nvidia-settings on headless server

Is it possible to run nvidia-settings to control clock frequencies and the other parameters this command is used for on a headless server with no display? When run, this is the output:

# nvidia-settings
Failed to connect to Mir: Failed to connect to server socket: No such file or directory
Unable to init server: Could not connect: Connection refused

ERROR: The control display is undefined; please run `nvidia-settings --help` for usage information.

Am I barking up the wrong tree? The application domain is ethereum mining, and we have Nvidia P109 cards that are not designed for graphics display.

To use nvidia-settings, an xserver has to be started on the/every gpu, even if it’s not used for display. Use
Option “AllowEmptyInitialConfiguration”
in device section of xorg.conf to have it started without connected displays.

Thanks - this is helpful. Would it be possible to see just a small example of an entry required for an Nvidia GTX 1070 card? Adding that option to the xorg.conf file created by nvidia-xconfig does not appear to achieve anything, except for allowing the X server to run. I am still unable to connect to it with nvidia-settings.

Over ssh

DISPLAY=:0 XAUTHORITY=/var/run/lightdm/root/:0 nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/GPUFanControlState=1
DISPLAY=:0 XAUTHORITY=/var/run/lightdm/root/:0 nvidia-settings -a [fan:0]/GPUTargetFanSpeed=75

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Is it still necessary to keep the X context open if you enable persistence mode with nvidia-smi?