feat(gms): operator-managed GMS checkpoint/restore support (#8153)

deploy/helm/charts/platform/components/operator/crds/nvidia.com_dynamocheckpoints.yaml

@@ -67,6 +67,31 @@ spec:
             spec:
               description: DynamoCheckpointSpec defines the desired state of DynamoCheckpoint
               properties:
+                gpuMemoryService:
+                  description: |-
+                    GPUMemoryService enables checkpoint-time GPU Memory Service wiring.
+                    It is intentionally outside spec.identity, so it does not affect the
+                    checkpoint identity hash or deduplication.
+                  properties:
+                    deviceClassName:
+                      default: gpu.nvidia.com
+                      description: DeviceClassName is the DRA DeviceClass to request GPUs from.
+                      type: string
+                    enabled:
+                      description: |-
+                        Enabled activates the GMS sidecar. GPU resources on the main container
+                        are replaced with a DRA ResourceClaim for shared GPU access.
+                      type: boolean
+                    mode:
+                      default: intraPod
+                      description: Mode selects the GMS deployment topology.
+                      enum:
+                        - intraPod
+                        - interPod
+                      type: string
+                  required:
+                    - enabled
+                  type: object
                 identity:
                   description: Identity defines the inputs that determine checkpoint equivalence
                   properties:

deploy/operator/api/v1alpha1/dynamocheckpoint_types.go

@@ -124,6 +124,12 @@ type DynamoCheckpointSpec struct {
 	// +kubebuilder:validation:Required
 	Identity DynamoCheckpointIdentity `json:"identity"`
 
+	// GPUMemoryService enables checkpoint-time GPU Memory Service wiring.
+	// It is intentionally outside spec.identity, so it does not affect the
+	// checkpoint identity hash or deduplication.
+	// +optional
+	GPUMemoryService *GPUMemoryServiceSpec `json:"gpuMemoryService,omitempty"`
+
 	// Job defines the configuration for the checkpoint creation Job
 	// +kubebuilder:validation:Required
 	Job DynamoCheckpointJobConfig `json:"job"`

deploy/operator/api/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go

@@ -340,6 +340,11 @@ func (in *DynamoCheckpointList) DeepCopyObject() runtime.Object {
 func (in *DynamoCheckpointSpec) DeepCopyInto(out *DynamoCheckpointSpec) {
 	*out = *in
 	in.Identity.DeepCopyInto(&out.Identity)
+	if in.GPUMemoryService != nil {
+		in, out := &in.GPUMemoryService, &out.GPUMemoryService
+		*out = new(GPUMemoryServiceSpec)
+		**out = **in
+	}
 	in.Job.DeepCopyInto(&out.Job)
 }
 

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

@@ -67,6 +67,31 @@ spec:
             spec:
               description: DynamoCheckpointSpec defines the desired state of DynamoCheckpoint
               properties:
+                gpuMemoryService:
+                  description: |-
+                    GPUMemoryService enables checkpoint-time GPU Memory Service wiring.
+                    It is intentionally outside spec.identity, so it does not affect the
+                    checkpoint identity hash or deduplication.
+                  properties:
+                    deviceClassName:
+                      default: gpu.nvidia.com
+                      description: DeviceClassName is the DRA DeviceClass to request GPUs from.
+                      type: string
+                    enabled:
+                      description: |-
+                        Enabled activates the GMS sidecar. GPU resources on the main container
+                        are replaced with a DRA ResourceClaim for shared GPU access.
+                      type: boolean
+                    mode:
+                      default: intraPod
+                      description: Mode selects the GMS deployment topology.
+                      enum:
+                        - intraPod
+                        - interPod
+                      type: string
+                  required:
+                    - enabled
+                  type: object
                 identity:
                   description: Identity defines the inputs that determine checkpoint equivalence
                   properties:

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

@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ spec:
     dtype: "bfloat16"
     maxModelLen: 2048
 
+  # Optional: enable GMS-specific checkpoint capture and restore helpers.
+  gpuMemoryService:
+    enabled: false
+
   # Job configuration for checkpoint creation
   job:
     activeDeadlineSeconds: 3600

deploy/operator/internal/checkpoint/checkpoint_test.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"
+	gmsruntime "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/gms"
 	snapshotprotocol "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/snapshot/protocol"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
@@ -159,7 +160,7 @@ func TestCreateOrGetAutoCheckpointDeduplicatesConcurrentSameHashCheckpoint(t *te
 		},
 	}
 
-	ckpt, err := CreateOrGetAutoCheckpoint(ctx, c, testNamespace, identity, corev1.PodTemplateSpec{})
+	ckpt, err := CreateOrGetAutoCheckpoint(ctx, c, testNamespace, identity, corev1.PodTemplateSpec{}, nil)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assert.Equal(t, friendly.Name, ckpt.Name)
 
@@ -174,7 +175,7 @@ func TestCreateOrGetAutoCheckpointSetsDefaultArtifactVersion(t *testing.T) {
 	s := testScheme()
 	c := fake.NewClientBuilder().WithScheme(s).Build()
 
-	ckpt, err := CreateOrGetAutoCheckpoint(ctx, c, testNamespace, testIdentity(), corev1.PodTemplateSpec{})
+	ckpt, err := CreateOrGetAutoCheckpoint(ctx, c, testNamespace, testIdentity(), corev1.PodTemplateSpec{}, nil)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.NotNil(t, ckpt.Annotations)
 	assert.Equal(t, snapshotprotocol.DefaultCheckpointArtifactVersion, ckpt.Annotations[snapshotprotocol.CheckpointArtifactVersionAnnotation])
@@ -182,6 +183,50 @@ func TestCreateOrGetAutoCheckpointSetsDefaultArtifactVersion(t *testing.T) {
 
 // --- InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec tests ---
 
+func TestEnsurePodInfoVolumeMergesExistingDownwardAPIItems(t *testing.T) {
+	podSpec := &corev1.PodSpec{
+		Volumes: []corev1.Volume{{
+			Name: consts.PodInfoVolumeName,
+			VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
+				DownwardAPI: &corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeSource{
+					Items: []corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeFile{
+						{
+							Path:     "pod_name",
+							FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{FieldPath: "metadata.name"},
+						},
+						{
+							Path:     "custom",
+							FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{FieldPath: "metadata.labels['custom']"},
+						},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		}},
+	}
+
+	EnsurePodInfoVolume(podSpec)
+
+	require.Len(t, podSpec.Volumes, 1)
+	require.NotNil(t, podSpec.Volumes[0].DownwardAPI)
+
+	fields := map[string]string{}
+	for _, item := range podSpec.Volumes[0].DownwardAPI.Items {
+		if item.FieldRef != nil {
+			fields[item.Path] = item.FieldRef.FieldPath
+		}
+	}
+
+	assert.Equal(t, consts.PodInfoFieldPodName, fields["pod_name"])
+	assert.Equal(t, consts.PodInfoFieldPodUID, fields["pod_uid"])
+	assert.Equal(t, consts.PodInfoFieldPodNamespace, fields["pod_namespace"])
+	assert.Equal(t, "metadata.labels['custom']", fields["custom"])
+	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])
+}
+
 func TestInjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("ready checkpoint injects podinfo and overrides command", func(t *testing.T) {
 		podSpec := testPodSpec()
@@ -218,6 +263,50 @@ func TestInjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Equal(t, consts.PodInfoMountPath, mountPaths[consts.PodInfoVolumeName])
 	})
 
+	t.Run("ready checkpoint augments existing podinfo volume", func(t *testing.T) {
+		podSpec := testPodSpec()
+		podSpec.Volumes = append(podSpec.Volumes, corev1.Volume{
+			Name: consts.PodInfoVolumeName,
+			VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
+				DownwardAPI: &corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeSource{
+					Items: []corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeFile{
+						{Path: "pod_name", FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{FieldPath: consts.PodInfoFieldPodName}},
+						{Path: "pod_uid", FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{FieldPath: consts.PodInfoFieldPodUID}},
+						{Path: "pod_namespace", FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{FieldPath: consts.PodInfoFieldPodNamespace}},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		})
+		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))
+
+		var podInfoVolume *corev1.Volume
+		for i := range podSpec.Volumes {
+			if podSpec.Volumes[i].Name == consts.PodInfoVolumeName {
+				podInfoVolume = &podSpec.Volumes[i]
+				break
+			}
+		}
+		require.NotNil(t, podInfoVolume)
+		require.NotNil(t, podInfoVolume.DownwardAPI)
+
+		fields := map[string]string{}
+		for _, item := range podInfoVolume.DownwardAPI.Items {
+			if item.FieldRef != nil {
+				fields[item.Path] = item.FieldRef.FieldPath
+			}
+		}
+		assert.Equal(t, consts.PodInfoFieldPodName, fields["pod_name"])
+		assert.Equal(t, consts.PodInfoFieldPodUID, fields["pod_uid"])
+		assert.Equal(t, consts.PodInfoFieldPodNamespace, fields["pod_namespace"])
+		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])
+	})
+
 	t.Run("ready checkpoint targets the container named main", func(t *testing.T) {
 		podSpec := &corev1.PodSpec{
 			Containers: []corev1.Container{
@@ -235,6 +324,39 @@ func TestInjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Nil(t, podSpec.Containers[1].Args)
 	})
 
