Thursday, January 23, 2025

Optimizing AI Workloads with NVIDA GPUs, Time Slicing, and Karpenter (Half 2)

Introduction: Overcoming GPU Administration Challenges  

In Half 1 of this weblog sequence, we explored the challenges of internet hosting massive language fashions (LLMs) on CPU-based workloads inside an EKS cluster. We mentioned the inefficiencies related to utilizing CPUs for such duties, primarily as a result of massive mannequin sizes and slower inference speeds. The introduction of GPU assets provided a major efficiency enhance, but it surely additionally introduced in regards to the want for environment friendly administration of those high-cost assets. 

On this second half, we are going to delve deeper into methods to optimize GPU utilization for these workloads. We are going to cowl the next key areas: 

  • NVIDIA System Plugin Setup: This part will clarify the significance of the NVIDIA system plugin for Kubernetes, detailing its position in useful resource discovery, allocation, and isolation. 
  • Time Slicing: We’ll focus on how time slicing permits a number of processes to share GPU assets successfully, making certain most utilization. 
  • Node Autoscaling with Karpenter: This part will describe how Karpenter dynamically manages node scaling based mostly on real-time demand, optimizing useful resource utilization and decreasing prices. 

Challenges Addressed 

  1. Environment friendly GPU Administration: Making certain GPUs are totally utilized to justify their excessive value. 
  2. Concurrency Dealing with: Permitting a number of workloads to share GPU assets successfully. 
  3. Dynamic Scaling: Robotically adjusting the variety of nodes based mostly on workload calls for. 

 Part 1: Introduction to NVIDIA System Plugin 

 The NVIDIA system plugin for Kubernetes is a part that simplifies the administration and utilization of NVIDIA GPUs in Kubernetes clusters. It permits Kubernetes to acknowledge and allocate GPU assets to pods, enabling GPU-accelerated workloads. 

Why We Want the NVIDIA System Plugin 

  • Useful resource Discovery: Robotically detects NVIDIA GPU assets on every node.
  • Useful resource Allocation: Manages the distribution of GPU assets to pods based mostly on their requests.
  • Isolation: Ensures safe and environment friendly utilization of GPU assets amongst totally different pods. 

 The NVIDIA system plugin simplifies GPU administration in Kubernetes clusters. It automates the set up of the NVIDIA driver, container toolkit, and CUDA, making certain that GPU assets can be found for workloads with out requiring guide setup. 

  • NVIDIA Driver: Required for nvidia-smi and fundamental GPU operations. Interfacing with the GPU {hardware}. The screenshot beneath shows the output of the nvidia-smi command, which exhibits key info corresponding to the driving force model, CUDA model, and detailed GPU configuration, confirming that the GPU is correctly configured and prepared to be used 

 

  • NVIDIA Container Toolkit: Required for utilizing GPUs with containerd. Beneath we will see the model of the container toolkit model and the standing of the service operating on the occasion 
#Put in Model 
 rpm -qa | grep -i nvidia-container-toolkit 
 nvidia-container-toolkit-base-1.15.0-1.x86_64 
 nvidia-container-toolkit-1.15.0-1.x86_64 
  • CUDA: Required for GPU-accelerated purposes and libraries. Beneath is the output of the nvcc command, exhibiting the model of CUDA put in on the system:
/usr/native/cuda/bin/nvcc --model 
 nvcc: NVIDIA (R) Cuda compiler driver 
 Copyright (c) 2005-2023 NVIDIA Company 
 Constructed on Tue_Aug_15_22:02:13_PDT_2023 
 Cuda compilation instruments, launch 12.2, V12.2.140 
 Construct cuda_12.2.r12.2/compiler.33191640_0 

Setting Up the NVIDIA System Plugin 

To make sure the DaemonSet runs completely on GPU-based situations, we label the node with the important thing “nvidia.com/gpu” and the worth “true”. That is achieved utilizing Node affinity, Node selector and Taints and Tolerations.

Allow us to now delve into every of those parts intimately. 

