
+        if self.multimodal_processor:
+            processed_input = await self.multimodal_processor.process_openai_request(
+                request, embeddings, ep_disaggregated_params
+            )
+            if processed_input:
+                return processed_input
+
+        # Fallback: text-only flow
+        return request.get("token_ids")
+
+    def _normalize_request_format(self, request: dict) -> None:
+        """
+        Convert OpenAI request format to TRT-LLM internal format.
+
+        Moves fields from OpenAI locations to where TRT-LLM expects them:
+        - max_tokens: top-level → stop_conditions.max_tokens
+        - temperature: top-level → sampling_options.temperature
+
+        Note: The Rust frontend's PrefillRouter handles the *value* of max_tokens
+        (sets to 1 for prefill, restores original for decode). This method only
+        moves fields to the correct location.
+
+        Args:
+            request: Request dictionary to normalize (modified in place)
+        """
+        # Ensure stop_conditions exists
+        if "stop_conditions" not in request:
+            request["stop_conditions"] = {}
+        if "max_tokens" in request and "max_tokens" not in request["stop_conditions"]:
+            request["stop_conditions"]["max_tokens"] = request.pop("max_tokens")
+
+        # Ensure sampling_options exists
+        if "sampling_options" not in request:
+            request["sampling_options"] = {}
+        if (
+            "temperature" in request
+            and "temperature" not in request["sampling_options"]
+        ):
+            request["sampling_options"]["temperature"] = request.pop("temperature")
+
     async def _initiate_shutdown(self, error: Exception):
         """Initiate graceful shutdown after fatal error"""
         logging.warning(f"Initiating graceful shutdown due to: {error}")
@@ -242,6 +525,7 @@ class HandlerBase:
         request: dict,
         context: Context,
         embeddings: Optional[Union[torch.Tensor, dict]] = None,
+        ep_disaggregated_params: Optional[DisaggregatedParams] = None,
     ):
         """
         Generate responses based on the disaggregation mode in the request.
@@ -250,22 +534,24 @@ class HandlerBase:
             request: The request dictionary containing generation parameters
             context: Context object for cancellation handling
             embeddings: Optional tensor or dict containing embeddings for multimodal processing
+            ep_disaggregated_params: Optional DisaggregatedParams from encode worker (full EPD flow)
         """
         logging.debug(f"Request: {request}")
 
-        # Default to text-based input. This will be overwritten if multimodal
-        # content is found and processed.
-        processed_input = None
+        # Normalize OpenAI format to TRT-LLM internal format
+        self._normalize_request_format(request)
 
-        # Check for multimodal request and process it
-        if self.multimodal_processor:
-            processed_input = await self.multimodal_processor.process_openai_request(
-                request, embeddings
-            )
+        # Setup disaggregated params based on PREFILL/DECODE mode
+        (
+            disaggregated_params,
+            ep_disaggregated_params,
+            epd_metadata,
+        ) = self._setup_disaggregated_params_for_mode(request, ep_disaggregated_params)
 
-        else:
-            # text-only flow
-            processed_input = request.get("token_ids")
+        # Prepare input for generation (handles multimodal/text flows)
+        processed_input = await self._prepare_input_for_generation(
+            request, embeddings, ep_disaggregated_params, epd_metadata
+        )
 
         # Check if there is an error in the publisher error queue
         publishers_error = (
@@ -274,31 +560,18 @@ class HandlerBase:
         if publishers_error:
             raise publishers_error
 
-        # Decode the disaggregated params from the request
-        disaggregated_params = None
-
+        # For PREFILL mode, set max_tokens=1 (we only need to process context)
         if self.disaggregation_mode == DisaggregationMode.PREFILL:
             request["stop_conditions"]["max_tokens"] = 1
-            disaggregated_params = LlmDisaggregatedParams(request_type="context_only")
-
-        if "prefill_result" in request:
-            if self.disaggregation_mode == DisaggregationMode.PREFILL:
-                raise ValueError("Cannot provide disaggregated_params in prefill mode")
-            request["prefill_result"].get("disaggregated_params", {}).pop(
-                "worker_id", None
-            )
-
-            disaggregated_params = DisaggregatedParamsCodec.decode(
-                DisaggregatedParams(
-                    **request["prefill_result"].get("disaggregated_params")
-                )
-            )
-            disaggregated_params.request_type = "generation_only"
+            # disaggregated_params is already set above (lines 460-468)
+            # Don't overwrite it here as it may contain multimodal_embedding_handles from encoder
 
         if (
             self.disaggregation_mode == DisaggregationMode.DECODE
             and disaggregated_params is None
         ):
+            logging.error("DECODE: disaggregated_params is None but required!")
+            logging.error(f"DECODE: Request keys: {list(request.keys())}")
             raise ValueError("Disaggregated params are required for decode mode")
 
         num_output_tokens_so_far = 0
@@ -416,9 +689,11 @@ class HandlerBase:
                         out["stop_reason"] = output.stop_reason
                     if self.disaggregation_mode == DisaggregationMode.PREFILL:
                         # Return the disaggregated params only when operating in prefill mode.
-                        out["disaggregated_params"] = asdict(
-                            DisaggregatedParamsCodec.encode(output.disaggregated_params)
+                        params_dict = self._encode_and_pack_disaggregated_params(
+                            output, disaggregated_params, request, res, processed_input
                         )
+                        if params_dict is not None:
+                            out["disaggregated_params"] = params_dict
 
