How to run a matlab code that requires NVIDIA GPU of at least 8gb of RAM

Federico Corrado (Staff) 5

I have a matlab code (I have a university matlab license) that, in order to run, requires a NVIDIA GPU with a least 8gb in RAM. Does microsoft azure have products that would allow me to to run said code?

Many thanks

1 answer

kobulloc-MSFT 26,321 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2024-03-17T19:20:43.7233333+00:00
Hello, @Federico Corrado (Staff) ! Yes! There are several options to choose from an almost all meet the 8gb RAM requirement. I've made some recommendations below.

How do I deploy a GPU MATLAB VM on Azure?

The MATLAB site has full instructions for deployment using the Azure Marketplace (it sounds like you want the BYOL option, which I've included below). When you get to Virtual Machine Settings, you'll want to click on Change size and select a GPU VM size from the N-series. The NCv3-series and NC T4_v3-series sizes are optimized for compute-intensive GPU-accelerated applications although there are other options as well as they might be more than you need (a Standard_NV6 has 8GiB of GPU memory, as an example while a Standard_NV12 has 16 GiB). Here are MATLAB's instructions (more details on setup on the link):

https://www.mathworks.com/help/cloudcenter/ug/run-matlab-from-azure-marketplace.html

Use the following steps to configure and deploy MATLAB (BYOL) resources in a resource group.

Navigate to https://portal.azure.com and login to your Azure account.

From the Portal, click Create a Resource.

Search for “matlab” in the marketplace and click on the MATLAB (BYOL) offering.

Select a MATLAB release and click Create on the offering page to begin setup.

The setup process uses a Resource Manager template to help you configure the virtual machine and networking settings. To make setup easy, many of the fields come prepopulated with acceptable values.

Search for MATLAB in the Azure Marketplace

Click on Change size to select a GPU VM like the Standard_NV6

Resources:

MathWorks: Run MATLAB from Microsoft Azure Marketplace

MathWorks: Microsoft Azure Marketplace

Azure Marketplace: MATLAB Production Server (BYOL)

I hope this has been helpful! Your feedback is important so please take a moment to accept answers.

If you still have questions, please let us know what is needed in the comments so the question can be answered. Thank you for helping to improve Microsoft Q&A!
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Federico Corrado (Staff) 5 Reputation points

2024-03-17T21:50:28.34+00:00

In the link provided by you about the NCv3 series, this text:

To take advantage of the GPU capabilities of Azure N-series VMs, NVIDIA GPU drivers must be installed.

The NVIDIA GPU Driver Extension installs appropriate NVIDIA CUDA or GRID drivers on an N-series VM. Install or manage the extension using the Azure portal or tools such as Azure PowerShell or Azure Resource Manager templates. See the NVIDIA GPU Driver Extension documentation for supported operating systems and deployment steps. For general information about VM extensions, see Azure virtual machine extensions and features.

If you choose to install NVIDIA GPU drivers manually, see N-series GPU driver setup for Windows or N-series GPU driver setup for Linux for supported operating systems, drivers, installation, and verification steps.

is the kind of thing that is most likely full of options that I will struggle to interpret. Before I pay, I would need some guidance on how to set this all up

Federico Corrado (Staff) 5 Reputation points

2024-03-17T22:15:14.4866667+00:00

Also, as I followed the steps you indicated, I got to the 'review and create' section, it didn't create anything, there was an option for a quota request, which I tried to put through, and that generated an error.

kobulloc-MSFT 26,321 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2024-03-18T07:31:11.51+00:00

Hello, @Federico Corrado (Staff) ! The MATLAB deployment workflow is a little different from the standard VM deployment workflow, however my experience with the NVIDIA GPU driver is that the automatic driver installation usually does exactly what I need it to do. For specific scenarios, there is manual installation which can involve some troubleshooting.

Regarding the quota error, the exact error will help us determine what the issue is (if you are the admin it shouldn't be a subscription restriction but usually resource availability errors are pretty straightforward).

