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docs: update DCGM Exporter metric names for dcgm-exporter 4.9.0 - #527

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nccurry:dcgm-exporter-4.9.0-metrics
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nccurry wants to merge 9 commits into
NVIDIA:mainfrom
nccurry:dcgm-exporter-4.9.0-metrics

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@nccurry nccurry commented Oct 22, 2026 •

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Draft: merge with the GPU Operator release that ships DCGM Exporter 4.9.0.

The GPU telemetry pages now cover only what the NVIDIA GPU Operator does for DCGM Exporter.
Everything about the exporter itself (installs outside the Operator, options, config file, metrics, Prometheus setup, release notes) links to the DCGM Exporter documentation on docs.nvidia.com.

Changes

  • gpu-telemetry/dcgm-exporter.rst: rewritten as "DCGM Exporter with the NVIDIA GPU Operator".
    • What the Operator deploys: the DaemonSet, Service, ServiceMonitor, and the OpenShift PrometheusRule, plus the environment variables it sets.
    • A table of the dcgmExporter Helm values (and dcgm.enabled), checked against the chart values.yaml and the ClusterPolicy types.
    • Custom metrics files through a ConfigMap (dcgmExporter.config.name, or config.create and config.data). Pods must be restarted after a ConfigMap change, because the Operator mounts the file with subPath. DCGM_EXPORTER_CONFIGMAP_DATA is deprecated.
    • Scraping through the Operator's ServiceMonitor with kube-prometheus-stack, and where to get the Grafana dashboard.
    • Shared GPUs and MIG, with links.
    • A separate DCGM host engine: dcgm.enabled, or DCGM on the host (needs dcgmExporter.hostNetwork). DCGM Exporter 4.9.0 needs DCGM 4.7 or later.
    • Removed: docker run examples, the exporter option table, sample output, and MIG output. These now link to the DCGM Exporter docs.
  • gpu-telemetry/integrating-telemetry-kubernetes.rst: removed. It set up drivers, Docker, the toolkit, and the device plugin by hand. Redirects to the GPU Operator getting-started page.
  • gpu-telemetry/kube-prometheus.rst: removed. It installed kube-prometheus-stack, Grafana, and the exporter's own Helm chart. Redirects to the Prometheus section of the DCGM Exporter page.
  • gpu-telemetry/about-telemetry.rst, index.rst: a short overview, fixed quick links, and the toctree without the removed pages. Unused screenshots and diagrams are removed.
  • repo.toml: redirects for the two removed pages.
  • gpu-operator/release-notes.rst: a commented draft for the next release, in the usual New Features, Improvements, Known Issues, and Removals and Deprecations sections. It gives one rename example and links to the DCGM Exporter release notes for the full list. It says what an Operator user must do: update queries and dashboards, upgrade the dcgm and dcgmExporter images together when a separate host engine is used, and roll back both together. It stays a comment because the version number and date are not known yet.
  • gpu-operator/life-cycle-policy.rst: a reminder to set the DCGM Exporter and DCGM rows for the new release.
  • gpu-operator/getting-started.rst: the dcgmExporter.enabled row links to the full list of DCGM Exporter values.
  • gpu-operator/gpu-sharing.rst: a "GPU Metrics with Time-Slicing" section that sets KUBERNETES_VIRTUAL_GPUS through dcgmExporter.env. It replaces the old limitation.
  • openshift/enable-gpu-monitoring-dashboard.rst: a note about which dashboard file to use and the accelerator_* rules.

Links to the DCGM documentation are plain external links. The repository's DCGM intersphinx inventory (work/dcgm-offline.inv) is from DCGM 3.3 and has no DCGM Exporter labels.

