NCP-AII Question 109
Select 3You are managing an AI infrastructure using NVIDIA GPUs on a Linux-based system. A new version of the NVIDIA driver is released to support improved performance for your workloads. What steps should you take to safely update the driver without disrupting running GPU processes?
- A
Stop all running GPU workloads before updating the driver.
- B
Use the package manager of your Linux distribution (e.g., apt, yum) or NVIDIA-provided scripts to update the driver.
- C
Reboot the system immediately after the driver installation completes.
- D
Ignore compatibility between the new driver version and the CUDA toolkit currently in use.
- E
Verify the installed driver version using the 'nvidia-smi' command after the update.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answers: A, B, E
Explanation
To safely update NVIDIA GPU drivers, it is important to first stop all running GPU workloads to avoid disruptions. The driver update should be performed using reliable tools such as the package manager or NVIDIA-provided scripts, and the installation should be verified using 'nvidia-smi' to ensure it was successful. Compatibility with the existing CUDA toolkit must be maintained, and rebooting may not always be necessary unless specified by the update process.
- A. Correct.
Stopping all running GPU workloads ensures that no processes are using the GPUs, preventing potential crashes or data loss during the driver update.
- B. Correct.
Using the package manager or NVIDIA-provided scripts is the recommended and reliable way to update the driver, ensuring compatibility and proper installation.
- C. Incorrect.
Rebooting is not always required; it depends on the system and whether the driver update was implemented successfully. Some environments allow the update without a reboot.
- D. Incorrect.
Ignoring compatibility can lead to runtime errors or performance issues if the new driver version is not compatible with the existing CUDA toolkit or other software dependencies.
- E. Correct.
Verifying the driver version using 'nvidia-smi' ensures that the update was successful and the correct driver version is now active.