fix: deprioritise uncertain ethernet devices

we were placing coordinators on uncertain devices (enX+) that are listed
as "USB LAN" - these could be thunderbolt ports breaking RDMA instances

dashboard/src/routes/downloads/+page.svelte

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
     type DownloadProgress,
     refreshState,
     lastUpdate as lastUpdateStore,
+    startDownload,
+    deleteDownload,
   } from "$lib/stores/app.svelte";
   import HeaderNav from "$lib/components/HeaderNav.svelte";
 
@@ -28,6 +30,7 @@
     etaMs: number;
     status: "completed" | "downloading";
     files: FileProgress[];
+    shardMetadata?: Record<string, unknown>;
   };
 
   type NodeEntry = {
@@ -269,6 +272,12 @@
             }
           }
 
+          // Extract shard_metadata for use with download actions
+          const shardMetadata = (downloadPayload.shard_metadata ??
+            downloadPayload.shardMetadata) as
+            | Record<string, unknown>
+            | undefined;
+
           const entry: ModelEntry = {
             modelId,
             prettyName,
@@ -285,6 +294,7 @@
                 ? "completed"
                 : "downloading",
             files,
+            shardMetadata,
           };
 
           const existing = modelMap.get(modelId);
@@ -469,6 +479,52 @@
                     >
                       {pct.toFixed(1)}%
                     </span>
+                    {#if model.status !== "completed" && model.shardMetadata}
+                      <button
+                        type="button"
+                        class="text-exo-light-gray hover:text-exo-yellow transition-colors"
+                        onclick={() =>
+                          startDownload(node.nodeId, model.shardMetadata!)}
+                        title="Start download"
+                      >
+                        <svg
+                          class="w-4 h-4"
+                          viewBox="0 0 20 20"
+                          fill="none"
+                          stroke="currentColor"
+                          stroke-width="2"
+                        >
+                          <path
+                            d="M10 3v10m0 0l-3-3m3 3l3-3M3 17h14"
+                            stroke-linecap="round"
+                            stroke-linejoin="round"
+                          ></path>
+                        </svg>
+                      </button>
+                    {/if}
+                    {#if model.status === "completed"}
+                      <button
+                        type="button"
+                        class="text-exo-light-gray hover:text-red-400 transition-colors"
+                        onclick={() =>
+                          deleteDownload(node.nodeId, model.modelId)}
+                        title="Delete download"
+                      >
+                        <svg
+                          class="w-4 h-4"
+                          viewBox="0 0 20 20"
+                          fill="none"
+                          stroke="currentColor"
+                          stroke-width="2"
+                        >
+                          <path
+                            d="M4 6h12M8 6V4h4v2m1 0v10a1 1 0 01-1 1H8a1 1 0 01-1-1V6h6"
+                            stroke-linecap="round"
+                            stroke-linejoin="round"
+                          ></path>
+                        </svg>
+                      </button>
+                    {/if}
                     <button
                       type="button"
                       class="text-exo-light-gray hover:text-exo-yellow transition-colors"

src/exo/main.py

@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ class Node:
                 port=args.api_port,
                 global_event_receiver=router.receiver(topics.GLOBAL_EVENTS),
                 command_sender=router.sender(topics.COMMANDS),
+                download_command_sender=router.sender(topics.DOWNLOAD_COMMANDS),
                 election_receiver=router.receiver(topics.ELECTION_MESSAGES),
             )
         else:

