Deployment and Optimization for Fine-Tuned Models

---

Overview

Deploying fine-tuned models efficiently requires adapter merging, quantization, and inference optimization. This reference covers techniques to minimize latency and memory while maintaining quality.

Adapter Merging

Merging LoRA Adapters

from peft import PeftModel, PeftConfig
from transformers import AutoModelForCausalLM, AutoTokenizer

def merge_lora_adapter(
    base_model_name: str,
    adapter_path: str,
    output_path: str,
    push_to_hub: bool = False,
    hub_repo: str = None
):
    """
    Merge LoRA adapter into base model and save.

    This creates a standalone model without adapter overhead.
    """
    # Load base model
    base_model = AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained(
        base_model_name,
        torch_dtype=torch.bfloat16,
        device_map="auto",
        trust_remote_code=True
    )

    # Load adapter
    model = PeftModel.from_pretrained(base_model, adapter_path)

    # Merge adapter weights into base model
    print("Merging adapter weights...")
    merged_model = model.merge_and_unload()

    # Save merged model
    print(f"Saving merged model to {output_path}")
    merged_model.save_pretrained(output_path)

    # Save tokenizer
    tokenizer = AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained(base_model_name)
    tokenizer.save_pretrained(output_path)

    if push_to_hub and hub_repo:
        print(f"Pushing to hub: {hub_repo}")
        merged_model.push_to_hub(hub_repo)
        tokenizer.push_to_hub(hub_repo)

    return merged_model

# Usage
# merge_lora_adapter(
#     "meta-llama/Llama-3.1-8B",
#     "./lora-adapter",
#     "./merged-model"
# )

Merging Multiple Adapters

from peft import PeftModel

def merge_multiple_adapters(
    base_model_name: str,
    adapters: dict[str, float],
    output_path: str
):
    """
    Merge multiple LoRA adapters with weighted combination.

    Args:
        base_model_name: Base model name or path
        adapters: Dict of {adapter_path: weight}
        output_path: Output path for merged model
    """
    base_model = AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained(
        base_model_name,
        torch_dtype=torch.bfloat16,
        device_map="auto"
    )

    # Load first adapter
    adapter_paths = list(adapters.keys())
    model = PeftModel.from_pretrained(
        base_model,
        adapter_paths[0],
        adapter_name="adapter_0"
    )

    # Load remaining adapters
    for i, adapter_path in enumerate(adapter_paths[1:], 1):
        model.load_adapter(adapter_path, adapter_name=f"adapter_{i}")

    # Combine adapters with weights
    adapter_names = [f"adapter_{i}" for i in range(len(adapters))]
    weights = list(adapters.values())

    model.add_weighted_adapter(
        adapters=adapter_names,
        weights=weights,
        adapter_name="merged",
        combination_type="linear"
    )

    model.set_adapter("merged")
    merged_model = model.merge_and_unload()
    merged_model.save_pretrained(output_path)

    return merged_model

# Usage: Combine coding and chat adapters
# merge_multiple_adapters(
#     "meta-llama/Llama-3.1-8B",
#     {"./coding-lora": 0.6, "./chat-lora": 0.4},
#     "./merged-model"
# )

Quantization

GPTQ Quantization

from transformers import AutoModelForCausalLM, AutoTokenizer, GPTQConfig
from datasets import load_dataset

def quantize_gptq(
    model_path: str,
    output_path: str,
    bits: int = 4,
    group_size: int = 128,
    calibration_samples: int = 128
):
    """
    Quantize model using GPTQ (post-training quantization).