  • Node Affinity:  Node affinity permits to schedule pod on the nodes based mostly on the node labels requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution: The scheduler can not schedule the Pod until the rule is met, and the hot button is “nvidia.com/gpu” and operator is “in,” and the values is “true.” 
affinity: 
     nodeAffinity: 
         requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution: 
             nodeSelectorTerms: 
                 - matchExpressions: 
                     - key: characteristic.node.kubernetes.io/pci-10de.current 
                       operator: In 
                       values: 
                         - "true" 
                 - matchExpressions: 
                     - key: characteristic.node.kubernetes.io/cpu-mannequin.vendor_id 
                       operator: In 
                       values: 
                       - NVIDIA 
                 - matchExpressions: 
                     - key: nvidia.com/gpu 
                       operator: In 
                       values: 
                     - "true" 
  • Node selector:   Node selector is the best suggestion kind for node choice constraints nvidia.com/gpu: “true” 
  • Taints and Tolerations: Tolerations are added to the Daemon Set to make sure it may be scheduled on the contaminated GPU nodes(nvidia.com/gpu=true:Noschedule).
kubectl taint node ip-10-20-23-199.us-west-1.compute.inside nvidia.com/gpu=true:Noschedule 
 kubectl describe node ip-10-20-23-199.us-west-1.compute.inside | grep -i taint 
 Taints: nvidia.com/gpu=true:NoSchedule 
 
 tolerations: 
   - impact: NoSchedule 
     key: nvidia.com/gpu 
     operator: Exists 

After implementing the node labeling, affinity, node selector, and taints/tolerations, we will make sure the Daemon Set runs completely on GPU-based situations. We will confirm the deployment of the NVIDIA system plugin utilizing the next command: 

kubectl get ds -n kube-system 
 NAME                                      DESIRED   CURRENT   READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE  NODE SELECTOR                                     AGE 
 
 nvidia-system-plugin                      1         1         1       1            1          nvidia.com/gpu=true                               75d 
 nvidia-system-plugin-mps-management-daemon   0         0         0       0            0          nvidia.com/gpu=true,nvidia.com/mps.succesful=true   75d 

However the problem right here is GPUs are so costly and wish to verify the utmost utilization of GPU’s and allow us to discover extra on GPU Concurrency. 

GPU Concurrency:   

Refers back to the potential to execute a number of duties or threads concurrently on a GPU 

  • Single Course of: In a single course of setup, just one utility or container makes use of the GPU at a time. This method is easy however could result in underutilization of the GPU assets if the appliance doesn’t totally load the GPU. 
  • Multi-Course of Service (MPS): NVIDIA’s Multi-Course of Service (MPS) permits a number of CUDA purposes to share a single GPU concurrently, bettering GPU utilization and decreasing the overhead of context switching. 
  • Time slicing:  Time slicing includes dividing the GPU time between totally different processes in different phrases a number of course of takes activates GPU’s (Spherical Robin context Switching) 
  • Multi Occasion GPU(MIG): MIG is a characteristic out there on NVIDIA A100 GPUs that permits a single GPU to be partitioned into a number of smaller, remoted situations, every behaving like a separate GPU. 
  • Virtualization: GPU virtualization permits a single bodily GPU to be shared amongst a number of digital machines (VMs) or containers, offering every with a digital GPU. 

 Part 2: Implementing Time Slicing for GPUs 

Time-slicing within the context of NVIDIA GPUs and Kubernetes refers to sharing a bodily GPU amongst a number of containers or pods in a Kubernetes cluster. The expertise includes partitioning the GPU’s processing time into smaller intervals and allocating these intervals to totally different containers or pods. 

  • Time Slice Allocation: The GPU scheduler allocates time slices to every vGPU configured on the bodily GPU. 
  • Preemption and Context Switching: On the finish of a vGPU’s time slice, the GPU scheduler preempts its execution, saves its context, and switches to the subsequent vGPU’s context. 
  • Context Switching: The GPU scheduler ensures clean context switching between vGPUs, minimizing overhead, and making certain environment friendly use of GPU assets. 
  • Activity Completion: Processes inside containers full their GPU-accelerated duties inside their allotted time slices. 
  • Useful resource Administration and Monitoring
  • Useful resource Launch: As duties full, GPU assets are launched again to Kubernetes for reallocation to different pods or containers 

Why We Want Time Slicing 

  • Value Effectivity: Ensures high-cost GPUs should not underutilized. 
  • Concurrency: Permits a number of purposes to make use of the GPU concurrently. 

