Fix Xorg Not Starting in GKE with GPU: (EE) No Screens Found

The error message “(EE) no screens found (EE)” usually occurs when Xorg, the display server for Linux, cannot find a compatible screen or display device. To fix Xorg in this situation, you may need to adjust the configuration files or install the necessary drivers. In the context of running a GPU instance on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), this typically happens due to a misconfiguration related to the GPU or Xorg setup.

Steps to Fix the Issue

1. Ensure GPU Node Configuration is Correct:

• Make sure that your GKE nodes are correctly configured to support GPUs. This includes selecting the appropriate machine type that supports GPUs (e.g., n1-standard-4 with an attached NVIDIA GPU like nvidia-tesla-t4).
• Verify that the GPU nodes have the necessary GPU drivers installed. This is typically done by enabling the GPU driver installation when creating the node pool. If not, you may need to manually install the drivers.

2. Install NVIDIA Drivers:

• Ensure that the NVIDIA drivers are properly installed on the node. You can check if the drivers are installed by running:
  bash nvidia-smi
• If nvidia-smi does not return any output or shows an error, you may need to install the correct drivers. Use the official NVIDIA driver installation process or GKE’s GPU driver installer daemon set:
  bash kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/container-engine-accelerators/master/nvidia-driver-installer/daemonset-preloaded.yaml

3. Install Xorg and Related Packages:

• Make sure that Xorg and all required dependencies are installed on the node:
  bash sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install -y xorg openbox

4. Configure Xorg to Use the GPU:

• Create or update the Xorg configuration file to use the GPU. This file is typically located at /etc/X11/xorg.conf. An example configuration to use an NVIDIA GPU is: Section "Device" Identifier "Nvidia GPU" Driver "nvidia" BusID "PCI:0:30:0" # Replace with the correct BusID for your GPU EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "Screen0" Device "Nvidia GPU" DefaultDepth 24 EndSection
• Make sure the BusID matches the GPU’s Bus ID on your system, which you can find using lspci or nvidia-smi.

5. Check the Xorg Logs:

• Inspect the Xorg log files, usually located at /var/log/Xorg.0.log, for more specific error messages that could help pinpoint the issue.
• Look for entries with (EE) to identify errors that might prevent Xorg from starting.

6. Ensure Permissions and Environment:

• Make sure the Kubernetes Pod running Xorg has sufficient permissions to access the GPU device. You may need to set the appropriate SecurityContext in your Pod spec.
• Ensure that the container environment has access to the necessary libraries and environment variables to use the GPU, such as setting LD_LIBRARY_PATH to include the path to NVIDIA libraries.

7. Restart Xorg and Pod:

• After making changes, restart the Xorg service or the Pod to apply the configuration:
  bash sudo systemctl restart lightdm # or your display manager # or kubectl delete pod <your-pod> # Restart the Pod to reinitialize

Additional Tips

• Check the compatibility of the NVIDIA driver with your GPU and CUDA version.
• Ensure your Kubernetes cluster has the appropriate resource limits and requests defined for GPU usage in your deployment configuration.
• Use the NVIDIA device plugin for Kubernetes to manage GPU resources efficiently.

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the “no screens found” error and successfully start Xorg with GPU support in your GKE environment.

Conclusion

The fault message “(EE) no screens found (EE)” frequently arises when Xorg, the display server for Linux, cannot simply discover an appropriate screen or display. To simply fix Xorg in this case, you may basically just be required to adjust all the configuration files or often install the crucial drivers. In the situation of running a GPU instance, especially on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), you just need the best GPU dedicated server; this normally occurs because of misconfiguration associated with the GPU or Xorg setup.