    GPTQ provides excellent quality with 4-bit quantization.
    """
    tokenizer = AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained(model_path)

    # Calibration dataset
    calibration_data = load_dataset("wikitext", "wikitext-2-raw-v1", split="train")
    calibration_texts = calibration_data["text"][:calibration_samples]

    # Tokenize calibration data
    def tokenize(examples):
        return tokenizer(examples, truncation=True, max_length=2048)

    calibration_dataset = [tokenize(text) for text in calibration_texts if text.strip()]

    # GPTQ config
    gptq_config = GPTQConfig(
        bits=bits,
        group_size=group_size,
        dataset=calibration_dataset,
        desc_act=True,  # Activation order for better accuracy
        damp_percent=0.01,
        sym=True  # Symmetric quantization
    )

    # Load and quantize
    model = AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained(
        model_path,
        device_map="auto",
        quantization_config=gptq_config
    )

    # Save quantized model
    model.save_pretrained(output_path)
    tokenizer.save_pretrained(output_path)

    print(f"Quantized model saved to {output_path}")
    return model

# Usage
# quantize_gptq("./merged-model", "./quantized-gptq-4bit")

AWQ Quantization

from awq import AutoAWQForCausalLM
from transformers import AutoTokenizer

def quantize_awq(
    model_path: str,
    output_path: str,
    bits: int = 4,
    group_size: int = 128,
    zero_point: bool = True
):
    """
    Quantize model using AWQ (Activation-aware Weight Quantization).

    AWQ is faster than GPTQ and often provides better quality.
    """
    # Load model with AWQ
    model = AutoAWQForCausalLM.from_pretrained(model_path)
    tokenizer = AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained(model_path)

    # Quantization config
    quant_config = {
        "zero_point": zero_point,
        "q_group_size": group_size,
        "w_bit": bits,
        "version": "GEMM"  # GEMM for GPU, GEMV for CPU
    }

    # Quantize
    model.quantize(tokenizer, quant_config=quant_config)

    # Save
    model.save_quantized(output_path)
    tokenizer.save_pretrained(output_path)

    return model

# Usage
# quantize_awq("./merged-model", "./quantized-awq-4bit")

GGUF Export (for llama.cpp)

def export_to_gguf(
    model_path: str,
    output_path: str,
    quantization: str = "q4_k_m"
):
    """
    Export model to GGUF format for llama.cpp inference.

    Quantization options:
    - q4_0, q4_1: Basic 4-bit
    - q4_k_s, q4_k_m: 4-bit with k-quants (recommended)
    - q5_0, q5_1, q5_k_s, q5_k_m: 5-bit variants
    - q8_0: 8-bit (highest quality)
    - f16: FP16 (no quantization)
    """
    llama_cpp_path = os.environ.get("LLAMA_CPP_PATH", "./llama.cpp")

    # Convert to GGUF
    convert_script = os.path.join(llama_cpp_path, "convert_hf_to_gguf.py")
    subprocess.run([
        "python", convert_script,
        model_path,
        "--outfile", f"{output_path}/model-f16.gguf",
        "--outtype", "f16"
    ], check=True)

    # Quantize
    quantize_binary = os.path.join(llama_cpp_path, "llama-quantize")
    subprocess.run([
        quantize_binary,
        f"{output_path}/model-f16.gguf",
        f"{output_path}/model-{quantization}.gguf",
        quantization
    ], check=True)

    # Clean up f16 file
    os.remove(f"{output_path}/model-f16.gguf")

    print(f"GGUF model saved: {output_path}/model-{quantization}.gguf")

# Usage
# export_to_gguf("./merged-model", "./gguf-output", "q4_k_m")

Quantization Comparison

Inference Optimization

vLLM Deployment

from vllm import LLM, SamplingParams

def deploy_with_vllm(
    model_path: str,
    tensor_parallel_size: int = 1,
    max_model_len: int = 4096,
    gpu_memory_utilization: float = 0.9
):
    """
    Deploy model with vLLM for high-throughput inference.

    vLLM provides:
    - Continuous batching
    - PagedAttention for efficient memory
    - Tensor parallelism for multi-GPU
    """
    llm = LLM(
        model=model_path,
        tensor_parallel_size=tensor_parallel_size,
        max_model_len=max_model_len,
        gpu_memory_utilization=gpu_memory_utilization,
        trust_remote_code=True,
        dtype="bfloat16"
    )

    return llm

def batch_inference_vllm(
    llm: LLM,
    prompts: list[str],
    max_tokens: int = 256,
    temperature: float = 0.7,
    top_p: float = 0.9
) -> list[str]:
    """Run batch inference with vLLM."""
    sampling_params = SamplingParams(
        max_tokens=max_tokens,
        temperature=temperature,
        top_p=top_p
    )

    outputs = llm.generate(prompts, sampling_params)

    return [output.outputs[0].text for output in outputs]

