Podcast #123: Cloud-Based GPUs For AI

This podcast features a conversation between Brian and Jeffrey Gregor (he prefers Gregor). Gregor is the General Manager for OVHcloud® US, a leading cloud provider with a global presence. Prior to joining OVHcloud, Gregor was a Navy Officer, a highly decorated Navy Officer, with over 15 years serving the US.

OVHcloud was established in 1999, with some borrowed funds and hardware, as a web-hosting startup in northern France and has grown steadily, expanding across Europe. Following the expansion into Canada in 2015, OVHcloud opened offices in the US. Gregor joined OVHcloud when the company opened offices in northern Virginia. And the expansion continues.

We recently posted a deep-dive review for OVHcloud US, focusing on GPUs in the cloud and how to approach cloud training for AI. The review is worth the time as it provides background on OVH, how we performed our tests, and the results.

Gregor explains the

Streaming live on the StorageReview Discord.

00:00 Introduction

What you need to know about OVHcloud
Company structure
Services offered
New acquisition to target the edge market
Partnerships
- VMware
- Nutanix

06:00 Competition

Providing building blocks for multicloud
Fitting in the multicloud environment
Platform-as-a-Service
Open Source Software support
Footprint
- New investments
- Design and built servers
- Adding new data center in central US

11:00 Expanding OVH

Gridscale acquisition
- Provides cloud workloads
- growing points-of-presence
Why metal-bending offers OVH advantages
- Custom configurations
- Proprietary water cooling system
- Environmentally friendly
18-month hardware refresh
- Repurpose existing servers
- Not all customers need the latest and greatest

16:00 Making it cost-effective

Low-cost options
Access to a robust playground
Flexibility
- Avoiding long-term contracts
- Build freedom in the cloud
Delivering high-value, high-performance
Sweet spot is SMB, small enterprises

20:00 Helping customers move to the cloud

Providing a broad range of products and services
Predictable pricing
Taking the first step to migrate to the cloud
- Modernizing applications
- Familiarization
- Understanding the ecosystem
Managed services
- Kubernetes
  - public cloud
  - private cloud
Sustainability
- Liquid-cooling
- Repurposing storage
- Getting more life out of products and systems
Green from the beginning, not because it’s the right thing to do

26:00 Security

SOC- and ISO-certified
- PCI
- DSS
- HIPPA compliance
Physical security
Logical security
Secure Infrastructure
Customers secure their applications
Great reputation for thwarting DDoS attacks
- Anti-DDoS system
Building your own has advantages

30:00 GPU Instances ties everything together

Easy to use
Cost-effective
NVIDIA V100S
H100’s are on the way when available
Allows users to go to the next level
No lock-in contract

35:00 Geeky, Nerdy Engineers

Constantly testing hardware and software
Building for the Next Big Thing
DPUs, GPUs, accelerators
Data sovereignty
Cloud AI and LLMs

40:00 Toronto Data Center

Discord users want to visit the Toronto site
No FEDRAMP yet-maybe future
SLED certification
Getting started with OVH
- private cloud
- Credit is available when signing up

45:00 Wrap-up

YouTube Channel

OVHcloud US

Subscribe to our podcast:

Engage with StorageReview

7 months ago

Harold Fritts

I have been in the tech industry since IBM created Selectric. My background, though, is writing. So I decided to get out of the pre-sales biz and return to my roots, doing a bit of writing but still being involved in technology.