Release Guidance

This information helps you understand the DGX OS release mechanism, release numbering convention, and options to install and upgrade your DGX OS software.

Important

Keeping your DGX OS software up to date is the single most important task for protecting your system. Security-related updates are available from the Ubuntu and NVIDIA repositories. Refer to Upgrading the OS for information about performing a package upgrade to latest software releases and the Upgrades page on Ubuntu’s Wiki for additional information.

Security updates for Ubuntu are announced on Ubuntu Security Notices (USN). The USN website lists known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) for Ubuntu packages. You can find NVIDIA security announcements on the Product Security website.

Release Mechanisms

This section provides information about the DGX OS release mechanisms that are available to install or upgrade DGX systems to the latest version of the DGX OS.

DGX OS ISO Image

DGX OS is released in the form of an ISO image that includes an autonomous installer and all the software required for running AI, machine learning, and analytics applications. Basic system configuration is deferred to a setup wizard on first boot. The ISO is intended for cases that require reimaging a single system.

Updated versions of the ISO image are available between releases with the following:

Critical bug fixes and security mitigations.
Improved installation experience.
Support for new DGX systems and hardware components.

Always use the latest ISO image unless you need to restore the system to an earlier version.

Linux Software Repositories

The DGX OS software, upgrades to DGX OS, and a large pool of additional software are available from software repositories in the form of software packages. Software repositories are storage locations from which your system retrieves the software packages. The repositories used by DGX OS are hosted by Canonical for the Ubuntu OS and NVIDIA for DGX specific software and other NVIDIA software.

Software packages contain the files of the respective software component or closely related components. This includes executables, configuration files, documentation, and metadata, such as dependencies.

New versions of these packages contain bug fixes and security updates. These packages provide an upgrade to a DGX OS release. The repositories are also updated between releases for critical bug fixes, security migitations, and additional hardware enablement. Updates for supporting a new system or a new hardware component, such as a network card or disk drive, do not affect existing hardware configurations.

System upgrades are cumulative. Your system always receives the latest package versions, which can be newer than the current DGX OS release. You cannot select which upgrades to make or limit upgrades to a specific DGX OS version by default.

Warning

NVIDIA recommends that you do not update packages individually. For example, do not run apt install <package-name>.

Release Numbering Convention

The NVIDIA DGX OS release numbering convention is <major>.<minor>. The meaning for major and minor are as follows:

Major Release

Major releases are typically based on Ubuntu releases. These releases include new kernel versions and new features that might not be backwards compatible. They also include the latest releases of the NVIDIA software.

For example:

DGX OS 5 is based on Ubuntu 20.04.
DGX OS 6 is based on Ubuntu 22.04.

Minor Release

Minor releases include new NVIDIA features, bug fixes, and security updates.

Minor releases deliver upgrades to the NVIDIA software that are backward compatible.
When you upgrade a system, the system remains on the currently installed NVIDIA GPU driver release unless the driver branch reaches the end of support.
The ISO releases provide a snapshot of all accumulated changes. The release can include a newer NVIDIA GPU driver LTS branch.

Important bug fixes and security updates are provided between releases through the software repositories without having a release number assigned to the change.

Release Cadence

DGX OS is released twice a year, typically around February and August, for the first two years as minor releases. Updates are provided between releases and after the initial two years for the remainder of the supported duration.