Distributed support
State: closed

To split your dataset across your training nodes, you can use the new [`datasets.distributed.split_dataset_by_node`]:

```python
import os
from datasets.distributed import split_dataset_by_node

ds = split_dataset_by_node(ds, rank=int(os.environ["RANK"]), world_size=int(os.environ["WORLD_SIZE"]))
```

This works for both map-style datasets and iterable datasets.
The dataset is split for the node at rank `rank` in a pool of nodes of size `world_size`.

For map-style datasets:

Each node is assigned a chunk of data, e.g. rank 0 is given the first chunk of the dataset.

For iterable datasets:

If the dataset has a number of shards that is a factor of `world_size` (i.e. if `dataset.n_shards % world_size == 0`),
then the shards are evenly assigned across the nodes, which is the most optimized.
Otherwise, each node keeps 1 example out of `world_size`, skipping the other examples.

This can also be combined with a `torch.utils.data.DataLoader` if you want each node to use multiple workers to load the data.

This also supports shuffling. At each epoch, the iterable dataset shards are reshuffled across all the nodes - you just have to call `iterable_ds.set_epoch(epoch_number)`.

TODO:
- [x] docs for usage in PyTorch
- [x] unit tests
- [x] integration tests with torch.distributed.launch

Related to https://github.com/huggingface/transformers/issues/20770
Close https://github.com/huggingface/datasets/issues/5360

_The documentation is not available anymore as the PR was closed or merged._

Alright all the tests are passing - this is ready for review

<details>
<summary>Show benchmarks</summary>

PyArrow==6.0.0

<details>
<summary>Show updated benchmarks!</summary>

### Benchmark: benchmark_array_xd.json

| metric | read_batch_formatted_as_numpy after write_array2d | read_batch_formatted_as_numpy after write_flattened_sequence | read_batch_formatted_as_numpy after write_nested_sequence | read_batch_unformated after write_array2d | read_batch_unformated after write_flattened_sequence | read_batch_unformated after write_nested_sequence | read_col_formatted_as_numpy after write_array2d | read_col_formatted_as_numpy after write_flattened_sequence | read_col_formatted_as_numpy after write_nested_sequence | read_col_unformated after write_array2d | read_col_unformated after write_flattened_sequence | read_col_unformated after write_nested_sequence | read_formatted_as_numpy after write_array2d | read_formatted_as_numpy after write_flattened_sequence | read_formatted_as_numpy after write_nested_sequence | read_unformated after write_array2d | read_unformated after write_flattened_sequence | read_unformated after write_nested_sequence | write_array2d | write_flattened_sequence | write_nested_sequence |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.015146 / 0.011353 (0.003793) | 0.006683 / 0.011008 (-0.004326) | 0.125994 / 0.038508 (0.087486) | 0.041345 / 0.023109 (0.018235) | 0.378609 / 0.275898 (0.102711) | 0.483139 / 0.323480 (0.159659) | 0.009669 / 0.007986 (0.001684) | 0.005143 / 0.004328 (0.000814) | 0.092015 / 0.004250 (0.087765) | 0.052728 / 0.037052 (0.015676) | 0.397166 / 0.258489 (0.138677) | 0.465820 / 0.293841 (0.171979) | 0.051025 / 0.128546 (-0.077521) | 0.018451 / 0.075646 (-0.057196) | 0.397311 / 0.419271 (-0.021960) | 0.054842 / 0.043533 (0.011309) | 0.391203 / 0.255139 (0.136064) | 0.412743 / 0.283200 (0.129543) | 0.111356 / 0.141683 (-0.030327) | 1.697526 / 1.452155 (0.245372) | 1.795017 / 1.492716 (0.302301) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_getitem\_100B.json

| metric | get_batch_of\_1024\_random_rows | get_batch_of\_1024\_rows | get_first_row | get_last_row |
|--------|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.253737 / 0.018006 (0.235731) | 0.583071 / 0.000490 (0.582581) | 0.005958 / 0.000200 (0.005758) | 0.000110 / 0.000054 (0.000056) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_indices_mapping.json

| metric | select | shard | shuffle | sort | train_test_split |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.030397 / 0.037411 (-0.007014) | 0.112242 / 0.014526 (0.097716) | 0.138807 / 0.176557 (-0.037749) | 0.209820 / 0.737135 (-0.527316) | 0.139530 / 0.296338 (-0.156808) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_iterating.json

