NVIDIA vGPU for Compute Licensing#
License each vGPU VM through the NVIDIA License System so it stays at full performance.
Note
The NVIDIA AI Enterprise license is enforced through software when you deploy NVIDIA vGPU for Compute VMs.
Warning
On a supported GPU, an unlicensed vGPU for Compute VM starts at full capability but enters a degraded state after a 20-minute grace period. In the degraded state, compute performance is reduced to an idle level until a valid license is acquired, at which point full capability is restored immediately. A licensed VM that loses contact with the license server has a separate, longer grace period (typically 7 days for CLS, configurable for DLS) before degradation begins.
With licensing configured, the VM requests a license at boot, holds it until shutdown, then returns it to the server. Settings persist across reboots—change them only if the license server address changes or the VM moves to GPU Passthrough.
For step-by-step licensing from the NVIDIA License System, refer to the Virtual GPU Client Licensing User Guide.
Note
For vGPU for Compute, software enforces one license per vGPU assigned to a VM. That license covers up to 16 vGPU instances on a single GPU, or one vGPU that uses the entire physical GPU framebuffer. Each NVIDIA C-series vGPU on a VM needs its own license from the NVIDIA Licensing System (Networked or Node-Locked).
Verifying the License Status of a Licensed NVIDIA vGPU for Compute Guest VM#
On the guest (not the hypervisor), run nvidia-smi with -q or --query. Check the output for the licensed product name and status; when licensed, an expiration date appears in the license status. Look for the vGPU Software Licensed Product section near the end of the output.
Sample nvidia-smi output
1==============NVSMI LOG==============
2
3Timestamp : Tue Jun 17 16:49:09 2025
4Driver Version : 595.58.03
5CUDA Version : 13.0
6
7Attached GPUs : 2
8GPU 00000000:02:01.0
9 Product Name : NVIDIA H100-80C
10 Product Brand : NVIDIA Virtual Compute Server
11 Product Architecture : Hopper
12 Display Mode : Requested functionality has been deprecated
13 Display Attached : Yes
14 Display Active : Disabled
15 Persistence Mode : Enabled
16 Addressing Mode : HMM
17 MIG Mode
18 Current : N/A
19 Pending : N/A
20 Accounting Mode : Disabled
21 Accounting Mode Buffer Size : 4000
22 Driver Model
23 Current : N/A
24 Pending : N/A
25 Serial Number : N/A
26 GPU UUID : GPU-a1833a31-1dd2-11b2-8e58-a589b8170988
27 GPU PDI : N/A
28 Minor Number : 0
29 VBIOS Version : 00.00.00.00.00
30 MultiGPU Board : No
31 Board ID : 0x201
32 Board Part Number : N/A
33 GPU Part Number : 2331-882-A1
34 FRU Part Number : N/A
35 Platform Info
36 Chassis Serial Number : N/A
37 Slot Number : N/A
38 Tray Index : N/A
39 Host ID : N/A
40 Peer Type : N/A
41 Module Id : N/A
42 GPU Fabric GUID : N/A
43 Inforom Version
44 Image Version : N/A
45 OEM Object : N/A
46 ECC Object : N/A
47 Power Management Object : N/A
48 Inforom BBX Object Flush
49 Latest Timestamp : N/A
50 Latest Duration : N/A
51 GPU Operation Mode
52 Current : N/A
53 Pending : N/A
54 GPU C2C Mode : Disabled
55 GPU Virtualization Mode
56 Virtualization Mode : VGPU
57 Host VGPU Mode : N/A
58 vGPU Heterogeneous Mode : N/A
59 vGPU Software Licensed Product
60 Product Name : NVIDIA Virtual Compute Server
61 License Status : Licensed (Expiry: 2025-6-18 8:59:55 GMT)
62….
Next Steps
After licensing, install the GPU Operator and NVIDIA AI Enterprise application containers. Refer to Installing the NVIDIA GPU Operator and Installing NVIDIA AI Enterprise Applications Software in the Installation guide.