NVIDIA Grace Software with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15#

NVIDIA® Grace systems can run SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) and take advantage of the advanced Grace features. This guide explains how to install and configure Grace systems with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6.

Attention

Although it might be possible to use other Linux distributions that are related to (or inspired by) SLES, for example openSUSE Leap, only SLES has been pre-validated with the steps in this guide for installation on Grace platforms.

Document History#

Date

Description

August 2, 2023

  • Initial release.

August 31, 2023

  • Added Appendix E: Known issues

  • Updated D.2 with a minimum kernel version that contains the fix for that issue.

October 5, 2023

  • Added post-install steps.

December 18, 2023

  • Updated installation media requirements.

  • Removed unnecessary workarounds.

  • Added Appendix A.1, and removed Appendix E.

March 8, 2024

  • Added a note to Appendix A.1 about explicitly requiring the open-source GPU driver.

May 30, 2024

  • Updated Appendix A.1 with new driver level.

  • Added Appendix A.2.

  • Updated Appendix D.1 with additional workaround for boot issue.

October 25, 2024

  • Added SLES 15 SP6 support.

  • Updated Appendix D.1 with PCIe alignment issue with large GPU BARs.

  • Updated Appendix D.1 with PCIe BAR assignments with NVIDIA BlueField-3.

December 17, 2024

  • Updated Appendix A.2 to NVIDIA DOCA-OFED.

March 7, 2025

  • Updated Appendix A.2 with extra steps for DOCA-OFED.

May 8, 2025

  • Drop support for SLES 15 SP5.

  • Modified Appendix A to require NVIDIA DOCA installation before NVIDIA GPU driver.

  • Updated Appendix with new driver level.

  • Updated Appendix with steps to use BFB bundle to flash NVIDIA BlueField-3 firmware.

Prerequisites#

This section lists the required (or recommended) prerequisites.

SUSE Subscription#

A SUSE subscription is required to install and use SLES 15 on the Grace platform. A subscription allows you to obtain update packages and additional packages for SLES. To purchase a subscription or obtain a free evaluation subscription, go to the SUSE Customer Center (SCC).

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Installation Media#

The installation method in this guide requires the SLES 15 SP6 Quarterly Update 1 (or later) installation media. To obtain these Quarterly Update (QU) ISO images:

  1. Go to the SLES download page.

  2. Select Stable Release 15 SP6 for the Arm Architecture.

  3. For the latest installer images link, navigate to the corresponding SCC product page from the login page to SUSE Customer Center.

Access to Repositories#

The repositories can be accessed from the internet. If you are using a proxy server, follow the instructions in the SLES Deployment Guide to ensure that the system can access the necessary URIs.

SUSE Repositories#

To install software for the Grace platform over SLES 15, you need access to the following repositories:

  • Basesystem Module: sle-module-basesystem

  • Server Applications Module: sle-module-server-applications