| metric | read 5000 | read 50000 | read_batch 50000 10 | read_batch 50000 100 | read_batch 50000 1000 | read_formatted numpy 5000 | read_formatted pandas 5000 | read_formatted tensorflow 5000 | read_formatted torch 5000 | read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 10 | read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 1000 | shuffled read 5000 | shuffled read 50000 | shuffled read_batch 50000 10 | shuffled read_batch 50000 100 | shuffled read_batch 50000 1000 | shuffled read_formatted numpy 5000 | shuffled read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 10 | shuffled read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 1000 |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.574111 / 0.215209 (0.358902) | 5.623713 / 2.077655 (3.546058) | 2.416880 / 1.504120 (0.912760) | 1.951013 / 1.541195 (0.409819) | 2.124565 / 1.468490 (0.656075) | 1.268854 / 4.584777 (-3.315923) | 5.942368 / 3.745712 (2.196656) | 5.413814 / 5.269862 (0.143952) | 2.931638 / 4.565676 (-1.634038) | 0.135070 / 0.424275 (-0.289205) | 0.014290 / 0.007607 (0.006683) | 0.708384 / 0.226044 (0.482340) | 7.487994 / 2.268929 (5.219065) | 3.074210 / 55.444624 (-52.370414) | 2.380583 / 6.876477 (-4.495893) | 2.522298 / 2.142072 (0.380226) | 1.336741 / 4.805227 (-3.468486) | 0.236761 / 6.500664 (-6.263903) | 0.076592 / 0.075469 (0.001123) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_map_filter.json

| metric | filter | map fast-tokenizer batched | map identity | map identity batched | map no-op batched | map no-op batched numpy | map no-op batched pandas | map no-op batched pytorch | map no-op batched tensorflow |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 1.629415 / 1.841788 (-0.212373) | 19.000640 / 8.074308 (10.926332) | 21.474058 / 10.191392 (11.282666) | 0.231227 / 0.680424 (-0.449197) | 0.046213 / 0.534201 (-0.487988) | 0.565703 / 0.579283 (-0.013580) | 0.662956 / 0.434364 (0.228592) | 0.656475 / 0.540337 (0.116137) | 0.762534 / 1.386936 (-0.624402) |

</details>
PyArrow==latest

<details>
<summary>Show updated benchmarks!</summary>

### Benchmark: benchmark_array_xd.json

| metric | read_batch_formatted_as_numpy after write_array2d | read_batch_formatted_as_numpy after write_flattened_sequence | read_batch_formatted_as_numpy after write_nested_sequence | read_batch_unformated after write_array2d | read_batch_unformated after write_flattened_sequence | read_batch_unformated after write_nested_sequence | read_col_formatted_as_numpy after write_array2d | read_col_formatted_as_numpy after write_flattened_sequence | read_col_formatted_as_numpy after write_nested_sequence | read_col_unformated after write_array2d | read_col_unformated after write_flattened_sequence | read_col_unformated after write_nested_sequence | read_formatted_as_numpy after write_array2d | read_formatted_as_numpy after write_flattened_sequence | read_formatted_as_numpy after write_nested_sequence | read_unformated after write_array2d | read_unformated after write_flattened_sequence | read_unformated after write_nested_sequence | write_array2d | write_flattened_sequence | write_nested_sequence |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.010952 / 0.011353 (-0.000400) | 0.006259 / 0.011008 (-0.004749) | 0.132430 / 0.038508 (0.093922) | 0.037920 / 0.023109 (0.014811) | 0.483565 / 0.275898 (0.207667) | 0.528190 / 0.323480 (0.204710) | 0.008116 / 0.007986 (0.000130) | 0.006768 / 0.004328 (0.002440) | 0.100520 / 0.004250 (0.096270) | 0.055208 / 0.037052 (0.018155) | 0.484672 / 0.258489 (0.226183) | 0.556937 / 0.293841 (0.263096) | 0.057938 / 0.128546 (-0.070609) | 0.020821 / 0.075646 (-0.054826) | 0.430735 / 0.419271 (0.011464) | 0.066317 / 0.043533 (0.022785) | 0.496652 / 0.255139 (0.241513) | 0.502004 / 0.283200 (0.218804) | 0.125403 / 0.141683 (-0.016280) | 1.833396 / 1.452155 (0.381241) | 1.974517 / 1.492716 (0.481800) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_getitem\_100B.json

| metric | get_batch_of\_1024\_random_rows | get_batch_of\_1024\_rows | get_first_row | get_last_row |
|--------|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.269198 / 0.018006 (0.251191) | 0.620314 / 0.000490 (0.619824) | 0.000535 / 0.000200 (0.000335) | 0.000083 / 0.000054 (0.000029) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_indices_mapping.json

| metric | select | shard | shuffle | sort | train_test_split |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.032373 / 0.037411 (-0.005039) | 0.130043 / 0.014526 (0.115517) | 0.146217 / 0.176557 (-0.030339) | 0.200187 / 0.737135 (-0.536948) | 0.152839 / 0.296338 (-0.143499) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_iterating.json

