Machine Learning Engineer Changed Professional-Machine-Learning-Engineer Questions

The best option for scaling the training workload while minimizing cost is to package the code with Setuptools, and use a pre-built container. Train the model with Vertex AI using a custom tier that contains the required GPUs. This option has the following advantages:

• It allows the code to be easily packaged and deployed, as Setuptools is a Python tool that helps to create and distribute Python packages, and pre-built containers are Docker images that contain all the dependencies and libraries needed to run the code. By packaging the code with Setuptools, and using a pre-built container, you can avoid the hassle and complexity of building and maintaining your own custom container, and ensure the compatibility and portability of your code across different environments.
• It leverages the scalability and performance of Vertex AI, which is a fully managed service that provides various tools and features for machine learning, such as training, tuning, serving, and monitoring. By training the model with Vertex AI, you can take advantage of the distributed and parallel training capabilities of Vertex AI, which can speed up the training process and improve the model quality. Vertex AI also supports various frameworks and models, such as PyTorch and ResNet50, and allows you to use custom containers and custom tiers to customize your training configuration and resources.
• It reduces the cost and complexity of the training process, as Vertex AI allows you to use a custom tier that contains the required GPUs, which can optimize the resource utilization and allocation for your training job. By using a custom tier that contains 4 V100 GPUs, you can match the number and type of GPUs that you plan to use for your training job, and avoid paying for unnecessary or underutilized resources. Vertex AI also offers various pricing options and discounts, such as per-second billing, sustained use discounts, and preemptible VMs, that can lower the cost of the training process.

The other options are less optimal for the following reasons:

• Option A: Configuring a Compute Engine VM with all the dependencies that launches the training. Train the model with Vertex AI using a custom tier that contains the required GPUs, introduces additional complexity and overhead. This option requires creating and managing a Compute Engine VM, which is a virtual machine that runs on Google Cloud. However, using a Compute Engine VM to launch the training may not be necessary or efficient, as it requires installing and configuring all the dependencies and libraries needed to run the code, and maintaining and updating the VM. Moreover, using a Compute Engine VM to launch the training may incur additional cost and latency, as it requires paying for the VM usage and transferring the data and the code between the VM and Vertex AI.
• Option C: Creating a Vertex AI Workbench user-managed notebooks instance with 4 V100 GPUs, and using it to train the model, introduces additional cost and risk. This option requires creating and managing a Vertex AI Workbench user-managed notebooks instance, which is a service that allows you to create and run Jupyter notebooks on Google Cloud. However, using a Vertex AI Workbench user-managed notebooks instance to train the model may not be optimal or secure, as it requires paying for the notebooks instance usage, which can be expensive and wasteful, especially if the notebooks instance is not used for other purposes. Moreover, using a Vertex AI Workbench user-managed notebooks instance to train the model may expose the model and the data to potential security or privacy issues, as the notebooks instance is not fully managed by Google Cloud, and may be accessed or modified by unauthorized users or malicious actors.
• Option D: Creating a Google Kubernetes Engine cluster with a node pool that has 4 V100 GPUs. Prepare and submit a TFJob operator to this node pool, introduces additional complexity and cost. This option requires creating and managing a Google Kubernetes Engine cluster, which is a fully managed service that runs Kubernetes clusters on Google Cloud. Moreover, this option requires creating and managing a node pool that has 4 V100 GPUs, which is a group of nodes that share the same configuration and resources. Furthermore, this option requires preparing and submitting a TFJob operator to this node pool, which is a Kubernetes custom resource that defines a TensorFlow training job. However, using Google Kubernetes Engine, node pool, and TFJob operator to train the model may not be necessary or efficient, as it requires configuring and maintaining the cluster, the node pool, and the TFJob operator, and paying for their usage. Moreover, using Google Kubernetes Engine, node pool, and TFJob operator to train the model may not be compatible or scalable, as they are designed for TensorFlow models, not PyTorch models, and may not support distributed or parallel training.

