Delegated License Service Release Notes

NVIDIA Delegated License Service Release Notes

Release information for all users of NVIDIA Delegated License Service.

This document summarizes current status, information on supported platforms, and known issues with NVIDIA^® License System release 3.1.1.

1.1. Updates in this Release

New Features in this Release

• Security updates as listed in Security Updates
• Miscellaneous bug fixes as listed in Resolved Issues

1.2. Supported Platforms

1.2.1. Supported Hypervisors

For deployment in a virtual machine, the Delegated License Server (DLS) component of the NVIDIA License System is supplied as a virtual appliance. The virtual appliance must be installed on a supported hypervisor software release.

The following hypervisor software releases are supported:

• Citrix Hypervisor 8.2
• Linux Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) hypervisors with one of the following QEMU releases:
  • QEMU 4.2.0
  • QEMU 2.12.0 (qemu-kvm-2.12.0-64.el8.2.27782638)
• Microsoft Windows Server with Hyper-V 2019 Datacenter edition
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) 9.1 and 9.0
• Red Hat Virtualization 4.3
• Ubuntu Hypervisor 22.04
• VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 8.0, 7.0.3, 7.0.2, and 7.0.1

1.2.2. Supported Container Orchestration Platforms

For deployment on a bare-metal OS, the Delegated License Server (DLS) component of the NVIDIA License System is supplied as a containerized software image. The containerized software image must be deployed on a supported container orchestration platform.

The following container orchestration platform releases are supported:

• Docker 20.10.17 with Docker Compose 2.6.0
• Kubernetes 1.23.8
• Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.10.18 with Kubernetes 1.23.5
• Podman 4.4.2 with Podman Compose 1.0.7
• VMware Tanzu Application Platform 1.1 with Kubernetes 1.23.6

1.2.3. Licensed Client Support

NVIDIA License System supports specific releases of several NVIDIA software products as licensed clients.

1.2.4. Web Browser Requirements

NVIDIA License System and NVIDIA Licensing Portal were tested with Google Chrome version 86.0.4240.111 (Official Build) (64-bit).

A container orchestration platform cannot control or restrict access to the OS on which the platform is running. Therefore, containerized DLS software images cannot support the features of VM-based DLS virtual appliances that rely on the ability of the appliance to control the underlying OS.

Containerized DLS software images do not support the following features, for which equivalent functionality is available through standard OS interfaces:

• Log archive settings
• NTP configuration
• Static IP address configuration
• DLS diagnostics user configuration
• Disk expansion

Because a container orchestration platform cannot control the underlying OS, the following limitations also apply to containerized DLS software images:

• Online migration from a VM-based DLS virtual appliance to a containerized DLS software image is not supported because the destination containerized DLS software image retains its IP address even after data migration.

  Instead, you must use offline migration when migrating from a VM-based DLS virtual appliance to a containerized DLS software image.

• When the secondary node is removed from an HA cluster, the containerized DLS software image that hosts the node is not shut down.

  Instead, you must shut down the DLS software container manually.

To address vulnerabilities that were discovered through security scans of the DLS, new releases of third-party software components are included in the delegated license service (DLS) component of NVIDIA License System.

Only resolved issues that have been previously noted as known issues or had a noticeable user impact are listed. The summary and description for each resolved issue indicate the effect of the issue on NVIDIA License System before the issue was resolved.

5.1. USN-6420-1: Vim vulnerabilities affect VM-based DLS appliances

Description

Critical security vulnerabilities in the Ubuntu package xxd_2:8.1.2269-1ubuntu5.17 affect VM-based DLS appliances. This issue does not affect the functionality of these DLS appliances. For more information, refer to the Ubuntu security notice USN-6420-1: Vim vulnerabilities.

Workaround

Install an updated version of the xxd package that addresses these vulnerabilities.

Ensure that the sudo DLS user account rsu_admin has been created.

1. Use the hypervisor management console of the appliance to log in as the user rsu_admin to the VM that hosts the DLS appliance.
2. Download information from all configured sources about the latest versions of the packages.
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   $ sudo apt update
           

3. Install the xxd package.
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   $ sudo apt install xxd
           

Status

Open

5.2. Self-signed SSL certificates expire on November 14, 2023

Description

The self-signed SSL certificates that are installed on the DLS appliance expire on November 14, 2023. This issue does not affect the functionality of the DLS appliance.

Workaround

Optional: Replace the installed certificates with custom certificates.

