In my lab, we have a compute server (two of them, but identical in config) running Fedora 19, built on the Supermicro H8QGI-F and 4 x AMD Opteron 6272s. It has an nVidia GT 610 discrete graphic card, and an integrated Matrox G200eW adapter. The motherboard has IPMI and remote console, which is essential for remote working. The monitor is connected to the discrete graphics, which is currently the primary graphics adapter.
The following list shows what is shown where at what time:
╔═══════════════════════════╦══════════════════════╦══════════════════════╗ ║ Stage ║ nVidia GT 610 ║ Matrox G200eW ║ ╠═══════════════════════════╬══════════════════════╬══════════════════════╣ ║ Initial stages of booting ║ expected POST output ║ nothing ║ ║ Fedora logo animation ║ blinking cursor ║ fedora animated logo ║ ║ After that ║ everything else ║ fedora logo ║ ╚═══════════════════════════╩══════════════════════╩══════════════════════╝
What I want to have ultimately is to make the matrox the primary graphics adapter and have the monitor connected to it, so that boot time display(like POST) can be seen remotely. Combined with remote power control through IPMI, it gives complete remote control. Once fedora boots, it should be able to initialize the GT 610 as a render-only graphics card, and mirror all content into the matrox, so that again, the screen can be accessed remotely. In table form:
╔═══════════════════════════╦══════════════════════╦══════════════════════╗ ║ Stage ║ nVidia GT 610 ║ Matrox G200eW ║ ╠═══════════════════════════╬══════════════════════╬══════════════════════╣ ║ Initial stages of booting ║ don't care ║ expected POST output ║ ║ Fedora logo animation ║ don't care ║ fedora animated logo ║ ║ After that ║ everything ║ everything ║ ╚═══════════════════════════╩══════════════════════╩══════════════════════╝
Running lspci shows the presence of both graphics adapters. The bandwidth requirements for transmitting images at 60 fps is laughable, from what I understand of PCIe bandwidth.
How should I go about it? The nVidia proprietary drivers are installed using akmod. At the very least it would require some custom drivers I assume.
Best Answer
The onboard Matrox® G200 graphics controller with 16 MB DDR2 memory should be disabled as much as possible if anything else better is available on the system. Use BIOS and MB jumper settings to prefer the add in card.