+	t.Run("ready gms checkpoint injects restore sidecars and loader mount", func(t *testing.T) {
+		podSpec := testPodSpec()
+		podSpec.Containers[0].Resources.Claims = []corev1.ResourceClaim{{Name: "gpu"}}
+		info := &CheckpointInfo{Enabled: true, Ready: true, Hash: testHash, GPUMemoryService: &nvidiacomv1alpha1.GPUMemoryServiceSpec{Enabled: true}}
+		reader := fake.NewClientBuilder().WithScheme(testScheme()).WithObjects(testSnapshotAgentDaemonSet()).Build()
+
+		require.NoError(t, InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(context.Background(), reader, testNamespace, podSpec, info))
+		gmsServer := findContainer(podSpec, gmsruntime.ServerContainerName)
+		require.NotNil(t, gmsServer)
+		loader := findContainer(podSpec, GMSLoaderContainer)
+		require.NotNil(t, loader)
+
+		// Restore: gms-server should be a regular container, not an init container
+		assert.Empty(t, podSpec.InitContainers, "restore pods should not have gms-server as init container")
+		assert.Nil(t, gmsServer.RestartPolicy, "restore gms-server should not have RestartPolicy")
+		assert.Nil(t, gmsServer.StartupProbe, "restore gms-server should not have StartupProbe")
+
+		mounts := map[string]string{}
+		for _, mount := range loader.VolumeMounts {
+			mounts[mount.Name] = mount.MountPath
+		}
+		assert.Equal(t, "/checkpoints", mounts[snapshotprotocol.CheckpointVolumeName])
+		assert.Equal(t, gmsruntime.SharedMountPath, mounts[gmsruntime.SharedVolumeName])
+
+		env := map[string]string{}
+		for _, item := range loader.Env {
+			env[item.Name] = item.Value
+		}
+		assert.Equal(t, "/checkpoints/gms/"+testHash+"/versions/1", env["GMS_CHECKPOINT_DIR"])
+		assert.Equal(t, []string{"python3", "-m", "gpu_memory_service.cli.server"}, gmsServer.Command)
+		assert.Equal(t, []string{"python3", "-m", "gpu_memory_service.cli.snapshot.loader"}, loader.Command)
+	})
+
 	t.Run("error cases", func(t *testing.T) {
 		for _, tc := range []struct {
 			name    string
@@ -277,7 +399,10 @@ func TestResolveCheckpointForService(t *testing.T) {
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		ckpt := &nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint{
 			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: hash, Namespace: testNamespace},
-			Spec:       nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointSpec{Identity: testIdentity()},
+			Spec: nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointSpec{
+				Identity:         testIdentity(),
+				GPUMemoryService: &nvidiacomv1alpha1.GPUMemoryServiceSpec{Enabled: true},
+			},
 			Status: nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStatus{
 				Phase:        nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseReady,
 				IdentityHash: hash,
@@ -294,6 +419,8 @@ func TestResolveCheckpointForService(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.True(t, info.Ready)
 		assert.Equal(t, hash, info.Hash)
 		assert.Equal(t, hash, info.CheckpointName)
+		require.NotNil(t, info.GPUMemoryService)
+		assert.True(t, info.GPUMemoryService.Enabled)
 	})
 
 	t.Run("checkpointRef resolves not-ready CR", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -412,3 +539,19 @@ func TestResolveCheckpointForService(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.ErrorContains(t, err, "no checkpointRef or identity")
 	})
 }
+
+// findContainer is a test helper that locates a container by name across both
+// regular containers and init containers.
+func findContainer(podSpec *corev1.PodSpec, name string) *corev1.Container {
+	for i := range podSpec.Containers {
+		if podSpec.Containers[i].Name == name {
+			return &podSpec.Containers[i]
+		}
+	}
+	for i := range podSpec.InitContainers {
+		if podSpec.InitContainers[i].Name == name {
+			return &podSpec.InitContainers[i]
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}

deploy/operator/internal/checkpoint/gms.go

+/*
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+package checkpoint
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"path/filepath"
+
+	gmsruntime "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/gms"
+	snapshotprotocol "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/snapshot/protocol"
+	appsv1 "k8s.io/api/apps/v1"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	ctrlclient "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
+)
+
+const (
+	GMSLoaderContainer = "gms-loader"
+	GMSSaverContainer  = "gms-saver"
+
+	gmsCheckpointLoaderModule = "gpu_memory_service.cli.snapshot.loader"
+	gmsCheckpointSaverModule  = "gpu_memory_service.cli.snapshot.saver"
+)
+
+func ResolveGMSCheckpointStorage(
+	ctx context.Context,
+	reader ctrlclient.Reader,
+	namespace string,
+	checkpointID string,
+	artifactVersion string,
+) (snapshotprotocol.Storage, error) {
+	if reader == nil {
+		return snapshotprotocol.Storage{}, fmt.Errorf("checkpoint client is required")
+	}
+
+	daemonSets := &appsv1.DaemonSetList{}
+	if err := reader.List(
+		ctx,
+		daemonSets,
+		ctrlclient.InNamespace(namespace),
+		ctrlclient.MatchingLabels{snapshotprotocol.SnapshotAgentLabelKey: snapshotprotocol.SnapshotAgentLabelValue},
+	); err != nil {
+		return snapshotprotocol.Storage{}, fmt.Errorf("list snapshot-agent daemonsets in %s: %w", namespace, err)
+	}
+
+	storage, err := snapshotprotocol.DiscoverStorageFromDaemonSets(namespace, daemonSets.Items)
+	if err != nil {
+		return snapshotprotocol.Storage{}, err
+	}
+	return snapshotprotocol.ResolveCheckpointStorage(checkpointID, artifactVersion, storage)
+}
+
+// BuildGMSRestoreSidecars prepares GMS infrastructure for a restore pod and
+// returns the additional containers the caller must append to podSpec.Containers.
+//
+// The GMS server runs as a regular container (not init) because the CRIU-restored
+// main process already has GPU memory mapped and does not need sockets at
+// startup. The gms-loader polls for sockets internally via wait_for_weights_socket.
+func BuildGMSRestoreSidecars(
+	podSpec *corev1.PodSpec,
+	mainContainer *corev1.Container,
+	storage snapshotprotocol.Storage,
+) []corev1.Container {
+	if podSpec == nil || mainContainer == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	// Remove gms-server from initContainers if the DGD-level
+	// applyGPUMemoryService already placed it there. For restore pods the
+	// server runs as a regular container so that all containers start in
+	// parallel — the restored main process does not need sockets at startup.
+	for i := range podSpec.InitContainers {
+		if podSpec.InitContainers[i].Name == gmsruntime.ServerContainerName {
+			podSpec.InitContainers = append(podSpec.InitContainers[:i], podSpec.InitContainers[i+1:]...)
+			break
+		}
+	}
+
+	server := gmsruntime.BuildServerContainer(podSpec, mainContainer)
+
+	loader := gmsCheckpointLoaderContainer(mainContainer.Image)
+	copyGMSDeviceClaims(mainContainer, &loader)
+	ensureCheckpointVolume(podSpec, storage.PVCName)
+	loader.VolumeMounts = append(loader.VolumeMounts, corev1.VolumeMount{Name: snapshotprotocol.CheckpointVolumeName, MountPath: storage.BasePath})
+	loader.Env = append(loader.Env, corev1.EnvVar{Name: "GMS_CHECKPOINT_DIR", Value: resolveGMSArtifactDir(storage)})
+
+	return []corev1.Container{server, loader}
+}
+
+// BuildGMSCheckpointJobSidecars prepares GMS infrastructure for a checkpoint
+// job and returns the additional containers the caller must append to
+// podSpec.Containers.
+func BuildGMSCheckpointJobSidecars(
+	podSpec *corev1.PodSpec,
+	mainContainer *corev1.Container,
+	storage snapshotprotocol.Storage,
+) ([]corev1.Container, error) {
+	if podSpec == nil || mainContainer == nil {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	if len(mainContainer.Resources.Claims) == 0 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("gms sidecars require main container resource claims")
+	}
+	if storage.PVCName == "" || storage.BasePath == "" || storage.Location == "" {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("gms checkpoint jobs require resolved checkpoint storage")
+	}
+
+	gmsruntime.EnsureServerSidecar(podSpec, mainContainer)
+	ensureGMSCheckpointControl(podSpec)
+
+	saver := gmsCheckpointSaverContainer(mainContainer.Image)
+	copyGMSDeviceClaims(mainContainer, &saver)
+	ensureCheckpointVolume(podSpec, storage.PVCName)
+	saver.VolumeMounts = append(saver.VolumeMounts, corev1.VolumeMount{Name: snapshotprotocol.CheckpointVolumeName, MountPath: storage.BasePath})
+	saver.Env = append(saver.Env, corev1.EnvVar{Name: "GMS_CHECKPOINT_DIR", Value: resolveGMSArtifactDir(storage)})
+
+	return []corev1.Container{saver}, nil
+}
+
+func resolveGMSArtifactDir(storage snapshotprotocol.Storage) string {
+	// GMS data lives under /checkpoints/gms/<hash>/versions/<version>
+	// separate from the CRIU tree (/checkpoints/<hash>/versions/<version>)
+	// so the non-root saver can create directories at the PVC root.
+	artifactVersion := filepath.Base(storage.Location)
+	checkpointID := filepath.Base(filepath.Dir(filepath.Dir(storage.Location)))
+	return filepath.Join(storage.BasePath, "gms", checkpointID, "versions", artifactVersion)
+}
+
+func gmsCheckpointLoaderContainer(image string) corev1.Container {
+	container := corev1.Container{
+		Name:    GMSLoaderContainer,
+		Image:   image,
+		Command: []string{"python3", "-m", gmsCheckpointLoaderModule},
+		Env: []corev1.EnvVar{
+			{Name: "TMPDIR", Value: gmsruntime.SharedMountPath},
+			{Name: "GMS_SOCKET_DIR", Value: gmsruntime.SharedMountPath},
+		},
+		VolumeMounts: []corev1.VolumeMount{
+			{Name: gmsruntime.SharedVolumeName, MountPath: gmsruntime.SharedMountPath},
+		},
+	}
+	return container
+}
+
+func gmsCheckpointSaverContainer(image string) corev1.Container {
+	container := corev1.Container{
+		Name:    GMSSaverContainer,
+		Image:   image,
+		Command: []string{"python3", "-m", gmsCheckpointSaverModule},
+		Env: []corev1.EnvVar{
+			{Name: "POD_NAME", ValueFrom: &corev1.EnvVarSource{FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{FieldPath: "metadata.name"}}},
+			{Name: "POD_NAMESPACE", ValueFrom: &corev1.EnvVarSource{FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{FieldPath: "metadata.namespace"}}},
+			{Name: "TMPDIR", Value: gmsruntime.SharedMountPath},
+			{Name: "GMS_SOCKET_DIR", Value: gmsruntime.SharedMountPath},
+			{Name: "GMS_CONTROL_DIR", Value: gmsruntime.ControlDir},
+		},
+		VolumeMounts: []corev1.VolumeMount{
+			{Name: gmsruntime.SharedVolumeName, MountPath: gmsruntime.SharedMountPath},
+			{Name: gmsruntime.ControlVolumeName, MountPath: gmsruntime.ControlDir},
+		},
+	}
+	return container
+}
+
+// ensureGMSCheckpointControl adds the control volume and injects
+// GMS_CONTROL_DIR into the GMS server container for checkpoint coordination.
+func ensureGMSCheckpointControl(podSpec *corev1.PodSpec) {
+	podSpec.Volumes = append(podSpec.Volumes, corev1.Volume{
+		Name:         gmsruntime.ControlVolumeName,
+		VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{EmptyDir: &corev1.EmptyDirVolumeSource{}},
+	})
+	server := gmsruntime.FindServerContainer(podSpec)
+	if server != nil {
+		server.VolumeMounts = append(server.VolumeMounts, corev1.VolumeMount{Name: gmsruntime.ControlVolumeName, MountPath: gmsruntime.ControlDir})
+		server.Env = append(server.Env, corev1.EnvVar{Name: "GMS_CONTROL_DIR", Value: gmsruntime.ControlDir})
+	}
+}
+
+func copyGMSDeviceClaims(mainContainer *corev1.Container, container *corev1.Container) {
+	if mainContainer == nil || container == nil || len(mainContainer.Resources.Claims) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	container.Resources.Claims = append([]corev1.ResourceClaim{}, mainContainer.Resources.Claims...)
+}
+
+func ensureCheckpointVolume(podSpec *corev1.PodSpec, pvcName string) {
+	if pvcName == "" {
+		return
+	}
+	for i := range podSpec.Volumes {
+		if podSpec.Volumes[i].Name == snapshotprotocol.CheckpointVolumeName {
+			return
+		}
+	}
+	podSpec.Volumes = append(podSpec.Volumes, corev1.Volume{
+		Name: snapshotprotocol.CheckpointVolumeName,
+		VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
+			PersistentVolumeClaim: &corev1.PersistentVolumeClaimVolumeSource{ClaimName: pvcName},
+		},
+	})
+}

