Nvidia Quadro Visual Computing Appliance User manual

NVIDIA Quadro Visual Computing Appliance
Installation Guide
NVIDIA Advanced Rendering Center
Fasanenstraße 81
10623 Berlin
Germany
phone [phone]
fax [phone]
arc-offi[email protected]

Copyright Information
©1986,2015 NVIDIA ARC GmbH. All rights reserved.
This document is protected under copyright law. The contents of this document may not be
translated, copied or duplicated in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written
permission of NVIDIA ARC GmbH.
The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. NVIDIA ARC
GmbH and its employees shall not be responsible for incidental or consequential damages
resulting from the use of this material or liable for technical or editorial omissions made
herein.
NVIDIA and the NVIDIA logo are registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation. imatter,
IndeX, Iray, mental images, mental ray, and RealityServer are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of NVIDIA ARC GmbH. Other product names mentioned in this document may
be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and are hereby ac-
knowledged.
Document build number 240290
ii Quadro VCA — Installation Guide ©1986,2015 NVIDIA ARC GmbH

Contents
1Introduction to Quadro VCA .......................................... 1
1.1Description of the VCA ........................................... 1
1.2What’s in the box ................................................ 1
2Quickstart ......................................................... 1
3Quadro VCA specification ............................................ 3
3.1Hardware ...................................................... 3
3.1.1Hardware components ........................................ 3
3.1.2Physical dimensions .......................................... 4
3.1.3Front panel .................................................. 4
3.1.4Power requirements and consumption ............................ 5
3.1.5Ports ....................................................... 5
3.1.6Acoustic profile .............................................. 5
3.2Software ....................................................... 6
3.2.1Operating system ............................................. 6
3.2.2Operating system setup ........................................ 6
3.2.3Linux user accounts ........................................... 6
3.2.4Linux security setting ......................................... 6
3.2.5Iray and the VCA Manager ..................................... 7
3.2.6Directory layout .............................................. 7
4Hardware installation ................................................ 7
4.1Rack mounting .................................................. 7
4.1.1Setup location ............................................... 7
4.1.2Rack installation ............................................. 8
4.1.3Precautions ................................................. 8
4.1.4Installing the outer rails ....................................... 8
4.1.5Installing the box into the rack .................................. 9
4.2Connecting cables ................................................ 10
4.2.1Keyboard and monitor for console access ......................... 10
4.2.2Connecting power ............................................ 10
4.2.3Ethernet connection ........................................... 11
4.2.4InfiniBand connection ......................................... 11
4.2.5Setup Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) ............. 12
5Software installation ................................................. 12
5.1System setup using Linux commands ................................ 12
5.2System setup using the VCA Manager ............................... 12
5.3InfiniBand setup ................................................. 16
5.4Software updates ................................................ 16
5.4.1Listing currently installed packages .............................. 16
5.4.2Updating an existing installation ................................ 16
5.4.3Installing new software packages ................................ 17
5.5Factory reset .................................................... 17
5.5.1Creating a bootable thumb drive ................................ 17
5.5.2Resetting the hard drives to the factory settings .................... 18
©1986,2015 NVIDIA ARC GmbH Quadro VCA — Installation Guide iii

0 Contents
5.6Installing third-party software ...................................... 19
5.6.1Overview ................................................... 19
5.6.2Setting up a third-party run script ............................... 19
5.6.3Updating the VCA Manager database ............................ 20
5.7Testing the installation ............................................ 20
5.7.1VCA Manager tests ........................................... 20
5.7.2Troubleshooting .............................................. 23
6Warranty and support ................................................ 23
iv Quadro VCA — Installation Guide ©1986,2015 NVIDIA ARC GmbH

1 Introduction to Quadro VCA
1.1 Description of the VCA
Accelerate design and VFX workflows with NVIDIA®Quadro®Visual Computing Appliance
(VCA), the fastest way to interactive, photorealistic digital 3D models and scenes. This is
a powerful network-attached appliance that harnesses the power of the highest-performing
NVIDIA GPUs. It’s accessible to anyone on the network, easily integrated into design work-
flows, and effortlessly scales to multiple VCAs to minimize the time to noiseless, physically-
based global illumination. This means that you can now deliver photograph-quality images
faster than ever before.
