Install the NVIDIA driver
The GPU is already attached to the machine, but it cannot be used until the NVIDIA driver is installed. It takes a few minutes and one reboot.
Run every command inside the machine: as root on Ubuntu, in an elevated PowerShell on Windows.
GPUs
| Card | Memory |
|---|---|
| GeForce GTX 1080 Ti | 11 GB |
| GeForce RTX 2080 Ti | 22 GB |
Our RTX 2080 Ti cards have 22 GB of memory. They are a modified version; the stock card has 11 GB.
Ubuntu
Install the driver selection tool:
apt update && apt install -y ubuntu-drivers-common
Install the driver it picks for the card:
ubuntu-drivers install
If you do not need the graphics part of the driver (compute, containers), you can install the headless server build instead of the two commands above:
apt update && apt install -y nvidia-headless-580-server nvidia-utils-580-server
Reboot the machine:
reboot
Windows Server
Find the driver on the NVIDIA website: select the card model, and for Windows Server 2022 choose Windows 10 64-bit as the operating system. You can download the installer there or copy its link.
It is easiest to download the installer directly on the machine. For example, for driver 582.66:
curl.exe -L -o C:\nvidia.exe "https://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/582.66/582.66-desktop-win10-win11-64bit-international-dch-whql.exe"
Run C:\nvidia.exe and choose "Driver only" — the NVIDIA app is not needed on a server. When the installer finishes, reboot:
Restart-Computer
Check the result
After the reboot, run this on Ubuntu or Windows:
nvidia-smi
The output should list every card in the machine with its model, memory, temperature and driver version.
If the card is not detected
A reboot from inside the OS is not enough
If the card failed to start, reboot or Restart-Computer will not reset it. Stop the machine
and start it again, from the panel or through the API (endpoints at the bottom of this page).
Ubuntu
lsmod | grep nvidia; dmesg | grep -i -E 'nvidia|NVRM|Xid'
| What you see | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
lsmod prints nothing | driver not installed or built for a different kernel | install again and reboot |
Lockdown or signature | Secure Boot blocked the module | install with ubuntu-drivers install, which uses signed modules |
RmInitAdapter failed | the card did not initialize | stop and start the machine |
Xid | GPU-side error | send the output to support |
Windows Server
Check the system log:
Get-WinEvent -LogName System -MaxEvents 200 |
Where-Object { $_.ProviderName -match 'nvlddmkm|Display' } |
Format-Table TimeCreated, Id, Message -Wrap
Errors from nvlddmkm mean the NVIDIA driver crashed. Stop and start the machine; if the errors come back, send them to support.