Using GPUs on Firebird

Firebird offers multiple nodes with NVIDIA GPUs. Typically, these must be requested via Slurm before they can be used. There are different methods to request one or more GPUs depending on whether you are submitting a batch script, working interactively on the command line, or creating a virtual desktop session.

List of GPUs

The following table lists which specific types of GPUs are available, some of their characteristics, and which nodes they are in. Examples of how to use this information to request a specific GPU are below.

Node

GPU Type and Number

Memory

Node

GPU Type and Number

Memory

gpu01

rtx2080ti (4)

11 GB

gpu02

quadro_8000 (3)

48 GB

gpu03

rtx2080ti (4)

11 GB

gpu04

l40s (4)

48 GB

Requesting a GPU in a Batch Script or Interactively

The easiest way to request a GPU through Slurm is with the --gpus-per-nodedirective.

If you do not have a preference which specific GPU you want:

Within a job submission script:

#SBATCH --gpus-per-node=1

As part of an salloccommand to create an interactive terminal session:

--gpus-per-node=1

If you want to request a specific model of GPU, add the type from the table above, for example:

--gpus-per-node=quadro_8000:1

In addition to requesting the GPU, it is necessary to load the CUDA module. Either within a job submission script, or from the command line:

This will load the latest default CUDA version. To see a list of all available CUDA versions, for example:

Requesting a GPU in a Virtual Desktop Session

As part of the form to request a virtual desktop session, there is a drop-down box to request a specific model of GPU, if desired.

Ways you can contact ITS or find information:

ITS Support Portal: https://support.swarthmore.edu
Email: support@swarthmore.edu
Phone: x4357 (HELP) or 610-328-8513
Check out our remote resources at https://swatkb.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/remote/overview
Check our homepage at https://swarthmore.edu/its