                     if out.get("finish_reason"):
                         num_input_tokens = len(request.get("token_ids", []))

components/src/dynamo/trtllm/request_handlers/handlers.py

@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
 import logging
+from typing import Optional
+
+from tensorrt_llm.llmapi import DisaggregatedParams
 
 from dynamo._core import Context
 from dynamo.runtime.logging import configure_dynamo_logging
@@ -57,25 +60,32 @@ class EncodeHandler(HandlerBase):
 
     def __init__(self, config: RequestHandlerConfig):
         super().__init__(config)
+        # Initialize to None by default to avoid AttributeError if multimodal_processor is not set
+        self.model_dir = None
+        self.model_type = None
+        self.tokenizer = None
+        if self.multimodal_processor:
+            self.model_dir = self.multimodal_processor.model_dir
+            self.model_type = self.multimodal_processor.model_type
+            self.tokenizer = self.multimodal_processor.tokenizer
 
     async def generate(self, request: dict, context: Context):
         logging.debug(f"New Request ID: {context.id()}")
-        if self.connector:
-            # Use helper method to process embedding request
-            async for response in EncodeHelper.process_embedding_request(
-                request, self.multimodal_processor, self.connector
-            ):
-                yield response
-            return
-        else:
-            logging.error("encode handler: no Dynamo NIXL connector found")
-            raise RuntimeError("encode handler: no Dynamo NIXL connector found")
-
-        if not request.get("streaming", False):
-            yield request
-            return
-
-        yield request
+        if self.multimodal_processor is None:
+            logging.error("encode handler: no multimodal_processor configured")
+            raise RuntimeError("encode handler: no multimodal_processor configured")
+
+        async for response in EncodeHelper.process_encode_request(
+            request,
+            self.multimodal_processor,
+            self.connector,
+            self.tokenizer,
+            self.model_dir,
+            self.model_type,
+            self.engine,
+        ):
+            yield response
+        return
 
 
 class PrefillHandler(HandlerBase):
@@ -86,7 +96,39 @@ class PrefillHandler(HandlerBase):
     def __init__(self, config: RequestHandlerConfig):
         super().__init__(config)
 
+    async def remote_encode_full_epd(self, request: dict):
+        """
+        Call encode worker for full EPD flow and unpack the response.
+
+        Args:
+            request: Request dict
+
+        Returns:
+            Encoder's DisaggregatedParams to be used by the prefill worker
+        """
+        encode_response = None
+        async for res in await self.encode_client.round_robin(request):
+            encode_response = res.data()
+            break
+
+        if not encode_response:
+            raise RuntimeError("Did not receive a response from the encode worker.")
+
+        ep_disaggregated_params = self._unpack_full_epd_response(
+            encode_response, request
+        )
+        return ep_disaggregated_params
+
     async def remote_encode_with_nixl(self, request: dict):
+        """
+        Call encode worker for NIXL flow to load embeddings and unpack the response.
+
+        Args:
+            request: Request dict
+
+        Returns:
+            Encoder's embeddings tensor to be used by the prefill worker
+        """
         # Get response with shape info and readable metadata
         encode_response = None
         async for res in await self.encode_client.round_robin(request):
@@ -101,6 +143,43 @@ class PrefillHandler(HandlerBase):
             encode_response, self.connector
         )
 
+    def _unpack_full_epd_response(
+        self, encode_response: dict, request: dict
+    ) -> Optional[DisaggregatedParams]:
+        """
+        Unpack encode worker response from full EPD flow.
+
+        Extracts DisaggregatedParams and stores EPD metadata in the request
+        for downstream processing (multimodal_processor, decode worker).
+
+        Args:
+            encode_response: Response dict from encode worker
+            request: Request dict to store metadata in (modified in-place)
+
+        Returns:
+            DisaggregatedParams if present in response, None otherwise
+        """
+        if "ep_disaggregated_params" not in encode_response:
+            return None
+
+        params_dict = encode_response["ep_disaggregated_params"]
+        if params_dict is None:
+            return None
+
+        # Reconstruct DisaggregatedParams object from dict
+        ep_disaggregated_params = DisaggregatedParams(**params_dict)
+        ep_disaggregated_params.request_type = "context_only"
+
+        # Store processed prompt from encoder (includes <image> tokens)
+        if "processed_prompt" in encode_response:
+            request["_epd_processed_prompt"] = encode_response["processed_prompt"]
+
+        # Store prompt_token_ids from encoder for decode worker
+        if "prompt_token_ids" in encode_response:
+            request["_epd_prompt_token_ids"] = encode_response["prompt_token_ids"]
+
+        return ep_disaggregated_params
+
     async def generate(self, request: dict, context: Context):
         """
         Prefill worker: process prompt and return disaggregated_params.
@@ -109,25 +188,42 @@ class PrefillHandler(HandlerBase):
         logging.debug(f"Prefill Request ID: {context.id()}")
         logging.debug(f"PrefillHandler.generate received request: {request}")
         embeddings_tensor = None
+        ep_disaggregated_params = None
 