deploy/operator/internal/checkpoint/podinfo.go

@@ -9,17 +9,42 @@ import (
 )
 
 func EnsurePodInfoVolume(podSpec *corev1.PodSpec) {
-	for _, volume := range podSpec.Volumes {
-		if volume.Name == commonconsts.PodInfoVolumeName {
-			return
+	for i := range podSpec.Volumes {
+		if podSpec.Volumes[i].Name != commonconsts.PodInfoVolumeName {
+			continue
+		}
+		if podSpec.Volumes[i].DownwardAPI == nil {
+			podSpec.Volumes[i].VolumeSource.DownwardAPI = &corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeSource{}
+		}
+		// Merge required items into existing downwardAPI volume.
+		source := podSpec.Volumes[i].DownwardAPI
+		pathToIndex := make(map[string]int, len(source.Items))
+		for j := range source.Items {
+			pathToIndex[source.Items[j].Path] = j
+		}
+		for _, item := range podInfoItems() {
+			if idx, ok := pathToIndex[item.Path]; ok {
+				source.Items[idx] = item
+				continue
 			}
+			source.Items = append(source.Items, item)
+			pathToIndex[item.Path] = len(source.Items) - 1
+		}
+		return
 	}
 
 	podSpec.Volumes = append(podSpec.Volumes, corev1.Volume{
 		Name: commonconsts.PodInfoVolumeName,
 		VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
 			DownwardAPI: &corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeSource{
-				Items: []corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeFile{
+				Items: podInfoItems(),
+			},
+		},
+	})
+}
+
+func podInfoItems() []corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeFile {
+	return []corev1.DownwardAPIVolumeFile{
 		{
 			Path: "pod_name",
 			FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
@@ -68,10 +93,7 @@ func EnsurePodInfoVolume(podSpec *corev1.PodSpec) {
 				FieldPath: commonconsts.PodInfoFieldPodNamespace,
 			},
 		},
-				},
-			},
-		},
-	})
+	}
 }
 
 func EnsurePodInfoMount(container *corev1.Container) {

deploy/operator/internal/checkpoint/podspec.go

@@ -94,5 +94,26 @@ func InjectCheckpointIntoPodSpec(
 
 	EnsurePodInfoVolume(podSpec)
 	EnsurePodInfoMount(mainContainer)
+
+	// GMS restore sidecars (server + loader) are only needed when the checkpoint
+	// is ready and the pod will actually be CRIU-restored.
+	if info.Ready && info.GPUMemoryService != nil && info.GPUMemoryService.Enabled {
+		if len(mainContainer.Resources.Claims) == 0 {
+			return fmt.Errorf("gms sidecars require main container resource claims")
+		}
+		storage, err := ResolveGMSCheckpointStorage(
+			ctx,
+			reader,
+			namespace,
+			info.Hash,
+			info.ArtifactVersion,
+		)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		gmsSidecars := BuildGMSRestoreSidecars(podSpec, mainContainer, storage)
+		podSpec.Containers = append(podSpec.Containers, gmsSidecars...)
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }

deploy/operator/internal/checkpoint/resolve.go

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ type CheckpointInfo struct {
 	Enabled          bool
 	Exists           bool
 	Identity         *nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointIdentity
+	GPUMemoryService *nvidiacomv1alpha1.GPUMemoryServiceSpec
 	Hash             string
 	ArtifactVersion  string
 	CheckpointName   string
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@ func checkpointInfoFromObject(ckpt *nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint) (*Checkp
 		Enabled:          true,
 		Exists:           true,
 		Identity:         &ckpt.Spec.Identity,
+		GPUMemoryService: ckpt.Spec.GPUMemoryService,
 		Hash:             hash,
 		ArtifactVersion:  checkpointArtifactVersion(ckpt),
 		CheckpointName:   ckpt.Name,

deploy/operator/internal/checkpoint/resource.go

@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@ func CreateOrGetAutoCheckpoint(
 	namespace string,
 	identity nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointIdentity,
 	podTemplate corev1.PodTemplateSpec,
+	gpuMemoryService *nvidiacomv1alpha1.GPUMemoryServiceSpec,
 ) (*nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint, error) {
 	hash, err := ComputeIdentityHash(identity)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -126,6 +127,7 @@ func CreateOrGetAutoCheckpoint(
 		},
 		Spec: nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointSpec{
 			Identity:         identity,
+			GPUMemoryService: gpuMemoryService,
 			Job: nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointJobConfig{
 				PodTemplateSpec: podTemplate,
 			},

deploy/operator/internal/controller/checkpoint_job.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 package controller
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
 
 	configv1alpha1 "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/config/v1alpha1"
@@ -16,6 +17,7 @@ import (
 	batchv1 "k8s.io/api/batch/v1"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource"
+	ctrlclient "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 )
 
 func buildCheckpointWorkerDefaultEnv(
@@ -51,6 +53,8 @@ func buildCheckpointWorkerDefaultEnv(
 }
 
 func buildCheckpointJob(
+	ctx context.Context,
+	reader ctrlclient.Reader,
 	config *configv1alpha1.OperatorConfiguration,
 	ckpt *nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint,
 	jobName string,
@@ -77,8 +81,10 @@ func buildCheckpointJob(
 
 	checkpoint.EnsurePodInfoVolume(&podTemplate.Spec)
 