Status

Open

5.3. The leasing modes displayed on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal and the DLS appliance do not match

Description

If a license server for which the leasing mode is Advanced feature management is installed on a DLS appliance, the leasing mode is shown as Standard on the DLS appliance. However, on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, the leasing mode is shown correctly as Advanced. This issue occurs because the Advanced leasing mode was introduced in a later release of the NVIDIA Licensing application, which is running on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, and is not recognized by this release of the NVIDIA Licensing application on the DLS appliance.

Status

Not a bug

Ref. #

4276908

5.4. DLS instance displays benign warning message about clients with an invalid or empty MAC address

Description

When a DLS instance detects one or more clients with an invalid or empty MAC address, the instance displays the following warning message in a banner on the web GUI of the instance's NVIDIA Licensing application:

            

            
The service instance instance-name has some clients in an unhealthy state.
View unhealthy clients to take corrective action on the listed clients
        

Workaround

Ignore this message as it is benign. These clients obtain the licenses that they request from the server and no corrective action is required.

Status

Open

5.5. Service instances might be unable to reclaim unused licenses on clients with an invalid or empty MAC address

Description

When a client with an invalid or empty MAC address requests a license, the service instance grants the request and locates the client through the client's IP address. In an environment where the clients are VM instances with reused MAC addresses, the service instance might have granted licenses to multiple clients with invalid or empty MAC addresses. If a client in such an environment is abruptly shut down and cannot return the license, the service instance cannot locate the VM to reclaim the unused license on it. The license remains checked out until it expires, when the service instance can reclaim it.

Workaround

Forcibly release licenses acquired by client VMs with invalid or empty MAC addresses that have greater than usual longevity.

Status

Open

Ref. #

4163388

5.6. Login access to a DLS instance cannot be restricted to specific LDAP users

Description

After a DLS instance has been integrated with an LDAP server, login access to the web GUI of the instance cannot be restricted to specific user accounts in the LDAP directory on the server. Even if an LDAP search filter is configured, all users in the LDAP directory can log in to the DLS instance. This issue occurs because the DLS instance ignores any LDAP search filter restrictions that might have been configured for the DLS.

Status

Open

Ref. #

4151346

5.7. Users configured in LDAP Additional Details cannot log in to a DLS virtual appliance VM

Description

After a DLS instance has been integrated with an LDAP server, users configured in the Additional Details section of the LDAP configuration cannot log in to the VM that hosts DLS virtual appliance for the instance. This issue occurs whenever a search filter in the Additional Details section contains white space, for example, in the binddn value. When the DLS instance writes the search filter to the file /etc/ldap.conf, the search filter is split into two lines in /etc/ldap.conf. As a result, the LDAP server can no longer parse the file /etc/ldap.conf.

Workaround

1. Use the hypervisor management console of the appliance to log in as the user dls_admin to the VM that hosts the DLS virtual appliance.

2. Open the file /etc/ldap.conf for editing in a plain-text editor, such as vi.

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   $ vi /etc/ldap.conf
           

3. Remove all unwanted line breaks from the file /etc/ldap.conf.

4. Save your changes and quit the editor.

5. Restart the VM that hosts the DLS virtual appliance.

Status

Open

Ref. #

4135514

5.8. Multiple VMs fail to acquire license with an invalid origin environment error

Description

In an environment where the clients are VM instances with reused MAC addresses, an issue with the NVIDIA vGPU software graphics driver might prevent clients with an invalid or empty MAC address from acquiring a license. Whenever this issue causes a VM to fail to acquire a license occurs, the following message is written to the licensing event logs on the client:

            

            
Tue May 23 03:04:05 2023:<1>:Failed to acquire license from api.cls.licensing.nvidia.com 
Info: NVIDIA Virtual PC - Error: invalid origin environment)
        

Version

This issue affects the following releases of NVIDIA vGPU software:

• NVIDIA vGPU software 13.0 through 13.8
• NVIDIA vGPU software 15.0 through 15.3

Status

Resolved in NVIDIA vGPU software 16.0

Ref. #

4137753

5.9. Name resolution fails during startup if a name is used instead of an address for an NTP or syslog server

Description

If a DLS virtual appliance is reconfigured to specify an external NTP server or syslog server through the server's fully qualified domain name instead of its IP address, name resolution fails during startup of the DLS virtual appliance or the rsyslog service. When this issue occurs for an external syslog server, the rsyslogd daemon displays the following message:

            

            
cannot resolve hostname host-name
        

Workaround

For an HA cluster of DLS instances, apply this workaround to both nodes in the cluster.

1. Use the hypervisor management console of the appliance to log in as the user rsu_admin to the VM that hosts the DLS virtual appliance.

