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Overview

Azure Linux provides NVIDIA driver packages through the NVIDIA RPM repository at packages.microsoft.com. This guide covers how to install and configure NVIDIA GPU support.

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Licensing

The software in the NVIDIA RPM repository is subject to the NVIDIA end user license agreement. The use of these components is governed by the NVIDIA EULA located at https://www.nvidia.com/content/DriverDownload-March2009/licence.php?lang=us.
Before proceeding with the installation, review and accept the NVIDIA license terms.

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Installation

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Register NVIDIA Repository

Configure the NVIDIA RPM repository with your package manager: 
# Navigate to the package manager configuration directory
cd /etc/yum.repos.d

# Download the NVIDIA repository configuration
sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/azurelinux/3.0/toolkit/docs/nvidia/mariner-nvidia.repo

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Install NVIDIA Drivers

After registering the repository, install NVIDIA driver packages using tdnf: 
# Update package cache
sudo tdnf makecache

# List available NVIDIA packages
sudo tdnf search nvidia

# Install NVIDIA drivers
sudo tdnf install -y nvidia-driver

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Verification

After installation, verify the NVIDIA driver is loaded: 
# Check if NVIDIA kernel module is loaded
lsmod | grep nvidia

# Display NVIDIA driver information
nvidia-smi
The nvidia-smi command should display information about your GPU and driver version.

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CUDA Support

For CUDA development and GPU computing workloads: 
# Install CUDA toolkit
sudo tdnf install -y cuda

# Verify CUDA installation
nvcc --version

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Configuration

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Persistence Mode

Enable persistence mode to keep the NVIDIA driver loaded: 
sudo nvidia-smi -pm 1

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Automatic Loading

Ensure the NVIDIA kernel module loads at boot by adding it to /etc/modules-load.d/: 
echo "nvidia" | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/nvidia.conf

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Troubleshooting

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Driver Not Loading

If the driver doesn’t load:
  1. Check kernel logs for errors:
dmesg | grep nvidia
  1. Verify the module is available:
modinfo nvidia
  1. Manually load the module:
sudo modprobe nvidia

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nvidia-smi Command Not Found

Ensure the driver package is properly installed: 
sudo tdnf reinstall -y nvidia-driver

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Conflicts with Nouveau

If the open-source Nouveau driver conflicts with the NVIDIA driver, blacklist it: 
echo "blacklist nouveau" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf
sudo dracut --force
sudo reboot

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