Installing and configuring the NVIDIA VIB on ESXi

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• Before using the hardware-based virtual Graphical Processing Unit (vGPU) funfction in vSphere, the NVIDIA GPU VIB (vSphere Installation Bundle) must installed and configured on an ESXi host.
  
  Note: This feature is supported in Horizon View 5.2 and later, and vSphere 5.1 and later.

Environment

• VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7.x
• VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x
• VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

Resolution

Table of Contents

• Installing the NVIDIA GPU VIB
• Configuring virtual machine video card 3D capabilities
• Uninstalling and updating the NVIDIA GPU VIB

Installing the NVIDIA GPU VIB

To install the NVIDIA GPU VIB:

1. Download the VIB from the NVIDIA web site:
   • https://nvid.nvidia.com/
   • For assistance logging in, see https://nvid.nvidia.com/NvidiaUtilities/#/needHelp
     
2. Place the ESXi host in Maintenance mode.
3. Open a command prompt on the ESXi host and run this command:
   
   esxcli software vib install -v /path_to_vib/nvidia_vib
   
   Note:
   • The full path to the vib file is required, even when running from the directory it is stored in.
   • If the vib file is located on VSAN datastore, navigate to the directory prior to running the vib.
     
     After installing the vib, the ESXi host must be rebooted.

Alternatively, use the ESXi Image Builder to create a bootable image that contains the NVIDIA VIB. For more information, see Configure vSphere ESXi Image Builder

For more information on deployment, see the Nvidia GRID vGPU Deployment Guide for VMware Horizon on VMware vSphere .
After rebooting the ESXi host, ensure the xorg service is running properly on the ESXi host. 

Note: These remaining steps only apply in cases where Shared Mode vSGA is being used in ESXi 7.0 U1 and above. They also apply in all use-cases of NVIDIA GPUs in versions of ESXi lower than 7.0 U1: Xorg service is no longer required for Nvidia vGPU profiles in vSphere 7.0 U1

To verify that the xorg service is running using the vSphere Web Client:

1. Connect to vCenter Server.
2. From the Inventory, select the ESXi host.
3. On the Configure tab under System, click Services.
4. Click the X.Org Server and click Edit Startup Policy.
5. Ensure that X.Org Server is Running and is set to Start and stop with host.

To verify that the xorg service is running using the command line:

• From a command prompt on the ESXi host, run the command:
  
  /etc/init.d/xorg [start|stop|status]

Configuring virtual machine video card 3D capabilities

To configure virtual machine video card 3D capabilities using the vSphere Client:

1. Connect to the ESXi host.
2. Select the virtual machine.
3. On the Summary tab under VM Hardware, click Edit Settings.
4. Click Add New Device and choose PCI Device.
5. Set the New PCI device to NVIDIA GRID vGPU and select the desired Profile.
6. Click OK.

Power on the virtual machine, ensure Remote Desktop is enabled to allow remote connections into this guest OS. 
After the Nvidia guest OS drivers are loaded, the vSphere Console will no longer be usable to connect to the VM console. Use an alternate method to connect and manage the machine.

Uninstalling and updating the NVIDIA GPU VIB

To update the NVIDIA GPU VIB, the currently installed VIB must be uninstalled and then install the new/updated VIB.

To uninstall the currently installed VIB:

1. Stop all virtual machines using 3D acceleration.
2. Place the ESXi host into Maintenance mode.
3. Open a command prompt on the ESXi host.
4. Stop the xorg service by running the command:
   
   /etc/init.d/xorg stop
    
5. Remove the NVIDIA VMkernel driver by running the command:
   
   vmkload_mod -u nvidia
    
6. Identify the NVIDIA VIB name by running this command:
   
   esxcli software vib list | grep "NVIDIA\|NVD"
    
7. Remove the VIB by running the command:
   
   esxcli software vib remove -n nameofNVIDIAVIB
   
   Install new NVIDIA GPU VIBs by performing the steps provided earlier in this article.