Testing

  • Built all docsets with ./repo docs in the container from docker/Dockerfile, as CI does. The build has no warnings, the same as before the change.
  • Ran linkcheck for gpu-telemetry: all links are OK, including the DCGM Exporter pages on docs.nvidia.com.
  • Checked the generated redirect files.
  • Ran git diff --check.
  • Not run: linkcheck for gpu-operator, because the openshift linkcheck stops on old broken links in pages this change does not touch. The new #dcgm-exporter-helm-values and #dcgm-exporter-custom-metrics anchors on the gpu-telemetry page are not published yet.
  • The Operator commands were not run against a cluster.

Add a commented draft of release notes for the next GPU Operator release, with the metric rename table, upgrade notes, and the OpenShift dashboard note. Add a reminder to update the component table at release time.

Signed-off-by: Nick Curry <ncurry@nvidia.com>
Use the default-counters.csv path, the DCGM 4.7 metric names in sample output, and the new utilization metric in the Prometheus check. Add a custom metrics files section and a note about the Grafana dashboard.

Signed-off-by: Nick Curry <ncurry@nvidia.com>
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Documentation preview

https://nvidia.github.io/cloud-native-docs/review/pr-527

Use the real dcgmExporter.config.name value, add the ConfigMap procedure,
explain that old field names still load but are deprecated, refresh the
container image examples, and link the DCGM Exporter reference pages.

Signed-off-by: Nick Curry <ncurry@nvidia.com>
List the remaining dcgmExporter Helm values, describe how to enable
KUBERNETES_VIRTUAL_GPUS for GPU sharing, and use a current exporter tag in
the air-gapped example.

Signed-off-by: Nick Curry <ncurry@nvidia.com>
Signed-off-by: Nick Curry <ncurry@nvidia.com>
The DCGM Exporter page now covers only the GPU Operator: the resources it
creates, the environment it sets, the dcgmExporter Helm values, custom
metrics files through a ConfigMap, Prometheus scraping through the
ServiceMonitor, shared GPUs and MIG, and a separate DCGM host engine.
Standalone docker run steps, the exporter's own options, the metrics
sample output, and the MIG output examples are replaced by links to the
DCGM Exporter documentation on docs.nvidia.com.

The custom metrics section now says that the Operator mounts the file
with subPath, so pods must be restarted after a ConfigMap change, and
that DCGM_EXPORTER_CONFIGMAP_DATA is deprecated. The host engine section
says that DCGM Exporter 4.9.0 needs DCGM 4.7 or later and that
DCGM on the host needs dcgmExporter.hostNetwork.

The dcgmExporter rows added to the getting-started table move to the
DCGM Exporter page, with a link from the table. The time-slicing metrics
text gets its own section in the GPU sharing page.

Signed-off-by: Nick Curry <ncurry@nvidia.com>
Remove "Integrating GPU Telemetry into Kubernetes", which set up drivers,
Docker, the toolkit, and the device plugin by hand, and "Setting up
Prometheus", which installed kube-prometheus-stack, Grafana, and the
exporter's own Helm chart. The GPU Operator install guide and the DCGM
Exporter documentation cover these tasks.

Redirect integrating-telemetry-kubernetes.html to the GPU Operator
getting-started page, and kube-prometheus.html to the Prometheus
section of the DCGM Exporter page. Remove the screenshots and diagrams
that only these pages used.

Signed-off-by: Nick Curry <ncurry@nvidia.com>
Replace the metric rename table with an example and a link to the DCGM
Exporter release notes. Keep the upgrade notes to what a GPU Operator
user must do: update queries and dashboards, upgrade the dcgm and
dcgmExporter images together when a separate DCGM host engine is used,
because DCGM Exporter 4.9.0 needs DCGM 4.7 or later, check pod logs for
settings that now stop startup, and roll back both components together.

Restore the air-gapped values sample, which shows GPU Operator v1.9.0,
and say in the life-cycle reminder that the DCGM and DCGM Exporter rows
change together.

Signed-off-by: Nick Curry <ncurry@nvidia.com>
…otes

Signed-off-by: Nick Curry <ncurry@nvidia.com>

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