-	if len(podTemplate.Spec.Containers) > 0 {
-		mainContainer := &podTemplate.Spec.Containers[0]
+	mainContainer, err := snapshotprotocol.ResolveCheckpointWorkerContainer(&podTemplate.Spec)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
 	mainContainer.Env = dynamo.MergeEnvs(
 		buildCheckpointWorkerDefaultEnv(ckpt, podTemplate),
 		mainContainer.Env,
@@ -101,7 +107,25 @@ func buildCheckpointJob(
 	mainContainer.StartupProbe = nil
 	checkpoint.EnsurePodInfoMount(mainContainer)
 	dynamo.ApplySharedMemoryVolumeAndMount(&podTemplate.Spec, mainContainer, ckpt.Spec.Job.SharedMemory)
+
+	var gmsSidecars []corev1.Container
+	if ckpt.Spec.GPUMemoryService != nil && ckpt.Spec.GPUMemoryService.Enabled {
+		storage, err := checkpoint.ResolveGMSCheckpointStorage(
+			ctx,
+			reader,
+			ckpt.Namespace,
+			hash,
+			ckpt.Annotations[snapshotprotocol.CheckpointArtifactVersionAnnotation],
+		)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
 		}
+		gmsSidecars, err = checkpoint.BuildGMSCheckpointJobSidecars(&podTemplate.Spec, mainContainer, storage)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+	podTemplate.Spec.Containers = append(podTemplate.Spec.Containers, gmsSidecars...)
 
 	activeDeadlineSeconds := ckpt.Spec.Job.ActiveDeadlineSeconds
 	if activeDeadlineSeconds == nil {
@@ -110,11 +134,9 @@ func buildCheckpointJob(
 	}
 
 	wrapLaunchJob := false
-	if len(podTemplate.Spec.Containers) != 0 {
-		if gpus, ok := podTemplate.Spec.Containers[0].Resources.Limits[corev1.ResourceName(consts.KubeResourceGPUNvidia)]; ok {
+	if gpus, ok := mainContainer.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{

deploy/operator/internal/controller/dynamocheckpoint_controller.go

@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ func (r *CheckpointReconciler) handlePending(ctx context.Context, ckpt *nvidiaco
 
 	// Use SyncResource to create/update the checkpoint Job
 	modified, _, err := commonController.SyncResource(ctx, r, ckpt, func(ctx context.Context) (*batchv1.Job, bool, error) {
-		job, err := buildCheckpointJob(r.Config, ckpt, jobName)
+		job, err := buildCheckpointJob(ctx, r.Client, r.Config, ckpt, jobName)
 		return job, false, err
 	})
 	if err != nil {

deploy/operator/internal/controller/dynamocheckpoint_controller_test.go

@@ -26,9 +26,11 @@ import (
 	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"
+	gmsruntime "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/gms"
 	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"
 	batchv1 "k8s.io/api/batch/v1"
 	coordinationv1 "k8s.io/api/coordination/v1"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
@@ -65,6 +67,7 @@ var defaultCheckpointJobName = snapshotprotocol.GetCheckpointJobName(testHash, s
 func checkpointTestScheme() *runtime.Scheme {
 	s := runtime.NewScheme()
 	_ = nvidiacomv1alpha1.AddToScheme(s)
+	_ = appsv1.AddToScheme(s)
 	_ = corev1.AddToScheme(s)
 	_ = batchv1.AddToScheme(s)
 	_ = coordinationv1.AddToScheme(s)
@@ -130,6 +133,17 @@ func makeCheckpointLease(name string, renewTime time.Time, durationSeconds int32
 	}
 }
 
+func requireCheckpointContainer(t *testing.T, containers []corev1.Container, name string) *corev1.Container {
+	t.Helper()
+	for i := range containers {
+		if containers[i].Name == name {
+			return &containers[i]
+		}
+	}
+	t.Fatalf("container %q not found", name)
+	return nil
+}
+
 func TestBuildCheckpointJob(t *testing.T) {
 	s := checkpointTestScheme()
 	ckpt := makeTestCheckpoint(nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhasePending)
@@ -139,7 +153,7 @@ func TestBuildCheckpointJob(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	r := makeCheckpointReconciler(s, ckpt)
-	job, err := buildCheckpointJob(r.Config, ckpt, defaultCheckpointJobName)
+	job, err := buildCheckpointJob(context.Background(), nil, r.Config, ckpt, defaultCheckpointJobName)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	podSpec := job.Spec.Template.Spec
 	main := podSpec.Containers[0]
@@ -236,7 +250,7 @@ func TestBuildCheckpointJob(t *testing.T) {
 	backoff := int32(5)
 	ckpt.Spec.Job.ActiveDeadlineSeconds = &deadline
 	ckpt.Spec.Job.BackoffLimit = &backoff //nolint:staticcheck // Compatibility test: deprecated field must remain ignored by checkpoint Jobs.
-	job, err = buildCheckpointJob(r.Config, ckpt, defaultCheckpointJobName)
+	job, err = buildCheckpointJob(context.Background(), nil, r.Config, ckpt, defaultCheckpointJobName)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assert.Equal(t, int64(7200), *job.Spec.ActiveDeadlineSeconds)
 	assert.Equal(t, int32(0), *job.Spec.BackoffLimit)
@@ -247,12 +261,142 @@ func TestBuildCheckpointJob(t *testing.T) {
 			corev1.ResourceName("nvidia.com/gpu"): resource.MustParse("2"),
 		},
 	}
-	job, err = buildCheckpointJob(r.Config, ckpt, defaultCheckpointJobName)
+	job, err = buildCheckpointJob(context.Background(), nil, r.Config, ckpt, defaultCheckpointJobName)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assert.Equal(t, []string{"cuda-checkpoint"}, job.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers[0].Command)
 	assert.Equal(t, []string{"--launch-job", "python3", "-m", "dynamo.vllm"}, job.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers[0].Args)
 }
 