         if self.multimodal_processor:
             # Extract messages from extra_args (set by Rust preprocessor) or fall back to direct field
             messages = request.get("extra_args", {}).get(
                 "messages", request.get("messages", [])
             )
-            _, _, embedding_paths = self.multimodal_processor.extract_prompt_and_media(
-                messages
-            )
+            (
+                _,
+                image_urls,
+                embedding_paths,
+            ) = self.multimodal_processor.extract_prompt_and_media(messages)
+            # Handle embedding paths (NIXL transfer of pre-computed embeddings)
             if embedding_paths:
                 if self.encode_client and self.connector:
-                    logging.debug(
-                        "PrefillHandler calling Encode Worker via remote_encode_with_nixl"
-                    )
+                    logging.info(f"PrefillHandler: embedding_paths={embedding_paths}")
                     embeddings_tensor = await self.remote_encode_with_nixl(request)
+                else:
+                    # We can still handle embedding_paths without NIXL:
+                    # `MultimodalRequestProcessor.process_openai_request` will load the embeddings
+                    # locally in the prefill worker as a fallback. The encode-worker+NIXL path is
+                    # useful when you want a dedicated I/O stage and/or explicit RDMA transfer.
+                    logging.info(
+                        "PrefillHandler: no encode_client/connector; falling back to local embedding load"
+                    )
+
+            # Handle image URLs (full E-PD flow with MultimodalEncoder)
+            elif image_urls:
+                if self.encode_client:
+                    ep_disaggregated_params = await self.remote_encode_full_epd(request)
 
-        # Generate prefill response locally and return disaggregated_params
+        # Normal flow: Generate the prefill response locally with embeddings
         response_count = 0
-        async for res in self.generate_locally(request, context, embeddings_tensor):
+        async for res in self.generate_locally(
+            request, context, embeddings_tensor, ep_disaggregated_params
+        ):
             response_count += 1
             if response_count > 1:
                 raise ValueError("Prefill response should be generated only once.")

components/src/dynamo/trtllm/tests/test_trtllm_autodeploy.py

@@ -89,4 +89,4 @@ async def test_get_llm_engine_forwards_backend(backend):
         async with get_llm_engine(engine_args=engine_args):
             pass
 
-    mocked_engine.assert_called_once_with(engine_args)
+    mocked_engine.assert_called_once_with(engine_args, None)

components/src/dynamo/trtllm/utils/disagg_utils.py

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 import base64
+import dataclasses
 
 from tensorrt_llm.llmapi import DisaggregatedParams
 
@@ -30,18 +31,10 @@ class DisaggregatedParamsCodec:
         if disaggregated_params is None:
             return None
 
-        opaque_state = (
-            base64.b64decode(disaggregated_params.opaque_state)
-            if disaggregated_params.opaque_state is not None
-            else None
-        )
-        return DisaggregatedParams(
-            request_type=disaggregated_params.request_type,
-            first_gen_tokens=disaggregated_params.first_gen_tokens,
-            ctx_request_id=disaggregated_params.ctx_request_id,
-            opaque_state=opaque_state,
-            draft_tokens=disaggregated_params.draft_tokens,
-        )
+        opaque_state = disaggregated_params.opaque_state
+        if isinstance(opaque_state, str):
+            opaque_state = base64.b64decode(opaque_state)
+        return dataclasses.replace(disaggregated_params, opaque_state=opaque_state)
 
     @staticmethod
     def encode(
@@ -50,15 +43,7 @@ class DisaggregatedParamsCodec:
         if disaggregated_params is None:
             return None
 
-        encoded_opaque_state = (
-            base64.b64encode(disaggregated_params.opaque_state).decode("utf-8")
-            if disaggregated_params.opaque_state is not None
-            else None
-        )
-        return DisaggregatedParams(
-            request_type=disaggregated_params.request_type,
-            first_gen_tokens=disaggregated_params.first_gen_tokens,
-            ctx_request_id=disaggregated_params.ctx_request_id,
-            opaque_state=encoded_opaque_state,
-            draft_tokens=disaggregated_params.draft_tokens,
-        )
+        opaque_state = disaggregated_params.opaque_state
+        if isinstance(opaque_state, (bytes, bytearray)):
+            opaque_state = base64.b64encode(opaque_state).decode("utf-8")
+        return dataclasses.replace(disaggregated_params, opaque_state=opaque_state)

docs/multimodal/trtllm.md

@@ -47,10 +47,11 @@ TRT-LLM supports aggregated and traditional disaggregated patterns. See [Archite
 
 | Pattern | Supported | Launch Script | Notes |
 |---------|-----------|---------------|-------|
-| EPD (Simple Aggregated) | ✅ | `agg.sh` | Easiest setup |
-| E/PD (Encode Separate) | ❌ | N/A | Not supported |
-| E/P/D (Full Disaggregation) | 🚧 WIP | N/A | PR #4668 in progress |
-| EP/D (Traditional Disaggregated) | ✅ | `disagg_multimodal.sh` | Prefill handles encoding |
+| Aggregated | ✅ | `agg.sh` | Easiest setup, single worker |
+| EP/D (Traditional Disaggregated) | ✅ | `disagg_multimodal.sh` | Prefill handles encoding, 2 workers |
+| E/P/D (Full - Image URLs) | ✅ | `epd_multimodal_image_and_embeddings.sh` | Standalone encoder with `MultimodalEncoder`, 3 workers |
+| E/P/D (Full - Pre-computed Embeddings) | ✅ | `epd_multimodal_image_and_embeddings.sh` | Standalone encoder with NIXL transfer, 3 workers |
+| E/P/D (Large Models) | ✅ | `epd_disagg.sh` | For Llama-4 Scout/Maverick, multi-node |
 
