An administrator needs to perform an LCM upgrade on an AHV host with GPUs. What additional step is required before upgrading the host?

When upgrading an AHV host that has GPUs installed, the Life Cycle Manager (LCM) requires the compatible GPU driver bundle for the target AHV version. This bundle is not typically included in the standard LCM repository. The administrator must manually download the appropriate NVIDIA driver bundle from the Nutanix Support Portal and then upload it to LCM using the "Uploads" feature. Once the bundle is uploaded and an LCM inventory is performed, LCM can orchestrate the upgrade of both the AHV host and the corresponding GPU drivers, ensuring compatibility and proper functionality post-upgrade.

A. Create an agent VM on each host that has GPU drivers installed. This is not a standard or required procedure. LCM manages the driver installation directly on the AHV host during the upgrade process without needing a separate agent VM.
B. Run LCM in dark site mode so it can update AHV independently. Dark site mode is used for clusters without internet connectivity. It is not a specific requirement for upgrading hosts with GPUs if the cluster has internet access.
D. Update NCC to the latest version and re-run Inventory. While updating NCC and running an inventory is a recommended best practice before any LCM operation, it is not an additional step required specifically because of the presence of GPUs.

1. Nutanix Life Cycle Manager (LCM) Guide v2.6:

Section: Upgrading AHV Hosts with GPUs

Content: "If you have AHV hosts with GPUs in your cluster, you must upload the compatible NVIDIA driver bundle to LCM before you can upgrade AHV on those hosts. ... Procedure: 1. Download the NVIDIA driver bundle from the Nutanix portal... 2. Upload the driver bundle to LCM. See Uploading Software to LCM." This directly confirms the need to upload the driver bundle.

2. Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) Administration Guide v6.8:

Section: Upgrading an AHV Host

Content: This guide refers to the LCM Guide for the upgrade process, stating, "To upgrade AHV hosts in a cluster, use the Life Cycle Manager (LCM)." It reinforces that LCM is the correct tool and its specific procedures, including those for specialized hardware like GPUs, must be followed.

3. Nutanix Support Portal, Knowledge Base Article 8658:

Title: LCM | How to upgrade AHV on a cluster with GPU

Content: This article outlines the precise workflow: "Before upgrading AHV on a cluster with GPU, the compatible NVIDIA driver for the target AHV version must be uploaded to LCM. ... Download the required NVIDIA driver bundle from the Nutanix Portal... Upload the bundle to LCM." This provides a step-by-step validation of the correct procedure.