13th Jul 2023 by Eichhorn, Andreas

new NVIDIA license service DLS 3.1 available

Migration Information

Current (legacy) NVIDA license service reaches end of support on July 31st, 2023. Therefore a new NVIDIA license service was prepared. The new NVIDIA license service is based on DLS version 3.1 (Delegated License Service 3.1 - https://docs.nvidia.com/license-system/dls/3.1.0/index.html).

The new NVIDA license service uses the same DNS names and IPs, but different port (443) and requires new client configuration with a token file.

All existing Windows GPU instances require new client configuration or reinstallation. All public Windows GPU images from public Image Management Service already uses the new NVIDIA license service.

Linux GPU instances created from our public images are not effected, as unlicensed NVIDIA open source driver is used.

affected region:
- eu-de (eu-nl will follow soon)
affected DNS names:
- gpulicence01.eu-de.otc-service.com (preferred)
- gpulicence02.eu-de.otc-service.com (preferred)
- gpulicence1.eu-de.otc-service.com
- gpulicence2.eu-de.otc-service.com
- gpulicence1.otc-service.com
- gpulicence2.otc-service.com
IP addresses:
- 198.19.34.77
- 198.19.44.221
old port:
- 7070
new port:
- 443

How to check connection to new NVIDIA license servers

start PowerShell and run commands:

Test-NetConnection gpulicence01.eu-de.otc-service.com -port 443 
Test-NetConnection gpulicence02.eu-de.otc-service.com -port 443 
Test-NetConnection 198.19.49.175 -port 443 
Test-NetConnection 198.19.38.91 -port 443

test result should be:

TcpTestSucceeded : True

example:

PS C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop> Test-NetConnection gpulicence01.eu-de.otc-service.com -port 443 

ComputerName     : gpulicence01.eu-de.otc-service.com
RemoteAddress    : 198.19.34.77
RemotePort       : 443
InterfaceAlias   : Ethernet
SourceAddress    : 192.168.1.117
TcpTestSucceeded : True

PS C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop> Test-NetConnection 198.19.38.91 -port 443 

ComputerName     : 198.19.38.91
RemoteAddress    : 198.19.38.91
RemotePort       : 443
InterfaceAlias   : Ethernet
SourceAddress    : 192.168.1.117
TcpTestSucceeded : True

How to reconfigure NVIDIA license server client on Windows Servers

Reconfiguration with Chocolatey

Install Chocolatey client if not already done

# define chocolatey server
$ChocoServer = 'chocolatey.eu-de.otc-service.com'
# download and install the client
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString("http://$ChocoServer/install.ps1"))

Install Chocolatey Package OTCnvidialicense (set ChocoServer with server of region and choose install, upgrade or upgrade all command)

# define chocolatey server
$ChocoServer = 'chocolatey.eu-de.otc-service.com'

# install chocolatey package
choco install OTCnvidialicense --source="http://$ChocoServer/chocolatey"

# force reinstallation chocolatey package and confirm all messages automatically
choco install OTCnvidialicense -y --force --source="http://$ChocoServer/chocolatey"

# upgrade specific chocolatey package (if already installed)
choco upgrade  OTCnvidialicense -y --source="http://$ChocoServer/chocolatey"

# upgrade all chocolatey packages
choco upgrade all -y --source="http://$ChocoServer/chocolatey"

Manual Reconfiguration

Download NVIDIA client token file: eu-de_client_configuration_token.tok
Copy eu-de_client_configuration_token.tok to clients in folder:

C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\vGPU Licensing\ClientConfigToken

verify if the license file location is configured in registry:

if (-not(get-Item -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nvlddmkm\Global\GridLicensing' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
New-Item -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nvlddmkm\Global\GridLicensing' -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nvlddmkm\Global\GridLicensing' -name 'ClientConfigTokenPath' -value 'C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\vGPU Licensing\ClientConfigToken' -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nvlddmkm\Global\GridLicensing' -name 'ClientConfigTokenPath' -value 'C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\vGPU Licensing\ClientConfigToken' -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

set the correct feature type in registry:

# NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (graphic mode)
$FeatureType = 2
# NVIDIA Virtual Compute Server (compute mode e.g. for p3 (A100) flavvor)
# $FeatureType = 4

# values for older driver versions <= 474.xx (Windows Server 2012R2 and 2016)
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\Software\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\GridLicensing' -name 'FeatureType' -value $FeatureType -Force -PropertyType DWORD -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue 
Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\Software\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\GridLicensing' -name 'FeatureType' -value $FeatureType -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

# value for newer driver version > 474.xx (Windows Server 2019 and 2022)
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nvlddmkm\Global\GridLicensing' -name 'FeatureType' -value $FeatureType -Force -PropertyType DWORD -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nvlddmkm\Global\GridLicensing' -name 'FeatureType' -value $FeatureType -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Restart the "NVIDIA Display Container LS" service

Restart-Service NVDisplay.ContainerLocalSystem

How to check NVIDIA license server client

after Restart of "NVIDIA Display Container LS" service wait 60 seconds, then run this powershell command:

if (Test-Path 'C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NVSMI\nvidia-smi.exe') {$nvidia_smi = 'C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NVSMI\nvidia-smi.exe'}
if (Test-Path 'C:\windows\system32\nvidia-smi.exe') {$nvidia_smi = 'C:\windows\system32\nvidia-smi.exe'}
if ($nvidia_smi) {
    & $nvidia_smi -a  | Select-String 'License Status' | out-string;
} else {
    Write-Output 'nvidia-smi.exe not found'
}

verifiy if a license expiry date is shown

successfull licensed:

        License Status                    : Licensed (Expiry: 2023-7-15 5:17:44 GMT)

unsuccessfull:

        License Status                    : Licensed (Expiry: N/A)

unsuccessfull:

        License Status                    : Unlicensed