 Configuration Instance for Time Slicing  

Allow us to apply the time slicing config utilizing config map as proven beneath. Right here replicas: 3 specifies the variety of replicas for GPU assets that signifies that GPU useful resource might be sliced into 3 sharing situations 

apiVersion: v1 
 sort: ConfigMap 
 metadata: 
   title: nvidia-system-plugin 
   namespace: kube-system 
 information: 
   any: |- 
     model: v1 
     flags: 
       migStrategy: none 
     sharing: 
       timeSlicing: 
         assets: 
         - title: nvidia.com/gpu 
           replicas: 3 
 #We will confirm the GPU assets out there in your nodes utilizing the next command:     
 kubectl get nodes -o json | jq -r '.gadgets[] | choose(.standing.capability."nvidia.com/gpu" != null) 
 | {title: .metadata.title, capability: .standing.capability}' 
 
   "title": "ip-10-20-23-199.us-west-1.compute.inside", 
   "capability": { 
     "cpu": "4", 
     "ephemeral-storage": "104845292Ki", 
     "hugepages-1Gi": "0", 
     "hugepages-2Mi": "0", 
     "reminiscence": "16069060Ki", 
     "nvidia.com/gpu": "3", 
     "pods": "110" 
   } 
 
 #The above output exhibits that the node ip-10-20-23-199.us-west-1. compute.inside has 3 digital GPUs out there. 
 #We will request GPU assets of their pod specs by setting useful resource limits 
 assets: 
       limits: 
         cpu: "1" 
         reminiscence: 2G 
         nvidia.com/gpu: "1" 
       requests: 
         cpu: "1" 
         reminiscence: 2G 
         nvidia.com/gpu: "1" 

In our case we will have the ability to host 3 pods in a single node ip-10-20-23-199.us-west-1. compute. Inside and due to time slicing these 3 pods can use 3 digital GPU’s as beneath 

GPUs have been shared just about among the many pods, and we will see the PIDS assigned for every of the processes beneath. 

Now we optimized GPU on the pod stage, allow us to now give attention to optimizing GPU assets on the node stage. We will obtain this by utilizing a cluster autoscaling resolution known as Karpenter. That is notably vital as the educational labs could not at all times have a relentless load or person exercise, and GPUs are extraordinarily costly. By leveraging Karpenter, we will dynamically scale GPU nodes up or down based mostly on demand, making certain cost-efficiency and optimum useful resource utilization. 

Part 3: Node Autoscaling with Karpenter 

Karpenter is an open-source node lifecycle administration for Kubernetes. It automates provisioning and deprovisioning of nodes based mostly on the scheduling wants of pods, permitting environment friendly scaling and price optimization 

  • Dynamic Node Provisioning: Robotically scales nodes based mostly on demand. 
  • Optimizes Useful resource Utilization: Matches node capability with workload wants. 
  • Reduces Operational Prices: Minimizes pointless useful resource bills. 
  • Improves Cluster Effectivity: Enhances total efficiency and responsiveness. 

Why Use Karpenter for Dynamic Scaling 

  • Dynamic Scaling: Robotically adjusts node rely based mostly on workload calls for. 
  • Value Optimization: Ensures assets are solely provisioned when wanted, decreasing bills. 
  • Environment friendly Useful resource Administration: Tracks pods unable to be scheduled because of lack of assets, critiques their necessities, provisions nodes to accommodate them, schedules the pods, and decommissions nodes when redundant. 

Putting in Karpenter: 

 #Set up Karpenter utilizing HELM:
 helm improve --set up karpenter oci://public.ecr.aws/karpenter/karpenter --model "${KARPENTER_VERSION}" 
 --namespace "${KARPENTER_NAMESPACE}" --create-namespace   --set "settings.clusterName=${CLUSTER_NAME}"    
 --set "settings.interruptionQueue=${CLUSTER_NAME}"    --set controller.assets.requests.cpu=1    
 --set controller.assets.requests.reminiscence=1Gi    --set controller.assets.limits.cpu=1    
 --set controller.assets.limits.reminiscence=1Gi 
 
 #Confirm Karpenter Set up: 
 kubectl get pod -n kube-system | grep -i karpenter 
 karpenter-7df6c54cc-rsv8s             1/1     Working   2 (10d in the past)   53d 
 karpenter-7df6c54cc-zrl9n             1/1     Working   0             53d 

 Configuring Karpenter with NodePools and NodeClasses:  

Karpenter might be configured with NodePools and NodeClasses to automate the provisioning and scaling of nodes based mostly on the particular wants of your workloads 