+func TestBuildCheckpointJobTargetsMainContainerWhenSidecarIsFirst(t *testing.T) {
+	s := checkpointTestScheme()
+	ckpt := makeTestCheckpoint(nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhasePending)
+	ckpt.Spec.Job.PodTemplateSpec.Spec.Containers = []corev1.Container{
+		{
+			Name:    "sidecar",
+			Image:   "sidecar:latest",
+			Command: []string{"sleep"},
+			Args:    []string{"infinity"},
+		},
+		{
+			Name:    consts.MainContainerName,
+			Image:   "test-image:latest",
+			Command: []string{"python3", "-m", "dynamo.vllm"},
+			Env:     []corev1.EnvVar{{Name: "HF_TOKEN", Value: "secret"}},
+			Resources: corev1.ResourceRequirements{
+				Limits: corev1.ResourceList{
+					corev1.ResourceName(consts.KubeResourceGPUNvidia): resource.MustParse("2"),
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	r := makeCheckpointReconciler(s, ckpt)
+	job, err := buildCheckpointJob(context.Background(), nil, r.Config, ckpt, defaultCheckpointJobName)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	main := requireCheckpointContainer(t, job.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers, consts.MainContainerName)
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"cuda-checkpoint"}, main.Command)
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"--launch-job", "python3", "-m", "dynamo.vllm"}, main.Args)
+	require.NotNil(t, main.ReadinessProbe)
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"cat", "/tmp/ready-for-checkpoint"}, main.ReadinessProbe.Exec.Command)
+	assert.Nil(t, main.LivenessProbe)
+	assert.Nil(t, main.StartupProbe)
+
+	mainEnv := map[string]string{}
+	for _, env := range main.Env {
+		mainEnv[env.Name] = env.Value
+	}
+	assert.Equal(t, "/tmp/ready-for-checkpoint", mainEnv[consts.EnvReadyForCheckpointFile])
+	assert.Equal(t, "secret", mainEnv["HF_TOKEN"])
+
+	sidecar := requireCheckpointContainer(t, job.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers, "sidecar")
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"sleep"}, sidecar.Command)
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"infinity"}, sidecar.Args)
+	assert.Nil(t, sidecar.ReadinessProbe)
+	assert.Nil(t, sidecar.LivenessProbe)
+	assert.Nil(t, sidecar.StartupProbe)
+	for _, env := range sidecar.Env {
+		assert.NotEqual(t, consts.EnvReadyForCheckpointFile, env.Name)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildCheckpointJobAddsGMSSidecars(t *testing.T) {
+	s := checkpointTestScheme()
+	ckpt := makeTestCheckpoint(nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhasePending)
+	ckpt.Spec.GPUMemoryService = &nvidiacomv1alpha1.GPUMemoryServiceSpec{Enabled: true}
+	ckpt.Spec.Job.PodTemplateSpec.Spec.Containers[0].Resources.Claims = []corev1.ResourceClaim{{Name: "gpu"}}
+	snapshotAgentDaemonSet := &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:      snapshotprotocol.SnapshotAgentVolumeName,
+							MountPath: "/checkpoints",
+						}},
+					}},
+					Volumes: []corev1.Volume{{
+						Name: snapshotprotocol.SnapshotAgentVolumeName,
+						VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
+							PersistentVolumeClaim: &corev1.PersistentVolumeClaimVolumeSource{
+								ClaimName: "snapshot-pvc",
+							},
+						},
+					}},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	reader := fake.NewClientBuilder().WithScheme(s).WithObjects(snapshotAgentDaemonSet).Build()
+
+	r := makeCheckpointReconciler(s, ckpt)
+	job, err := buildCheckpointJob(context.Background(), reader, r.Config, ckpt, defaultCheckpointJobName)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	main := requireCheckpointContainer(t, job.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers, consts.MainContainerName)
+	weightsServer := requireCheckpointContainer(t, job.Spec.Template.Spec.InitContainers, gmsruntime.ServerContainerName)
+	saver := requireCheckpointContainer(t, job.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers, checkpoint.GMSSaverContainer)
+
+	volNames := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, v := range job.Spec.Template.Spec.Volumes {
+		volNames[v.Name] = true
+	}
+	assert.True(t, volNames[gmsruntime.SharedVolumeName])
+	assert.True(t, volNames[gmsruntime.ControlVolumeName])
+	assert.True(t, volNames[snapshotprotocol.CheckpointVolumeName])
+
+	mainMounts := map[string]string{}
+	for _, m := range main.VolumeMounts {
+		mainMounts[m.Name] = m.MountPath
+	}
+	assert.Equal(t, gmsruntime.SharedMountPath, mainMounts[gmsruntime.SharedVolumeName])
+
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"python3", "-m", "gpu_memory_service.cli.server"}, weightsServer.Command)
+	assert.Equal(t, corev1.ContainerRestartPolicyAlways, *weightsServer.RestartPolicy)
+	require.NotNil(t, weightsServer.StartupProbe)
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"python3", "-m", "gpu_memory_service.cli.snapshot.saver"}, saver.Command)
+
+	saverMounts := map[string]string{}
+	for _, m := range saver.VolumeMounts {
+		saverMounts[m.Name] = m.MountPath
+	}
+	assert.Equal(t, "/checkpoints", saverMounts[snapshotprotocol.CheckpointVolumeName])
+
+	saverEnv := map[string]string{}
+	for _, env := range saver.Env {
+		saverEnv[env.Name] = env.Value
+	}
+	assert.Equal(t, "/checkpoints/gms/"+testHash+"/versions/1", saverEnv["GMS_CHECKPOINT_DIR"])
+}
+
 func TestBuildCheckpointJobInjectsStandardEnvVars(t *testing.T) {
 	s := checkpointTestScheme()
 	ckpt := makeTestCheckpoint(nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhasePending)
@@ -272,7 +416,7 @@ func TestBuildCheckpointJobInjectsStandardEnvVars(t *testing.T) {
 
 	customShmSize := resource.MustParse("16Gi")
 	ckpt.Spec.Job.SharedMemory = &nvidiacomv1alpha1.SharedMemorySpec{Size: customShmSize}
-	job, err := buildCheckpointJob(r.Config, ckpt, defaultCheckpointJobName)
+	job, err := buildCheckpointJob(context.Background(), nil, r.Config, ckpt, defaultCheckpointJobName)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	foundCustomShmVolume := false
 	for _, v := range job.Spec.Template.Spec.Volumes {

deploy/operator/internal/controller/dynamocomponentdeployment_controller_test.go

@@ -29,10 +29,12 @@ import (
 	commonconsts "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/consts"
 	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/controller_common"
 	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/dynamo"
+	gmsruntime "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/gms"
 	snapshotprotocol "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/snapshot/protocol"
 	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
 	"github.com/onsi/gomega"
 	"github.com/onsi/gomega/format"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	istioNetworking "istio.io/api/networking/v1beta1"
 	networkingv1beta1 "istio.io/client-go/pkg/apis/networking/v1beta1"
 	appsv1 "k8s.io/api/apps/v1"
@@ -1248,7 +1250,7 @@ func TestDynamoComponentDeploymentReconciler_createOrUpdateOrDeleteDeployments_R
 	g.Expect(deployment3).NotTo(gomega.BeNil())
 }
 
-func TestDynamoComponentDeploymentReconciler_generatePodTemplateSpec_RestoreLabels(t *testing.T) {
+func TestDynamoComponentDeploymentReconciler_generatePodTemplateSpec_RestoreLabels(t *testing.T) { //nolint:gocyclo
 	s := scheme.Scheme
 	if err := v1alpha1.AddToScheme(s); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to add v1alpha1 to scheme: %v", err)
@@ -1376,6 +1378,129 @@ func TestDynamoComponentDeploymentReconciler_generatePodTemplateSpec_RestoreLabe
 		}
 	})
 
+	t.Run("ready gms checkpoint injects gms restore sidecars", func(t *testing.T) {
+		identity := v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointIdentity{Model: "test-model", BackendFramework: "vllm"}
+		checkpointName, err := checkpoint.ComputeIdentityHash(identity)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("ComputeIdentityHash failed: %v", err)
+		}
+		dcd := makeDCD(checkpointName)
+		dcd.Spec.ExtraPodSpec.MainContainer.Resources.Claims = []corev1.ResourceClaim{{Name: "gpu"}}
+		ckpt := &v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint{
+			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+				Name:      checkpointName,
+				Namespace: "default",
+			},
+			Spec: v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointSpec{
+				Identity:         identity,
+				GPUMemoryService: &v1alpha1.GPUMemoryServiceSpec{Enabled: true},
+			},
+			Status: v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStatus{
+				Phase: v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseReady,
+			},
+		}
+
+		r := makeReconciler(dcd, ckpt)
+		podTemplateSpec, err := r.generatePodTemplateSpec(
+			context.Background(),
+			generateResourceOption{dynamoComponentDeployment: dcd},
+			dynamo.RoleMain,
+		)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("generatePodTemplateSpec failed: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		find := func(name string) *corev1.Container {
+			for i := range podTemplateSpec.Spec.Containers {
+				if podTemplateSpec.Spec.Containers[i].Name == name {
+					return &podTemplateSpec.Spec.Containers[i]
+				}
+			}
+			for i := range podTemplateSpec.Spec.InitContainers {
+				if podTemplateSpec.Spec.InitContainers[i].Name == name {
+					return &podTemplateSpec.Spec.InitContainers[i]
+				}
+			}
+			return nil
+		}
+
+		gmsServer := find(gmsruntime.ServerContainerName)
+		require.NotNil(t, gmsServer)
+		loader := find(checkpoint.GMSLoaderContainer)
+		require.NotNil(t, loader)
+
+		mounts := map[string]string{}
+		for _, mount := range loader.VolumeMounts {
+			mounts[mount.Name] = mount.MountPath
+		}
+		if got := mounts[snapshotprotocol.CheckpointVolumeName]; got != "/checkpoints" {
+			t.Fatalf("expected gms loader checkpoint mount at /checkpoints, got %q", got)
+		}
+		if got := gmsServer.Command; len(got) != 3 || got[0] != "python3" || got[1] != "-m" || got[2] != "gpu_memory_service.cli.server" { //nolint:goconst
+			t.Fatalf("expected weights server to run python module, got %#v", got)
+		}
+		// Restore: gms-server should be a regular container, not an init container
+		if gmsServer.RestartPolicy != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("expected restore gms-server to have no RestartPolicy (regular container), got %#v", gmsServer.RestartPolicy)
+		}
+		if gmsServer.StartupProbe != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("expected restore gms-server to have no StartupProbe")
+		}
+		if got := loader.Command; len(got) != 3 || got[0] != "python3" || got[1] != "-m" || got[2] != "gpu_memory_service.cli.snapshot.loader" {
+			t.Fatalf("expected loader to run python module, got %#v", got)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("ready checkpoint rewrites only main when extra sidecars are present", func(t *testing.T) {
+		identity := v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointIdentity{Model: "test-model", BackendFramework: "vllm"}
+		checkpointName, err := checkpoint.ComputeIdentityHash(identity)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("ComputeIdentityHash failed: %v", err)
+		}
+		dcd := makeDCD(checkpointName)
+		dcd.Spec.ExtraPodSpec.PodSpec = &corev1.PodSpec{
+			Containers: []corev1.Container{{
+				Name:    "gms-loader",
+				Image:   "sidecar:latest",
+				Command: []string{"python3"},
+				Args:    []string{"-m", "sidecar"},
+			}},
+		}
+		ckpt := &v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint{
+			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+				Name:      checkpointName,
+				Namespace: "default",
+			},
+			Spec: v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointSpec{Identity: identity},
+			Status: v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStatus{
+				Phase: v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseReady,
+			},
+		}
+
+		r := makeReconciler(dcd, ckpt)
+		podTemplateSpec, err := r.generatePodTemplateSpec(
+			context.Background(),
+			generateResourceOption{dynamoComponentDeployment: dcd},
+			dynamo.RoleMain,
+		)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("generatePodTemplateSpec failed: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		if got := podTemplateSpec.Spec.Containers[0]; got.Name != "gms-loader" || len(got.Command) != 1 || got.Command[0] != "python3" {
+			t.Fatalf("expected sidecar container to remain unchanged, got %#v", got)
+		}
+		if got := podTemplateSpec.Spec.Containers[1]; got.Name != commonconsts.MainContainerName || len(got.Command) != 2 || got.Command[0] != "sleep" || got.Command[1] != "infinity" {
+			t.Fatalf("expected main container to be rewritten for restore, got %#v", got)
+		}
+		if podTemplateSpec.Spec.Containers[1].Args != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("expected main container args to be cleared, got %#v", podTemplateSpec.Spec.Containers[1].Args)
+		}
+		if got := podTemplateSpec.Labels[snapshotprotocol.RestoreTargetLabel]; got != commonconsts.KubeLabelValueTrue {
+			t.Fatalf("expected %s label to be true, got %q", snapshotprotocol.RestoreTargetLabel, got)
+		}
+	})
+
 	t.Run("operator reasserts restore identity labels after metadata merge", func(t *testing.T) {
 		identity := v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointIdentity{Model: "test-model", BackendFramework: "vllm"}
 		checkpointName, err := checkpoint.ComputeIdentityHash(identity)