1.2 What's in the box
Be sure to inspect each piece of equipment shipped in the packing box. If anything is missing
or damaged, contact your supplier.
What’s included with your Quadro VCA:
Welcome card
Power cables (4)
Quadro VCA (with rails for rack mounting)
2 Quickstart
This section describes how to to configure the hostname and the static IP address of the VCA.
Check the mapping of the network ports shown in the following figure before starting this
procedure.
Mapping of network ports in the VCA
©1986,2015 NVIDIA ARC GmbH Quadro VCA — Installation Guide 1

2 Quickstart
Note
The first time you connect a machine to a VCA by using a connection port, you
are prompted to install a driver. After the driver is successfully installed and the
machine is rebooted, you can configure VCA interfaces.
After you make changes to a section in the VCA Setup page, you must click Submit.
If you leave fields empty in a section, you must still click Submit before continuing
to the next section.
You can configure all network settings from the VCA Setup page or a Linux shell.
To configure from the VCA Setup page, the hostname, and the static IP address or DHCP
address of all network interfaces of the VCA:
1Change the IP address of the external machine to 192.168.124.2.
2Connect to the VCA Setup page:
2.1Connect the external machine to the eth2 interface (marked in blue in the illustra-
tion) by using an Ethernet cable
2.2Connect the eth3 interface to your local LAN.
2.3Connect a browser to http://192.168.124.10:14000.
Note
For more information about changing various parameters, see "System setup
using the VCA Manager".
If your network has a DHCP server running, the eth3 interface is automatically
connected to it.
3To change the network settings of an interface to a static IP address, use the network
parameter section of the Setup page:
3.1Add a static IP address
3.2Add a gateway
3.3Add a network mask
If you are not sure what to enter, ask your system administrator.
Note
From this Setup page, you can switch an interface to a static IP address or to
DHCP as often as you want.
If you do not want to change the network settings of an interface to a static IP
address, leave this section empty and click Submit.
4To test the performance of the Quadro VCA, perform a render test by clicking Start Test.
5After you have completed and submitted all sections, a Restart button is displayed in
the upper left corner of the form. Click Restart to restart the VCA Manager.
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3 Quadro VCA specification
6Set the IP address of the external machine back to what it was before (DHCP).
7Reconnect to https:// VCA-IP-address-or-hostname.
8Accept the certificate warning.
9Login to the VCA Manager again:
User Name: admin
Password: admin
You can run the VCA setup procedure more than once. From the Setup page, you can change
the IP address of an interface:
To a static IP address
From one static IP address to another (changing the hostname, gateway or network
mask)
Note
When you change the interface to a static IP address, the IP address of the InfiniBand
interface is changed automatically.
3 Quadro VCA specification
3.1 Hardware
3.1.1 Hardware components
Feature Description
GPU 8M6000-VCA
GPU Memory 12 GB per GPU
CUDA cores 23040
CPU cores 40
System memory 256 GB
Storage 4x500 GB
Network 1x IPMI, 2x1GigE, 2x10 GigE (SFP+), 1x FDR 56 Gbit/s
InfiniBand
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3 Quadro VCA specification 3.1 Hardware
3.1.2 Physical dimensions
Feature Description
Form factor 4U Rack mount
Width 18.2" (462mm)
Height 7.0" (178mm)
Depth 29" (737mm)
Gross weight 100lbs (45.4kg)
Color Dark Gray
3.1.3 Front panel
Quadro VCA front panel
The front panel of the Quadro VCA contains the power button as well as indicator lights.
Power button
Press once to turn the system on.
Press once while running to turn the system off.
Press and hold while running to force system shutdown.
System Power LED
LED on when system is running
Alert modes
Ablue LED identifies the system using the Intelligent Platform Management Interface
(IPMI).
Ared LED indicates a hardware error such as a power failure, fan failure, or overheat-
ing.
