Upgrading the OS#

This section provides information about upgrading an existing DGX OS with updates from NVIDIA and Ubuntu within a release or to upgrade an existing installation, such as DGX OS 7 to DGX OS 8.

To reimage the system with DGX OS to a default state, refer to Reimaging the System.

Important

Before you upgrade a system or any installed software, always consult the Release Notes for the latest information about available upgrades. You can find out more about the release cadence and release methods for DGX OS in Release Guidance.

This release incorporates the following updates:

  • Ubuntu ConnectX drivers and DOCA-OFED stack

  • Consider these updates and any effect they can have on your applications.

  • Upgrade select systems and verify that your applications work as expected before deploying on additional systems.

Upgrade Options#

The following information describes the differences between different types of upgrades:

  • Release upgrades

    Once the upcoming DGX OS 7.6.0 update becomes available, upgrades to DGX OS 8 will be supported only from the latest DGX OS 7 release. A direct upgrade from DGX OS 6 to DGX OS 8 is not supported; first upgrade DGX OS 6 to the latest DGX OS 7 release.

    Note

    An upgrade path from DGX OS 7.x to DGX OS 8.x will be introduced in an upcoming DGX OS 7.6.0 update. Upgrade instructions will be provided when the update becomes available.

  • BaseOS software upgrades

    The GPU driver, CUDA Toolkit, and DOCA components are updated only as part of a supported BaseOS release. Refer to Upgrading the BaseOS software for upgrade instructions.

  • Package upgrades

    When you perform package upgrades, you want to install upgrades that are available in the repositories since the initial DGX OS 8 release. The repositories are periodically updated with packages that include bug fixes and security updates. The NVIDIA repository also includes packages with new features that are available with the latest DGX OS minor version release. Refer to Performing Package Upgrades for instructions.

Upgrades are cumulative, meaning your systems install all available upgrades, including upgrades available from Ubuntu, such as the kernel. Performing upgrades installs the latest versions available at the time when the upgrade is performed. These can be newer than the current DGX OS release.

Important

The instructions in this chapter upgrade all software for which updates are available from your configured software sources, including applications that you installed yourself. To prevent an application from being upgraded, you can instruct the Ubuntu package manager to keep the current version.

For more information, refer to the Ubuntu Community Help Wiki: Introduction to Holding Packages. Do not hold packages unless necessary, because holding packages can disrupt package dependencies.

Upgrading the BaseOS software#

The GPU driver, CUDA Toolkit, and DOCA components are updated only as part of a supported BaseOS release. Refer to Upgrading BaseOS Using the CLI for upgrading the BaseOS release.

Performing Package Upgrades#

NVIDIA and Canonical provide updates to the OS in the form of updated software packages between releases with security mitigations and bug fixes. Evaluate the available updates at regular intervals and update the system based on the threat level.

Enabling Extended Security Maintenance Upgrades#

This section describes Ubuntu Extended Security Updates (ESM).

As a DGX OS customer, you are entitled to Extended Security Updates from the Ubuntu Universe repository.

The following Ubuntu Pro message from ubuntu-advantage-tools can appear during an apt upgrade if security updates are available for packages from the Ubuntu Universe repository:

Get more security updates through Ubuntu Pro with 'esm-apps' enabled.
Learn more about Ubuntu Pro at https://ubuntu.com/pro.

In addition, you also get the following NVIDIA message:

Your DGX contract entitles you to Extended Security Maintenance updates
for additional packages in the Ubuntu repository. Please
contact NVIDIA Support to get your key to enable this capability.”

After contacting NVIDIA Enterprise Support to obtain an Ubuntu Pro token, you can use the token with the following command to enable Extended Security Maintenance updates:

sudo pro attach XXXXX

You can check the Ubuntu Pro subscription with the sudo pro status command:

sudo pro status

Renewing Extended Security Maintenance#

The Ubuntu Pro Client does not automatically update the Ubuntu Pro subscription for token expiration. If your Ubuntu Pro token expires, refresh the token on the DGX system to renew the Extended Security Maintenance subscription.

To refresh the Ubuntu Pro token:

sudo pro refresh

To check the new expiration date or the status of ESM:

sudo pro status

Performing Package Upgrades Using the CLI#

Evaluate the available updates at regular intervals and update the system based on the threat level:

  • Refer to the Ubuntu Wiki Upgrades for more information about upgrades available for Ubuntu.

  • For a list of the known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs), including those that can be resolved by updating the DGX OS software, refer to the Ubuntu Security Notices

If updates are available, you can obtain upgraded packages by completing the following steps:

  1. Update the internal database with the list of available packages and their versions.

    sudo apt update

Note

Before running apt full-upgrade, review Upgrade Error During Package Configuration.

  1. Review the packages that are upgraded.

    sudo apt full-upgrade -s

    To prevent an application from being upgraded, you can instruct the Ubuntu package manager to hold packages. Refer to Holding Packages.

    Note

    Hold packages only in extremely rare cases, because holding packages can disrupt package dependencies.

  2. Upgrade to the latest version.

    sudo apt full-upgrade

    When prompted to resolve an issue, answer any questions that appear. Most questions require a Yes or No response.

    • When prompted to select the GRUB configuration to use, select the current one on the system.

    • When prompted to select the GRUB install devices, keep the default selection.

    • The other questions depend on what other packages were installed before the update and how those packages interact with the update.

  3. When the upgrade is complete, reboot the system.

    sudo reboot

Note

Upgrades to the NVIDIA Graphics Drivers for Linux require a restart to complete the kernel upgrade. If you upgrade the NVIDIA Graphics Drivers for Linux without restarting the DGX system, when you run the nvidia-smi command, an error message is displayed.

nvidia-smi
Failed to initialize NVML: Driver/library version mismatch