deploy/operator/internal/controller/dynamographdeployment_controller.go

@@ -1380,18 +1380,7 @@ func (r *DynamoGraphDeploymentReconciler) createCheckpointCR(
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("checkpoint identity is required for Auto mode")
 	}
 
-	identity := component.Checkpoint.Identity
-
-	checkpointIdentity := nvidiacomv1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointIdentity{
-		Model:                identity.Model,
-		BackendFramework:     identity.BackendFramework,
-		DynamoVersion:        identity.DynamoVersion,
-		TensorParallelSize:   identity.TensorParallelSize,
-		PipelineParallelSize: identity.PipelineParallelSize,
-		Dtype:                identity.Dtype,
-		MaxModelLen:          identity.MaxModelLen,
-		ExtraParameters:      identity.ExtraParameters,
-	}
+	checkpointIdentity := *component.Checkpoint.Identity.DeepCopy()
 
 	// Capture config is not part of the checkpoint identity. Once a checkpoint object exists for a
 	// hash, later reconcilers must reuse it instead of racing to overwrite the capture pod template.
@@ -1399,7 +1388,7 @@ func (r *DynamoGraphDeploymentReconciler) createCheckpointCR(
 		dynamoDeployment,
 		component,
 		serviceName,
-		identity.BackendFramework,
+		checkpointIdentity.BackendFramework,
 	)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to build checkpoint job pod template: %w", err)
@@ -1411,6 +1400,7 @@ func (r *DynamoGraphDeploymentReconciler) createCheckpointCR(
 		dynamoDeployment.Namespace,
 		checkpointIdentity,
 		podTemplate,
+		component.GPUMemoryService,
 	)
 }
 

deploy/operator/internal/controller/dynamographdeployment_controller_test.go

@@ -456,7 +456,7 @@ func TestDynamoGraphDeploymentReconciler_reconcileCheckpoints_checkpointRefSkips
 
 	referenced := &v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint{
 		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-			Name:      "friendly-checkpoint",
+			Name:      friendlyCheckpointName,
 			Namespace: "default",
 		},
 		Spec: v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointSpec{
@@ -526,7 +526,7 @@ func TestDynamoGraphDeploymentReconciler_reconcileCheckpoints_checkpointRefSkips
 	if info.Hash != hash {
 		t.Fatalf("checkpoint hash = %s, want %s", info.Hash, hash)
 	}
-	if checkpointStatuses["worker"].CheckpointName != "friendly-checkpoint" {
+	if checkpointStatuses["worker"].CheckpointName != friendlyCheckpointName {
 		t.Fatalf("checkpoint status name = %s, want friendly-checkpoint", checkpointStatuses["worker"].CheckpointName)
 	}
 
@@ -537,11 +537,96 @@ func TestDynamoGraphDeploymentReconciler_reconcileCheckpoints_checkpointRefSkips
 	if len(checkpoints.Items) != 1 {
 		t.Fatalf("expected only the referenced checkpoint to exist, found %d", len(checkpoints.Items))
 	}
-	if checkpoints.Items[0].Name != "friendly-checkpoint" {
+	if checkpoints.Items[0].Name != friendlyCheckpointName {
 		t.Fatalf("unexpected checkpoint %s", checkpoints.Items[0].Name)
 	}
 }
 
+func TestDynamoGraphDeploymentReconciler_reconcileCheckpoints_checkpointRefUsesReadyReferencedCR(t *testing.T) {
+	if err := v1alpha1.AddToScheme(scheme.Scheme); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to add v1alpha1 to scheme: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	identity := v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointIdentity{
+		Model:            "meta-llama/Llama-2-7b-hf",
+		BackendFramework: "vllm",
+	}
+	hash, err := checkpoint.ComputeIdentityHash(identity)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to compute checkpoint hash: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	referenced := &v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpoint{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+			Name:      friendlyCheckpointName,
+			Namespace: "default",
+		},
+		Spec: v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointSpec{
+			Identity: identity,
+		},
+		Status: v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointStatus{
+			Phase:        v1alpha1.DynamoCheckpointPhaseReady,
+			IdentityHash: hash,
+		},
+	}
+
+	reconciler := &DynamoGraphDeploymentReconciler{
+		Client: fake.NewClientBuilder().
+			WithScheme(scheme.Scheme).
+			WithObjects(referenced).
+			WithStatusSubresource(referenced).
+			Build(),
+		Config:   &configv1alpha1.OperatorConfiguration{},
+		Recorder: record.NewFakeRecorder(10),
+	}
+
+	ref := friendlyCheckpointName
+	dgd := &v1alpha1.DynamoGraphDeployment{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+			Name:      "test-dgd",
+			Namespace: "default",
+		},
+		Spec: v1alpha1.DynamoGraphDeploymentSpec{
+			Services: map[string]*v1alpha1.DynamoComponentDeploymentSharedSpec{
+				"worker": {
+					ComponentType: string(commonconsts.ComponentTypeWorker),
+					Checkpoint: &v1alpha1.ServiceCheckpointConfig{
+						Enabled:       true,
+						Mode:          v1alpha1.CheckpointModeAuto,
+						CheckpointRef: &ref,
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	checkpointStatuses, checkpointInfos, err := reconciler.reconcileCheckpoints(ctx, dgd)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("reconcileCheckpoints() error = %v", err)
+	}
+
+	info, ok := checkpointInfos["worker"]
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("expected checkpoint info for worker service")
+	}
+	if !info.Ready {
+		t.Fatalf("expected referenced checkpoint to be ready")
+	}
+	if !info.Exists {
+		t.Fatalf("expected referenced checkpoint to exist")
+	}
+	if info.Hash != hash {
+		t.Fatalf("checkpoint hash = %s, want %s", info.Hash, hash)
+	}
+	if checkpointStatuses["worker"].CheckpointName != friendlyCheckpointName {
+		t.Fatalf("checkpoint status name = %s, want friendly-checkpoint", checkpointStatuses["worker"].CheckpointName)
+	}
+	if !checkpointStatuses["worker"].Ready {
+		t.Fatalf("expected checkpoint status to be ready")
+	}
+}
+
 func TestDynamoGraphDeploymentReconciler_reconcileCheckpoints_autoModeWaitsForExistingCreatingCheckpoint(t *testing.T) {
 	if err := v1alpha1.AddToScheme(scheme.Scheme); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to add v1alpha1 to scheme: %v", err)

deploy/operator/internal/dynamo/gms.go

@@ -10,30 +10,24 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
-	"time"
 
 	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/v1alpha1"
 	commonconsts "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/consts"
+	gmsruntime "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/gms"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	resourcev1 "k8s.io/api/resource/v1"
 	apierrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
-	"k8s.io/utils/ptr"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 )
 
 const (
-	gmsSharedVolumeName      = "gms-shared"
-	gmsSharedMountPath       = "/shared"
-	gmsDRAClaimName          = "shared-gpu"
 	defaultDeviceClassName = "gpu.nvidia.com"
-	gmsProcessesPerGPU       = 2
-	gmsStartupProbeTimeout   = 2 * time.Minute
-	gmsStartupProbePeriodSec = 2
 )
 
-func isGMSEnabled(component *v1alpha1.DynamoComponentDeploymentSharedSpec) bool {
+// IsGMSEnabled reports whether GPU Memory Service is requested for the component.
+func IsGMSEnabled(component *v1alpha1.DynamoComponentDeploymentSharedSpec) bool {
 	return component.GPUMemoryService != nil && component.GPUMemoryService.Enabled
 }
 