 ### Component Flags
 
@@ -59,7 +60,7 @@ TRT-LLM supports aggregated and traditional disaggregated patterns. See [Archite
 | Worker | `--modality multimodal` | Complete pipeline (aggregated) |
 | Prefill Worker | `--disaggregation-mode prefill` | Image processing + Prefill (multimodal tokenization happens here) |
 | Decode Worker | `--disaggregation-mode decode` | Decode only |
-| Encode Worker (WIP) | `--disaggregation-mode encode` | Image encoding (E/P/D flow) |
+| Encode Worker | `--disaggregation-mode encode` | Image encoding (E/P/D flow) |
 
 ## Aggregated Serving
 
@@ -143,6 +144,90 @@ curl localhost:8000/v1/chat/completions -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '
 
 For a large model like `meta-llama/Llama-4-Maverick-17B-128E-Instruct`, a multi-node setup is required for disaggregated serving (see [Multi-node Deployment](#multi-node-deployment-slurm) below), while aggregated serving can run on a single node. This is because the model with a disaggregated configuration is too large to fit on a single node's GPUs. For instance, running this model in disaggregated mode requires 2 nodes with 8xH200 GPUs or 4 nodes with 4xGB200 GPUs.
 
+## Full E/P/D Flow (Image URLs)
+
+For high-performance multimodal inference, Dynamo supports a standalone encoder with an **Encode-Prefill-Decode (E/P/D)** flow using TRT-LLM's `MultimodalEncoder`. This separates the vision encoding stage from prefill and decode, enabling better GPU utilization and scalability.
+
+### Supported Input Formats
+
+| Format | Example | Description |
+|--------|---------|-------------|
+| **HTTP/HTTPS URL** | `https://example.com/image.jpg` | Remote image files |
+| **Base64 Data URL** | `data:image/jpeg;base64,...` | Inline base64-encoded images |
+
+### How It Works
+
+In the full E/P/D flow:
+
+1. **Encode Worker**: Runs TRT-LLM's `MultimodalEncoder.generate()` to process image URLs through the vision encoder and projector
+2. **Prefill Worker**: Receives `disaggregated_params` containing multimodal embedding handles, processes context and generates KV cache
+3. **Decode Worker**: Performs streaming token generation using the KV cache
+
+The encode worker uses TRT-LLM's `MultimodalEncoder` class (which inherits from `BaseLLM`) and only requires the model path and batch size - no KV cache configuration is needed since it only runs the vision encoder + projector.
+
+### How to Launch
+
+```bash
+cd $DYNAMO_HOME
+
+# Launch 3-worker E/P/D flow with image URL support
+./examples/backends/trtllm/launch/epd_multimodal_image_and_embeddings.sh
+```
+
+### Example Request
+
+```bash
+curl localhost:8000/v1/chat/completions -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{
+    "model": "llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf",
+    "messages": [
+        {
+            "role": "user",
+            "content": [
+                {"type": "text", "text": "Describe the image"},
+                {
+                    "type": "image_url",
+                    "image_url": {
+                        "url": "https://huggingface.co/datasets/huggingface/documentation-images/resolve/main/diffusers/inpaint.png"
+                    }
+                }
+            ]
+        }
+    ],
+    "max_tokens": 160
+}'
+```
+
+### E/P/D Architecture (Image URLs)
+
+```mermaid
+sequenceDiagram
+    participant Client
+    participant Frontend
+    participant PrefillWorker as "Prefill Worker"
+    participant EncodeWorker as "Encode Worker"
+    participant DecodeWorker as "Decode Worker"
+
+    Client->>Frontend: POST /v1/chat/completions (image URL)
+    Frontend->>PrefillWorker: Route to prefill worker
+    PrefillWorker->>EncodeWorker: Send request (image URL)
+    Note over EncodeWorker: MultimodalEncoder.generate()<br/>runs vision encoder + projector
+    EncodeWorker->>PrefillWorker: Return disaggregated_params<br/>(multimodal_embedding_handles)
+    Note over PrefillWorker: Process context with embeddings<br/>Generate KV cache
+    PrefillWorker->>Frontend: Return prefill response
+    Frontend->>DecodeWorker: Route to decode worker
+    DecodeWorker->>Frontend: Stream response chunks
+    Frontend->>Client: Stream response
+```
+
+### Key Differences from EP/D (Traditional Disaggregated)
+
+| Aspect | EP/D (Traditional) | E/P/D (Full) |
+|--------|-------------------|--------------|
+| **Encoding** | Prefill worker handles image encoding | Dedicated encode worker |
+| **Prefill Load** | Higher (encoding + prefill) | Lower (prefill only) |
+| **Use Case** | Simpler setup | Better scalability for vision-heavy workloads |
+| **Launch Script** | `disagg_multimodal.sh` | `epd_multimodal_image_and_embeddings.sh` |
+
 ## Pre-computed Embeddings with E/P/D Flow
 
