Ubuntu Server/Desktop 22.04 / 24.04 / 26.04 Pre-Configuration Guide for High-Load VMS

This guide describes the recommended initial configuration of Ubuntu systems for stable operation of a high-load video surveillance platform based on Cluebase VMS running in Docker containers.
The recommendations apply to:
Ubuntu Server/Desktop 22.04 LTS
Ubuntu Server/Desktop 24.04 LTS
Ubuntu Server/Desktop 26.04 LTS
The system is expected to operate under:
High network throughput
Intensive disk I/O
Large numbers of simultaneous video streams
NVIDIA GPU acceleration
Continuous 24/7 workloads
1. Fully Update the System
Update package indexes and install all available updates.
sudo apt update && sudo apt dist-upgrade -y && sudo apt autoremove -y && sudo apt autoclean && sudo snap refresh
Reboot after updates:
sudo reboot
2. Disable Automatic System Updates
Automatic updates may restart services unexpectedly and affect VMS stability.
Disable unattended upgrades:
sudo systemctl stop unattended-upgrades && sudo systemctl disable unattended-upgrades
Disable periodic APT updates:
sudo nano /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20auto-upgrades
Set:
APT::Periodic::Update-Package-Lists "0";
APT::Periodic::Unattended-Upgrade "0";
Save the file.
3. Install Additional System Packages
Install useful administration and monitoring utilities:
sudo apt install -y \
mc \
htop \
curl \
unzip \
apt-transport-https \
ca-certificates \
gnupg \
lsb-release \
gnupg2 \
iotop \
net-tools \
iftop \
nvme-cli \
smartmontools \
jq
Package purpose:
Package
Purpose
mc
File manager
htop
Process monitoring
iotop
Disk I/O monitoring
iftop
Network traffic monitoring
smartmontools
Disk health monitoring
nvme-cli
NVMe SSD management
4. Check Secure Boot Status
Secure Boot must be disabled in BIOS/UEFI before installing proprietary NVIDIA drivers.
Check status:
mokutil --sb-state
Possible output:
SecureBoot enabled
or
SecureBoot disabled
If Secure Boot is enabled:
Reboot the server
Enter BIOS/UEFI
Disable:
Secure Boot
Fast Boot (recommended)
Save settings and reboot
5. Install NVIDIA Driver and NVIDIA Container Toolkit
Install NVIDIA drivers only if the server has an NVIDIA GPU.
Recommended driver installation:
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall
Reboot:
sudo reboot
Verify driver installation:
nvidia-smi
Expected result:
GPU model displayed
Driver version visible
No errors
Install NVIDIA Container Toolkit only after installing Cluebase VMS or Docker
Official documentation:
NVIDIA Container Toolkit Install Guide
Configure the production repository:
curl -fsSL https://nvidia.github.io/libnvidia-container/gpgkey | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/nvidia-container-toolkit-keyring.gpg \
  && curl -s -L https://nvidia.github.io/libnvidia-container/stable/deb/nvidia-container-toolkit.list | \
    sed 's#deb https://#deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nvidia-container-toolkit-keyring.gpg] https://#g' | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nvidia-container-toolkit.list
Update the packages list from the repository:
sudo apt update
Install the NVIDIA Container Toolkit packages:
export NVIDIA_CONTAINER_TOOLKIT_VERSION=1.19.0-1
  sudo apt-get install -y \
      nvidia-container-toolkit=${NVIDIA_CONTAINER_TOOLKIT_VERSION} \
      nvidia-container-toolkit-base=${NVIDIA_CONTAINER_TOOLKIT_VERSION} \
      libnvidia-container-tools=${NVIDIA_CONTAINER_TOOLKIT_VERSION} \
      libnvidia-container1=${NVIDIA_CONTAINER_TOOLKIT_VERSION}
Configure runtime:
sudo nvidia-ctk runtime configure --runtime=docker
Restart Docker:
sudo systemctl restart docker
6. Enable TCP BBR Congestion Control
BBR improves network throughput and reduces latency under heavy traffic.
Open sysctl configuration:
sudo nano /etc/sysctl.conf
Add:
net.core.default_qdisc=fq
net.ipv4.tcp_congestion_control=bbr
Apply settings:
sudo sysctl -p
Verify:
sysctl net.ipv4.tcp_congestion_control
Expected output:
net.ipv4.tcp_congestion_control = bbr
7. Configure Static IP Address
Ubuntu 22.04/24.04/24.06 uses Netplan.
Find interface name:
ip a
Example interface:
ens18
Edit Netplan configuration:
sudo nano /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml
Example configuration:
network:
  version: 2
  renderer: networkd
  ethernets:
    ens18:
      dhcp4: false
      addresses:
        - 192.168.1.100/24
      routes:
        - to: default
          via: 192.168.1.1
      nameservers:
        addresses:
          - 1.1.1.1
          - 8.8.8.8
Apply configuration:
sudo netplan apply
Verify:
ip a
ip route
8. Configure Additional fs.aio-max-nr Parameter
Increase asynchronous I/O limits for high-load applications.
Edit sysctl configuration:
sudo nano /etc/sysctl.d/99-aio.conf
Add:
fs.aio-max-nr = 1048576
Apply:
sudo sysctl --system
Verify:
sysctl fs.aio-max-nr
Additional Recommended Optimizations for High-Load Cluebase VMS Systems
Increase File Descriptor Limits
Large video systems require high open-file limits.
Edit:
sudo nano /etc/security/limits.conf
Add:
* soft nofile 1048576
* hard nofile 1048576
root soft nofile 1048576
root hard nofile 1048576
Also configure systemd:
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system.conf
Add or modify:
DefaultLimitNOFILE=1048576
Edit:
sudo nano /etc/systemd/user.conf
Add:
DefaultLimitNOFILE=1048576
Reload:
sudo systemctl daemon-reexec
Increase Network Buffers
Edit:
sudo nano /etc/sysctl.conf
Add:
net.core.rmem_max = 67108864
net.core.wmem_max = 67108864
net.core.rmem_default = 262144
net.core.wmem_default = 262144
net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = 4096 87380 67108864
net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 4096 65536 67108864
net.core.netdev_max_backlog = 250000
Apply:
sudo sysctl -p
Set Performance CPU Governor
Recommended for dedicated VMS servers.
Install tools:
sudo apt install -y linux-tools-common linux-tools-generic
Set performance mode:
sudo cpupower frequency-set -g performance
Verify:
cpupower frequency-info
Enable TRIM for SSD/NVMe
sudo systemctl enable fstrim.timer
sudo systemctl start fstrim.timer
Verify:
systemctl status fstrim.timer
Recommended BIOS Settings
For stable 24/7 operation:
Disable:
Secure Boot
Fast Boot
CPU C-States (optional for latency-sensitive systems)
ASPM power saving (optional)
Enable:
Above 4G Decoding (for large GPUs)
Resizable BAR (if supported)
Performance power profile
Monitoring Recommendations
Useful commands:
CPU:
htop
Disk I/O:
iotop
GPU:
watch -n 1 nvidia-smi
Network:
iftop
Disk health:
sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda
Final Recommendations
For production Cluebase VMS servers:
Use Ubuntu Server instead of Desktop whenever possible
Use enterprise-grade SSD/NVMe drives
Use RAID with battery-backed cache for archive storage
Use dedicated NICs for camera traffic
Prefer 10G networking for large installations
Keep OS and archive storage separated
Avoid installing unnecessary GUI applications and services
Reboot only during maintenance windows
Use UPS power protection
Monitor disk temperatures and SMART status regularly