GPU and DOCA driver installation: Quick Reference — Control Plane Installation and Configuration (NVIDIA-Certified Professional: AI Infrastructure)

GPU and DOCA Driver Installation — Quick Reference This quick reference provides essential facts and steps for installing and configuring GPU and...

GPU and DOCA Driver Installation — Quick Reference

This quick reference provides essential facts and steps for installing and configuring GPU and DOCA drivers as part of the Control Plane Installation and Configuration domain in the NVIDIA-Certified Professional: AI Infrastructure certification.

Key Definitions

GPU Driver: Software that enables the operating system and applications to communicate with NVIDIA GPUs, ensuring hardware acceleration and compatibility.
DOCA Driver: NVIDIA's Data Center Infrastructure On a Chip Architecture driver, enabling programmable data processing on NVIDIA BlueField DPUs.

GPU Driver Installation Essentials

Supported OS: Ensure compatibility with Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, CentOS, or RHEL.
Driver Version: Match the driver version with the GPU hardware and CUDA toolkit requirements.
Installation Methods: Use NVIDIA's official runfile installer or package managers (e.g., apt, yum) for streamlined deployment.
Kernel Module: Verify that the NVIDIA kernel module is loaded correctly using nvidia-smi.
Post-Installation: Reboot the system if required and confirm GPU visibility with nvidia-smi and lspci | grep -i nvidia.

DOCA Driver Installation Essentials

Prerequisites: BlueField DPU hardware and compatible Linux OS.
DOCA SDK: Install the DOCA SDK package which includes drivers, libraries, and tools.
Driver Installation: Use the provided installation scripts or package managers to deploy DOCA drivers.
Verification: Confirm DOCA driver status with doca status or equivalent commands.
Compatibility: Ensure DOCA driver versions align with BlueField firmware and SDK versions.

General Best Practices

Backup: Always backup system configurations before driver installation.
Disable Nouveau: Blacklist the open-source Nouveau driver to prevent conflicts with NVIDIA drivers.
Secure Boot: Disable Secure Boot or sign the NVIDIA kernel modules to avoid loading issues.
Update: Keep drivers updated to leverage performance improvements and security patches.
Logs: Monitor dmesg and /var/log/nvidia-installer.log for troubleshooting.

Verification Commands

nvidia-smi: Displays GPU status, driver version, and utilization.
lsmod | grep nvidia: Checks if NVIDIA kernel modules are loaded.
doca status: Shows DOCA driver and service status.
lspci | grep -i nvidia: Lists NVIDIA hardware detected by the system.

Worked Example: Verifying GPU Driver Installation

Problem: Confirm that the NVIDIA GPU driver is correctly installed and the GPU is recognized.

Solution:

Run nvidia-smi. Expected output shows GPU model, driver version, and usage statistics.
If nvidia-smi fails, check kernel modules with lsmod | grep nvidia.
Verify hardware detection with lspci | grep -i nvidia.
If issues persist, review installation logs and ensure Nouveau is disabled.

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