 For high-performance multimodal inference, Dynamo supports pre-computed embeddings with an **Encode-Prefill-Decode (E/P/D)** flow using **NIXL (RDMA)** for zero-copy tensor transfer.
@@ -318,10 +403,11 @@ pkill srun
 
 | Use Case | Script | NIXL Used? | Data Transfer |
 |----------|--------|------------|---------------|
-| EPD (Simple Aggregated) | `agg.sh` | No | All in one worker |
+| Aggregated | `agg.sh` | No | All in one worker |
 | EP/D (Traditional Disaggregated) | `disagg_multimodal.sh` | Optional | Prefill → Decode (KV cache via UCX or NIXL) |
-| E/P/D (pre-computed embeddings) | `epd_disagg.sh` | Yes | Encoder → Prefill (embeddings via NIXL) |
-| E/P/D (WIP) | N/A | No | Encoder → Prefill (handles via params), Prefill → Decode (KV cache) |
+| E/P/D (Image URLs) | `epd_multimodal_image_and_embeddings.sh` | No | Encoder → Prefill (handles via params), Prefill → Decode (KV cache) |
+| E/P/D (Pre-computed Embeddings) | `epd_multimodal_image_and_embeddings.sh` | Yes | Encoder → Prefill (embeddings via NIXL RDMA) |
+| E/P/D (Large Models) | `epd_disagg.sh` | Yes | Encoder → Prefill (embeddings via NIXL), Prefill → Decode (KV cache) |
 
 > **Note:** NIXL for KV cache transfer is currently beta and only supported on AMD64 (x86_64) architecture.
 
@@ -349,26 +435,29 @@ await register_llm(
 | Transfer Stage | Message | NIXL Transfer |
 |----------------|---------|---------------|
 | **Frontend → Prefill** | Request with image URL or embedding path | No |
-| **Encode → Prefill (pre-computed)** | NIXL metadata | Yes (Embeddings tensor) |
-| **Encode → Prefill (Image URL) (WIP)** | Disaggregated params with multimodal handles | No |
-| **Prefill → Decode** | Disaggregated params | Configurable (KV cache: NIXL default, UCX optional) |
+| **Prefill → Encode (Image URL)** | Request with image URL | No |
+| **Encode → Prefill (Image URL)** | `ep_disaggregated_params` with `multimodal_embedding_handles`, processed prompt, and token IDs | No |
+| **Prefill → Encode (Embedding Path)** | Request with embedding file path | No |
+| **Encode → Prefill (Embedding Path)** | NIXL readable metadata + shape/dtype + auxiliary data | Yes (Embeddings tensor via RDMA) |
+| **Prefill → Decode** | `disaggregated_params` with `_epd_metadata` (prompt, token IDs) | Configurable (KV cache: NIXL default, UCX optional) |
 
 ## Known Limitations
 
-- **No Data URL support** - Only HTTP/HTTPS URLs supported; `data:image/...` base64 URLs not supported
 - **No video support** - No video encoder implementation
 - **No audio support** - No audio encoder implementation
 - **Multimodal preprocessing/tokenization happens in Python** - Rust may forward token_ids, but multimodal requests are parsed and re-tokenized in the Python worker
-- **E/P/D mode is WIP** - Full E/P/D with image URLs under development
 - **Multi-node H100 limitation** - Loading `meta-llama/Llama-4-Maverick-17B-128E-Instruct` with 8 nodes of H100 with TP=16 is not possible due to head count divisibility (`num_attention_heads: 40` not divisible by `tp_size: 16`)
+- **llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf model crash** - Known issue with TRTLLM backend compatibilty with `TensorRT LLM version: 1.2.0rc6.post1`. To use Llava model download revision `revision='52320fb52229` locally using HF.
+- **Embeddings file crash** - Known issue with TRTLLM backend compatibilty with `TensorRT LLM version: 1.2.0rc6.post1`. Embedding file parsing crashes in `attach_multimodal_embeddings(`. To be fixed in next TRTLLM upgrade.
 
 ## Supported Models
 
 Multimodal models listed in [TensorRT-LLM supported models](https://github.com/NVIDIA/TensorRT-LLM/blob/main/docs/source/models/supported-models.md) are supported by Dynamo.
 
