2. Software installation
In order to run models on an IPU-POD DA, you will need to download and install the Poplar SDK from the Graphcore Downloads portal. The Poplar SDK includes development tools and also command line tools for managing the IPU hardware (Section 2.1, Installing the Poplar SDK). You will also need to install framework-specific Python wheel files (included in the SDK) if you wish to run applications in PyTorch or TensorFlow on the IPU.
2.1. Installing the Poplar SDK
Download the Poplar SDK tarball from the Graphcore Downloads portal. You can find the Poplar SDK software in the Poplar tab. You may have to click Load More Packages to find the tarball for your Linux platform.
You can check which OS you are running by using the command:
$ lsb_release -a
The tarball is named as follows:
poplar_sdk-[os]-[poplar_ver].tar.gz
where [os] is the host OS and [poplar_ver] is the SDK software version number.
An example of the Poplar SDK tarball for Ubuntu 18.04 and version 2.6.0 of the SDK is:
poplar_sdk-ubuntu_18_04-2.6.0-33d3efd05d.tar.gz
Install the SDK by unpacking the tarball as follows:
$ tar -xvzf poplar_sdk-[os]-[ver].tar.gz
For details of the components included in the Poplar SDK, refer to the Contents of the SDK section in the Poplar SDK Overview document.
2.2. Installations for PyTorch and TensorFlow
If you are using PyTorch or TensorFlow, you have to install specific Python wheel files (included in the Poplar SDK) to be able to run applications in these frameworks on IPUs.
Details are given in the following Quick Start guides: