Instructions

Golem GPU Provider: Installation and Configuration Guide

Ready to earn GLM tokens by sharing your GPU's computing power with the Golem Network? This comprehensive guide provides step-by-step instructions for setting up and configuring a dedicated GPU provider node.

Introduction

The gpu-golem-live project allows you to contribute your GPU resources to the Golem Network. These powerful resources will enable demanding tasks such as artificial intelligence (AI) processing, contributing to a decentralized network for advanced computations. As a provider, you will be rewarded with GLM tokens for your contribution.

Prerequisites: Ensuring Your System is Ready

Before starting, check if your hardware meets these requirements:

  • IOMMU Support: A computer with a motherboard and CPU that supports IOMMU (Input-Output Memory Management Unit) virtualization.
  • Nvidia GPU: An Nvidia graphics card, at least a 30xx series, with 8 GB or more VRAM.
  • RAM: At least the same amount of RAM as your GPU's VRAM, with double the amount recommended.
  • SSD: An SSD with a minimum capacity of 64 GB, connected via a fast USB interface (USB 3.2 recommended). A high-speed USB flash drive can work but is not recommended.
  • Network: A stable internet connection with a minimum speed of 100 Mbps (both upload and download), preferably via an RJ45 Ethernet cable.
  • Ethereum Wallet: An Ethereum wallet to receive your GLM earnings.
  • BIOS Settings: Enable VT-d (for Intel CPUs) or SVM (for AMD CPUs) in your computer's BIOS settings.

⚠️ Important Considerations:

  • Network Optimization: For better peer-to-peer connections, consider opening UDP port 11500 on your router.
  • GPU Detection Issues: If you've enabled virtualization in BIOS but the setup doesn't detect your GPU, try moving it to a different PCIe slot.
  • GPU Usage: Your GPU might not be in use all the time. It will be active when tasks are assigned.
  • Single GPU Configuration: The current setup supports one provider node per GPU. Multi-GPU support will be added later.

Setting up your Golem GPU Provider

1. Download and Extract the Image

  1. Download the gpu-golem-live provider image: Download image
https://gpu-provider.dev.golem.network/golem-gpu-live-latest.img.xz

You can also download it using wget:

wget https://gpu-provider.dev.golem.network/golem-gpu-live-latest.img.xz

The file is about 2GB.

  1. Extract the downloaded .xz archive using an archiving tool (7-Zip, The Unarchiver, or your system's default tool) or use these terminal commands:
xz -d golem-gpu-live-latest.img.xz

The uncompressed image file (golem-gpu-live-latest.img) should be around 8.6 GB.

2. Flash the Image to Your SSD

Prepare your SSD

  1. Connect the SSD: Connect your SSD to your computer.
  2. Delete Existing Partitions: Delete all existing partitions on the SSD.

Identify the SSD's Path

  1. Linux: Run sudo fdisk -l to find your SSD (identified by its size) and its path (e.g., /dev/sdX).
  2. macOS: Use diskutil list to locate your SSD and its identifier (e.g., /dev/diskY).

Flash the Image

Warning: Double-check the SSD path before using dd, as incorrect usage can cause data loss!

If your extracted image is in your Downloads folder and the SSD is /dev/sdX:

sudo dd if=Downloads/golem-gpu-live-latest.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress
  • Replace /dev/sdX with the actual path.
  • bs=4M is for faster transfer.
  • status=progress shows the flashing progress.
Using balenaEtcher (alternative)
  1. Select Image: In balenaEtcher, click "Flash from file" and choose golem-gpu-live-latest.img.

    • Flash from file
  2. Select Target: Click "Select target" and choose your SSD. Double-check you've chosen the right drive!

    • Select target 1
    • Select target 2
  3. Flash: Click "Flash!" to begin. Confirm with "Yes, I'm sure" if prompted.

    • Flash!
    • Yes, I'm sure
  4. Progress: balenaEtcher will show a progress bar. This can take 5-10 minutes.