 Common examples:
-- Llama 4 Vision models (Maverick, Scout)
-- Qwen2-VL models
+- **Llama 4 Vision models** (Maverick, Scout) - Recommended for large-scale deployments
+- **LLaVA models** (e.g., `llava-hf/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf`) - Default model for E/P/D examples
+- **Qwen2-VL models** - Supported in traditional disaggregated mode
 - Other vision-language models with TRT-LLM support
 
 ## Key Files
@@ -376,8 +465,12 @@ Common examples:
 | File | Description |
 |------|-------------|
 | `components/src/dynamo/trtllm/main.py` | Worker initialization and setup |
-| `components/src/dynamo/trtllm/utils/trtllm_utils.py` | Command-line argument parsing |
+| `components/src/dynamo/trtllm/engine.py` | TensorRTLLMEngine wrapper (LLM and MultimodalEncoder) |
+| `components/src/dynamo/trtllm/constants.py` | DisaggregationMode enum (AGGREGATED, PREFILL, DECODE, ENCODE) |
+| `components/src/dynamo/trtllm/encode_helper.py` | Encode worker request processing (embedding-path and full EPD flows) |
 | `components/src/dynamo/trtllm/multimodal_processor.py` | Multimodal request processing |
-| `components/src/dynamo/trtllm/request_handlers/handlers.py` | Request handler factory |
-| `components/src/dynamo/trtllm/request_handlers/handler_base.py` | Base handler and disaggregation modes |
+| `components/src/dynamo/trtllm/request_handlers/handlers.py` | Request handlers (EncodeHandler, PrefillHandler, DecodeHandler) |
+| `components/src/dynamo/trtllm/request_handlers/handler_base.py` | Base handler with disaggregated params encoding/decoding |
+| `components/src/dynamo/trtllm/utils/disagg_utils.py` | DisaggregatedParamsCodec for network transfer |
+| `components/src/dynamo/trtllm/utils/trtllm_utils.py` | Command-line argument parsing |
 

examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf/decode.yaml

+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+tensor_parallel_size: 1
+moe_expert_parallel_size: 1
+enable_attention_dp: false
+max_num_tokens: 8192
+max_batch_size: 16
+trust_remote_code: true
+backend: pytorch
+enable_chunked_prefill: true
+disable_overlap_scheduler: false
+kv_cache_config:
+  free_gpu_memory_fraction: 0.30
+  enable_block_reuse: false
+
+cache_transceiver_config:
+  backend: DEFAULT
\ No newline at end of file

examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf/encode.yaml

+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+tensor_parallel_size: 1
+moe_expert_parallel_size: 1
+enable_attention_dp: false
+max_num_tokens: 8192
+max_batch_size: 16
+trust_remote_code: true
+backend: pytorch
+enable_chunked_prefill: true
+# Overlap scheduler not currently supported in prefill only workers.
+disable_overlap_scheduler: true
+
+# Note: kv_cache_config is not needed for encode workers since MultimodalEncoder
+# only runs vision encoder + projector and doesn't need KV cache memory.
+
+cache_transceiver_config:
+  backend: DEFAULT

examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf/prefill.yaml

+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+tensor_parallel_size: 1
+moe_expert_parallel_size: 1
+enable_attention_dp: false
+max_num_tokens: 8192
+max_batch_size: 16
+trust_remote_code: true
+backend: pytorch
+enable_chunked_prefill: true
+# Overlap scheduler not currently supported in prefill only workers.
+disable_overlap_scheduler: true
+
+kv_cache_config:
+  free_gpu_memory_fraction: 0.30
+  enable_block_reuse: false
+
+cache_transceiver_config:
+  backend: DEFAULT
\ No newline at end of file

examples/backends/trtllm/launch/disagg_multimodal.sh

@@ -4,13 +4,14 @@
 
 # Environment variables with defaults
 export DYNAMO_HOME=${DYNAMO_HOME:-"/workspace"}
-export MODEL_PATH=${MODEL_PATH:-"Qwen/Qwen2-VL-7B-Instruct"}
-export SERVED_MODEL_NAME=${SERVED_MODEL_NAME:-"Qwen/Qwen2-VL-7B-Instruct"}
-export PREFILL_ENGINE_ARGS=${PREFILL_ENGINE_ARGS:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/qwen2-vl-7b-instruct/prefill.yaml"}
-export DECODE_ENGINE_ARGS=${DECODE_ENGINE_ARGS:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/qwen2-vl-7b-instruct/decode.yaml"}
+export MODEL_PATH=${MODEL_PATH:-"llava-hf/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf"}
+export SERVED_MODEL_NAME=${SERVED_MODEL_NAME:-"llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf"}
+export PREFILL_ENGINE_ARGS=${PREFILL_ENGINE_ARGS:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf/prefill.yaml"}
+export DECODE_ENGINE_ARGS=${DECODE_ENGINE_ARGS:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf/decode.yaml"}
 export PREFILL_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=${PREFILL_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES:-"0"}
 export DECODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=${DECODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES:-"1"}
 export MODALITY=${MODALITY:-"multimodal"}
+export CUSTOM_TEMPLATE=${CUSTOM_TEMPLATE:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/templates/llava_multimodal.jinja"}
 
 # Setup cleanup trap
 cleanup() {
@@ -33,6 +34,7 @@ CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=$PREFILL_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES python3 -m dynamo.trtllm \
   --served-model-name "$SERVED_MODEL_NAME" \
   --extra-engine-args  "$PREFILL_ENGINE_ARGS" \
   --modality "$MODALITY" \
+  --custom-jinja-template "$CUSTOM_TEMPLATE" \
   --disaggregation-mode prefill &
 PREFILL_PID=$!
 
