Hello - I’m working on a project that involves crunching through 3 - 30 second videos and computer vision algorithms to analyze the videos. Currently, I’m using Microsoft Azure’s:
Ubuntu VM Linux Server – 64-bit version 16.04.
Nvidia’s NV 24 core, 224 GB RAM, 1.4 GB temporary storage.
This is pretty expensive (monthly cost of over $3,400) unless I commit to a 1-year or 3-year commitment which reduces it slightly. I’m thinking that it might be less expensive in the long run if I purchased a GPU server. If so, is it possible to install the equivalent NV series on a desktop server? If not, what would be the equivalent or higher GPU that I can install on a desktop server?
I’m new to this area. So, any assistance will be helpful.
Azure NV uses Tesla M60 GPUs.
First I would need to know if you want to run Virtualization or just need the required GPU performance. As you talk about "desktop server" I’m wondering why you don’t use a current Quadro board in a CAD workstation.
Quadro P4000 and up should be sufficient for your requirements.
On the other hand, if you want to have VMs instead of physical (virtual GPU use case) then you need certified hardware as the Tesla boards are passive cooled and therefore require supported servers. Here you should be fine with Telsa P4 or Tesla P40.
If you need a server-based solution for multiple users, you may be most cost-effective with a XenServer hosting one or more Linux VMs under XenDesktop. You may also want to explore VMware as well as even Hyper-V hosting options.