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DGX Spark Headless Sunshine Setup Journal

Date: 2025-10-19 System: spark-alpha GPU: NVIDIA GB10 (Blackwell)

Pre-Configuration Status

Hardware

  • GPU: NVIDIA GB10 (UUID: GPU-ba5e4e08-5084-e65d-cff8-f35f7fbb82e8)
  • DRI Devices:
    • /dev/dri/card0 → simpledrm
    • /dev/dri/card1 → nvidia-drm
    • /dev/dri/renderD128 → Render node

Current Configuration

  • GRUB: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="console=tty0 console=ttyS0,921600"
  • Missing: nvidia-drm.modeset=1 (required for DRM modesetting)
  • Xorg: Factory NVIDIA config with AllowEmptyInitialConfiguration=True
  • GDM: Default config, Wayland potentially enabled

Sunshine Errors (Pre-Fix)

Error: GPU driver doesn't support universal planes: /dev/dri/card1
Error: Couldn't find monitor [23170]
Fatal: Unable to find display or encoder during startup.

Root Cause: Missing kernel parameter nvidia-drm.modeset=1 and no virtual display configured.

Sunshine Installation

Prerequisites

Before configuring displays, Sunshine must be installed on the system.

Installation Steps

Step 1: Download Sunshine Package

cd /tmp
wget https://github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine/releases/download/v2025.1014.193231/sunshine-ubuntu-24.04-arm64.deb

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Sunshine requires several system packages to function properly:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y \
    libavcodec-dev \
    libavformat-dev \
    libavutil-dev \
    libswscale-dev \
    libevdev-dev \
    libpulse-dev \
    libopus-dev \
    libxtst-dev \
    libx11-dev \
    libxrandr-dev \
    libxfixes-dev \
    libxcb1-dev \
    libxcb-shm0-dev \
    libxcb-xfixes0-dev \
    libdrm-dev \
    libcap-dev \
    libudev-dev \
    libwayland-dev \
    libinput-dev \
    libcurl4-openssl-dev \
    libssl-dev

Step 3: Install Sunshine

sudo dpkg -i sunshine-ubuntu-24.04-arm64.deb
# Fix any dependency issues if they arise
sudo apt --fix-broken install -y

Step 4: Enable Sunshine Service (Optional)

# To enable Sunshine as a systemd user service
systemctl --user enable sunshine

Step 5: Verify Installation

# Check if Sunshine is installed
which sunshine
sunshine --version

Configuration Location

  • Configuration files: ~/.config/sunshine/
  • Logs: Check with journalctl --user -u sunshine

Note: Sunshine should NOT be started yet - it requires the display configuration completed by the script below.

Configuration Script Actions

The configure_headless_sunshine.sh script will:

  1. Add GRUB kernel parameters (requires reboot):

    • nvidia-drm.modeset=1 - Enables DRM modesetting for NVIDIA
    • nvidia.NVreg_UsePageAttributeTable=1 - Performance optimization

  2. Update /etc/X11/xorg.conf:

    • Creates backup: /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup-before-sunshine
    • Configures virtual display: HDMI-0 at 1600x900
    • Adds VirtualHeads=1 and ConnectedMonitor=DFP-0
    • Adds Coolbits=28 for GPU control

  3. Configure GDM (/etc/gdm3/custom.conf):

    • Disables Wayland, forces X11
    • Enables autologin for target user

  4. Install autostart entry (~/.config/autostart/headless-xrandr.desktop):

    • Runs xrandr --output HDMI-0 --mode 1600x900 on login
    • Auto-launches Sunshine with proper environment variables

Execution Steps

Step 1: Run Configuration Script

The script will automatically:

  • Install Sunshine and its dependencies
  • Configure GRUB kernel parameters
  • Set up Xorg for headless operation
  • Configure GDM and autologin
  • Install autostart entries
cd /home/exobit/development/dgx
sudo ./configure_headless_sunshine.sh

Note: The script checks if Sunshine is already installed and will skip installation if found.

Step 2: Verify Changes Before Rebooting

# Check Sunshine was installed
which sunshine
sunshine --version

# Check GRUB was updated
grep nvidia-drm /etc/default/grub

# Verify backup was created
ls -la /etc/X11/xorg.conf*

# Check GDM configuration
grep -A 4 "[daemon]" /etc/gdm3/custom.conf

# Check autostart entry
cat ~/.config/autostart/headless-xrandr.desktop

Step 3: Reboot System

sudo reboot

Step 4: Verify DRM Modeset After Reboot

# Check kernel parameter is active
cat /proc/cmdline | grep nvidia-drm.modeset

# Verify modeset enabled (should output: Y)
cat /sys/module/nvidia_drm/parameters/modeset

Step 5: Verify Sunshine Operation

# Check if Sunshine is running
ps aux | grep sunshine

# Monitor Sunshine logs
journalctl --user -u sunshine -f

# Test from terminal (should work now)
sunshine

Rollback Plan

If issues occur, restore original configuration:

# Restore original xorg.conf
sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup-before-sunshine /etc/X11/xorg.conf

# Remove kernel parameters from GRUB
sudo nano /etc/default/grub
# Remove: nvidia-drm.modeset=1 nvidia.NVreg_UsePageAttributeTable=1
sudo update-grub

# Disable autologin in GDM (optional)
sudo nano /etc/gdm3/custom.conf
# Set: AutomaticLoginEnable=false

# Reboot
sudo reboot

Expected Results

After successful configuration:

  • NVENC encoder should initialize without errors
  • Virtual display (HDMI-0) should be available to Sunshine
  • Sunshine should find encoder and display during startup
  • Remote streaming via Moonlight should work

Notes

  • Script is safe: creates backups before modifications
  • Changes take effect after reboot (GRUB parameters)
  • Autologin enabled for convenience (adjust if security concern)
  • Physical display support may need MetaModes adjustment in xorg.conf

Execution Log

Script Execution ✅ COMPLETED

Date: 2025-10-19 12:13

Output:

Regenerated GRUB command line with NVIDIA DRM modeset flags.
Generating grub configuration file ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.11.0-1016-nvidia
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-6.11.0-1016-nvidia
Warning: os-prober will not be executed to detect other bootable partitions.
done
Wrote headless Xorg configuration to /etc/X11/xorg.conf.
Configured GDM for Xorg and autologin (user exobit).

Warning Analysis: ⚠️ "os-prober will not be executed to detect other bootable partitions"

  • Type: Informational (NOT an error)
  • Cause: os-prober disabled by default (standard for single-OS systems)
  • Impact: None - this is a single-OS DGX workstation
  • Safety: ✅ Expected and safe

Verification Results:

  1. ✅ GRUB updated: nvidia-drm.modeset=1 nvidia.NVreg_UsePageAttributeTable=1
  2. ✅ Xorg config: 1.4K at /etc/X11/xorg.conf (backup created)
  3. ✅ GDM: Wayland disabled, X11 forced, autologin enabled for exobit
  4. ✅ Autostart: ~/.config/autostart/headless-xrandr.desktop created

Reboot: [Pending - REQUIRED FOR CHANGES TO TAKE EFFECT] Post-Reboot Verification: [Pending] Status: Ready for reboot