notes/projects/neosphere/ml-server/20250708-qwerty-talk.md

Your task list is comprehensive, but there are additional considerations to ensure smooth operation, especially with high-performance hardware and large datasets. Here's a breakdown of what you might be missing:

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1. Hardware & Networking Considerations

• PCIe Slot Availability:
  Ensure the server has enough PCIe slots for both GPUs (H100/L40) and the 25 Gbit NICs. Dual GPUs (e.g., H100) may require NVLink support, which depends on the motherboard’s PCIe version (e.g., PCIe 4.0 or higher).
• Transceivers:
  If using 25 Gbit SFP+ or QSFP+ ports, confirm the NICs and switches support the required transceivers (e.g., SFP+ for 25 Gbit).
• Power & Cooling:
  Verify the PSU can handle the combined power draw of dual GPUs (e.g., H100s: ~300W each, L40s: ~250W each). Ensure adequate cooling for the server chassis.

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2. OS & Software Stack

• Ubuntu Version:
  While Ubuntu 22.04 is stable, 24.04 is recommended for better support of newer hardware (e.g., H100 GPUs) and security updates.
• Ansible Playbooks:
  Create reusable Ansible playbooks for:
  • OS installation (e.g., Ubuntu 24.04).
  • GPU driver installation (NVIDIA).
  • Network bonding (e.g., bonding-mode=active-backup).
  • NFS mount configuration.
• CUDA & ROCm:
  Install the latest CUDA toolkit (for NVIDIA GPUs) or ROCm (for AMD GPUs) to ensure compatibility with Boltz.

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3. Network Configuration

• Bonding Mode:
  Use bonding-mode=active-backup for failover redundancy. Ensure the switches support LACP (Link Aggregation Control Protocol) for bonding.
• Firewall Rules:
  Configure OPNsense to allow traffic between:
  • The server and Qumulo storage (NFS).
  • The server and other compute nodes (if using Ansible for clustering).
• Qumulo NFS Optimization:
  Use NFS mount options like noatime, async, or tcp for large datasets. Consider setting up a cron job to check NFS mount status.

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4. GPU & Multi-GPU Support

• Driver Installation:
  Install the latest NVIDIA drivers (e.g., via nvidia-driver-535 package) and verify nvidia-smi works.
• Multi-GPU Configuration:
  • For H100 GPUs: Enable NVLink (if supported) for faster inter-GPU communication.
  • For L40 GPUs: Use PCIe 4.0 for optimal bandwidth.
• CUDA Multi-GPU Support:
  Ensure Boltz is configured to use multiple GPUs (e.g., via CUDA-aware MPI or distributed memory frameworks).

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5. Storage & Performance

• RAM Sufficiency:
  512 GB RAM is sufficient for most workloads, but monitor memory usage with tools like htop or free -h. Optimize Boltz to minimize memory overhead (e.g., batch processing).
• Disk I/O:
  Use NVMe SSDs for temporary storage (e.g., /tmp, /var) to reduce disk contention.

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6. Security & Monitoring

• Centralized Logging:
  Set up a centralized logging system (e.g., ELK stack) to monitor server activity and GPU utilization.
• SELinux/AppArmor:
  Enable security modules (e.g., AppArmor) to restrict access to critical resources.
• Prometheus + Grafana:
  Monitor GPU utilization (nvidia-smi), network throughput (iftop), and storage I/O (iostat).

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7. Additional Tasks

• Backup & Recovery:
  Set up regular backups for critical data (e.g., Boltz configurations, NFS mounts).
• Disaster Recovery Plan:
  Define steps for hardware failure (e.g., GPU replacement, network redundancy).
• Documentation:
  Document all configurations (Ansible playbooks, firewall rules, GPU settings) for future reference.

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Summary of Missing Items

Category	Missing Tasks
Hardware	PCIe slot availability, power/cooling, transceiver compatibility
Networking	LACP support for bonding, OPNsense firewall rules, NFS optimization
GPU Setup	NVLink/NVMe configuration, CUDA multi-GPU support, driver compatibility
Storage	Disk I/O optimization, RAM monitoring, temporary storage setup
Security	SELinux/AppArmor, centralized logging, access controls
Monitoring	Prometheus/Grafana, regular backups, disaster recovery plan