@@ -42,4 +44,5 @@ CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=$DECODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES python3 -m dynamo.trtllm \
   --served-model-name "$SERVED_MODEL_NAME" \
   --extra-engine-args  "$DECODE_ENGINE_ARGS" \
   --modality "$MODALITY" \
+  --custom-jinja-template "$CUSTOM_TEMPLATE" \
   --disaggregation-mode decode

examples/backends/trtllm/launch/epd_disagg.sh

@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ export MODEL_PATH=${MODEL_PATH:-"meta-llama/Llama-4-Scout-17B-16E-Instruct"}
 export SERVED_MODEL_NAME=${SERVED_MODEL_NAME:-"meta-llama/Llama-4-Scout-17B-16E-Instruct"}
 export PREFILL_ENGINE_ARGS=${PREFILL_ENGINE_ARGS:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llama4/multimodal/llama4-Scout/prefill.yaml"}
 export DECODE_ENGINE_ARGS=${DECODE_ENGINE_ARGS:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llama4/multimodal/llama4-Scout/decode.yaml"}
-# Placeholder for now, this is NO-OP as encoder just loads embeddings path, done to maintain consistency with other workers adn future api enhancements
 export ENCODE_ENGINE_ARGS=${ENCODE_ENGINE_ARGS:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llama4/multimodal/llama4-Scout/encode.yaml"}
 export PREFILL_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=${PREFILL_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES:-"0,1,2,3"}
 export DECODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=${DECODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES:-"4,5,6,7"}

examples/backends/trtllm/launch/epd_multimodal_image.sh

+#!/bin/bash
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+# Environment variables with defaults
+export DYNAMO_HOME=${DYNAMO_HOME:-"/workspace"}
+export MODEL_PATH=${MODEL_PATH:-"llava-hf/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf"}
+export SERVED_MODEL_NAME=${SERVED_MODEL_NAME:-"llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf"}
+export PREFILL_ENGINE_ARGS=${PREFILL_ENGINE_ARGS:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf/prefill.yaml"}
+export DECODE_ENGINE_ARGS=${DECODE_ENGINE_ARGS:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf/decode.yaml"}
+export ENCODE_ENGINE_ARGS=${ENCODE_ENGINE_ARGS:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf/encode.yaml"}
+export PREFILL_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=${PREFILL_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES:-"0"}
+export DECODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=${DECODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES:-"1"}
+export ENCODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=${ENCODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES:-"2"}
+export ENCODE_ENDPOINT=${ENCODE_ENDPOINT:-"dyn://dynamo.tensorrt_llm_encode.generate"}
+export MODALITY=${MODALITY:-"multimodal"}
+export CUSTOM_TEMPLATE=${CUSTOM_TEMPLATE:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/templates/llava_multimodal.jinja"}
+
+# Setup cleanup trap
+cleanup() {
+    echo "Cleaning up background processes..."
+    kill $DYNAMO_PID $PREFILL_PID $DECODE_PID $ENCODE_PID 2>/dev/null || true
+    wait $DYNAMO_PID $PREFILL_PID $DECODE_PID $ENCODE_PID 2>/dev/null || true
+    echo "Cleanup complete."
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT INT TERM
+
+
+# run frontend
+python3 -m dynamo.frontend --http-port 8000 &
+DYNAMO_PID=$!
+
+# run encode worker
+CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=$ENCODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES python3 -m dynamo.trtllm \
+  --model-path "$MODEL_PATH" \
+  --served-model-name "$SERVED_MODEL_NAME" \
+  --extra-engine-args "$ENCODE_ENGINE_ARGS" \
+  --modality "$MODALITY" \
+  --disaggregation-mode encode &
+ENCODE_PID=$!
+
+# run prefill worker
+CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=$PREFILL_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES python3 -m dynamo.trtllm \
+  --model-path "$MODEL_PATH" \
+  --served-model-name "$SERVED_MODEL_NAME" \
+  --extra-engine-args "$PREFILL_ENGINE_ARGS" \
+  --modality "$MODALITY" \
+  --disaggregation-mode prefill \
+  --encode-endpoint "$ENCODE_ENDPOINT" \
+  --custom-jinja-template "$CUSTOM_TEMPLATE" &
+PREFILL_PID=$!
+
+# run decode worker
+CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=$DECODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES python3 -m dynamo.trtllm \
+  --model-path "$MODEL_PATH" \
+  --served-model-name "$SERVED_MODEL_NAME" \
+  --extra-engine-args "$DECODE_ENGINE_ARGS" \
+  --modality "$MODALITY" \
+  --disaggregation-mode decode \
+  --custom-jinja-template "$CUSTOM_TEMPLATE" &
+DECODE_PID=$!
+
+wait $DYNAMO_PID
\ No newline at end of file