2. Delete the file /etc/resolv.conf.

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   $ sudo rm /etc/resolv.conf
           

3. Restart the network manager service.

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   $ sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager
           

4. Reconfigure NTP or the Rsyslog tool.

Status

Open

Ref. #

4101673

5.10. HA cluster node is not synchronized while its virtual NIC is removed or its network is partitioned

Description

If a virtual network interface card (NIC) is removed from a node in an HA cluster or its network is partitioned, the node cannot reach other nodes in the cluster. The affected node handles the inability to reach other nodes as a failure of those nodes and assumes the primary role. While the NIC is removed or its network is partitioned, the node cannot be updated with information about operations that other nodes in the cluster have performed.

Workaround

After the virtual NIC is attached again or the network is no longer partitioned, the node assumes a role that depends on its uptime. When a node is restarted, it is synchronized with the primary node and assumes the secondary role. Therefore, how to synchronize the nodes in the cluster depends on the role that the node assumes when is able to reach other nodes in the cluster again:

• Primary: All other nodes in the cluster must be restarted.
• Secondary: The node itself must be restarted.

Status

Closed

Ref. #

4097705

5.11. Migration of a DLS instance fails

Description

Migration of a DLS instance can fail if a large quantity of data is to be migrated. This issue affects both online and offline migration of a DLS instance. When this issue occurs, the NVIDIA Licensing application on the new DLS virtual appliance is affected in one of the following ways:

• The NVIDIA Licensing Dashboard does not show license server details.
• The ACKNOWLEDGE MIGRATION button is absent from Maintenance page.

Workaround

Contact NVIDIA Enterprise Support to obtain a workaround for this issue.

Status

Open

Ref. #

3961380

5.12. HA cluster creation fails after migration of a DLS instance

Description

HA cluster creation after migration of a DLS instance can fail if a large quantity of data is to be migrated.

Workaround

Contact NVIDIA Enterprise Support to obtain a workaround for this issue.

Status

Open

Ref. #

3931610

5.13. BadRequestError error is displayed on the Events page of a DLS instance

Description

When a licensed client requests a license from a DLS instance, the following error is displayed on the Events page of the DLS instance:

            

            
BadRequestError(origin reference reference already in use by different fingerprint)
        

Workaround

Ignore this error because it is a transient error. After the licensed client repeats the request, this issue is resolved.

Status

Not a bug

Ref. #

3966221

5.14. VM-based DLS appliance has security vulnerabilities

Description

The VM-based DLS appliance for each supported hypervisor has security vulnerabilities related to options set for file-system partitions and access permissions for some files. The vulnerabilities are as follows:

• The nodev option is not set on the /boot/efi partition.
• Every time the VM that hosts the DLS appliance is started, Docker creates the following files with the mode -rwxrwxrwx, which allows write access by other users (world):
  • /home/dls_admin/device
  • /home/dls_admin/dns
  • /home/dls_admin/gateway
  • /home/dls_admin/ip_address
  • /home/dls_admin/static-ip-ova-logs

Workaround

You can mitigate these vulnerabilities by setting the nodev option on the affected file-system partition and restricting write access to the affected files. You need to change the affected partition only once. The change persists when the VM that hosts the DLS appliance is restarted.

1. Use the hypervisor management console of the appliance to log in as the user rsu_admin to the VM that hosts the DLS appliance.
2. Add the nodev mount option to the entry in /etc/fstab for the /boot/efi partition.
3. Restart the VM that hosts the DLS appliance.

Restrict write access to the affected files that are recreated after every reboot of the VM every time the VM is rebooted.

1. Use the hypervisor management console of the appliance to log in as the user dls_admin to the VM that hosts the DLS appliance.

2. Set the mode of the affected files that are recreated after every reboot of the VM to allow access only by owner and root.

   1. Change to the /home/dls_admin directory.

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      $ cd /home/dls_admin
              

   2. Change the mode of the affected files in this directory to -rwxr-xr-x.

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      $ sudo chmod 755 \
      device dns gateway ip_address static-ip-ova-logs
              

Status

Not a bug

Ref. #

3923943

5.15. Events cannot be exported from a DLS instance on a Kubernetes platform

Description

Events cannot be exported from a DLS instance hosted by a container-based DLS appliance running on Kubernetes, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, or VMware Tanzu Application Platform. When a user tries to export events, the attempt fails and the error message Export file generation failed. Please try again. is displayed.

This issue occurs because the user that is exporting events does not have the permissions required to create the directories to which the events are exported.

Workaround

Create the directories to which the events are exported and grant write access to all users to these directories.

