build(deps): Align protobuf and related dependencies with the gRPC v1.81.1 bump

[mc-nv]

What does the PR do?

Fixes the nightly server build against protobuf v33 (gRPC v1.81.1 third_party bump):

• Compute _FINDPACKAGE_UTF8_RANGE_CONFIG_DIR and pass utf8_range_DIR into the triton-server ExternalProject cache args — protobuf v33's CMake package config now requires the utf8_range package config to resolve.
• Replace the removed google::protobuf::stringpiece_internal::StringPiece with absl::string_view in the gRPC model-config handler, and surface the previously ignored JsonStringToMessage() status as an INTERNAL error. (The license header of grpc_server.cc was converted to the SPDX form by the repo pre-commit hooks.)

Checklist

• PR title reflects the change and is of format <commit_type>: <Title>
• Changes are described in the pull request.
• Related issues are referenced.
• Populated github labels field
• Added test plan and verified test passes.
• Verified that the PR passes existing CI.
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• Added succinct git squash message before merging ref.
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Related PRs:

• build(deps): Align protobuf and related dependencies with the gRPC v1.81.1 bump client#908
• build(deps): Align protobuf and related dependencies with the gRPC v1.81.1 bump common#160
• build(deps): Align protobuf and related dependencies with the gRPC v1.81.1 bump core#516
• build(deps): Align protobuf and related dependencies with the gRPC v1.81.1 bump perf_analyzer#466
• build(deps): Align protobuf and related dependencies with the gRPC v1.81.1 bump third_party#79

Where should the reviewer start?

• CMakeLists.txt — _FINDPACKAGE_UTF8_RANGE_CONFIG_DIR / utf8_range_DIR cache arg

Test plan:

Nightly build pipeline on internal GitLab CI.

• CI Pipeline ID: 58489960

Caveats:

None.

Background

The gRPC v1.81.1 / protobuf v33 update in triton-inference-server/third_party#76 broke the nightly build across the Triton repos; this PR chain repairs it.

Related Issues: (use one of the action keywords Closes / Fixes / Resolves / Relates to)

• Resolves: TRI-1608

^{CI (internal): [#58489960](http://tritonserver.local/ci/pipelines/58489960)}

[nv-rinig]

didn't realize bumping grpc would entail so many changes - thank you for shepherding and fixing all these! i assume future bumps may entail similar work?

[mc-nv]

We may not see such an issue, if we will take dependency management under appropriate control

[Vinya567]

@greptileai

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR repairs the nightly build broken by the gRPC v1.81.1 / protobuf v33 bump across the Triton repo chain. It threads the new utf8_range CMake package config through the build system, replaces the removed google::protobuf::stringpiece_internal::StringPiece with absl::string_view, surfaces the previously silently-swallowed JsonStringToMessage() error, and updates Python test assertions to match the changed gRPC 1.81 connection-error message format.

• CMakeLists.txt / src/CMakeLists.txt: Computes and passes utf8_range_DIR into the ExternalProject cache; adds an explicit find_package(Protobuf CONFIG REQUIRED) and links protobuf::libprotobuf so its abseil symbols are resolved even in no-metrics/no-GPU builds.
• src/grpc/grpc_server.cc: Migrates from the removed StringPiece API to absl::string_view and now returns TRITONSERVER_ERROR_INTERNAL when JsonStringToMessage() fails instead of silently producing an empty config proto.
• qa/L0_lifecycle/lifecycle_test.py: Updates error-message substrings and assertion predicates to match gRPC 1.81 behaviour (dropped "connect: Connection refused (111)" suffix, added CANCELLED-or-Connection refused dual-accept during shutdown), and cleans up several Pyflakes/lint warnings.

Confidence Score: 5/5

Safe to merge. All changes are mechanical compatibility fixes for the gRPC v1.81.1 / protobuf v33 upgrade with no new logic paths.

Every change directly addresses a concrete build or test breakage caused by the upstream dependency bump. The CMake threading of utf8_range_DIR mirrors an existing, well-understood pattern. The StringPiece → absl::string_view swap is a straight API substitution with correct cleanup paths. Error surfacing for JsonStringToMessage improves correctness. Test assertion updates are tightly scoped to the changed gRPC 1.81 error-message format. No behavioural regressions are visible and the CI pipeline has validated the change.

No files require special attention.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
CMakeLists.txt	Adds utf8_range CMake config dir variable and passes utf8_range_DIR into the ExternalProject cache args, mirroring the existing Protobuf_DIR pattern — required by protobuf v33's new package-config dependency on utf8_range.
src/CMakeLists.txt	Adds explicit find_package(Protobuf CONFIG REQUIRED) and links protobuf::libprotobuf to the tritonserver executable; ensures abseil symbols are resolved even in configurations that do not otherwise pull in abseil (e.g. no-metrics/no-GPU builds).
src/grpc/grpc_server.cc	Replaces removed StringPiece API with absl::string_view in the ModelConfig RPC handler, and surfaces the previously silently-swallowed JsonStringToMessage() parse failure as TRITONSERVER_ERROR_INTERNAL. Error cleanup and message deletion paths remain correct.
qa/L0_lifecycle/lifecycle_test.py	Updates connection-error message substrings to match gRPC 1.81 format (drops platform-specific errno suffix), broadens shutdown-assertion to accept CANCELLED or Connection refused, replaces type() comparisons with isinstance(), and removes several unused variables and imports.
Dockerfile.QA	Pins grpcio and grpcio-channelz to exactly 1.81.1 (from >=1.81.1) to lock the QA environment to the same gRPC version used by the server build.
Dockerfile.sdk	Pins grpcio-tools and grpcio to exactly 1.81.1 in both SDK build stages, matching the gRPC version bump.

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant Client
    participant Handler as "gRPC ModelConfig Handler"
    participant Triton as "TRITONSERVER API"
    participant PBUtil as "protobuf util JsonStringToMessage"

    Client->>Handler: ModelConfigRequest(name, version)
    Handler->>Triton: TRITONSERVER_ServerModelConfig()
    Triton-->>Handler: model_config_message or err
    alt message retrieved OK
        Handler->>Triton: TRITONSERVER_MessageSerializeToJson()
        Triton-->>Handler: JSON buffer or err
        alt serialised OK
            Handler->>PBUtil: "absl::string_view(buffer, byte_size)"
            PBUtil-->>Handler: parse_status
            alt parse_status.ok()
                Handler-->>Client: ModelConfigResponse populated
            else parse failed - NEW error surfacing
                Handler-->>Client: TRITONSERVER_ERROR_INTERNAL
            end
        else serialise error
            Handler-->>Client: error status
        end
        Handler->>Triton: TRITONSERVER_MessageDelete()
    else message retrieval error
        Handler-->>Client: error status
    end

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_{Reviews (5): Last reviewed commit: "build: Pin grpcio and grpcio-tools to ==..." | Re-trigger Greptile}

[Vinya567]

LGTM.

[yinggeh]

grpcio-tools>=1.81.1,<1.82 is equvilent to grpcio-tools==1.81.1

[yinggeh]

grpcio>=1.81.1,<1.82 is equvilent to grpcio==1.81.1