examples/backends/trtllm/launch/epd_multimodal_image_and_embeddings.sh

+#!/bin/bash
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+# Environment variables with defaults
+export DYNAMO_HOME=${DYNAMO_HOME:-"/workspace"}
+export MODEL_PATH=${MODEL_PATH:-"llava-hf/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf"}
+export SERVED_MODEL_NAME=${SERVED_MODEL_NAME:-"llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf"}
+export PREFILL_ENGINE_ARGS=${PREFILL_ENGINE_ARGS:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf/prefill.yaml"}
+export DECODE_ENGINE_ARGS=${DECODE_ENGINE_ARGS:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf/decode.yaml"}
+export ENCODE_ENGINE_ARGS=${ENCODE_ENGINE_ARGS:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/engine_configs/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf/encode.yaml"}
+export PREFILL_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=${PREFILL_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES:-"0"}
+export DECODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=${DECODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES:-"1"}
+export ENCODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=${ENCODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES:-"2"}
+export ENCODE_ENDPOINT=${ENCODE_ENDPOINT:-"dyn://dynamo.tensorrt_llm_encode.generate"}
+export MODALITY=${MODALITY:-"multimodal"}
+export ALLOWED_LOCAL_MEDIA_PATH=${ALLOWED_LOCAL_MEDIA_PATH:-"/tmp"}
+export MAX_FILE_SIZE_MB=${MAX_FILE_SIZE_MB:-50}
+export CUSTOM_TEMPLATE=${CUSTOM_TEMPLATE:-"$DYNAMO_HOME/examples/backends/trtllm/templates/llava_multimodal.jinja"}
+
+# Setup cleanup trap
+cleanup() {
+    echo "Cleaning up background processes..."
+    kill $DYNAMO_PID $PREFILL_PID $DECODE_PID $ENCODE_PID 2>/dev/null || true
+    wait $DYNAMO_PID $PREFILL_PID $DECODE_PID $ENCODE_PID 2>/dev/null || true
+    echo "Cleanup complete."
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT INT TERM
+
+
+# run frontend
+python3 -m dynamo.frontend --http-port 8000 &
+DYNAMO_PID=$!
+
+# run encode worker
+CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=$ENCODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES python3 -m dynamo.trtllm \
+  --model-path "$MODEL_PATH" \
+  --served-model-name "$SERVED_MODEL_NAME" \
+  --extra-engine-args "$ENCODE_ENGINE_ARGS" \
+  --modality "$MODALITY" \
+  --allowed-local-media-path "$ALLOWED_LOCAL_MEDIA_PATH" \
+  --max-file-size-mb "$MAX_FILE_SIZE_MB" \
+  --disaggregation-mode encode &
+ENCODE_PID=$!
+
+# run prefill worker
+CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=$PREFILL_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES python3 -m dynamo.trtllm \
+  --model-path "$MODEL_PATH" \
+  --served-model-name "$SERVED_MODEL_NAME" \
+  --extra-engine-args "$PREFILL_ENGINE_ARGS" \
+  --modality "$MODALITY" \
+  --disaggregation-mode prefill \
+  --encode-endpoint "$ENCODE_ENDPOINT" \
+  --custom-jinja-template "$CUSTOM_TEMPLATE" &
+PREFILL_PID=$!
+
+# run decode worker
+CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=$DECODE_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES python3 -m dynamo.trtllm \
+  --model-path "$MODEL_PATH" \
+  --served-model-name "$SERVED_MODEL_NAME" \
+  --extra-engine-args "$DECODE_ENGINE_ARGS" \
+  --modality "$MODALITY" \
+  --allowed-local-media-path "$ALLOWED_LOCAL_MEDIA_PATH" \
+  --max-file-size-mb "$MAX_FILE_SIZE_MB" \
+  --disaggregation-mode decode \
+  --custom-jinja-template "$CUSTOM_TEMPLATE" &
+DECODE_PID=$!
+
+wait $DYNAMO_PID
\ No newline at end of file

examples/backends/trtllm/templates/llava_multimodal.jinja

+{% for message in messages %}
+{%- if message['role'] == 'system' -%}
+<<SYS>>
+{{ message['content'] }}
+<</SYS>>
+
+{% elif message['role'] == 'user' -%}
+[INST] {% if message['content'] is string %}{{ message['content'] }}{% else %}{% for item in message['content'] %}{% if item['type'] == 'image_url' %}<image>
+{% elif item['type'] == 'text' %}{{ item['text'] }}{% endif %}{% endfor %}{% endif %} [/INST]
+{% elif message['role'] == 'assistant' -%}
+{{ message['content'] }}</s>
+{% endif %}
+{%- endfor -%}
+

tests/serve/test_trtllm.py

@@ -199,6 +199,22 @@ trtllm_configs = {
         delayed_start=60,
         request_payloads=[multimodal_payload_default()],
     ),
+    "epd_multimodal_image_and_embeddings": TRTLLMConfig(
+        name="epd_multimodal_image_and_embeddings",
+        directory=trtllm_dir,
+        script_name="epd_multimodal_image_and_embeddings.sh",
+        marks=[
+            pytest.mark.gpu_4,
+            pytest.mark.trtllm,
+            pytest.mark.multimodal,
+            pytest.mark.nightly,
+        ],
+        model="llava-hf/llava-v1.6-mistral-7b-hf",
+        frontend_port=DefaultPort.FRONTEND.value,
+        timeout=1200,
+        delayed_start=120,
+        request_payloads=[multimodal_payload_default()],
+    ),
     "completions_only": TRTLLMConfig(
         name="completions_only",
         directory=trtllm_dir,