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33 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
33 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
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---
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description: Set up SSH access to an NVIDIA DGX Spark from a laptop using NVIDIA Sync (recommended) or manual SSH. Use when a user is new to their Spark and needs to connect remotely, before doing anything else. This is a prerequisite for nearly every other dgx-spark-* skill — if a user hasn't set this up, do this first.
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---
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## When to use this skill
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- User just got their DGX Spark and wants to use it from their laptop
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- Any other dgx-spark-* skill needs SSH access and the user hasn't configured it yet
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- User reports "can't connect to my Spark" or "SSH hangs / can't resolve spark-abcd.local"
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## Two paths — help the user pick
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- **NVIDIA Sync (recommended)** — GUI, handles SSH key generation + aliasing + port forwarding for apps. Required if they want one-click app launchers (DGX Dashboard, VS Code, Open WebUI tunnels).
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- **Manual SSH** — if they prefer CLI-only workflow, or Sync isn't supported on their platform.
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Most users should use NVIDIA Sync unless they have a specific reason not to.
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## Key decisions
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- **Hostname vs IP** — default is mDNS hostname (`spark-abcd.local`). On corporate networks that block mDNS, they'll need to use the IP address from their router's admin panel. Quick test: `ping spark-abcd.local` — if it hangs, mDNS is blocked.
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- **First-boot wait** — after initial system setup, the Spark can take 3–4 minutes to finish updates before SSH becomes available. Don't diagnose connection issues in this window.
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## Non-obvious gotchas
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- NVIDIA Sync's password prompt happens **once** — it uses the password only to install the SSH key, then discards it. If auth fails, the key install didn't complete; re-run the add-device flow.
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- mDNS `.local` resolution is OS + network-stack specific. Works on most home Wi-Fi; often broken on corporate VPNs or guest networks.
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- Port-forwarding for web apps is a separate step (SSH `-L` flag or Custom Ports in Sync) — connecting to SSH alone doesn't give laptop browsers access to web UIs running on the Spark.
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## Related skills
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- **Alternative**: `dgx-spark-tailscale` — use Tailscale VPN for remote access instead of local-network SSH. Works off-network.
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- **Follow-ups (what users typically do next)**:
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- `dgx-spark-ollama` — run a local LLM
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- `dgx-spark-open-webui` — web chat UI
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- `dgx-spark-vscode` — remote development
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- `dgx-spark-dgx-dashboard` — system monitoring (already pre-installed, just needs the tunnel)
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- **Multi-Spark setups depend on this first**: `dgx-spark-connect-two-sparks`, `dgx-spark-connect-three-sparks`, `dgx-spark-multi-sparks-through-switch`
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