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3.1 Hardware 3 Quadro VCA specification
Color Alert LED Behavior Status Description
Blue Off Normal mode operation
Red Off Normal mode operation
Blue Blink On when enabled by administrator
Red Solid System component overheat
Red 1blink per second Power module failure
Red 4blinks per second System fan failure
3.1.4 Power requirements and consumption
There are 4x1600W redundant power supplies. The power supplies can accept either 110V
(ac) or 240V (ac) at 10A. If one of the power supplies fails at 110V, it will continue to run on
the remaining three supplies. For a 240V connection, up to two power supplies may fail and
the system can still run with full load.
The maximum power consumption with all system resources under full load is 2800W (at an
ambient temperature of 35 ◦C). Idle power consumption is 350W (at an ambient temperature
of 25 ◦C).
3.1.5 Ports
Type Description
VGA Available
USB 2x USB 2.0
Ethernet One IPMI Ethernet Port. Optionally, the IPMI port
can be used to monitor and manage the system,
rather than a local keyboard and monitor.
2x1Gb Ethernet Ports Connection to 1Gbit Ethernet network
2x10 Gb Ethernet Ports Connection to 10 Gbit Ethernet network
1x FDR 56 Gbit/s InfiniBand Connection to a managed InfiniBand switch
3.1.6 Acoustic profile
Fan speed Sound pressure level Description
Optimal 72 dBA The system is at full load
Full 83 dBA Fans can set to full speed in the
BIOS. Full speed can also be
triggered by the system.
Sound measurements were made in an independent laboratory. The ambient sound level was
21 dBA, which represents an empty office environment.
©1986,2015 NVIDIA ARC GmbH Quadro VCA — Installation Guide 5

3 Quadro VCA specification 3.2 Software
3.2 Software
The Quadro VCA comes pre-installed with the operating system, Iray and the VCA Manager.
Iray is licensed to run on the Quadro VCA only.
3.2.1 Operating system
3.2.2 Operating system setup
Type Description
Base operating system CentOS 6.6(Final)
NVIDIA driver 346.35 with ECC turned off
Mellanox InfiniBand stack OFED Version 2.4
Note
The system has no X server installed.
3.2.3 Linux user accounts
There is one Linux user account on the system. Access this account either on the console,
or with ssh, as follows:
Login: iray
Password: Nvidia-Arc
To login to the system to perform Iray or VCA Manager software updates, access the
system either from the console login or via ssh.
To perform administrative tasks, use the sudo command.
3.2.4 Linux security setting
The iptables application is enabled and running by default.
All ports are blocked with the following exceptions:
Port Description
22 Secure Shell access (sshd)
14000 VCA Manager connection port
443 VCA Manager https port
11000 Iray connection port
9090 Iray HTTP administration console
SELinux is turned off.
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4 Hardware installation
3.2.5 Iray and the VCA Manager
The installed versions of Iray are:
NVIDIA Iray 2014.5.3
NVIDIA Iray 2014.5
NVIDIA Iray 2015
The installed version of the VCA Manager is VCA Manager Version 231000.8180.
3.2.6 Directory layout
Iray and the VCA Manager are installed in the directory /home/iray. This directory consists
of the following subdirectories:
Subdirectory Description
cluster-server-version-buildnumber Iray 2014 installation
cluster-server-bunkspeed Iray 2014 for Bunkspeed Zoom
cluster-manager VCA Manager installation
cm VCA Manager startup scripts and
VCA Manager database.
Note the following:
The build number (buildnumber) consists of two parts, for example: 221133.2594.
For compatability, the Iray client version has to be identical in the first part and have an
equal or higher version number for the second part. For Iray 2015, the client finds the
correct server version itself.
The VCA Manager database contains the user accounts for the VCA Manager. The VCA
Manager database is not overwritten when updating the VCA Manager.
4 Hardware installation
4.1 Rack mounting
This section provides instructions on how to rack mount and connect your Quadro VCA.
Following the steps in the order given should enable you to have the system operational
within a minimal amount of time.
4.1.1 Setup location
Decide on a suitable location for setting up and operating the Quadro VCA. The location
should be clean, dust-free, and well ventilated. Avoid areas where heat, electrical noise, and
electromagnetic fields are generated. Locate the VCA near a grounded power outlet.
Leave enough clearance in front of the rack to enable you to open the front door com-
pletely ( 25").
