Enable GPU passthrough for Orka VMs on Intel nodes

MacStadium

Orka

MacStadium VDI

IaaS

GPU passthrough configuration applies only to Intel-based VMs. GPU passthrough is always enabled on Apple silicon VMs and cannot be disabled. For more information, see Feature Parity: Apple Hardware and Compatibility: Performance Improving Features.Orka 3.6 is the last release to support Intel. Because GPU passthrough is an Intel-only feature, it will not carry forward to future Orka releases. If you still run Intel workloads, we recommend migrating to Apple silicon and completing the transition by December 2027. See the compatibility matrix for details.

When GPU passthrough is enabled for a cluster, VMs with GPU passthrough enabled can access and use the host GPU for their workloads. GPU passthrough must be enabled on the Intel-based nodes in your cluster before you can use it on VMs. Contact the MacStadium team to request that GPU passthrough is enabled on your nodes.

Defaults

GPU passthrough is disabled at the VM level for all Intel-based VMs, even when it is enabled in the cluster. You must explicitly enable it at deploy time or in a VM config template.

Limitations

You can deploy only one VM with GPU passthrough per Intel-based node at a time.
GPU passthrough and VNC cannot work together on Intel-based VMs. Enabling GPU passthrough automatically disables the VNC console. Always pass --disable-vnc alongside --gpu. Make sure you can still access the VM via SSH or Apple Screen Sharing before enabling GPU passthrough.
GPU passthrough is always enabled for Apple silicon-based nodes and VMs and cannot be disabled.

Enable GPU passthrough in a VM config template

Create a reusable template with GPU passthrough enabled:

orka3 vm-config create gpu-config --image <IMAGE> --gpu --disable-vnc

Deploy a VM with GPU passthrough

To deploy a VM with GPU passthrough enabled, pass --gpu and --disable-vnc:

orka3 vm deploy --config gpu-config --gpu --disable-vnc

You can also override a template’s GPU setting at deploy time:

# Enable
orka3 vm deploy --config <CONFIG> --gpu --disable-vnc

# Disable
orka3 vm deploy --config <CONFIG> --gpu=false

​Defaults

​Limitations

​Enable GPU passthrough in a VM config template

​Deploy a VM with GPU passthrough

Defaults

Limitations

Enable GPU passthrough in a VM config template

Deploy a VM with GPU passthrough