    • Flashing 1
    • Flashing 2
    • Flashing 3
    • Flashing 4
    • Flashing 5

3. Boot from the SSD

  1. Connect the SSD: Make sure the SSD is connected to your computer.

  2. Reboot: Restart your computer.

  3. Boot Menu: Enter your BIOS/UEFI boot menu (usually F12, F2, Esc, or Del).

  4. Select SSD: Select the SSD with gpu-golem-live. Make sure to choose UEFI OS mode.

    • Bios booting

Setting the SSD as the Default Boot Device (Optional)

To always boot from the SSD when connected:

  1. Access BIOS: Enter BIOS settings during startup (key varies by motherboard, look for F2, Del, Esc).

  2. Boot Order: Find the "Boot" or "Boot Order" section.

  3. Prioritize SSD: Make the SSD the first boot option.

  4. Save and Exit: Save your changes and exit BIOS.

    • Bios settings 2

4. Configure the GPU Provider

  1. Select OS: Press Enter to choose GOLEM GPU Live.

    • Bios settings 3
  2. Welcome: Click "OK."

    • Setup GPU Golem Live 1
  3. Terms of Use: Read and accept by selecting "YES".

    • Setup GPU Golem Live 2
  4. Persistent Storage: Select a partition on your SSD for storing provider data.

    • Setup GPU Golem Live 3
  5. Password: A random password will be generated. Write it down securely for future SSH access.

    • Setup GPU Golem Live 4
  6. Network Configuration: Write down the IP address shown (needed for SSH).

    • Setup GPU Golem Live 5
  7. Ethereum Wallet: Enter your wallet address to receive your GLM earnings.

    • Setup GPU Golem Live 6
  8. Set Price: Enter your desired hourly rate in GLM.

    • Setup GPU Golem Live 7
  9. GPU Selection: Choose the GPU you want to use with Golem.

    • Setup GPU Golem Live 9
    • Setup GPU Golem Live 10
  10. Confirmation: Click "OK" to finalize. Your computer will restart, and the provider will start running (your monitor might go blank, this is normal).

    • Setup GPU Golem Live - Done 1
    • Setup GPU Golem Live - Done 2
    • Setup GPU Golem Live - Done 3

5. Monitoring Your GPU Provider

Your provider is now active on the Golem Network! To check its status and earnings, visit the Golem Network Stats page: https://stats.golem.network/network/providers/online

Search for your provider using its randomly generated name ("Node name" in the configuration summary).

Frequently Asked Questions

How to connect to the provider?

Connect via SSH:

ssh golem@<provider_ip_address>

Use the IP from step 6 and the password from step 5.


How to check the provider's name?

  1. Connect to your provider via SSH.
  2. Run golemsp settings show.
  3. Look for the "node name" - that's your provider's name on the Golem Network Stats page.

How to change the provider's name?

  1. Connect to your provider via SSH.

  2. Run:

    golemsp settings set --node-name '<new_node_name>'

How to change the wallet address?

  1. Connect to your provider via SSH.

  2. Run:

    golemsp settings set --account <new_wallet_address>

How to change the hourly rate?

  1. Connect to your provider via SSH.

  2. Convert your desired hourly rate to a rate per second (divide by 3600). For example, for 0.25 GLM per hour:

    0.25 GLM/h / 3600 seconds/hour = 0.00006944444444444444 GLM per second
  3. Run:

    ya-provider preset update --name vm-nvidia --price duration=0.00006944444444444444 --no-interactive
  4. Activate the changes:

    ya-provider preset activate vm-nvidia

How to download logs from the provider?

  1. Open your local terminal (not via SSH).

  2. Run:

    scp golem@<your_provider's_ip>:/home/golem/golemwz.log golemwz.log
    scp golem@<your_provider's_ip>:/home/golem/.local/share/yagna/yagna_rCURRENT.log yagna_rCURRENT.log

    Enter your SSH password when asked. The logs will be downloaded to your current directory.


Need more help? Join us on Discord!

Was this helpful?