Create a VM instance with GPU

Question

I want to accelerate the data processing activities of a VM instance that would have to deal with complex data processing workloads, hence I want to create a Linux VM instance with GPU. How do I achieve this?

Answer 1

Before you create an instance with a GPU, select which boot disk image you want to use for the instance, and ensure that the appropriate GPU driver is installed.

To create an instance with one or more GPUs using the Google Cloud Platform Console,

1. Go to the VM instances page.

2. Click Create instance.

3. Select a zone where GPUs are available. See the list of available zones with GPUs.

4. In the Machine configuration section, select the machine type that you want to use for this instance. Alternatively, you can specify custom machine type settings if desired.

5. In the Machine configuration section, click CPU platform and GPU to see advanced machine type options and available GPUs.

6. Click GPUs to see the list of available GPUs.

7. Specify the GPU type and the number of GPUs that you need.

8. If necessary, adjust the machine type to accommodate your desired GPU settings. If you leave these settings as they are, the instance uses the predefined machine type that you specified before opening the machine type customization screen.

9. To configure your boot disk, in the Boot disk section, click Change.

10. In the OS images tab, choose an image.

11. Click Select to confirm your boot disk options.

12. Configure any other instance settings that you require. For example, you can change the Preemptibility settings to configure your instance as a preemptible instance. This reduces the cost of your instance and the attached GPUs. 

13. At the bottom of the page, click Create to create the instance.

Install the GPU driver on your instance so that your system can use the device.