@@ -58,6 +52,9 @@ func getGPUCount(component *v1alpha1.DynamoComponentDeploymentSharedSpec) (int,
 	if err != nil {
 		return 0, fmt.Errorf("invalid GPU count %q: %w", gpuStr, err)
 	}
+	if count <= 0 {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("GPU count must be greater than 0 when GPU memory service is enabled")
+	}
 	return count, nil
 }
 
@@ -70,49 +67,49 @@ func getDeviceClassName(component *v1alpha1.DynamoComponentDeploymentSharedSpec)
 	return defaultDeviceClassName
 }
 
-// applyGPUMemoryService transforms a pod spec to include a GMS sidecar with
-// DRA shared GPU access. The main container's GPU resources are replaced with
-// a DRA ResourceClaim, and a GMS init container is added.
-//
-// claimTemplateName is the name of the ResourceClaimTemplate that will provide
-// shared GPU access; callers should compute it via GMSResourceClaimTemplateName.
-func applyGPUMemoryService(
+// resolveMainContainer finds the container named "main" in the pod spec.
+// Falls back to Containers[0] when there is no container named "main"
+// (e.g. failover pods with engine-0/engine-1 naming).
+func resolveMainContainer(podSpec *corev1.PodSpec) (*corev1.Container, error) {
+	if len(podSpec.Containers) == 0 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("pod spec must have at least one container for GPU memory service")
+	}
+	for i := range podSpec.Containers {
+		if podSpec.Containers[i].Name == commonconsts.MainContainerName {
+			return &podSpec.Containers[i], nil
+		}
+	}
+	return &podSpec.Containers[0], nil
+}
+
+// ApplyGPUMemoryService transforms a pod spec to include GMS server sidecars
+// with DRA shared GPU access. The main container's GPU resources are replaced
+// with a DRA ResourceClaim.
+func ApplyGPUMemoryService(
 	podSpec *corev1.PodSpec,
 	component *v1alpha1.DynamoComponentDeploymentSharedSpec,
 	claimTemplateName string,
 ) error {
-	if len(podSpec.Containers) == 0 {
-		return fmt.Errorf("pod spec must have at least one container for GPU memory service")
-	}
-
 	gpuCount, err := getGPUCount(component)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	_ = gpuCount // GPU count is used for DRA claim template; sidecar discovers devices via pynvml
 
-	mainContainer := &podSpec.Containers[0]
+	mainContainer, err := resolveMainContainer(podSpec)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 
 	// Replace GPU resources with DRA claim on main container
 	removeGPUResources(mainContainer)
 	mainContainer.Resources.Claims = append(mainContainer.Resources.Claims, corev1.ResourceClaim{
-		Name: gmsDRAClaimName,
-	})
-
-	// Add shared volume mount and TMPDIR to main container
-	mainContainer.VolumeMounts = append(mainContainer.VolumeMounts, corev1.VolumeMount{
-		Name:      gmsSharedVolumeName,
-		MountPath: gmsSharedMountPath,
+		Name: gmsruntime.DRAClaimName,
 	})
-	mainContainer.Env = append(mainContainer.Env, corev1.EnvVar{
-		Name: "TMPDIR", Value: gmsSharedMountPath,
-	})
-
-	// Add GMS sidecar
-	gmsSidecar := buildGMSSidecar(mainContainer.Image, gpuCount)
-	podSpec.InitContainers = append(podSpec.InitContainers, gmsSidecar)
 
-	// Add shared volume
-	podSpec.Volumes = append(podSpec.Volumes, gmsSharedVolume())
+	// Add GMS server sidecar, shared volume, and socket env vars.
+	// The sidecar gets DRA claims copied from main automatically.
+	gmsruntime.EnsureServerSidecar(podSpec, mainContainer)
 
 	// GPU nodes are typically tainted with nvidia.com/gpu=NoSchedule. With
 	// traditional scheduling the device-plugin injects the matching toleration,
@@ -126,7 +123,7 @@ func applyGPUMemoryService(
 
 	// Add pod-level DRA resource claim referencing the ResourceClaimTemplate
 	podSpec.ResourceClaims = append(podSpec.ResourceClaims, corev1.PodResourceClaim{
-		Name:                      gmsDRAClaimName,
+		Name:                      gmsruntime.DRAClaimName,
 		ResourceClaimTemplateName: &claimTemplateName,
 	})
 
@@ -145,85 +142,6 @@ func removeGPUResources(container *corev1.Container) {
 	}
 }
 
-// buildGMSSidecar creates the GMS weight server as a sidecar init container
-// (restartPolicy: Always). kubelet starts it before regular containers and
-// keeps it running for the pod's lifetime.
-//
-// Each GPU gets two GMS subprocesses (weights + kv_cache) via a bash wrapper
-// that forwards signals and exits if any child dies. TMPDIR is set so
-// UUID-based sockets land in the shared volume.
-func buildGMSSidecar(image string, gpuCount int) corev1.Container {
-	return corev1.Container{
-		Name:          "gms-weights",
-		Image:         image,
-		Command:       []string{"bash", "-c"},
-		Args:          []string{gmsWrapperScript(gpuCount)},
-		RestartPolicy: ptr.To(corev1.ContainerRestartPolicyAlways),
-		Env: []corev1.EnvVar{
-			{Name: "TMPDIR", Value: gmsSharedMountPath},
-		},
-		VolumeMounts: []corev1.VolumeMount{
-			{
-				Name:      gmsSharedVolumeName,
-				MountPath: gmsSharedMountPath,
-			},
-		},
-		StartupProbe: &corev1.Probe{
-			ProbeHandler: corev1.ProbeHandler{
-				Exec: &corev1.ExecAction{
-					Command: gmsReadyCheckCommand(gpuCount),
-				},
-			},
-			PeriodSeconds:    int32(gmsStartupProbePeriodSec),
-			FailureThreshold: int32(gmsStartupProbeTimeout/time.Second) / int32(gmsStartupProbePeriodSec),
-		},
-		Resources: corev1.ResourceRequirements{
-			Claims: []corev1.ResourceClaim{
-				{Name: gmsDRAClaimName},
-			},
-		},
-	}
-}
-
-// gmsWrapperScript generates a bash script that launches two GMS subprocesses
-// per GPU device (one for weights, one for kv_cache), waits for any to exit,
-// then tears down the process group.
-func gmsWrapperScript(gpuCount int) string {
-	devList := make([]string, gpuCount)
-	for i := range gpuCount {
-		devList[i] = strconv.Itoa(i)
-	}
-	return fmt.Sprintf(
-		`trap 'kill 0 2>/dev/null || true' EXIT
-for dev in %s; do
-  python3 -m gpu_memory_service --device "$dev" --tag weights &
-  echo "Started GMS device=$dev tag=weights pid=$!"
-  python3 -m gpu_memory_service --device "$dev" --tag kv_cache &
-  echo "Started GMS device=$dev tag=kv_cache pid=$!"
-done
-wait -n
-echo "A GMS subprocess exited, shutting down"`, strings.Join(devList, " "))
-}
-
-// gmsReadyCheckCommand returns the exec probe command that verifies the
-// expected number of GMS UDS sockets exist on the shared volume.
-// With 2-tag GMS (weights + kv_cache), there are 2 sockets per GPU.
-func gmsReadyCheckCommand(gpuCount int) []string {
-	return []string{
-		"sh", "-c",
-		fmt.Sprintf("test $(ls %s/gms_*.sock 2>/dev/null | wc -l) -ge %d", gmsSharedMountPath, gpuCount*gmsProcessesPerGPU),
-	}
-}
-
-func gmsSharedVolume() corev1.Volume {
-	return corev1.Volume{
-		Name: gmsSharedVolumeName,
-		VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
-			EmptyDir: &corev1.EmptyDirVolumeSource{},
-		},
-	}
-}
-
 // GMSResourceClaimTemplateName returns the deterministic name for the
 // ResourceClaimTemplate associated with a GMS-enabled component.
 func GMSResourceClaimTemplateName(parentName, serviceName string) string {
@@ -254,7 +172,7 @@ func GenerateGMSResourceClaimTemplate(
 		},
 	}
 
-	if !isGMSEnabled(component) {
+	if !IsGMSEnabled(component) {
 		return template, true, nil
 	}
 

deploy/operator/internal/dynamo/gms_test.go

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/api/v1alpha1"
 	commonconsts "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/consts"
+	gmsruntime "github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/deploy/operator/internal/gms"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
@@ -63,14 +64,14 @@ func gmsBasePodSpec() corev1.PodSpec {
 
 func TestApplyGPUMemoryService_EmptyContainers(t *testing.T) {
 	ps := corev1.PodSpec{}
-	err := applyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
+	err := ApplyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
 	require.Error(t, err)
 	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "at least one container")
 }
 
 func TestApplyGPUMemoryService_MainContainerTransformed(t *testing.T) {
 	ps := gmsBasePodSpec()
-	err := applyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
+	err := ApplyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	main := ps.Containers[0]
@@ -82,53 +83,56 @@ func TestApplyGPUMemoryService_MainContainerTransformed(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// Should have DRA claim
 	require.Len(t, main.Resources.Claims, 1)
-	assert.Equal(t, gmsDRAClaimName, main.Resources.Claims[0].Name)
+	assert.Equal(t, gmsruntime.DRAClaimName, main.Resources.Claims[0].Name)
 
