How to Choose a Cloud GPU for Your AI/ML Projects

Before cloud GPUs, companies exploring artificial intelligence and machine learning projects—like developing a recommendation system for an e-commerce platform—often had to build and maintain their own high-performance computing infrastructure. The popularization of cloud GPUs have changed this, allowing developers and startups to access vast computational power, without large hardware investments. These virtualized graphics processing units, available through cloud service providers, speed up complex tasks like training deep learning models, rendering 3D graphics, and processing large datasets. GPUs differ from CPUs in their ability to excel at parallel processing, making them the preferred choice for the matrix operations and vector calculations that are fundamental to many AI/ML algorithms.

The market for cloud GPU services has grown in recent years, driven by increasing demand for AI and machine learning capabilities across industries. The GPU as a service market, valued at $3.23 billion in 2023, is projected to surge to $49.84 billion by 2032. Cloud providers, including hyperscalers and alternative providers, have expanded their GPU offerings to meet this demand, offering an array of options for organizations seeking cloud GPUs. To assess the options on the market, read on to learn the key aspects to consider when choosing a cloud GPU service, including performance metrics, scalability, ease of use, and pricing structures.

What is a cloud GPU?

A Cloud GPU is a high-performance graphics processing unit offered as a service by cloud providers, accessible remotely through the internet. It enables developers, startups, and businesses to harness powerful computational resources for AI and machine learning tasks (without the need for substantial upfront hardware investments). Cloud GPUs support rapid prototyping, model training, and inference for a wide range of AI applications, including common deep learning disciplines like computer vision or natural language processing.

By offering on-demand access to scalable GPU resources, cloud providers support organizations in accelerating their AI/ML development cycles, experimenting with larger datasets, and deploying complex models more efficiently. This means less time-to-market for AI-driven products and services—whether you’re building AI productivity tools or AI applications for sales teams.

Cloud GPU vs physical GPU

While cloud GPUs and physical GPUs serve similar computational purposes, they differ in their deployment and usage models. Several major cloud service providers offer cloud GPUs, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and DigitalOcean. These companies use their vast data center infrastructure to provide virtualized GPU resources, often using hardware from manufacturers like NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel. Cloud GPU providers typically offer their services through virtual machine instances or containerized environments, allowing users to access powerful GPU capabilities remotely via APIs or web interfaces.

On the physical GPU front, the market is dominated by NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel, who design and manufacture physical GPU hardware. Large tech companies and research institutions often opt for on-premises GPU solutions for reasons like data security, consistent workloads, or specific performance requirements, while startups, individual developers, and businesses with varying computational needs tend to gravitate towards cloud GPU solutions for their flexibility and lower upfront costs.

Here’s more on how these two technologies differ:

• Physical location. A cloud GPU is a virtualized GPU resource provided by a cloud service provider, located in their data centers. A physical GPU is a physical hardware component installed in a computer or server that you own and have direct access to.

• Access method. Cloud GPUs are accessed remotely over the internet, typically through APIs or virtual machine instances. Physical GPUs are accessed directly through the hardware interface of your local machine.

• Ownership and maintenance. Cloud GPUs are owned and maintained by the cloud provider, who handles upgrades and maintenance. With physical GPUs, you own the hardware and are responsible for its maintenance and upgrades.

• Scalability. Cloud GPUs can be easily scaled up or down based on your needs, often within minutes. Physical GPUs have fixed capacity based on the hardware you’ve purchased.

• Cost model. Cloud GPUs typically follow a pay-as-you-go model, where you’re billed for the time and resources you use. Physical GPUs involve an upfront cost for hardware purchase.

• Availability of different models. Cloud providers often offer a range of GPU types and generations, allowing you to choose the best fit for your workload. With physical GPUs, you’re limited to the specific models you’ve purchased.

• Setup and configuration. Cloud GPUs are typically pre-configured and can be deployed with minimal setup. Physical GPUs require physical installation and driver setup on your local machine.

