A wrapper script for vglrun used at YCRC
- NVIDIA GPU
- TurboVNC server
- VirutalGL: version 3.0 and above
There are three methods of setting up VirtualGL for remote visualization, based on the discussion in this link. They are listed in the table below with pros and cons.
| Method | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Starting X server by root at boot time | - Simple to implement - Easy to use |
- Potential security concerns. - X server eats up part of GPU resources even nobody is using it. |
| Starting X server as the user in SLURM TaskProlog | - X server is launched as the user when needed - It is controlled by the user's Cgroup |
- Difficult to implement |
| Direct access to GPU via the EGL API | - Simple to implement - No need to start X server |
- Some applications may not render properly |
The wrapper script tries to provide a solution that combines all the advantages of the three methods, while keeping their disadvantages minimal.
See our VirtualGL user guide.
- Install the NVIDIA driver
- Configure the NVIDIA GPU for display
nvidia-xconfig -a
- Configure VirtualGL server
vglserver_config
- Modify PAM xserver to allow users to start an X server from a non-consol shell session
$ cat /etc/pam.d/xserver
#%PAM-1.0
auth sufficient pam_rootok.so
#auth required pam_console.so # remove this
auth required pam_permit.so # add this
account required pam_permit.so
session optional pam_keyinit.so force revoke
1) Configure server for use with VirtualGL (GLX + EGL back ends)
2) Unconfigure server for use with VirtualGL (GLX + EGL back ends)
3) Configure server for use with VirtualGL (EGL back end only)
4) Unconfigure server for use with VirtualGL (EGL back end only)
X) Exit
Choose:
1
Restrict 3D X server access to vglusers group (recommended)?
[Y/n]
n
Restrict framebuffer device access to vglusers group (recommended)?
[Y/n]
n
Disable XTEST extension (recommended)?
[Y/n]
Y
... Modifying /etc/security/console.perms to disable automatic permissions
for DRI devices ...
... Creating /etc/modprobe.d/virtualgl.conf to set requested permissions for
/dev/nvidia* ...
... Attempting to remove nvidia module from memory so device permissions
will be reloaded ...
rmmod: ERROR: Module nvidia is in use by: nv_peer_mem gdrdrv nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm
... Granting write permission to /dev/nvidia0 /dev/nvidia1 /dev/nvidia2 /dev/nvidia3 /dev/nvidiactl /dev/nvidia-modeset /dev/nvidia-uvm /dev/nvidia-uvm-tools for all users ...
... Granting write permission to /dev/dri/card0 /dev/dri/card1 /dev/dri/card2 /dev/dri/card3 for all users ...
... Granting write permission to /dev/dri/renderD128 /dev/dri/renderD129 /dev/dri/renderD130 /dev/dri/renderD131 for all users ...
... Modifying /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/99-virtualgl-dri to enable DRI permissions
for all users ...
... /etc/gdm/Init/Default has been saved as /etc/gdm/Init/Default.orig.vgl ...
... Adding xhost +LOCAL: to /etc/gdm/Init/Default script ...
... Creating /usr/share/gdm/greeter/autostart/virtualgl.desktop ...
... /etc/gdm/custom.conf has been saved as /etc/gdm/custom.conf.orig.vgl ...
... Disabling XTEST extension in /etc/gdm/custom.conf ...
... Setting default run level to 5 (enabling graphical login prompt) ...
... Commenting out DisallowTCP line (if it exists) in /etc/gdm/custom.conf ...
Done. You must restart the display manager for the changes to take effect.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Your system uses modprobe.d to set device permissions. You
must execute 'rmmod nvidia_drm nvidia_modeset nvidia' with the display manager
stopped in order for the new device permission settings to become effective.
1) Configure server for use with VirtualGL (GLX + EGL back ends)
2) Unconfigure server for use with VirtualGL (GLX + EGL back ends)
3) Configure server for use with VirtualGL (EGL back end only)
4) Unconfigure server for use with VirtualGL (EGL back end only)
X) Exit
Choose:
X