  • Karpenter NodePool: Nodepool is a customized useful resource that defines a set of nodes with shared specs and constraints in a Kubernetes cluster. Karpenter makes use of NodePools to dynamically handle and scale node assets based mostly on the necessities of operating workloads 
apiVersion: karpenter.sh/v1beta1 
 sort: NodePool 
 metadata: 
   title: g4-nodepool 
 spec: 
   template: 
     metadata: 
       labels: 
         nvidia.com/gpu: "true" 
     spec: 
       taints: 
         - impact: NoSchedule 
           key: nvidia.com/gpu 
           worth: "true" 
       necessities: 
         - key: kubernetes.io/arch 
           operator: In 
           values: ["amd64"] 
         - key: kubernetes.io/os 
           operator: In 
           values: ["linux"] 
         - key: karpenter.sh/capability-kind 
           operator: In 
           values: ["on-demand"] 
         - key: node.kubernetes.io/occasion-kind 
           operator: In 
           values: ["g4dn.xlarge" ] 
       nodeClassRef: 
         apiVersion: karpenter.k8s.aws/v1beta1 
         sort: EC2NodeClass 
         title: g4-nodeclass 
   limits: 
     cpu: 1000 
   disruption: 
     expireAfter: 120m 
     consolidationPolicy: WhenUnderutilized 
  • NodeClasses are configurations that outline the traits and parameters for the nodes that Karpenter can provision in a Kubernetes cluster. A NodeClass specifies the underlying infrastructure particulars for nodes, corresponding to occasion varieties, launch template configurations and particular cloud supplier settings. 

Notice: The userData part comprises scripts to bootstrap the EC2 occasion, together with pulling a TensorFlow GPU Docker picture and configuring the occasion to hitch the Kubernetes cluster. 

apiVersion: karpenter.k8s.aws/v1beta1 
 sort: EC2NodeClass 
 metadata: 
   title: g4-nodeclass 
 spec: 
   amiFamily: AL2 
   launchTemplate: 
     title: "ack_nodegroup_template_new" 
     model: "7"  
   position: "KarpenterNodeRole" 
   subnetSelectorTerms: 
     - tags: 
         karpenter.sh/discovery: "nextgen-learninglab" 
   securityGroupSelectorTerms: 
     - tags: 
         karpenter.sh/discovery: "nextgen-learninglab"     
   blockDeviceMappings: 
     - deviceName: /dev/xvda 
       ebs: 
         volumeSize: 100Gi 
         volumeType: gp3 
         iops: 10000 
         encrypted: true 
         deleteOnTermination: true 
         throughput: 125 
   tags: 
     Title: Learninglab-Staging-Auto-GPU-Node 
   userData: | 
         MIME-Model: 1.0 
         Content material-Kind: multipart/blended; boundary="//" 
         --// 
         Content material-Kind: textual content/x-shellscript; charset="us-ascii" 
         set -ex 
         sudo ctr -n=k8s.io picture pull docker.io/tensorflow/tensorflow:2.12.0-gpu 
         --// 
         Content material-Kind: textual content/x-shellscript; charset="us-ascii" 
         B64_CLUSTER_CA=" " 
         API_SERVER_URL="" 
         /and so on/eks/bootstrap.sh nextgen-learninglab-eks --kubelet-further-args '--node-labels=eks.amazonaws.com/capacityType=ON_DEMAND 
 --pod-max-pids=32768 --max-pods=110' -- b64-cluster-ca $B64_CLUSTER_CA --apiserver-endpoint $API_SERVER_URL --use-max-pods false 
          --// 
         Content material-Kind: textual content/x-shellscript; charset="us-ascii" 
         KUBELET_CONFIG=/and so on/kubernetes/kubelet/kubelet-config.json 
         echo "$(jq ".podPidsLimit=32768" $KUBELET_CONFIG)" > $KUBELET_CONFIG 
         --// 
         Content material-Kind: textual content/x-shellscript; charset="us-ascii" 
         systemctl cease kubelet 
         systemctl daemon-reload 
         systemctl begin kubelet
         --//--

On this state of affairs, every node (e.g., ip-10-20-23-199.us-west-1.compute.inside) can accommodate as much as three pods. If the deployment is scaled so as to add one other pod, the assets can be inadequate, inflicting the brand new pod to stay in a pending state.  

 

Karpenter displays these Un schedulable pods and assesses their useful resource necessities to behave accordingly. There can be nodeclaim which claims the node from the nodepool and Karpenter thus provision a node based mostly on the requirement. 

 

 Conclusion: Environment friendly GPU Useful resource Administration in Kubernetes 

With the rising demand for GPU-accelerated workloads in Kubernetes, managing GPU assets successfully is crucial. The mixture of NVIDIA System Plugin, time slicing, and Karpenter supplies a strong method to handle, optimize, and scale GPU assets in a Kubernetes cluster, delivering excessive efficiency with environment friendly useful resource utilization. This resolution has been carried out to host pilot GPU-enabled Studying Labs on developer.cisco.com/studying, offering GPU-powered studying experiences.

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