Federico Corrado (Staff) 5 Reputation points

2024-03-18T14:58:49.9266667+00:00

When I click on review and create, the following message appears:

Operation could not be completed as it results in exceeding approved Total Regional Cores quota. Additional details - Deployment Model: Resource Manager, Location: uksouth, Current Limit: 4, Current Usage: 0, Additional Required: 6, (Minimum) New Limit Required: 6. Submit a request for Quota increase at https://aka.ms/ProdportalCRP/#blade/Microsoft_Azure_Capacity/UsageAndQuota.ReactView/Parameters/%7B%22subscriptionId%22:%22f6fc425e-f8c5-4edc-836a-18805c2d98f0%22,%22command%22:%22openQuotaApprovalBlade%22,%22quotas%22:[%7B%22location%22:%22uksouth%22,%22providerId%22:%22Microsoft.Compute%22,%22resourceName%22:%22cores%22,%22quotaRequest%22:%7B%22properties%22:%7B%22limit%22:6,%22unit%22:%22Count%22,%22name%22:%7B%22value%22:%22cores%22%7D%7D%7D%7D]%7D by specifying parameters listed in the ‘Details’ section for deployment to succeed. Please read more about quota limits at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-supportability/regional-quota-requests (Code: QuotaExceeded

I open the link, which is a New Quota Request that asks me to enter a new limit for the following 1 quote, there's a 'total regional vCPUs, the new limit is set to 6, which tallies with the Standard_NC6s_v3 vCPU, so I leave that as 6. I click on submit, but the new quota requests comes up as 'unsuccessful'. I then click again an the only option, which is, again, new quote requests, and thent returns an error message: Required

Oops, something went wrong...

Unfortunately we encountered an error. We've been already notified about this.

I understand the virtual machine size I chose is not available on the free trial, but I would have thought I would just be taken to a section where I'm billed for usage.

kobulloc-MSFT 26,321 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2024-03-18T17:47:41.5066667+00:00

Hello, @Federico Corrado (Staff) !

Free trials are usually somewhat limited when it comes to available VM SKUs (especially GPU SKUs) but I agree, that process and error message needs to be revisited. I'll give that feedback to the Virtual Machine team.

You can upgrade your free account to pay-as-you-go, however I should note that we are seeing a large surge in demand for GPU VMs so GPU availability is not guaranteed.

Federico Corrado (Staff) 5 Reputation points

2024-03-18T18:38:55.03+00:00

Well, I've just upgraded to the paid subscription, I made the same choice of VM size as above, and I get the same error message!? I thought the error I was getting earlier was related to having a free account. Not so, apparently

kobulloc-MSFT 26,321 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2024-03-18T18:44:18.86+00:00

Hello, @Federico Corrado (Staff) !

If you are continuing to get a regional quota error and you are unable to complete an increase for regional vCPU quota, it sounds like there may be something that needs to be addressed on our end (SKU not available for subscription would be a different issue, likely related to availability). I'll reach out to you directly.

Federico Corrado (Staff) 5 Reputation points

2024-03-18T18:50:58.3566667+00:00

The sole difference was that after the error message I was able to send through a quota increase request. Whilst I'm at it, after noticing how big the choice VM size, can I confirm with you the minimum I need for a NVIDIA GPU that supports CUDA, 8GB in RAM and four or more CPUs? I'm no software engineer, so it's hard for me to discern how to pick. I can see myself making bad choices. What I originally picked was 1XStandard NC6s V3 based on what you suggested, but that may or may not be appropriate.

kobulloc-MSFT 26,321 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2024-03-18T19:05:28.45+00:00

Hello, @Federico Corrado (Staff) !

If you were able to send through the quota request but were not able to get a VM, that's likely due to availability (again, everyone is requesting GPUs with the surge in interest in AI). Availability does open up in some regions more often than others but it may take some time.

As far as the SKU recommendation, you would likely want one of the more popular (and difficult to get) VMs. Here are all of the options:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/sizes-gpu

Most of the VMs on this list will work, but many would be overkill (taking pricing into consideration). A Standard_NC6s_v3 definitely meets your minimums with 6 vCPUs and 16 GiB GPU memory:

A Standard_NV6 would still meet requirements while being less than half the price, however availability also comes into play.

Federico Corrado (Staff) 5 Reputation points

2024-03-20T17:16:23.6366667+00:00

Hi there, I put in a quota request as per your private message two days ago, but I'm yet to receive any replies/info on how to go forward.

kobulloc-MSFT 26,321 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2024-03-21T02:42:04.61+00:00

Hello, @Federico Corrado (Staff) !

If you've put in a request, at this point it's just a matter of waiting (and confirming that you don't currently have available quota which you can check quickly during a portal deployment or via Azure CLI).

I know that I've stressed this before but it's worth mentioning that GPU VMs are extremely popular right now so there are likely a lot of requests that are currently being processed.
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