TensorFlow Releases TensorFlow v2.9 With New Features

TensorFlow has announced the release of version 2.9 just three months after the release of version 2.8. OneDNN, a novel model distribution API, and DTensor, an API for smooth data and model parallelism migration, are the key highlights of this release.

OneDNN

The oneDNN performance package was added to TensorFlow to improve Intel CPUs’ performance. The experimental support for oneDNN in TensorFlow has been available since version 2.5, delivering a four-fold increase in speed. Linux x86 packages and CPUs with neural-network-focused hardware capabilities like AVX512 VNNI, AVX512 BF16, AMX, and others found on Intel Cascade Lake and newer CPUs, oneDNN optimizations will be turned on by default.

Dtensor

Dtensor is a new API for disseminating models and is one of the most notable features of this edition. DTensorflow allows shifting from data parallelism to single program multiple data (SPMD) based model parallelism, including spatial partitioning. Model inputs that are too massive for a single device can now be trained using new tools available to developers. A model code can be utilized on CPU, GPU, or TPU, regardless of the device, because it is a device-agnostic API. This job likewise gets rid of the coordinator and instead uses the task’s local devices to control them all. Model scaling can be accomplished without affecting startup time.

TF Blog: https://blog.tensorflow.org/2022/05/whats-new-in-tensorflow-29.html