Linux Virtual Delivery Agent

Shared GPU acceleration on a multi-session Linux VDA

July 22, 2024

Contributed by:

C C

HDX 3D PRO supports only the Linux VDAs that are configured for VDI desktops (single-session mode). For a multi-session Linux VDA, you can enable shared GPU acceleration on it to accelerate OpenGL 3D applications.

Note:

Wayland display server is not supported for shared GPU acceleration.

Configuration

To enable shared GPU acceleration on a multi-session Linux VDA to accelerate OpenGL 3D applications, complete the configuration steps:

Step 1: Install VirtualGL

Download and install VirtualGL from https://sourceforge.net/projects/virtualgl/files. Download .deb packages for Debian-based Linux distributions and .rpm packages for RHEL-based Linux distributions.

Step 2: Configure VirtualGL

Stop the Linux display manager, for example, LightDM or GNOME Display Manager (GDM).
Execute the VirtualGL configuration script by running:
```
#/opt/VirtualGL/bin/vglserver_config

```
We recommend you make the following selections during the script execution:
- Select “1” to “Configure server for use with VirtualGL (GLX + EGL back ends)”
- Select “n” to “Restrict 3D X server access to vglusers group”
- Select “n” to “Restrict framebuffer devices access to vglusers group”
- Select “n” to “Disable XTEST extension”
Exit the configuration script and restart the Linux display manager.

Step 3: Run OpenGL 3D applications with GPU acceleration

There are two methods to run OpenGL 3D applications with GPU acceleration in a Linux VDA session:

Method 1: Enable shared GPU acceleration for all OpenGL 3D applications

To do so, open a bash terminal on the Linux VDA, run the following command, and then restart the bash terminal. This approach enables shared GPU acceleration for all OpenGL 3D applications launched from the bash terminal.
```
 #/opt/Citrix/VDA/sbin/ctxgpushare.sh enable
 
```
Method 2: Enable shared GPU acceleration for a specific OpenGL 3D application:

To do so, open a terminal on the Linux VDA and run the following command with the name of the application specified:
```
 #vglrun <AppName>
 
```

Limitations

Shared GPU acceleration works closely with the display manager on the Linux VDA. It is recommended to use LightDM as the display manager for shared GPU acceleration to achieve the expected functionality and performance.
WebGL hardware acceleration is supported in Firefox on Ubuntu and Debian only.

Scalability

The maximum-supported number of concurrent sessions that can share a GPU depends on the CPU and system memory. It also highly depends on the maximum video memory of the GPU.

For example:

If	Then
the NVIDIA M10-2B vGPU has 2,048 MB of video memory and an OpenGL application such as VariCAD viewer uses 100 MB of video memory for its workload in each session,	in theory the maximum-supported number of concurrent sessions cannot exceed 20.

The official version of this content is in English. Some of the Cloud Software Group documentation content is machine translated for your convenience only. Cloud Software Group has no control over machine-translated content, which may contain errors, inaccuracies or unsuitable language. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, suitability, or correctness of any translations made from the English original into any other language, or that your Cloud Software Group product or service conforms to any machine translated content, and any warranty provided under the applicable end user license agreement or terms of service, or any other agreement with Cloud Software Group, that the product or service conforms with any documentation shall not apply to the extent that such documentation has been machine translated. Cloud Software Group will not be held responsible for any damage or issues that may arise from using machine-translated content.

Was this helpful

Shared GPU acceleration on a multi-session Linux VDA

July 22, 2024

Contributed by:

C C

July 22, 2024

Contributed by:

C C

Shared GPU acceleration on a multi-session Linux VDA

Configuration

Step 1: Install VirtualGL

Step 2: Configure VirtualGL

Step 3: Run OpenGL 3D applications with GPU acceleration

Limitations

Scalability

In this article