Matching versions of cuDNN for a specific CUDA Toolkit

To determine the matching versions of cuDNN (CUDA Deep Neural Network library) for a specific CUDA Toolkit, you can refer to the compatibility matrix provided by NVIDIA. This matrix is essential because using compatible versions ensures that you avoid performance issues and runtime errors. Below I’ll provide a general guide for matching some common CUDA Toolkit versions with their compatible cuDNN versions based on typical compatibility patterns.

Common CUDA Toolkit and Compatible cuDNN Versions

Here’s a simplified compatibility guide for some commonly used CUDA Toolkit versions:

• CUDA 11.0
  • cuDNN 8.0.2 or newer
• CUDA 11.1
  • cuDNN 8.0.5 or newer
• CUDA 11.2
  • cuDNN 8.1.0 or newer
• CUDA 11.3
  • cuDNN 8.2.0 or newer
• CUDA 11.4
  • cuDNN 8.2.2 or newer
• CUDA 11.5
  • cuDNN 8.3.0 or newer
• CUDA 11.6
  • cuDNN 8.3.3 or newer
• CUDA 11.7
  • cuDNN 8.4.0 or newer
• CUDA 11.8
  • cuDNN 8.5.0 or newer
• CUDA 12.0
  • cuDNN 8.5.0 or newer
• CUDA 12.1
  • cuDNN 8.7.0 or newer
• CUDA 12.2
  • cuDNN 8.7.0 or newer

How to Check Compatibility

For the most accurate and up-to-date information, you should check the following:

1. NVIDIA Documentation: NVIDIA maintains thorough documentation online, including detailed compatibility tables for CUDA and cuDNN versions.
2. NVIDIA Developer Forums: Useful for real-world compatibility feedback from other developers and official NVIDIA responses.

Steps to Verify Compatibility

When planning to install or upgrade CUDA or cuDNN, it’s advisable to:

1. Visit the NVIDIA cuDNN Page: Go to the NVIDIA cuDNN page where they provide download options. You will typically find release notes and installation guides that include compatibility tables.
2. Check System Requirements: Ensure that your system’s GPU and driver are also compatible with the versions of CUDA and cuDNN you intend to use.

Installation Tips

When installing CUDA and cuDNN:

• CUDA Installation: Typically involves running a local installer or using a package manager. Ensure that the CUDA Toolkit is correctly installed and that environment variables (PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH) are set.
• cuDNN Installation: Involves downloading the appropriate library files from NVIDIA and placing them in the correct directories relative to your CUDA Toolkit installation. Update necessary environment variables if needed.

Using the correct version combination of CUDA and cuDNN is crucial for the efficient and error-free operation of GPU-accelerated applications, especially those related to deep learning and neural networks.