Question 510
In a new GPU cluster, the following happens: A Docker image includes CUDA libraries, but the operator launches it without any GPU device allocation flag and wonders why inference runs on CPU. What concept explains the failure?
Explanation
Correct Answer
The operational evidence follows from the mechanism that Container software packages do not by themselves grant access to host GPU device nodes. Address it by Launch the image with the supported GPU exposure option and verify the container sees the requested accelerators; then test whether A Docker --gpus device test shows the expected GPU inside the container and executes a CUDA operation.
Incorrect Answers
This alternative addresses the separate case “A privileged Docker container succeeds with GPU access while an ordinary GPU-enabled container fails the same workload”. The operational evidence follows from the mechanism that Privilege escalation can hide missing runtime integration while exposing unnecessary host resources. The deciding requirement here is “Container software packages do not by themselves grant access to host GPU device nodes”.
The option would apply to “A Docker image starts on a CUDA-capable node but silently loads a CPU-only framework wheel”. This case illustrates that Visible NVIDIA devices do not guarantee that the application framework contains GPU-enabled binaries. This question instead requires “Container software packages do not by themselves grant access to host GPU device nodes”.
This is an incorrect prioritization of the mechanism. The reported fault points to Container software packages do not by themselves grant access to host GPU device nodes, not the separate condition involving A Docker deployment can see a GPU but its container uses a CUDA userspace image newer than the host driver supports.