22CD303 - COMPUTER ORGANIZATION
AND ARCHITECTURE
UNIT IV
LM 6 - INSTALLATION STEPS
For installing the CUDA toolkit on Windows, we’ll need −
● A CUDA enabled Nvidia GPU.
● A supported version of Microsoft Windows.
● A supported version of Visual Studio.
● The latest CUDA toolkit.
Note that natively, CUDA allows only 64b applications. That is, we cannot
develop 32b CUDA applications natively (exception: they can be developed only
on the GeForce series GPUs). 32b applications can be developed on x86_64 using
the cross-development capabilities of the CUDA toolkit. For compiling CUDA
programs to 32b, follow these steps −
Step 1: Add <installpath>\bin to your path.
Step 2: Add -m32 to your nvcc options.
Step 3: Link with the 32-bit libs in <installpath>\lib (instead of
<installpath>\lib64).
COMPATIBILITY
Windows version Native x86_64 support X86_32 support on
x86_32 (cross)
Windows 10 Yes Yes
Windows 8.1 Yes Yes
Windows 7 Yes Yes
Windows Server 2016 Yes No
Windows Server 2012 R2 Yes No
Visual Studio Version Native x86_64 support X86_32 support on
x86_32 (cross)
2017 Yes No
2015 Yes No
2015 Community edition Yes No
2013 Yes Yes
2012 Yes Yes
2010 Yes Yes
As can be seen from the above tables, support for x86_32 is limited.
Presently, only the GeForce series is supported for 32b CUDA applications. If you
have a supported version of Windows and Visual Studio, then proceed. Otherwise,
first install the required software.
Verifying if your system has a CUDA capable GPU − Open a RUN window
and run the command − control /name Microsoft.DeviceManager, and verify from
the given information. If you do not have a CUDA capable GPU, or a GPU, then
halt.
Installing the Latest CUDA Toolkit
In this section, we will see how to install the latest CUDA toolkit.
Step 1: Visit − https://developer.nvidia.com and select the desired operating
system.
Step 2: Select the type of installation that you would like to perform. The network
installer will initially be a very small executable, which will download the
required files when run. The standalone installer will download each required file
at once and won’t require an Internet connection later to install.
Step 3: Download the base installer.
The CUDA toolkit will also install the required GPU drivers, along with the
required libraries and header files to develop CUDA applications. It will also
install some sample code to help starters. If you run the executable by
double-clicking on it, just follow the on-screen directions and the toolkit will be
installed. This is the graphical way of installation, and the downside of this method
is that you do not have control on what packages to install. This can be avoided if
you install the toolkit using CLI. Here is a list of possible packages that can
control −
nvcc_9.1 cuobjdump_9.1 nvprune_9.1 cupti_9.1
demo_suite_9.1 documentation_9.1 cublas_9.1 gpu-library-advisor_9.1
curand_dev_9.1 nvgraph_9.1 cublas_dev_9.1 memcheck_9.1
cusolver_9.1 nvgraph_dev_9.1 cudart_9.1 nvdisasm_9.1
cusolver_dev_9.1 npp_9.1 cufft_9.1 nvprof_9.1
cusparse_9.1 npp_dev_9.1 cufft_dev_9.1 visual_profiler_9.1
For example, to install only the compiler and the occupancy calculator, use the
following command −
<PackageName>.exe -s nvcc_9.1 occupancy_calculator_9.1
Verifying the Installation
Follow these steps to verify the installation −
Step 1 − Check the CUDA toolkit version by typing nvcc -V in the command
prompt.
Step 2 − Run deviceQuery.cu located at: C:\ProgramData\NVIDIA
Corporation\CUDA Samples\v9.1\bin\win64\Release to view your GPU card
information. The output will look like −
Step 3 − Run the bandWidth test located at C:\ProgramData\NVIDIA
Corporation\CUDA Samples\v9.1\bin\win64\Release. This ensures that the host
and the device are able to communicate properly with each other. The output will
look like −
If any of the above tests fail, it means the toolkit has not been installed properly.
Re-install by following the above instructions.
UNINSTALLING
CUDA can be uninstalled without any fuss from the ‘Control Panel’ of Windows.
At this point, the CUDA toolkit is installed. You can get started by running the
sample programs provided in the toolkit.