src/exo/master/api.py

@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ from exo.shared.types.api import (
     ChatCompletionResponse,
     CreateInstanceParams,
     CreateInstanceResponse,
+    DeleteDownloadResponse,
     DeleteInstanceResponse,
     ErrorInfo,
     ErrorResponse,
@@ -61,6 +62,8 @@ from exo.shared.types.api import (
     PlaceInstanceParams,
     PlacementPreview,
     PlacementPreviewResponse,
+    StartDownloadParams,
+    StartDownloadResponse,
     StreamingChoiceResponse,
     ToolCall,
 )
@@ -75,12 +78,16 @@ from exo.shared.types.commands import (
     ChatCompletion,
     Command,
     CreateInstance,
+    DeleteDownload,
     DeleteInstance,
+    DownloadCommand,
     ForwarderCommand,
+    ForwarderDownloadCommand,
     ImageEdits,
     ImageGeneration,
     PlaceInstance,
     SendInputChunk,
+    StartDownload,
     TaskFinished,
 )
 from exo.shared.types.common import CommandId, Id, NodeId, SessionId
@@ -156,12 +163,14 @@ class API:
         # Ideally this would be a MasterForwarderEvent but type system says no :(
         global_event_receiver: Receiver[ForwarderEvent],
         command_sender: Sender[ForwarderCommand],
+        download_command_sender: Sender[ForwarderDownloadCommand],
         # This lets us pause the API if an election is running
         election_receiver: Receiver[ElectionMessage],
     ) -> None:
         self.state = State()
         self._event_log: list[Event] = []
         self.command_sender = command_sender
+        self.download_command_sender = download_command_sender
         self.global_event_receiver = global_event_receiver
         self.election_receiver = election_receiver
         self.event_buffer: OrderedBuffer[Event] = OrderedBuffer[Event]()
@@ -260,6 +269,8 @@ class API:
         self.app.get("/images/{image_id}")(self.get_image)
         self.app.get("/state")(lambda: self.state)
         self.app.get("/events")(lambda: self._event_log)
+        self.app.post("/download/start")(self.start_download)
+        self.app.delete("/download/{node_id}/{model_id:path}")(self.delete_download)
 
     async def place_instance(self, payload: PlaceInstanceParams):
         command = PlaceInstance(
@@ -1292,3 +1303,28 @@ class API:
         await self.command_sender.send(
             ForwarderCommand(origin=self.node_id, command=command)
         )
+
+    async def _send_download(self, command: DownloadCommand):
+        await self.download_command_sender.send(
+            ForwarderDownloadCommand(origin=self.node_id, command=command)
+        )
+
+    async def start_download(
+        self, payload: StartDownloadParams
+    ) -> StartDownloadResponse:
+        command = StartDownload(
+            target_node_id=payload.target_node_id,
+            shard_metadata=payload.shard_metadata,
+        )
+        await self._send_download(command)
+        return StartDownloadResponse(command_id=command.command_id)
+
+    async def delete_download(
+        self, node_id: NodeId, model_id: ModelId
+    ) -> DeleteDownloadResponse:
+        command = DeleteDownload(
+            target_node_id=node_id,
+            model_id=ModelId(model_id),
+        )
+        await self._send_download(command)
+        return DeleteDownloadResponse(command_id=command.command_id)

src/exo/master/placement_utils.py

@@ -257,7 +257,13 @@ def _find_ip_prioritised(
     ip_to_type = {
         iface.ip_address: iface.interface_type for iface in other_network.interfaces
     }
-    priority = {"ethernet": 0, "wifi": 1, "unknown": 2, "thunderbolt": 3}
+    priority = {
+        "ethernet": 0,
+        "wifi": 1,
+        "unknown": 2,
+        "maybe_ethernet": 3,
+        "thunderbolt": 4,
+    }
     return min(ips, key=lambda ip: priority.get(ip_to_type.get(ip, "unknown"), 2))
 
 

src/exo/shared/types/api.py

@@ -7,10 +7,11 @@ from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, field_validator
 from pydantic_core import PydanticUseDefault
 
 from exo.shared.models.model_cards import ModelCard, ModelId
-from exo.shared.types.common import CommandId
+from exo.shared.types.common import CommandId, NodeId
 from exo.shared.types.memory import Memory
 from exo.shared.types.worker.instances import Instance, InstanceId, InstanceMeta
-from exo.shared.types.worker.shards import Sharding
+from exo.shared.types.worker.shards import Sharding, ShardMetadata
+from exo.utils.pydantic_ext import CamelCaseModel
 
