GPU-accelerated instances do not come pre-configured with built-in drivers. You can use GPU-accelerated instances to accelerate computing and render graphics only after drivers are installed on the instances. You must install the NVIDIA Tesla or GRID driver based on the instance family of your GPU-accelerated instance. This way, the instance can provide enhanced performance to meet your business requirements in scenarios such as general-purpose computing and graphics acceleration scenarios. This topic describes how to install drivers on GPU-accelerated instances.
Installation methods
You can install the Tesla or GRID driver on Alibaba Cloud GPU-accelerated instances. The driver types and installation methods vary based on factors such as instance families and OSs. The following figure shows how to select driver types and installation methods.
After you install drivers on instances for which A30 GPUs are configured, such as gn7s instances, the instances are supported only in general-purpose computing scenarios such as deep learning, AI, and scientific computing scenarios. The instances are not supported in graphics acceleration and rendering scenarios.
Installation instructions
You must select the driver type and installation method based on the instance family and OS. The following instance families are supported:
GPU-accelerated compute-optimized instance families: Refer to GPU-accelerated compute-optimized instance families.
vGPU-accelerated instance families: vgn6i-vws, sgn7i-vws, and vgn7i-vws.
You can manually or automatically install the Tesla driver provided on the NVIDIA website on GPU-accelerated compute-optimized instances. The GRID driver that is released by NVIDIA does not match vGPU-accelerated instances. To install the GRID driver on vGPU-accelerated instances, you can use community images that are pre-installed with the GRID driver or use Cloud Assistant.
GPU-accelerated compute-optimized Linux instances
Supported GPU-accelerated instance: GPU-accelerated compute-optimized Linux instances for which T4, A10, A30, A16, V100, P4, or P100 GPUs are configured.
Recommended driver: Tesla driver. We recommend that you install the Tesla driver to meet your business requirements in general-purpose computing scenarios or graphics acceleration and rendering scenarios.
Recommended driver
Installation method
Tesla driver
Install or load the Tesla driver when you create an instance: Refer to Automatically install or load the Tesla driver when you create a GPU-accelerated instance.
After you create a GPU-accelerated instance, the Tesla driver is automatically installed the first time you start the instance.
Install the Tesla driver after you create an instance: Refer to Manually install a Tesla driver on a GPU-accelerated compute-optimized Linux instance or Use YUM to quickly install the NVIDIA Tesla driver on a GPU-accelerated compute-optimized Alibaba Cloud Linux 3 instance.
GPU-accelerated compute-optimized Windows instances
General-purpose computing scenarios
Supported GPU-accelerated instance: GPU-accelerated compute-optimized Windows instances for which T4, A10, A30, A16, V100, P4, or P100 GPUs are configured.
Recommended driver
Recommended driver
Installation method
Tesla driver
Install the Tesla driver after you create an instance: Refer to Manually install a Tesla driver on a GPU-accelerated compute-optimized Windows instance.
Graphics acceleration and rendering scenarios
Supported GPU-accelerated instance: gn6i, gn7i, ebmgn6i, and ebmgn7i instances for which T4 or A10 GPUs are configured.
Recommended driver
Recommended driver
Installation method
GRID driver of version 15.2
Load the GRID driver from a community image when you create an instance: Refer to Load a GRID driver by using a community image pre-installed with the driver.
NoteWhen you create a GPU-accelerated instance, you can select a free image that is pre-installed with the GRID driver from Alibaba Cloud Marketplace. This way, the GRID driver is automatically loaded when you create the GPU-accelerated instance. The free image contains the GRID driver whose license is activated. You do not need to manually install the GRID driver.
Install the GRID driver by using Cloud Assistant after you create an instance: Refer to Install a GRID driver on a GPU-accelerated compute-optimized or vGPU-accelerated Windows instance.
vGPU-accelerated Linux and Windows instances
Supported GPU-accelerated instance: vgn6i-vws, sgn7i-vws, and vgn7i-vws instances for which T4 or A10 GPUs are configured. For more information, see vGPU-accelerated instance families.
Recommended driver: GRID driver. We recommend that you install the GRID driver to meet your business requirements in graphics acceleration and rendering scenarios or general-purpose computing scenarios.
Recommended driver
Installation method
GRID driver of version 13.5
Load the GRID driver from a community image when you create an instance: Refer to Load a GRID driver by using a community image pre-installed with the driver.
NoteWhen you create a GPU-accelerated instance, you can select a free image that is pre-installed with the GRID driver from Alibaba Cloud Marketplace. This way, the GRID driver is automatically loaded when you create the GPU-accelerated instance. The free image contains the GRID driver whose license is activated. You do not need to manually install the GRID driver.
Install the GRID driver by using Cloud Assistant after you create an instance
Windows instance: Refer to Install a GRID driver on a GPU-accelerated compute-optimized or vGPU-accelerated Windows instance.
Linux instance: Refer to Install a GRID driver on a vGPU-accelerated Linux instance.
References
If the driver version of your GPU-accelerated instance cannot meet your business requirements, or your GPU-accelerated instance becomes unavailable due to an invalid driver type or version, you can uninstall the driver and install a new driver. You can also upgrade the driver. For more information, see Uninstall the NVIDIA Tesla or GRID driver or Upgrade an NVIDIA Tesla or GRID driver.
If errors such as a black screen error occur when you use a GPU-accelerated instance on which a driver is installed, you can troubleshoot the errors. For more information, see FAQ.