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Source Selection Guide

This guide helps you choose the right installation source for each component in your Holodeck environment.

Quick Reference

Use Case Driver Runtime Toolkit Kubernetes
Production package package package release
Version pinning package (version) package (version) package (version) release (version)
Pre-release testing runfile git (tag) git (tag) git (tag)
Regression bisection git (commit) git (commit) git (commit) git (commit)
CI/CD latest N/A latest latest latest
Custom kernel modules git N/A N/A N/A

When to Use Each Source

Package (Recommended Default)

Use when:

  • Deploying production or stable test environments
  • You need well-tested, signed packages
  • Reproducibility via version pinning is sufficient
  • You want the fastest provisioning time

Trade-offs:

  • (+) Fastest installation
  • (+) Pre-built, tested packages
  • (+) Automatic dependency resolution
  • (-) Limited to released versions
  • (-) No access to unreleased fixes

Git

Use when:

  • Testing a specific commit or unreleased fix
  • Bisecting a regression across commits
  • Validating a PR before it merges
  • Testing a fork with custom modifications

Trade-offs:

  • (+) Pin to any commit, tag, or branch
  • (+) Test unreleased code
  • (+) Use custom forks
  • (-) Slower (requires build from source)
  • (-) Build may fail on incompatible hosts
  • (-) Requires build tools on target host

Latest

Use when:

  • CI/CD pipelines testing against upstream HEAD
  • Continuous compatibility testing
  • Catching regressions early in upstream development

Trade-offs:

  • (+) Always tests newest code
  • (+) Catches breaking changes early
  • (-) Non-reproducible (branch moves)
  • (-) May encounter broken builds
  • (-) Slower (build from source)

Runfile (Driver Only)

Use when:

  • Testing pre-release driver builds from NVIDIA
  • Using driver versions not in any package repository
  • Validating specific installer artifacts

Trade-offs:

  • (+) Access to any published .run file
  • (+) Checksum verification for integrity
  • (-) Must manage URLs manually
  • (-) No automatic dependency resolution

Example Configurations

All Pinned (Reproducible)

Best for: CI/CD baselines, regression testing.

spec:
  nvidiaDriver:
    install: true
    source: package
    package:
      version: "560.35.03"
  containerRuntime:
    install: true
    name: containerd
    source: package
    package:
      version: "1.7.23"
  nvidiaContainerToolkit:
    install: true
    source: package
    package:
      version: "1.17.3-1"
  kubernetes:
    install: true
    source: release
    release:
      version: v1.31.1

Mixed: Stable Stack + Dev Component

Best for: Testing one component against a known-good stack.

spec:
  nvidiaDriver:
    install: true
    # Default package source, latest stable
  containerRuntime:
    install: true
    name: containerd
    source: git
    git:
      ref: v1.7.23  # Test specific containerd version
  nvidiaContainerToolkit:
    install: true
    source: latest
    latest:
      track: main  # Test CTK against latest
  kubernetes:
    install: true
    source: release
    release:
      version: v1.31.1

All Latest (Bleeding Edge)

Best for: Compatibility testing, catching regressions early.

spec:
  nvidiaDriver:
    install: true
    source: git
    git:
      ref: refs/heads/main
  containerRuntime:
    install: true
    name: containerd
    source: latest
    latest:
      track: main
  nvidiaContainerToolkit:
    install: true
    source: latest
    latest:
      track: main
  kubernetes:
    install: true
    source: latest
    latest:
      track: master

Component-Specific Documentation