 	// Should have shared volume mount
 	var hasSharedMount bool
 	for _, vm := range main.VolumeMounts {
-		if vm.Name == gmsSharedVolumeName && vm.MountPath == gmsSharedMountPath {
+		if vm.Name == gmsruntime.SharedVolumeName && vm.MountPath == gmsruntime.SharedMountPath {
 			hasSharedMount = true
 		}
 	}
 	assert.True(t, hasSharedMount, "main container should have gms-shared volume mount")
 
-	// Should have TMPDIR
+	// Should have TMPDIR and GMS_SOCKET_DIR
 	envMap := envToMap(main.Env)
-	assert.Equal(t, gmsSharedMountPath, envMap["TMPDIR"])
+	assert.Equal(t, gmsruntime.SharedMountPath, envMap["TMPDIR"])
+	assert.Equal(t, gmsruntime.SharedMountPath, envMap["GMS_SOCKET_DIR"])
 }
 
 func TestApplyGPUMemoryService_GMSSidecarInjected(t *testing.T) {
 	ps := gmsBasePodSpec()
-	err := applyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
+	err := ApplyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	require.Len(t, ps.InitContainers, 1)
 	gms := ps.InitContainers[0]
-	assert.Equal(t, "gms-weights", gms.Name)
+	assert.Equal(t, gmsruntime.ServerContainerName, gms.Name)
 	assert.Equal(t, "test-image:latest", gms.Image)
-	assert.Equal(t, []string{"bash", "-c"}, gms.Command)
-	assert.Contains(t, gms.Args[0], "gpu_memory_service --device")
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"python3", "-m", "gpu_memory_service.cli.server"}, gms.Command)
 	assert.NotNil(t, gms.RestartPolicy)
 	assert.Equal(t, corev1.ContainerRestartPolicyAlways, *gms.RestartPolicy)
+	require.NotNil(t, gms.StartupProbe)
+	assert.Equal(t, int32(1), gms.StartupProbe.PeriodSeconds)
+	assert.Equal(t, int32(300), gms.StartupProbe.FailureThreshold)
 
-	// GMS sidecar should have DRA claim
+	// GMS sidecar should have DRA claim copied from main
 	require.Len(t, gms.Resources.Claims, 1)
-	assert.Equal(t, gmsDRAClaimName, gms.Resources.Claims[0].Name)
+	assert.Equal(t, gmsruntime.DRAClaimName, gms.Resources.Claims[0].Name)
 
 	// GMS sidecar should have TMPDIR
 	gmsEnv := envToMap(gms.Env)
-	assert.Equal(t, gmsSharedMountPath, gmsEnv["TMPDIR"])
+	assert.Equal(t, gmsruntime.SharedMountPath, gmsEnv["TMPDIR"])
 }
 
 func TestApplyGPUMemoryService_SharedVolume(t *testing.T) {
 	ps := gmsBasePodSpec()
-	err := applyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
+	err := ApplyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	var found bool
 	for _, v := range ps.Volumes {
-		if v.Name == gmsSharedVolumeName {
+		if v.Name == gmsruntime.SharedVolumeName {
 			assert.NotNil(t, v.EmptyDir)
 			found = true
 		}
@@ -138,7 +142,7 @@ func TestApplyGPUMemoryService_SharedVolume(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestApplyGPUMemoryService_GPUToleration(t *testing.T) {
 	ps := gmsBasePodSpec()
-	err := applyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
+	err := ApplyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	var found bool
@@ -153,17 +157,17 @@ func TestApplyGPUMemoryService_GPUToleration(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestApplyGPUMemoryService_DRAResourceClaim(t *testing.T) {
 	ps := gmsBasePodSpec()
-	err := applyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
+	err := ApplyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	require.Len(t, ps.ResourceClaims, 1)
-	assert.Equal(t, gmsDRAClaimName, ps.ResourceClaims[0].Name)
+	assert.Equal(t, gmsruntime.DRAClaimName, ps.ResourceClaims[0].Name)
 	assert.Equal(t, "myapp-worker-gpu", *ps.ResourceClaims[0].ResourceClaimTemplateName)
 }
 
 func TestApplyGPUMemoryService_PreservesExistingEnv(t *testing.T) {
 	ps := gmsBasePodSpec()
-	err := applyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
+	err := ApplyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	main := ps.Containers[0]
@@ -174,38 +178,32 @@ func TestApplyGPUMemoryService_PreservesExistingEnv(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestApplyGPUMemoryService_SingleContainer(t *testing.T) {
 	ps := gmsBasePodSpec()
-	err := applyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
+	err := ApplyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
-	// Should still have exactly 1 regular container (no duplication)
 	assert.Len(t, ps.Containers, 1)
 	assert.Equal(t, "main", ps.Containers[0].Name)
 }
 
-// --- GMS sidecar helpers ---
+func TestApplyGPUMemoryService_ResolvesMainByName(t *testing.T) {
+	ps := gmsBasePodSpec()
+	// Prepend a sidecar so main is NOT Containers[0]
+	sidecar := corev1.Container{Name: "sidecar", Image: "sidecar:latest"}
+	ps.Containers = append([]corev1.Container{sidecar}, ps.Containers...)
+	require.Equal(t, "sidecar", ps.Containers[0].Name)
 
-func TestGmsWrapperScript_TwoTagsPerDevice(t *testing.T) {
-	script := gmsWrapperScript(3)
-	assert.Contains(t, script, "for dev in 0 1 2")
-	assert.Contains(t, script, "--tag weights")
-	assert.Contains(t, script, "--tag kv_cache")
-	assert.Contains(t, script, "trap 'kill 0")
-	assert.Contains(t, script, "wait -n")
-}
+	err := ApplyGPUMemoryService(&ps, gmsComponent(2), "myapp-worker-gpu")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
 
-func TestGmsReadyCheckCommand_TwoSocketsPerGPU(t *testing.T) {
-	cmd := gmsReadyCheckCommand(2)
-	assert.Equal(t, "sh", cmd[0])
-	assert.Equal(t, "-c", cmd[1])
-	assert.Contains(t, cmd[2], "gms_*.sock")
-	// 2 GPUs * 2 tags = 4 sockets
-	assert.Contains(t, cmd[2], "-ge 4")
-}
+	// Sidecar should be untouched
+	assert.Equal(t, "sidecar", ps.Containers[0].Name)
+	assert.Empty(t, ps.Containers[0].Resources.Claims)
 
-func TestGmsReadyCheckCommand_SingleGPU(t *testing.T) {
-	cmd := gmsReadyCheckCommand(1)
-	// 1 GPU * 2 tags = 2 sockets
-	assert.Contains(t, cmd[2], "-ge 2")
+	// Main should have DRA claim
+	main := ps.Containers[1]
+	assert.Equal(t, "main", main.Name)
+	require.Len(t, main.Resources.Claims, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, gmsruntime.DRAClaimName, main.Resources.Claims[0].Name)
 }
 
 // --- GenerateGMSResourceClaimTemplate ---
@@ -268,13 +266,13 @@ func TestGMSResourceClaimTemplateName(t *testing.T) {
 // --- isGMSEnabled ---
 
 func TestIsGMSEnabled(t *testing.T) {
-	assert.True(t, isGMSEnabled(&v1alpha1.DynamoComponentDeploymentSharedSpec{
+	assert.True(t, IsGMSEnabled(&v1alpha1.DynamoComponentDeploymentSharedSpec{
 		GPUMemoryService: &v1alpha1.GPUMemoryServiceSpec{Enabled: true},
 	}))
-	assert.False(t, isGMSEnabled(&v1alpha1.DynamoComponentDeploymentSharedSpec{
+	assert.False(t, IsGMSEnabled(&v1alpha1.DynamoComponentDeploymentSharedSpec{
 		GPUMemoryService: &v1alpha1.GPUMemoryServiceSpec{Enabled: false},
 	}))
-	assert.False(t, isGMSEnabled(&v1alpha1.DynamoComponentDeploymentSharedSpec{}))
+	assert.False(t, IsGMSEnabled(&v1alpha1.DynamoComponentDeploymentSharedSpec{}))
 }
 
 // --- getGPUCount ---

deploy/operator/internal/dynamo/graph.go

@@ -1183,9 +1183,9 @@ func GenerateBasePodSpec(
 	}
 
 	// Inject GMS sidecar with DRA shared GPU access when GPU memory service is enabled.
-	if isGMSEnabled(component) {
+	if IsGMSEnabled(component) {
 		claimTemplateName := GMSResourceClaimTemplateName(parentGraphDeploymentName, serviceName)
-		if err := applyGPUMemoryService(&podSpec, component, claimTemplateName); err != nil {
+		if err := ApplyGPUMemoryService(&podSpec, component, claimTemplateName); err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to apply GPU memory service: %w", err)
 		}
 	}