| metric | read 5000 | read 50000 | read_batch 50000 10 | read_batch 50000 100 | read_batch 50000 1000 | read_formatted numpy 5000 | read_formatted pandas 5000 | read_formatted tensorflow 5000 | read_formatted torch 5000 | read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 10 | read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 1000 | shuffled read 5000 | shuffled read 50000 | shuffled read_batch 50000 10 | shuffled read_batch 50000 100 | shuffled read_batch 50000 1000 | shuffled read_formatted numpy 5000 | shuffled read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 10 | shuffled read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 1000 |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.677478 / 0.215209 (0.462268) | 6.678856 / 2.077655 (4.601201) | 3.025870 / 1.504120 (1.521750) | 2.678196 / 1.541195 (1.137001) | 2.740640 / 1.468490 (1.272150) | 1.237163 / 4.584777 (-3.347614) | 5.752621 / 3.745712 (2.006908) | 3.170435 / 5.269862 (-2.099427) | 2.049174 / 4.565676 (-2.516502) | 0.147663 / 0.424275 (-0.276612) | 0.016107 / 0.007607 (0.008500) | 0.849666 / 0.226044 (0.623621) | 8.395212 / 2.268929 (6.126283) | 3.741120 / 55.444624 (-51.703505) | 3.102926 / 6.876477 (-3.773550) | 3.233655 / 2.142072 (1.091583) | 1.520349 / 4.805227 (-3.284878) | 0.267159 / 6.500664 (-6.233505) | 0.083646 / 0.075469 (0.008177) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_map_filter.json

| metric | filter | map fast-tokenizer batched | map identity | map identity batched | map no-op batched | map no-op batched numpy | map no-op batched pandas | map no-op batched pytorch | map no-op batched tensorflow |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 1.640458 / 1.841788 (-0.201330) | 19.043169 / 8.074308 (10.968861) | 22.786126 / 10.191392 (12.594734) | 0.218040 / 0.680424 (-0.462384) | 0.032948 / 0.534201 (-0.501253) | 0.569574 / 0.579283 (-0.009710) | 0.658746 / 0.434364 (0.224382) | 0.650501 / 0.540337 (0.110164) | 0.730588 / 1.386936 (-0.656348) |

</details>
</details>

![](https://cml.dev/watermark.png "CML watermark")


just added a note :)

Hi @lhoestq ,
Can you please throw some light on the following statement
`If the dataset has a number of shards that is a factor of world_size (i.e. if dataset.n_shards % world_size == 0), then the shards are evenly assigned across the nodes, which is the most optimized. Otherwise, each node keeps 1 example out of world_size, skipping the other examples.`

Let's assume I have 127 parquet files and world_size is 4. I was not able to fully comprehend the above statement
What does this statement mean?
`each node keeps 1 example out of world_size, skipping the other examples.`
Thank you!

If you have 128 parquet files, then `dataset.n_shards % world_size == 0`. In this case each worker can take care of 32 parquet files.

On the other hand if you have `dataset.n_shards % world_size != 0` (in your case 127 files), then we can't assign the same number of files to each worker. This is an issue because it may under-utilize your GPU at the end of your training since some workers will take longer to iterate on the dataset than others.

Therefore in this case, all the workers take care of the 127 parquet files but workers will skip examples to not end up with duplicates. That's what "each node keeps 1 example out of world_size, skipping the other examples" means, and in your case it implies:
- rank=0 will read the samples with idx=0, 4, 8 etc.
- rank=1 will read the samples with idx=1, 5, 9 etc.
- rank=2 will read the samples with idx=2, 6, 10 etc.
- rank=3 will read the samples with idx=3, 7, 11 etc.

Thanks a lot @lhoestq , this helps!

Hi, in the case above, if we use `keep_in_memory=True` for `Dataset`, then we still need to read in n times the dataset if we use DDP on n GPUs (1 node), right? That means we need n times the memory. Is there any way to only load the data once, to save memory?

`Dataset` objects are memory mapped from disk so they use almost no RAM (only the current batch)

Also they are perfectly sharded using `split_dataset_by_node` so it's going to be read exactly once in total using DDP.
You can also achieve the same thing using a DistributedSampler in pytorch for DDP instead of using `split_dataset_by_node`.

Hi, please correct if I mistake anything: 
1. `Dataset` with `keep_in_memory=True` would explicitly pre-load the data into memory, instead of reading from disk via the memory map for every batch. The former way should be faster than the latter.
2. When using DDP, before sending the `Dataset` object into `split_dataset_by_node` or incorporate it with `DistributedSampler`, every process still needs to pre-load the entire data into memory (when `keep_in_memory=True`) and then select the chunked indices from the loaded data. 

Generally, the dilemma I'm facing is:
Suppose we have a data around 120GB, and we want to use `DistributedLengthGroupedSampler` to optimize batching. When using DDP and `keep_in_memory=True`, every process loads 120GB which is not acceptable. For now, I turned off `keep_in_memory` and try to increase the number of workers for `DataLoader` to get better pipelining. 

**But is it possible to load 120GB once into 4 * A100 (which has around 4*120GB memory) and make each process read from this shared data from memory? Theoretically, maybe it should be faster?** 

Feel free to ask your questions on the [forum](https://discuss.huggingface.co/c/datasets/10) if you don't mind, this way the discussions may be useful to other people ;)