Beginner · Systems
Device
Visual diagram · (in preparation) · Math · (in preparation) · Worked example · 3 difficulty levels.
TL;DR. Hardware, like a CPU or GPU, that runs computations for a machine learning framework.
Technical Definition
Hardware, like a CPU or GPU, that runs computations for a machine learning framework.
How it works
In machine learning frameworks like TensorFlow, a 'device' refers to the hardware component where computations are executed. This can be a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a tensor processing unit (TPU). The system manages which device handles specific parts of the model's training or inference.
Related Concepts
- GPU — Graphics Processing Unit — a massively parallel processor that powers most modern AI workloads.
- TPU — Tensor Processing Unit — Google's custom-designed AI accelerator chip.
- CPU — Central Processing Unit — the general-purpose chip that runs most software.