Leave approximately 30" (76.2cm) of clearance in the back of the rack to allow for suffi-
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4 Hardware installation 4.1 Rack mounting
cient airflow and ease in servicing.
Always make sure the rack is stable before adding or removing an Quadro VCA or any
other component.
Keep the ambient temperature and humidity within the following ranges:
Temperature: 10 ◦C to 35 ◦C (50 ◦F to 95 ◦F)
Humidity: 8% to 90% (non-condensing)
4.1.2 Rack installation
4.1.3 Precautions
Caution
To prevent bodily injury when mounting or servicing the Quadro VCA in a rack, you must
take special precautions to ensure that the system remains stable. The following guidelines
are provided to ensure your safety.
The VCA should be mounted at the bottom of the rack if it is the only unit in the rack.
When mounting the VCA in a partially filled rack, load the rack from the bottom to the
top with the heaviest component at the bottom of the rack.
If the rack is provided with stabilizing devices, install the stabilizers before mounting
or servicing the VCA in the rack.
Installing the VCA in a rack
4.1.4 Installing the outer rails
1Adjust the brackets to the proper distance so that the rail fits snugly in the rack.
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4.1 Rack mounting 4 Hardware installation
2Secure the rear of the outer rail with two M5screws and the rear of the rack.
Note
The outer rail is adjustable from approximately 26" to 38.25" (66cm to 97.16cm).
3Repeat steps 1-2for the left outer rail.
4.1.5 Installing the box into the rack
1Confirm that the VCA has the inner rails attached and that you have already mounted
the outer rails into the rack.
2Align the inner chassis rails with the front of the outer rack rails.
3Slide the inner rails into the outer rails, keeping the pressure even on both sides (you
may have to depress the locking tabs when inserting). When the VCA has been pushed
completely into the rack, you should hear the locking tabs "click" into the locked posi-
tion.
Caution
Stability hazard — The rack stabilizing mechanism must be in place, or the rack
must be bolted to the floor before you slide the VCA out for servicing. Failure to
stabilize the rack can cause the rack to tip over.
Note
The rail assemblies shipped with the Quadro VCA fit into a standard 19" rack.
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4 Hardware installation 4.2 Connecting cables
4.2 Connecting cables
Quadro VCA connectors
Connector Description
1Do not use
2 10 GigE — SFP+
3FDR 56 Gbit/s InfiniBand
4Power
5Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) — RJ45
6USB ports for connecting a keyboard during initial setup
7 1 GigE — RJ45
8VGA display output console
4.2.1 Keyboard and monitor for console access
A VGA monitor can be connected to the VGA connector on the appliance.
A USB keyboard can be connected to any USB port.
Note
The VGA monitor and keyboard are not needed during normal operation.
4.2.2 Connecting power
Four power cables are shipped in the VCA kit. Connect these power cables to either a 110V
(ac) or 240V (ac) outlet. A voltage of 240 is recommended for better power redundancy in the
event of a failure of one of the power supplies.
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4.2 Connecting cables 4 Hardware installation
4.2.3 Ethernet connection
The following network connection ports are available:
Interface Description
ipmi IPMI interface
eth0 10 Gbit Ethernet
eth1 10 Gbit Ethernet
eth2 1Gbit Ethernet
eth3 1Gbit Ethernet
Connect the network cables from the Quadro VCA to a data center network Ethernet switch,
using a Cat5, Cat5e, or Cat6Ethernet cable.
Mapping of network ports in the VCA
4.2.4 InfiniBand connection
Connect the Quadro VCA to the InfiniBand switch. The recommended switch is a Mel-
lanox managed 56 Gbit/s FDR switch (tested configuration: Mellanox SX6036). The
number of ports may be different depending upon how many Quadro VCA nodes are
connected.
If only two Quadro VCAs have to be connected, no extra switch is needed. Connect
them directly with the InfiniBand cable.
Use 56GB/s Mellanox Passive Copper Cables for connections up to four meters long.
56Gb/s Active Optical Cables from Mellanox should be used for longer distances than
four meter between VCAs or the VCAs and the switch. Part numbers are available from
the Mellanox website (www.melanox.de).
