Authenticating Users
To make the DGX useful, users need to be added to the system in some fashion so they can be authenticated to use the system. Generally, this is referred to as user authentication. There are several different ways this can be accomplished, however, each method has its own pros and cons.
Local
$ useradd -m -s /bin/bash dgxuser
$ sudo usermod -aG docker dgxuser
This adds the user dgxuser to the group docker. Any user that runs Docker containers has to be a member of this group.
NIS Vs NIS+
Another authentication option is to use NIS or NIS+. In this case, the DGX would be a client in the NIS/NIS+ configuration. As with using local authentication as previously discussed, there is the possibility that the OS drive in the DGX could be overwritten during an upgrade (not all upgrades reformat the drives, but it’s possible). This means that the administrator may have to reinstall the NIS configuration on the DGX.
LDAP
- The first is that the OS drive is a single drive on the DGX-1 and DGX Station. If the drive fails, you will have to rebuild the LDAP configuration (backups are highly recommended).
- The second is that, as previously mentioned, if, in the unlikely event of needing tech support, you may be asked to disconnect the DGX system from the LDAP server so that the system can be triaged.
Active Directory
One other option for user authentication is connecting the DGX system to an Active Directory (AD) server. This may require the system administrator to install some extra tools into the DGX. This means that this approach should also include the two cautions that were repeated before where the single OS drive may be reformatted for an upgrade or that it may fail (again, backups are highly recommended). It also means that in the unlikely case of needing to involve NVIDIA technical support, you may be asked to take the system off the AD network and remove any added software (this is unlikely but possible).