turing-multi-gpu-llm-server/docs/PROXMOX_LXC_GUIDE.md

📦 Proxmox VE LXC Container GPU Passthrough & Hardware Permissions

Running multi-GPU AI inference and hardware power management inside a Proxmox LXC container requires specific device mappings, cgroup permissions, and capability flags.

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1. Proxmox Host Configuration (/etc/pve/lxc/<CTID>.conf)

Add the following lines to your container configuration file on the Proxmox host:

# /etc/pve/lxc/<CTID>.conf

# 1. Unconfined AppArmor profile (Required for NVML clock/power limit modification)
lxc.apparmor.profile: unconfined

# 2. Grant SYS_ADMIN capability for hardware clock management
lxc.cap.keep: sys_admin sys_rawio

# 3. Allow all NVIDIA device cgroups
lxc.cgroup2.devices.allow: c 195:* rwm
lxc.cgroup2.devices.allow: c 235:* rwm
lxc.cgroup2.devices.allow: c 510:* rwm
lxc.cgroup2.devices.allow: c 511:* rwm

# 4. Pass-through NVIDIA character device nodes
lxc.mount.entry: /dev/nvidia0 dev/nvidia0 none bind,optional,create=file
lxc.mount.entry: /dev/nvidia1 dev/nvidia1 none bind,optional,create=file
lxc.mount.entry: /dev/nvidia2 dev/nvidia2 none bind,optional,create=file
lxc.mount.entry: /dev/nvidiactl dev/nvidiactl none bind,optional,create=file
lxc.mount.entry: /dev/nvidia-uvm dev/nvidia-uvm none bind,optional,create=file
lxc.mount.entry: /dev/nvidia-uvm-tools dev/nvidia-uvm-tools none bind,optional,create=file
lxc.mount.entry: /dev/nvidia-modeset dev/nvidia-modeset none bind,optional,create=file

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2. Verifying Permissions Inside the Container

Restart the container, then run:

# Verify all GPUs are visible
nvidia-smi

# Test NVML Persistence Mode (Requires CAP_SYS_ADMIN)
nvidia-smi -pm 1

# Test Power Capping
nvidia-smi -i 1,2 -pl 150

# Test Dynamic Clock Locking
nvidia-smi -i 1,2 -lgc 600,600
nvidia-smi -i 1,2 -rgc

If all four commands return with code 0 and "All done", your container has full hardware rights.

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3. Important Systemd Service Security Flags

When running services that execute nvidia-smi hardware commands inside systemd:

• Do NOT set NoNewPrivileges=true in gpu-power-governor.service. NoNewPrivileges=true blocks processes from acquiring permissions to execute privileged NVML clock-locking calls.