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

Ubuntu security updates are announced on Ubuntu Security Notices (USN), which lists known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) for Ubuntu packages. To keep up to date on NVIDIA security announcements for software and firmware, refer to the Product Security page.

Release Mechanisms#

The following DGX OS release mechanisms install or upgrade DGX systems to the latest version of 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 and include 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 mitigations, 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>.<patch>. The meanings of 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 backward compatible. They also include the latest releases of the NVIDIA software.

For example:

  • DGX OS 6 is based on Ubuntu 22.04.

  • DGX OS 7 is based on Ubuntu 24.04.

  • DGX OS 8 is based on Ubuntu 26.04.

Minor Release

Minor releases align with BaseOS releases that define the NVIDIA drivers and 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, it remains on the currently installed BaseOS release and NVIDIA GPU driver unless the currently installed driver branch reaches end of support.

  • The ISO releases provide a snapshot of all accumulated changes.

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