References:

• [Vertex AI: Training with custom containers]
• [Vertex AI: Using custom machine types]
• [Setuptools documentation]
• [PyTorch documentation]
• [ResNet50 | PyTorch]

 Cloud Storage is a scalable and cost-effective storage service for any type of data. By storing image files in Cloud Storage, you can access them from anywhere and avoid the overhead of managing your own storage infrastructure. However, accessing image files directly from Cloud Storage can be slow and inefficient, especially for large-scale training. A better option is to use serialized records, such as TFRecord or Apache Avro, which are binary formats that store multiple images and their labels in a single file. Serialized records can improve the data throughput and reduce the network latency, as well as enable data compression and sharding. You can use TensorFlow or Apache Beam APIs to create and read serialized records from Cloud Storage. This solution requires minimal code changes and can speed up your training time significantly. References:

• Cloud Storage | Google Cloud
• TFRecord and tf.Example | TensorFlow Core
• Apache Avro 1.10.2 Specification
• Using Apache Beam with Cloud Storage | Cloud Storage

The best option for creating a Dataflow pipeline for real-time anomaly detection is to load the model directly into the Dataflow job as a dependency, and use it for prediction. This option has the following advantages:

• It minimizes the serving latency, as the model prediction logic is executed within the same Dataflow pipeline that ingests and processes the data. There is no need to invoke external services or containers, which can introduce network overhead and latency.
• It simplifies the deployment and management of the model, as the model is packaged with the Dataflow job and does not require a separate service or container. The model can be updated by redeploying the Dataflow job with a new model version.
• It leverages the scalability and reliability of Dataflow, as the model prediction logic can scale up or down with the data volume and handle failures and retries automatically.

The other options are less optimal for the following reasons:

• Option A: Containerizing the model prediction logic in Cloud Run, which is invoked by Dataflow, introduces additional latency and complexity. Cloud Run is a serverless platform that runs stateless containers, which means that the model prediction logic needs to be initialized and loaded every time a request is made. This can increase the cold start latency and reduce the throughput. Moreover, Cloud Run has a limit on the number of concurrent requests per container, which can affect the scalability of the model prediction logic. Additionally, this option requires managing two separate services: the Dataflow pipeline and the Cloud Run container.
• Option C: Deploying the model to a Vertex AI endpoint, and invoking this endpoint in the Dataflow job, also introduces additional latency and complexity. Vertex AI is a managed service that provides various tools and features for machine learning, such as training, tuning, serving, and monitoring. However, invoking a Vertex AI endpoint from a Dataflow job requires making an HTTP request, which can incur network overhead and latency. Moreover, this option requires managing two separate services: the Dataflow pipeline and the Vertex AI endpoint.
• Option D: Deploying the model in a TFServing container on Google Kubernetes Engine, and invoking it in the Dataflow job, also introduces additional latency and complexity. TFServing is a high-performance serving system for TensorFlow models, which can handle multiple versions and variants of a model. However, invoking a TFServing container from a Dataflow job requires making a gRPC or REST request, which can incur network overhead and latency. Moreover, this option requires managing two separate services: the Dataflow pipeline and the Google Kubernetes Engine cluster.

References:

• [Dataflow documentation]
• [TensorFlow documentation]
• [Cloud Run documentation]
• [Vertex AI documentation]
• [TFServing documentation]

Vertex AI Pipelines is a service that allows you to orchestrate and automate your machine learning (ML) workflows using pipelines1. A pipeline is a description of an ML workflow, including all of the components in the workflow, how the components are connected as a graph, and the runtime parameters that the pipeline accepts1. Vertex AI Pipelines helps you manage the end-to-end lifecycle of your ML projects, from data preprocessing to model deployment1.

Vertex AI Feature Store is a service that enables you to serve, share, and reuse ML features across different models and projects2. A feature is a measurable property or characteristic of an entity, such as the age of a person or the price of a product2. Vertex AI Feature Store helps you reduce data duplication, ensure data consistency, and improve model performance2.

Vertex AI Experiments is a service that helps you track and compare the performance of different versions of your models3. You can use Vertex AI Experiments to run multiple training jobs with different hyperparameters, architectures, or data sources, and then compare the results using metrics, visualizations, and reports3. Vertex AI Experiments helps you identify the best model for your use case and optimize your model performance3. References:

• Vertex AI Pipelines | Google Cloud
• Vertex AI Feature Store | Google Cloud
• Vertex AI Experiments | Google Cloud