GPU Utilization Monitoring on Nvidia Jetson Orin Nano Dev Board

Issue Overview

Users of the Nvidia Jetson Orin Nano Dev board are experiencing difficulties in monitoring GPU utilization, particularly at the process level. The main challenge is finding an effective method to track GPU usage for individual processes, which is crucial for identifying performance bottlenecks when running multiple processes. While general GPU utilization can be monitored, users are seeking more granular, process-specific information to optimize their applications.

Possible Causes

1. Limited functionality of default tools: The default monitoring tool, tegrastats, provides overall GPU utilization but lacks process-specific information.

2. Complexity of advanced monitoring tools: More sophisticated tools like Nsight Systems and Nsight Compute may be available but require proper configuration and understanding to extract the desired information.

3. Lack of user familiarity: Users might not be fully aware of the capabilities and proper usage of available profiling tools, leading to difficulties in accessing the required information.

Troubleshooting Steps, Solutions & Fixes

1. Use tegrastats for overall GPU utilization:

   • Run the following command to get general GPU usage information:

     $ sudo tegrastats
     

   • Note that this method does not provide process-specific information.

2. Utilize Nsight Systems for process-level GPU monitoring:

   • Nsight Systems is recommended for obtaining process-level GPU utilization information.
   • Profile your application using Nsight Systems.
   • Look for the "GPU Speed of Light" report in the profiling results.
   • This report should contain detailed GPU utilization information for your specific process.

3. Explore Nsight Compute for detailed GPU metrics:

   • Nsight Compute can provide additional GPU metrics that might be useful for understanding utilization.
   • Familiarize yourself with the tool’s interface and available metrics.
   • Focus on metrics related to SM (Streaming Multiprocessor) activity, warp utilization, and other GPU-specific performance indicators.

4. Analyze the "GPU Speed of Light" report:

   • This report, available in Nsight Systems, is crucial for understanding GPU utilization.
   • Pay attention to various GPU performance metrics provided in this report.
   • Use this information to identify potential bottlenecks and areas for optimization in your application.

5. Combine multiple tools for comprehensive analysis:

   • Use tegrastats for quick, overall GPU utilization checks.
   • Employ Nsight Systems for process-specific GPU utilization data.
   • Utilize Nsight Compute for in-depth GPU performance metrics when needed.

6. Consult Nvidia documentation:

   • Refer to official Nvidia documentation for detailed instructions on using Nsight Systems and Nsight Compute.
   • Look for specific guides related to GPU utilization monitoring on Jetson platforms.

7. Community forums and support:

   • Engage with the Nvidia developer community for additional insights and tips on GPU utilization monitoring.
   • Share specific use cases or issues to get targeted advice from experienced users or Nvidia staff.

By following these steps and utilizing the appropriate tools, users should be able to effectively monitor GPU utilization at both the system and process levels on their Nvidia Jetson Orin Nano Dev board. This will enable better performance analysis and optimization of applications running on the platform.