# ADR 0029 — NVML truth and multi-resident placement

Status: accepted

## Context

The M5–M9 scheduler safely serialized one resident deployment, but that prevented proven small
capabilities from coexisting. Naively subtracting both NVML-used and managed residency would double
count memory; trusting absent telemetry as zero would overcommit the GPU.

## Decision

NVML used is physical truth. Managed residency is attribution within that observation, and only
unmaterialized lease bytes are additionally reserved. Unknown/stale telemetry fails closed. A
single versioned planning function drives dry-run and actual admission under a database accelerator
lock. The runtime worker may retain multiple exact deployment identities. Eviction is limited to
managed idle residency and recovery adopts only an exact immutable identity report.

## Consequences

GPU Node can serve multiple capabilities when current observations and measured envelopes prove fit,
without weakening the 1 GiB minimum reserve. External workloads remain visible but unmanaged.
Conservative rejections may reduce utilization during telemetry uncertainty or pressure; that is an
intentional safety result, not a capability-health failure.