 FinishReason = Literal[
     "stop", "length", "tool_calls", "content_filter", "function_call", "error"
@@ -352,3 +353,16 @@ class ImageListItem(BaseModel, frozen=True):
 
 class ImageListResponse(BaseModel, frozen=True):
     data: list[ImageListItem]
+
+
+class StartDownloadParams(CamelCaseModel):
+    target_node_id: NodeId
+    shard_metadata: ShardMetadata
+
+
+class StartDownloadResponse(CamelCaseModel):
+    command_id: CommandId
+
+
+class DeleteDownloadResponse(CamelCaseModel):
+    command_id: CommandId

src/exo/shared/types/profiling.py

@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class SystemPerformanceProfile(CamelCaseModel):
     ecpu_usage: float = 0.0
 
 
-InterfaceType = Literal["wifi", "ethernet", "thunderbolt", "unknown"]
+InterfaceType = Literal["wifi", "ethernet", "maybe_ethernet", "thunderbolt", "unknown"]
 
 
 class NetworkInterfaceInfo(CamelCaseModel):

src/exo/utils/info_gatherer/info_gatherer.py

@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@ class InfoGatherer:
             return
         old_nics = []
         while True:
-            nics = get_network_interfaces()
+            nics = await get_network_interfaces()
             if nics != old_nics:
                 old_nics = nics
                 await self.info_sender.send(NodeNetworkInterfaces(ifaces=nics))

src/exo/utils/info_gatherer/system_info.py

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import socket
 import sys
-from subprocess import CalledProcessError, run
+from subprocess import CalledProcessError
 
 import psutil
 from anyio import run_process
@@ -16,8 +16,7 @@ async def get_friendly_name() -> str:
     """
     hostname = socket.gethostname()
 
-    # TODO: better non mac support
-    if sys.platform != "darwin":  # 'darwin' is the platform name for macOS
+    if sys.platform != "darwin":
         return hostname
 
     try:
@@ -28,21 +27,20 @@ async def get_friendly_name() -> str:
     return process.stdout.decode("utf-8", errors="replace").strip() or hostname
 
 
-def _get_interface_types_from_networksetup() -> dict[str, InterfaceType]:
+async def _get_interface_types_from_networksetup() -> dict[str, InterfaceType]:
     """Parse networksetup -listallhardwareports to get interface types."""
     if sys.platform != "darwin":
         return {}
+
     try:
-        result = run(
-            ["networksetup", "-listallhardwareports"], capture_output=True, text=True
-        )
-    except Exception:
+        result = await run_process(["networksetup", "-listallhardwareports"])
+    except CalledProcessError:
         return {}
 
     types: dict[str, InterfaceType] = {}
     current_type: InterfaceType = "unknown"
 
-    for line in result.stdout.splitlines():
+    for line in result.stdout.decode().splitlines():
         if line.startswith("Hardware Port:"):
             port_name = line.split(":", 1)[1].strip()
             if "Wi-Fi" in port_name:
@@ -55,12 +53,15 @@ def _get_interface_types_from_networksetup() -> dict[str, InterfaceType]:
                 current_type = "unknown"
         elif line.startswith("Device:"):
             device = line.split(":", 1)[1].strip()
+            # enX is ethernet adapters or thunderbolt - these must be deprioritised
+            if device.startswith("en") and device not in ["en0", "en1"]:
+                current_type = "maybe_ethernet"
             types[device] = current_type
 
     return types
 
 
-def get_network_interfaces() -> list[NetworkInterfaceInfo]:
+async def get_network_interfaces() -> list[NetworkInterfaceInfo]:
     """
     Retrieves detailed network interface information on macOS.
     Parses output from 'networksetup -listallhardwareports' and 'ifconfig'
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ def get_network_interfaces() -> list[NetworkInterfaceInfo]:
     Returns a list of NetworkInterfaceInfo objects.
     """
     interfaces_info: list[NetworkInterfaceInfo] = []
-    interface_types = _get_interface_types_from_networksetup()
+    interface_types = await _get_interface_types_from_networksetup()
 
     for iface, services in psutil.net_if_addrs().items():
         for service in services: