U.2 NVMe Cache Drive Upgrade from 4 to 8

If you require more drive cache capacity, you can increase the cache by adding four more NVMe drives to the DGX A100 system.

Important

Upgrade using only U.2 NVMe drives of the same density (capacity) as the existing four drives.

U.2 NVMe Cache Drive Upgrade Overview

This is a high-level overview of the steps needed to upgrade the DGX A100 system’s cache size.

  1. Identify the density (capacity) of the currently installed NVMe drives.

  2. Place an order for additional four NVME drives from NVIDIA Sales.

  3. Power off the system.

  4. Remove the air baffles in the blank drive slots.

  5. Install the NVMe drives in the DGX A100 system.

  6. Power on the system.

  7. Re-initialize the /raid filesystem to recognize all eight drives.

  8. Confirm the system is healthy by running nvsm show health.

Determining the NVMe Drive to Order

  1. Identify the drives in the RAID volume by issuing the following.

    $ sudo nvme list
    
  2. Determine the drive size (3.84 TB or 7.68 TB) of the currently installed drives, and order drives of same density (capacity) from the NVIDIA Sales team.

    Note

    If 3.84 TB drives are installed but you want to use or add 7.68 TB drives, refer to U.2 NVMe Cache Drive Upgrade to 7.68 TB Drives for instructions.

Installing the Optional NVMe Drives

  1. Be sure you have obtained the additional drives.

  2. Back up any critical data to a network shared volume or some other means of backup.

  3. Power off the system using the power button or through the console.

  4. Remove the blank filler modules from slots 1, 3, 5, and 7.

    _images/nvme-cache-id.png
    1. Push the lever release button (on the right side of the lever) to unlock the lever.

      _images/u2-blank-unlock.png
    2. Pull the lever to remove the blank filler module.

      _images/us-blank-remove.png
  5. Move the drives in slots 4 and 6 and install in slots 1 and 3.

    _images/u2-nvme-moving.png
    1. Push the lever release button (on the right side of the lever) to unlock the lever.

      _images/u2-blank-unlock.png
    2. Pull the lever to remove the module.

      _images/u2-nvme-replace.png
    3. Unlock the release lever and then slide the drive into the slot until the front face is flush with the other drives.

    4. Close the lever and lock it in place.

      _images/u2-nvme-lock.png
  6. Install the new NVMe drives in slots 4, 5, 6, and 7.

    1. Unlock the release lever and then slide the drive into the slot until the front face is flush with the other drives.

    2. Close the lever and lock it in place.

      _images/u2-nvme-lock.png
  7. Power on the system.

Perform the tasks describes in the chapter U.2 NVMe Cache Drive Post-Installation Tasks.