geforce-sriov 0.2.2

Status: beta. Ampere and Ada are supported.
Blackwell GPUs are not expected to work with this implementation.

Version 0.2.2 selects NVIDIA's proprietary kernel module when it runs the vGPU host installer and refuses an installed open-flavour module in the driver step.

What changed

• With --driver-file and --accept-nvidia-license, NVIDIA's installer receives --kernel-module-type=proprietary.
  The printed command and the manual installer command include the same option.
  NVIDIA's installer otherwise picks the module type from the attached GPUs.
• The driver step refuses NVIDIA's open-flavour module and explains how to replace it with the proprietary flavour.
  In 0.2.1 it warned and continued to a module .text size-mismatch refusal.

Requirements

• NVIDIA vGPU software 19.5 for Linux KVM, proprietary flavour.
  You supply it with your own NVIDIA entitlement.
• Host driver 580.159.01, the only supported host driver.
• Guest drivers as listed in the supported software stack in docs/installation.md.
  Other guest driver versions are not supported.
• A Linux host with kernel headers, DKMS, a C compiler and make.

Install

• Build from source with make.
• Run sudo ./geforce-sriov setup.
• The quick start in the README has the details.
• To upgrade from 0.2.1, run install again with the same arguments.

Download

• Use the attached geforce-sriov-0.2.2.tar.gz and check it against SHA256SUMS.
• GitHub's automatic source archive has the same files but a different checksum.

Known limits

• NVIDIA's patched driver uses at most four VFs per card.
• A boot display card loses its text console until the next boot after prepare releases it.
• Licensing is outside this project.
• The laptop paths run only against simulated hardware in the test suite.
  No laptop GPU has been run.

Thanks to @Neko-0v0 for the report and fix in PR #3, and to the reporter of issue #2.

The full list of changes is in CHANGELOG.md.

geforce-sriov 0.2.1

Status: beta. Ampere and Ada are supported. Blackwell GPUs are not expected to work with the current implementation.

Version 0.2.1 adds laptop GPUs to the device table, adds the NVIDIA module hold file to setup, and changes the console-release wording.

What changed

• 60 Ampere and Ada laptop and embedded GPUs are in the device table and go through the same path as the desktop cards (Laptop support):
  • 25 have public config-space dumps.
  • The other 35 are listed because every laptop GPU with a config-space dump for their generation has the desktop layout.
• Laptop power guards:
  • prepare keeps the GPU and the bridge above it powered and blocks D3cold.
  • A laptop GPU needs your D3cold consent, which setup asks for. --disable-d3cold gives it without the question.
  • doctor warns if NVIDIA's runtime power management or system sleep is not turned off. You configure both yourself.
• setup shows an IMPORTANT notice and asks before it creates the file that keeps nvidia from loading at boot on the boot display path. install --hold-nvidia does the same without the question, and uninstall removes the file if you did not change it.
• The console-release questions and the install note say that the monitor may go blank or freeze, and recommend testing SSH or a serial console before the power cycle.
• install removes other geforce-sriov versions from DKMS after a successful trial build, so an upgrade from 0.2.0 leaves one version registered.
• uninstall runs the driver restore script only if it is unchanged since install.
• doctor writes nothing.

Requirements

• NVIDIA vGPU software 19.5 for Linux KVM, proprietary flavour. You supply it with your own NVIDIA entitlement.
• Host driver 580.159.01, the only supported host driver.
• Guest drivers as listed in the supported software stack in docs/installation.md. Other guest driver versions are not supported.
• A Linux host with kernel headers, DKMS, a C compiler and make.

Install

• Build from source with make.
• Run sudo ./geforce-sriov setup.
• The quick start in the README has the details.
• To upgrade from 0.2.0, run install again with the same arguments.

Download

• Use the attached geforce-sriov-0.2.1.tar.gz and check it against SHA256SUMS.
• GitHub's automatic source archive has the same files but a different checksum.

Known limits

• NVIDIA's patched driver uses at most four VFs per card.
• A boot display card loses its text console until the next boot after prepare releases it.
• Licensing is outside this project.
• The laptop paths run only against simulated hardware in the test suite. No laptop GPU has been run.

The full list of changes is in CHANGELOG.md.

geforce-sriov 0.2.0 (beta)

Status: beta. Ampere and Ada are supported. Blackwell GPUs are not expected to work with the current implementation.

geforce-sriov makes NVIDIA vGPU run on GeForce cards that NVIDIA's vGPU software does not list. Version 0.2.0 makes Ada supported alongside Ampere and adds one guided command, setup, that takes a clean host to ready VFs.

What is new

• setup, one guided command:
  • runs doctor and install
  • after you power the machine off and on, runs prepare, activate and check
  • asks only for what it needs, including the console release for a boot display card
• One target per generation:
  • Ampere is presented as the RTX A6000, default type 525 (RTXA6000-2Q, 2048 MiB)
  • Ada is presented as the RTX 6000 Ada, default type 942 (RTX6000-Ada-2Q, 2048 MiB)
  • choose another type with type_ampere= or type_ada=
• install patches copies of your own NVIDIA host object and vGPU plugin. No NVIDIA file is included.
• MSI-X is revealed on both generations.
• check gates every VM start.
• uninstall restores NVIDIA's stock files.

Requirements

• NVIDIA vGPU software 19.5 for Linux KVM, proprietary flavour. You supply it with your own NVIDIA entitlement.
• Host driver 580.159.01, the only supported host driver.
• Guest drivers as listed in the supported software stack in docs/installation.md. Other guest driver versions are not supported.
• A Linux host with:
  • kernel headers
  • DKMS
  • a C compiler
  • make

Install

• Build from source with make.
• Run sudo ./geforce-sriov setup.
• The quick start in the README has the details.

Download

• Use the attached geforce-sriov-0.2.0.tar.gz and check it against SHA256SUMS.
• GitHub's automatic source archive has the same files but a different checksum.

Known limits

• Four VFs per card is the most the package presents.
• A boot display card loses its text console until the next boot after prepare releases it.
• Licensing is outside this project.

The full list of changes is in CHANGELOG.md.