If you have graphics-intensive workloads, such as 3D visualization, you can create virtual workstations that use NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstations (vWS) (formerly known as NVIDIA GRID).
When you select a GPU for a virtual workstation, Compute Engine adds an NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS) license to your VM. For more information about pricing, see GPU pricing.
To set up an NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS), you need to do the following:
- Create a VM with virtual workstation enabled.
- Install a driver for the virtual workstation.
After you create your virtual workstation, you can connect to it using a remote desktop protocol such as Teradici® PCoIP or VMware® Horizon View.
Before you begin
- If you want to use the command-line examples in this guide, do the following:
- Install or update to the latest version of the Google Cloud CLI.
- Set a default region and zone.
- If you want to use the API examples in this guide, set up API access.
Required NVIDIA driver versions
NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS) running on Compute Engine must use the following NVIDIA driver versions:
- For L4 NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstations (vWS):
- Linux : 525.105 or later
- Windows : 528.89
- For T4, P4, and P100 NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstations (vWS):
- Linux : 410.92 or later
- Windows : 426.04 or later
Install driver for the NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS)
Complete the following steps on your VM.
For Linux operating systems, install the build tools for your Linux version.
Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install build-essential
CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum group install "Development Tools"
SLES
SLES 12
sudo zypper install -t pattern devel_basis
sudo zypper install gcc8
SLES 15
sudo SUSEConnect -p sle-module-development-tools/15/x86_64
sudo zypper install gcc8
For Linux operating systems, install the Linux kernel headers. See Verify the System has the Correct Kernel Headers and Development Packages Installed in the Nvidia documentation.
For all operating systems, install drivers.
Linux
Download the driver. For a full list of NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS) drivers that you can use on Compute Engine, see Drivers for the NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS).
For example, to download the NVIDIA 525.105 driver, run the following command:
curl -O https://storage.googleapis.com/nvidia-drivers-us-public/GRID/vGPU15.2/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-525.105.17-grid.run
Start the installer.
For example, to start the NVIDIA 525.105 driver, run the following command:
sudo bash NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-525.105.17-grid.run
During the installation, choose the following options:
- If you are prompted to install 32-bit binaries, select Yes.
- If you are prompted to modify the
x.org
file, select No.
Windows Server
Depending on your version of Windows Server, download the required NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS) drivers.
For a full list of NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS) drivers that you can use on Windows VMs that are running on Compute Engine, see Drivers for the NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS).
Run the installer, and choose the Express installation.
After the installation is complete, restart the VM. When you restart, you are disconnected from your session.
Reconnect to your instance using RDP or a PCoIP client.
This step is only required for Linux-based NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS) with attached T4 or L4 GPUs.
If you installed an NVIDIA 510 or later driver, you need to disable the GSP firmware. See Disabling GSP Firmware in the Nvidia documentation. When completing this step, keep the following in mind:
- Use
sudo
to run the commands to create and update the configuration file. - To reboot the VM, you can use
sudo reboot
or stop and start the VM.
- Use
Verify that the driver is installed
Linux
Run the following command:
nvidia-smi
The output of the command looks similar to the following:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | NVIDIA-SMI 525.105.17 Driver Version: 525.105.17 CUDA Version: 12.0 | |-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ | GPU Name Persistence-M| Bus-Id Disp.A | Volatile Uncorr. ECC | | Fan Temp Perf Pwr:Usage/Cap| Memory-Usage | GPU-Util Compute M. | | | | MIG M. | |===============================+======================+======================| | 0 Tesla T4 On | 00000000:00:04.0 Off | 0 | | N/A 57C P8 10W / 70W | 2MiB / 15360MiB | 0% Default | | | | N/A | +-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ | 1 Tesla T4 On | 00000000:00:05.0 Off | 0 | | N/A 62C P8 11W / 70W | 2MiB / 15360MiB | 0% Default | | | | N/A | +-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Processes: | | GPU GI CI PID Type Process name GPU Memory | | ID ID Usage | |=============================================================================| | No running processes found | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Windows Server
Connect to your Windows instance using RDP or a PCoIP client.
Right-click the desktop, and select NVIDIA Control Panel.
In the NVIDIA Control Panel, from the Help menu, select System Information. The information shows the GPU that the VM is using, and the driver version.
What's next?
- To monitor GPU performance, see Monitoring GPU performance.
- To handle GPU host maintenance, see Handling GPU host maintenance events.
- To optimize GPU performance, see Optimizing GPU performance.