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5 Software installation 5.2 System setup using the VCA Manager
4.2.5 Setup Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI)
1Attach a VGA monitor and a keyboard to the VCA.
2During boot of the VCA hit Delete.
3The machine will stop booting into BIOS settings.
4Select IPMI BMC Network Configuration Change and change it to yes.
5Change to a static IP address, gateway and netmask.
6To improve security, change the login and password.
7Reboot the machine.
5 Software installation
5.1 System setup using Linux commands
When booting and the Quadro VCA is connected on interface eth3 to local network DHCP
will be used by default.
A unique hostname is preset.
To change the default settings (hostname, IP address, default route), log in either on the
console or per ssh as user iray and run:
sudo system-config-network
This will modify the following system files:
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth<N>
/etc/sysconfig/network
/etc/hosts
Note
Contact your network system administrator to add the hostname of the Quadro VCA to
DNS.
5.2 System setup using the VCA Manager
Network settings can be changed from the VCA Manager interface if you are not familiar
with Linux.
1Connect a second machine (for example, your laptop) to the configuration port eth2.
2Set this second machine to any IP address from the 192.168.124.0network.
3Connect to http:// VCA-IP-address-or-hostname :14000.
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5.2 System setup using the VCA Manager 5 Software installation
VCA Setup Page
A field must be submitted to activate a change. Any field may be used and can be left
blank.
4The serial number of the Quadro VCA is displayed on the top left corner of the window.
Please follow the link to register the system.
5VCA Pool name will change the name that is displayed when connecting with the VCA
Manager.
VCA Pool name
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5 Software installation 5.2 System setup using the VCA Manager
6Change administrator password of the VCA Manager (default is admin:admin).
VCA Manager admin password
7Change network parameters for network interfaces to either a static IP address or a
DHCP address.
A VCA Manager restart is necessary when changing IP addresses. The VCA Manager
Restart button is displayed when all fields of the form are submitted.
Network setup
8Start Test will test the rendering performance of the system. If the test runs success-
fully, an image is displayed within two minutes.
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5.2 System setup using the VCA Manager 5 Software installation
Restart VCA Manager
9If the network settings were altered it is now necessary to press the Restart button.
This will restart the VCA Manager with the new network parameters.
10 Connect a browser to the VCA’s new IP address. Using the IP address or the hostname,
enter the following in the browser’s address input window: https:// VCA-IP-address-or-hostname
11 Accept certificate warning to get to the VCA Manager
©1986,2015 NVIDIA ARC GmbH Quadro VCA — Installation Guide 15

5 Software installation 5.4 Software updates
5.3 InfiniBand setup
The configured InfiniBand network is 192.168.123.0. The system comes pre-configured with a
random IP address from that network.
Running the VCA Setup procedure will alter that IP address 192.168.123.xxx, where xxx are
the last 8bits of the chosen IP address for eth2. For example, if the static IP address is
172.16.0.214, the InfiniBand address will be set to 192.168.123.214.
InfiniBand is only used for internal communication between the Iray instances on different
nodes and does not need to be routed to any other network.
5.4 Software updates
This section describes how to upgrade an existing installation and how to find and install
new software.
Notes:
1For updates and installations, the Quadro VCA must be connected to the Internet.
2When upgrading the VCA Manager on multiple Quadro VCAs (cluster), the VCA Man-
ager has to be shutdown before upgrading. It can be shutdown from the VCA Manager
tools menu.
3If you use multiple VCAs in a rack, each VCA has to be updated individually.
5.4.1 Listing currently installed packages
To display a list of currently installed packages, run:
sudo yum list installed nvidia-vca*
5.4.2 Updating an existing installation
Notes:
For Iray, the latest version number is always incremented if a new version is incompati-
ble with older versions due to client-server protocol changes.
Incompatible versions are not installed as an upgrade, but require a new install opera-
tion.
1Login to the system with the iray Linux account and run the yum package management
utility.
sudo yum check-update nvidia*
2To upgrade your complete installation, run:
sudo yum upgrade nvidia*
16 Quadro VCA — Installation Guide ©1986,2015 NVIDIA ARC GmbH