1. Change to the directory where the configurations volume is mounted.

2. Create the enc and unenc directories.

   1. Create the enc directory.

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      $ mkdir enc
              

   2. Create the unenc directory.

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      $ mkdir unenc
              

3. Grant write access to all users to the directories that you created in the previous step.

   1. Grant write access to all users to the enc directory.

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      $ chmod -R 707 enc
              

   2. Grant write access to all users to the unenc directory.

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      $ chmod -R 707 unenc
              

Status

Open

Ref. #

3917695

5.16. Validation of the client configuration token fails

Description

When Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers are configured for a VM-based DLS instance, the system times on the DLS instance and the licensed client might still be different. In this situation, validation of the client configuration token fails. When the licensed client requests a license, the request fails and the following error message is displayed:

            

            
Client Configuration Token Validation Failed.
Either the token is not activated or system clock settings are tampered
        

Workaround

When configuring NTP servers on a DLS virtual appliance, specify the IP addresses, not the fully qualified domain names, of the NTP servers.

Status

Open

Ref. #

3718863

5.17. VM hosting a DLS appliance cannot be reached

Description

After a VM-based DLS appliance has been installed, the VM that is hosting the DLS appliance cannot be reached after it has been started. This issue occurs when a static IP address has been assigned to the VM that is hosting the DLS appliance and the subnet mask of the VM's network was specified in an incorrect format. The subnet mask of the VM's network must be specified in classless inter-domain routing (CIDR) format without the leading slash character (/).

Workaround

Reinstall the VM-based DLS appliance, specifying the subnet mask in the correct format, namely, CIDR format without the leading slash character (/).

To get a subnet mask in CIDR format from its decimal equivalent, refer to the table on page 2 of IETF RFC 1878: Variable Length Subnet Table For IPv4. For example, the subnet mask in CIDR format of the decimal equivalent 255.255.255.0 is 24.

Status

Not a bug

Ref. #

3741535

5.18. Client fails to acquire offline license when rebooted

Description

When a licensed client that is configured with an offline license is rebooted, the client might fail to acquire a license. When this issue occurs, the following message is written to the licensing event log file on the client:

            

            
Client fingerprint mismatch - No valid lease found in local trusted store
        

This issue occurs when the MAC addresses of the network adapters for a client change when the client is rebooted. When the MAC addresses change, the NVIDIA vGPU software graphics driver treats the client as a new client and the offline license in the client's trusted storage database is discarded.

Typically, the MAC addresses change because the network configuration of the client has been explicitly changed by an administrator. However, the MAC address of a client can unexpectedly change when the client is rebooted for several reasons, for example:

• The client requests a license before the client's network interfaces are initialized.
• Docker or the NVIDIA Container Runtime for Docker is installed on the client and the ifconfig command lists it as a network interface.

Status

Open

Ref. #

200665895

To comply with the terms of the GPL/LGPL v3 license under which the GPL/LGPL v3 licensed Open Source Software (OSS) libraries within the DLS virtual appliance are released, the rsu_admin user has the elevated privileges required to update and upgrade these libraries.

Ensure that the sudo DLS user account rsu_admin has been created.

1. Log in as the rsu_admin user to the VM that hosts the DLS virtual appliance.
2. Determine whether your existing network configuration allows the DLS virtual appliance to reach the Ubuntu package repositories. For example, download information from all configured sources about the latest versions of the packages.
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   $ sudo apt update
           

3. If the DLS virtual appliance cannot reach the Ubuntu package repositories, modify your network configuration to allow access to these repositories.
   1. Ensure that your DNS server has the entries required to resolve the domain names of the Ubuntu package repositories.
   2. Delete the symbolic link /etc/resolv.conf.
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      $ sudo rm -f /etc/resolv.conf
              

   3. Copy the default resolv.conf file at /run/NetworkManager to /etc/resolv.conf.
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      $ sudo cp /run/NetworkManager/no-stub-resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf
              

4. Use the Advanced Packaging Tool (APT) of the Ubuntu OS to check for and install any available updates to the Ubuntu GPL/LGPL v3 licensed OSS libraries.
5. After installing the updates, restore your original network configuration.
   1. Delete the /etc/resolv.conf file that you copied earlier.
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      $ sudo rm -f /etc/resolv.conf
              

   2. Re-create the symbolic link /etc/resolv.conf.
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      $ sudo ln -s /run/NetworkManager/no-stub-resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf
              

The file /var/dls/sudouser is created to indicate that the Ubuntu GPL/LGPL v3 licensed OSS libraries within the DLS virtual appliance have been updated or upgraded. If the DLS virtual appliance is hosting a node in an HA cluster, this file is automatically copied to the other node in the cluster.

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