7 Factors to consider choosing the right cloud GPU for your business

If you’ve ever landed on a cloud provider’s page offering GPU services, you know the information can be overwhelming. Everything looks promising and cutting-edge, but what should you really focus on to make the best choice for your project or business? Here are seven key factors to zero in on as you assess and compare cloud GPU options:

1. GPU models and performance

Different GPU architectures offer varying levels of performance for different types of operations. If your project involves training large language models, you’ll want to look for GPUs with high tensor core counts and substantial memory bandwidth. NVIDIA’s A100 or H100 GPUs are often suitable for these tasks. On the other hand, if you’re primarily running inference on computer vision models, you might find that GPUs with lower specs but higher availability, like NVIDIA T4s, offer a better price-to-performance ratio for your needs.

Pay close attention to memory capacity, as it directly impacts the size of models you can work with. For example, if you’re fine-tuning a BERT model for natural language processing, you’ll need at least 16GB of GPU memory, while training a GPT-3 scale model could require hundreds of gigabytes spread across multiple GPUs. Also, consider the GPU’s generation—newer generations often provide significant performance improvements and introduce features that can accelerate specific AI tasks. Don’t just look at raw specifications; seek out benchmarks relevant to your specific use case.

2. Cost and pricing structure

Cloud GPU pricing models can impact your project’s budget and overall feasibility. Most providers offer on-demand pricing, where you pay for GPU usage by the second or hour. This model works well for sporadic workloads or when you’re experimenting with different configurations. However, if you have consistent, long-running tasks, such as training a deep learning model over several weeks, you should consider reserved instances or committed use discounts.

Pay attention to hidden costs that can accumulate quickly. Data transfer fees, especially egress costs, can be substantial if you’re moving large datasets in and out of the cloud. Some providers offer free ingress but charge for egress, which can impact your costs if you’re frequently downloading results or moving data between regions.

Storage costs for large datasets and model checkpoints can also add up, impacting your overall budget. Consider providers that offer tiered storage options, allowing you to balance performance and cost. For instance, you might store frequently accessed training data on high-performance SSDs while keeping archived datasets on more economical object storage. Be vigilant about potential hidden fees that are common among cloud providers. Dynamic IP address access, often necessary for certain AI workloads, may incur additional charges. GPU selection can also lead to unexpected costs; while a provider might advertise attractive rates for their basic GPU offerings, premium models can come with a price jump. Additionally, integrations with specialized AI services or data transfer between different cloud regions can introduce extra fees.

Additionally, factor in the cost of associated services you might need, such as managed Kubernetes clusters for orchestrating multi-GPU workloads or specialized AI platforms that simplify workflow management but come with their own pricing structures. Always run a comprehensive cost analysis to understand your cloud ROI before committing to a provider. To avoid surprises, thoroughly review the pricing structure for all components of your AI pipeline, including compute, storage, networking, and any auxiliary services you might need.

3. Scalability and flexibility

Scalability in cloud GPU offerings determines how effectively you can adapt to changing computational demands. Look for providers that allow you to easily scale up from single GPUs to multi-GPU configurations or even multi-node clusters. For instance, this flexibility might come in handy when you start with a small computer vision project that later expands to process real-time video streams from multiple sources, requiring more processing power. Similarly, in the realm of natural language processing, you might begin by fine-tuning a pre-trained language model for a specific task, but later decide to scale up to a larger custom model. This progression could necessitate a shift from using a single GPU to a distributed setup with multiple GPUs or even multiple nodes, each equipped with top-tier GPUs like NVIDIA A100s, to handle the increased computational demands of training a larger language model with more parameters.

Providers offering auto-scaling capabilities can automatically adjust your GPU resources based on predefined metrics, helping to ensure you’re not overpaying for idle resources during low-demand periods.

