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WSL2 GPU Passthrough for Running Local AI Models

1. Prerequisites

Windows Version

Ensure you are running Windows 10 version 2004 or later (Build 19041) or Windows 11.

GPU Drivers

  • Install the latest NVIDIA drivers from the NVIDIA website.
  • Ensure the drivers support WSL 2 GPU passthrough. You can check compatibility on the NVIDIA Driver Downloads page.

WSL2 Version

Make sure WSL2 is installed and updated:

wsl --update

2. Step-by-Step Enable GPU Passthrough for WSL2

Install WSL2 and a Linux Distribution

If not already installed, install WSL2 and a Linux distribution (e.g., Ubuntu):

wsl --install -d Ubuntu

Set WSL2 as the Default Version

Ensure WSL2 is set as the default version:

wsl --set-default-version 2

Install the NVIDIA Container Toolkit

Inside your WSL2 distribution, install the NVIDIA Container Toolkit:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y nvidia-driver-510
sudo apt-get install -y nvidia-container-toolkit
sudo systemctl restart docker

Enable GPU Support in WSL2

Edit the .wslconfig file in your Windows user directory (C:\Users\<YourUsername>):

[wsl2]
gpu=true
memory=8GB  # Adjust as needed
processors=4  # Adjust as needed

Restart WSL2:

wsl --shutdown
wsl --distribution Ubuntu

3. Verifying GPU is Visible Inside WSL2

Run nvidia-smi to verify the GPU is recognized:

nvidia-smi

You should see output similar to this:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NVIDIA-SMI 510.85.02    Driver Version: 510.85.02    CUDA Version: 11.6     |
|-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| GPU  Name        Persistence-M| Bus-Id        Disp.A | Volatile Uncorr. ECC |
| Fan  Temp  Perf  Pwr:Usage/Cap|         Memory-Usage | GPU-Util  Compute M. |
|                               |                      |               MIG M. |
|===============================+======================+======================|
|   0  NVIDIA GeForce GTX 165... Off  | 00000000:01:00.0 Off |                  N/A |
| N/A   41C    P8     9W / 175W |      0MiB /  4096MiB |      0%      Default |
|                               |                      |                  N/A |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

4. Common Issues and Fixes

Driver Version Mismatch

Ensure that the NVIDIA drivers installed on Windows match those expected by the NVIDIA Container Toolkit in WSL2. Reinstall the drivers if necessary.

CUDA Not Found

Install CUDA in your WSL2 distribution if it's not already installed:

sudo apt-get install -y cuda

Verify the installation by checking the CUDA version:

cuda --version

5. Performance Expectations vs Native Linux

Running AI models in WSL2 with GPU passthrough offers significant performance benefits compared to CPU-only execution. However, there may still be some overhead compared to native Linux due to the virtualization layer. For most practical purposes, the performance should be close to native Linux.

This guide should help you set up and verify GPU passthrough for WSL2, enabling you to run local AI models efficiently on your Windows machine.