Stay organized with collections
Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
To run artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), or high performance
computing (HPC) workloads, you can deploy AI-optimized VMs and clusters that
can use the features and services available from
Cluster Director. For more information about Cluster Director, see
Cluster Director.
You can access Cluster Director features directly from
Compute Engine, or through other services that run on Compute Engine
instances like Cluster Toolkit or Google Kubernetes Engine.
For the most appropriate option to create your VMs or clusters for your use
case, choose one of the following:
Option
Use case
Cluster Toolkit
You want to use open-source software that simplifies the process
for you to deploy both Slurm and GKE clusters. Cluster Toolkit is
designed to be highly customizable and extensible. To learn more,
see the following:
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-03 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eHypercompute Cluster is designed for AI, ML, and HPC workloads, and supports the creation of VMs, MIGs, Slurm clusters, and GKE clusters.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eHypercompute Cluster is exclusively available for A3 Ultra machine types, and alternative machine types require different guides.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eBefore creating VMs or clusters, it's essential to review the available configurations for Hypercompute Cluster, which include deployment and scheduling types, as well as OS recommendations.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eA reservation for the A3 Ultra machine type must be created prior to setting up VMs, MIGs, or clusters.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eSeveral methods are available for VM and cluster creation, including individual VM creation, bulk VM creation, MIG creation, Slurm cluster setup, and both default and custom GKE cluster creation.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["To run artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), or high performance\ncomputing (HPC) workloads, you can deploy AI-optimized VMs and clusters that\ncan use the features and services available from\nCluster Director. For more information about Cluster Director, see\n[Cluster Director](/ai-hypercomputer/docs/cluster-director).\n| **Note:** Cluster Director is only supported for A4 and A3 Ultra machine types. Guidance for other machine types is out of scope for this documentation. We recommend that you consult the relevant documentation for your choice of machine type. To identify the VM and cluster creation guide for other machine types, see [Choose a deployment strategy](/ai-hypercomputer/docs/choose-strategy).\n\nYou can access Cluster Director features directly from\nCompute Engine, or through other services that run on Compute Engine\ninstances like Cluster Toolkit or Google Kubernetes Engine.\n\nFor the most appropriate option to create your VMs or clusters for your use\ncase, choose one of the following:\n\n| **Option** | **Use case** |\n|--------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| Cluster Toolkit | You want to use open-source software that simplifies the process for you to deploy both Slurm and GKE clusters. Cluster Toolkit is designed to be highly customizable and extensible. To learn more, see the following: - [Create an AI-optimized Slurm cluster](/ai-hypercomputer/docs/create/create-slurm-cluster) - [Create an AI-optimized Google Kubernetes Engine cluster with default configuration](/ai-hypercomputer/docs/create/gke-ai-hypercompute) |\n| GKE | You want maximum flexibility in configuring your Google Kubernetes Engine cluster based on the needs of your workload. To learn more, see [Create a custom AI-optimized Google Kubernetes Engine cluster](/ai-hypercomputer/docs/create/gke-ai-hypercompute-custom). |\n| Use Compute Engine | You want full control of the infrastructure layer so that you can set up your own orchestrator. To learn more, see the following: - [Create an AI-optimized instance](/ai-hypercomputer/docs/create/create-vm) - [Create AI-optimized instances in bulk](/ai-hypercomputer/docs/create/create-vms-in-bulk) - [Create an AI-optimized MIG](/ai-hypercomputer/docs/create/create-mig) |"]]