Flexibility extends beyond just adding more GPUs. Consider providers that offer a range of GPU types within the same infrastructure. This allows you to match specific tasks to the most cost-effective GPU. For example, you might use high-end GPUs like NVIDIA A100s for training a complex reinforcement learning model, then switch to more economical options like T4s for inference once the model is deployed. Also, evaluate the ease of integrating GPUs with other cloud services you might need, like s high-performance cloud storage options for large datasets

4. Geographic availability

Geographic availability of cloud GPU resources directly impacts latency and data residency compliance. If your AI application requires real-time processing, such as a live video analysis system for security monitoring, you’ll want to choose a provider with GPU-enabled data centers close to your end-users or data sources. Latency differences of even 50-100 milliseconds can affect user experience in real-time applications. Check the provider’s network performance between regions if you need to distribute workloads or move large datasets across geographic areas.

Data residency requirements are increasingly critical, especially when dealing with sensitive information in sectors like healthcare or finance. For instance, if you’re developing an AI-driven diagnostic tool using European patient data, you’ll need to ensure your cloud GPU resources are located within EU borders to comply with GDPR. Additionally, consider the provider’s roadmap for expanding GPU availability to new regions. If you’re planning to scale your AI services globally, you’ll want a provider whose growth plans align with your expansion strategy.

5. Integration with AI/ML frameworks

When evaluating cloud GPU providers, assess their support for popular AI and ML frameworks. Most providers offer pre-configured environments with frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, and JAX, but the level of optimization can vary. For instance, if you’re working on natural language processing tasks using BERT or Transformers, look for providers that offer optimized containers for these specific workloads. These optimizations can reduce training time and improve model performance.

Also consider the provider’s commitment to keeping these frameworks up-to-date. AI/ML libraries evolve rapidly, and using the latest versions can offer performance improvements or new features. Also, evaluate the provider’s support for specialized libraries like NVIDIA’s CUDA and cuDNN, which are invaluable for GPU acceleration. Some providers offer their own AI platforms or SDKs that can simplify development and deployment. While these can be powerful, assess whether they might lock you into a specific ecosystem, potentially complicating future cloud migrations or multi-cloud strategies. Lastly, check if the provider supports Jupyter notebooks or similar interactive development environments, as these can boost your team’s productivity when it comes to experimentation and prototyping.

6. Security and compliance

When dealing with GPU resources in the cloud, security considerations extend beyond standard cloud security practices. Assess the provider’s GPU isolation mechanisms to ensure that your workloads are protected from potential side-channel attacks, which can be particularly concerning when running on shared hardware. For instance, if you’re developing a proprietary AI model for financial forecasting, you’ll want assurances that other tenants on the same physical GPU cannot access your computational processes or data.

If you’re working on healthcare AI applications, ensure the provider supports HIPAA workloads for their GPU instances. For financial services, look for SOC 2 and PCI DSS compliant offerings. Beyond certifications, evaluate the provider’s encryption capabilities for data at rest and in transit, particularly important when transferring large datasets to and from GPU instances. Consider providers that offer dedicated GPU instances if your compliance requirements demand complete hardware isolation. Additionally, assess the granularity of access controls the provider offers. For instance, do they offer role-based access control (RBAC)? You should be able to define precise permissions for who can spin up GPU instances, access specific datasets, or modify model parameters.

7. User interface and ease of use

The user interface and overall ease of use will impact your team’s productivity when working with cloud GPUs. Look for providers that offer intuitive console interfaces for managing GPU instances, allowing you to quickly spin up, monitor, and shut down resources as needed. A well-designed dashboard should provide clear visibility into GPU utilization, memory usage, and billing information. This is particularly important for resource-intensive tasks like training large neural networks, where inefficient resource allocation can lead to significant cost overruns.

Also evaluate the provider’s CLI tools and API documentation. Robust APIs allow you to automate GPU provisioning and integrate cloud resources into your existing CI/CD pipelines. For example, you might want to automatically scale up GPU resources when pushing new model versions for training, then scale down once complete.Lastly, check the quality of documentation and community support. Comprehensive guides, example notebooks, and active forums can be invaluable when troubleshooting issues or optimizing your GPU usage for specific AI/ML tasks.

Build with AI on DigitalOcean

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• Reliably run training and inference on AI/ML models

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