VM with configurable GPUs and server OS

Question

Hej,
This is Jun Li from AFRY-X in Stockholm, we would like to create a virtual machine at Azure which meets the following:
* the GPU capabilities are configurable, i.e., we can change the GPU memory for example from 4 to 32 G;
* a server OS pre-installed so that multiple users can log in and use the machine

I have gone through "virtual machines" under our subscription, couldn't find answers to the question above. Appreciate it.

BR
Jun Li

Answer 1

You would have to deploy a Virtual Machine that has a GPU card. If you need more GPU RAM then you need to resize the Virtual Machine to a larger size.

Please review the GPU enabled VM sizes here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/sizes-gpu

I would recommend the following two VM families:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/nvv3-series

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/nvv4-series

Answer 2

Thank you for the quick reply. Based on the information from you, we explored a bit further and wondering, for example, if we create a "NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation - WinServer 2019" with instance "NC12SV3*",
* would it be billed on hours we use the machine or with a fixed amount?
* if with fixed amount, would that be automatically ended when the machine got deleted?
* once a machine created, is it possible to change the GPU memory size?
* if we understand correctly, multiple users should be able to log in and use GPUs on the created machine? (of course if there is GPU capability left)

Thanks!

BR
Jun Li

Answer 3

Hej, @Li, Jun !

Will my VM be billed on hours we use the machine or with a fixed amount?
VMs are available as both Pay as you go and reserved instances. With pay as you go, you are billed for the amount of time that the VM is used (5 hours would cost less than 6 hours). With reserved instances, you reserve VMs for full capacity (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) at significant savings with flat monthly fees. Reserved instances are a great option for VMs that are always in use. It may be a good idea to talk to Azure Sales to see if there are any savings that may apply to your setup.

• Azure Reserved Virtual Machine Instances
• Azure Pricing Calculator
• Azure Virtual Machines Pricing (you may need to toggle "Show Azure Hybrid Benefit pricing")
• Azure Hybrid Benefit (save additional money by using your current server license in the cloud)