docker: add Ubuntu 24.04 Dockerfile and update dependencies

[p2peek]

This PR introduces an updated Dockerfile for building the P4 CI stack using Ubuntu 24.04 instead of the current Ubuntu 20.04 base image.

Changes

• Added Dockerfile.24 based on ubuntu:24.04
• Updated package dependencies to versions compatible with Ubuntu 24.04
• Ensured compatibility with the existing Docker image build flow

Local Build Testing

The following Docker build chain was successfully tested locally:

ubuntu:24.04
→ third-party
→ PI
→ behavioral-model

All images built successfully.

The p4c image still requires additional adjustments and will be handled separately.

Motivation

This work is part of the effort to migrate the Docker CI infrastructure from Ubuntu 20.04 → Ubuntu 24.04, as discussed in Issue #38.

Related Issue

Fixes / contributes to #38

[fruffy]

Why do we need Cython<3? here?

[p2peek]

This was added during local builds because some grpc python build steps
failed with Cython 3 on Ubuntu 24.04. Pinning Cython<3 ensured the grpc
python package could be compiled successfully.

If this constraint is no longer necessary for the current dependency
versions, I am happy to remove it.

[fruffy]

Well, let's see if we can remove it to keep things simple.

[fruffy]

We also need to publish a version of this image to docker, then we can test it in downstream repos.

[fruffy]

This is commented, remove?

[p2peek]

Good catch. I have removed the commented lines in the latest commit.

[p2peek]

That makes sense.

Once the Dockerfile changes are finalized, publishing a test image will
allow downstream repositories like PI and behavioral-model to test
against the Ubuntu 24.04 base image.

[fruffy]

@p2peek Took the liberty to push a commit to trigger CI. Sometimes this stuff gets stuck because of permission issues with first-time contributors.

[p2peek]

Thanks for pushing the commit to trigger CI — I appreciate the help!

The Dockerfile changes are now updated and CI checks are passing.
Please let me know if any further adjustments are needed.

Once the image workflow is finalized, I’d also be happy to help test the downstream repositories (PI and behavioral-model) with the Ubuntu 24.04 base image.

[fruffy]

Thanks for pushing the commit to trigger CI — I appreciate the help!

The Dockerfile changes are now updated and CI checks are passing. Please let me know if any further adjustments are needed.

Once the image workflow is finalized, I’d also be happy to help test the downstream repositories (PI and behavioral-model) with the Ubuntu 24.04 base image.

Can you address the request to remove GRPC_PYTHON_BUILD_WITH_CYTHON=1 and all Cython related stuff from both images? I think it should simplify things a little for us. If downstream fails we can reinstate it.

[fruffy]

@p2peek Just following up on this, do you still plan to work on this?

[p2peek]

@fruffy Thanks for the follow-up!

I removed all Cython-related dependencies and the GRPC_PYTHON_BUILD_WITH_CYTHON flag as suggested and tested the build locally.

However, the gRPC Python build fails on Ubuntu 24.04 (Python 3.12) with Cython-related compilation errors (noexcept mismatch).

It appears that gRPC still requires Cython (specifically <3) to build successfully in this environment.

Would you prefer reintroducing the Cython<3 constraint for now, or exploring an alternative gRPC version or build configuration?

Happy to proceed either way.

[p2peek]

@p2peek Just following up on this, do you still plan to work on this?

yess

[fruffy]

However, the gRPC Python build fails on Ubuntu 24.04 (Python 3.12) with Cython-related compilation errors (noexcept mismatch).

That is a little strange, we should definitely not need any special settings for Ubuntu 24.04 and gRPCs. Those are two very standard configurations.

[p2peek]

However, the gRPC Python build fails on Ubuntu 24.04 (Python 3.12) with Cython-related compilation errors (noexcept mismatch).

That is a little strange, we should definitely not need any special settings for Ubuntu 24.04 and gRPCs. Those are two very standard configurations.

I investigated the issue further and confirmed that the failure was caused by grpc being built from source, which required Cython and led to compilation errors.

To resolve this, I updated the Dockerfile to install grpcio from prebuilt wheels instead of building grpc Python bindings from source. This removes the need for Cython entirely and aligns with the expected behavior in a clean environment.

The Docker build now completes successfully on Ubuntu 24.04.

[fruffy]

Let's merge this and see what breaks.

[fruffy]

Please fix the failing DCO