This is how I got it working for Standard_NV72ads_A10_v5 :
Installing the NVIDIA Driver on an Azure VM
Prerequisites
- This guide is specifically for Azure VMs using GRID drivers for Azure.
- The VM must be created in Standard mode to disable Trusted Launch.
1. Connect to Your VM
- Use SSH to connect to your Azure VM.
ssh your-username@your-vm-ip-address
2. Update the Package List
- Before installing new packages, update the package list.
sudo apt-get update
3. Install Necessary Packages
- Install the required packages for building the NVIDIA driver.
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential
4. Blacklist Nouveau Drivers
- Ensure that the Nouveau drivers are blacklisted to prevent conflicts.
echo "blacklist nouveau" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf
echo "options nouveau modeset=0" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf
sudo update-initramfs -u
5. Reboot the VM
- Reboot your VM to apply changes.
sudo reboot
6. Download Driver File and Make the Driver File Executable
- Download the GRID driver file for Azure and change its permissions to make it executable.
wget -P /tmp https://download.microsoft.com/download/8/d/a/8da4fb8e-3a9b-4e6a-bc9a-72ff64d7a13c/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-535.161.08-grid-azure.run
chmod +x /tmp/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-535.161.08-grid-azure.run
7. Run the NVIDIA Installer
- Execute the installer script.
sudo /tmp/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-535.161.08-grid-azure.run --silent
8. Verify the Installation
- After installation, verify that the driver is installed correctly.
nvidia-smi
9. Clean Up
- Optionally, you can remove the installer file as it is no longer needed.
rm /tmp/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-535.161.08-grid-azure.run
Notes
Kernel Headers
- If the installer complains about missing kernel headers, you may need to install them using:
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)
No Display Manager
- Since your VM is headless, there’s no need to stop any display manager.