GPU Workloads AWS vs Google Cloud vs Microsoft Azure vs IBM Cloud
With the rise of machine learning and deep learning, GPUs have become an essential component of modern computing. Therefore, selecting a cloud provider for your GPU workloads is a critical decision that can impact your workload's cost, performance, and flexibility.
In this post, we will compare the different GPU offerings from Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure, and IBM Cloud, providing a factual and unbiased comparison based on current information as of September 1, 2021.
GPU Instance Types
All four cloud providers offer GPU instances optimized for different kinds of workloads. The following table summarizes the instance types and their specifications:
| Cloud Provider | Instance Type | NVIDIA GPU | vCPU | Memory (GiB) | Network Bandwidth (Gbps) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | p3 | V100 | 8-96 | 61-768 | Up to 25 |
| GCP | A2 | A100 | 1-16 | 12-768 | 10 |
| Azure | ND | V100 | 8-40 | 112-448 | 50 |
| IBM Cloud | AC | V100 | 10-120 | 160-1920 | 50 |
As seen in the table, each cloud provider offers different vCPU and memory configurations, and network bandwidth. AWS offers the most extensive selection of GPU instances (p3dn.24xlarge with 96 vCPU and 768 GiB of memory), while Microsoft Azure offers the most bandwidth with up to 50 Gbps.
GPU Pricing
Pricing is a crucial factor when selecting a cloud provider for your GPU workloads. The cost of each cloud provider's GPU instance types varies depending on the region and the type of instance. Prices can also change frequently, so make sure to check with the respective cloud providers to get the latest pricing information for your workload.
Here's a table summarizing the hourly pricing for each cloud provider's GPU instance types:
| Cloud Provider | Instance Type | NVIDIA GPU | Hourly Price (US West 2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | p3.2xlarge | V100 | $3.06 |
| GCP | a2-standard-4 | A100 | $3.60 |
| Azure | Standard_NC12s_v3 | V100 | $3.06 |
| IBM Cloud | ac2.4x8 | V100 | $2.85 |
As seen in the table, IBM Cloud offers the lowest hourly pricing for their GPU instances, with AWS and Azure tying for the second cheapest option.
Conclusion
Selecting the right cloud provider for your GPU workloads should take into consideration a range of factors such as GPU instance types, pricing, performance, and other services offered by the provider. In this post, we provided an objective comparison of GPU offerings from AWS, GCP, Azure, and IBM Cloud to help you make an informed decision.
Ultimately, the best cloud provider for your GPU workloads will depend on your specific workload requirements, budget, and preferences.