# Usage
# llm = deploy_with_vllm("./merged-model", tensor_parallel_size=2)
# responses = batch_inference_vllm(llm, ["Hello, how are you?", "What is AI?"])

vLLM OpenAI-Compatible Server

# Start vLLM server with OpenAI-compatible API
python -m vllm.entrypoints.openai.api_server \\
    --model ./merged-model \\
    --host 0.0.0.0 \\
    --port 8000 \\
    --tensor-parallel-size 2 \\
    --max-model-len 4096 \\
    --gpu-memory-utilization 0.9

# Client usage
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(base_url="http://localhost:8000/v1", api_key="not-needed")

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="./merged-model",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}],
    max_tokens=256
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Text Generation Inference (TGI)

# docker-compose.yml for TGI
version: "3.9"
services:
  tgi:
    image: ghcr.io/huggingface/text-generation-inference:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    volumes:
      - ./model:/data
    environment:
      - MODEL_ID=/data
      - NUM_SHARD=2
      - MAX_INPUT_LENGTH=2048
      - MAX_TOTAL_TOKENS=4096
      - QUANTIZE=bitsandbytes-nf4
    deploy:
      resources:
        reservations:
          devices:
            - driver: nvidia
              count: 2
              capabilities: [gpu]

# TGI client usage
from huggingface_hub import InferenceClient

client = InferenceClient("http://localhost:8080")

response = client.text_generation(
    prompt="Hello, how are you?",
    max_new_tokens=256,
    temperature=0.7,
    do_sample=True
)
print(response)

Production Deployment Patterns

Model Server with FastAPI

from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException
from pydantic import BaseModel
from transformers import AutoModelForCausalLM, AutoTokenizer

from contextlib import asynccontextmanager

from typing import Optional

class GenerationRequest(BaseModel):
    prompt: str
    max_tokens: int = 256
    temperature: float = 0.7
    top_p: float = 0.9
    stop: Optional[list[str]] = None

class GenerationResponse(BaseModel):
    text: str
    tokens_generated: int
    finish_reason: str

# Global model reference
model = None
tokenizer = None

@asynccontextmanager
async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
    global model, tokenizer
    # Load model on startup
    print("Loading model...")
    model = AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained(
        "./merged-model",
        torch_dtype=torch.bfloat16,
        device_map="auto"
    )
    tokenizer = AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained("./merged-model")
    print("Model loaded!")
    yield
    # Cleanup on shutdown
    del model, tokenizer
    torch.cuda.empty_cache()

app = FastAPI(lifespan=lifespan)

@app.post("/generate", response_model=GenerationResponse)
async def generate(request: GenerationRequest):
    inputs = tokenizer(request.prompt, return_tensors="pt").to(model.device)

    # Run generation in thread pool to not block event loop
    loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()
    outputs = await loop.run_in_executor(
        None,
        lambda: model.generate(
            **inputs,
            max_new_tokens=request.max_tokens,
            temperature=request.temperature,
            top_p=request.top_p,
            do_sample=request.temperature > 0,
            pad_token_id=tokenizer.pad_token_id
        )
    )

    generated_text = tokenizer.decode(
        outputs[0][inputs["input_ids"].shape[1]:],
        skip_special_tokens=True
    )

    return GenerationResponse(
        text=generated_text,
        tokens_generated=len(outputs[0]) - inputs["input_ids"].shape[1],
        finish_reason="length" if len(outputs[0]) >= request.max_tokens else "stop"
    )

@app.get("/health")
async def health():
    return {"status": "healthy", "model_loaded": model is not None}

Kubernetes Deployment

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: llm-inference
spec:
  replicas: 2
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: llm-inference
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: llm-inference
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: llm
          image: your-registry/llm-server:latest
          ports:
            - containerPort: 8000
          resources:
            requests:
              nvidia.com/gpu: 1
              memory: "32Gi"
              cpu: "4"
            limits:
              nvidia.com/gpu: 1
              memory: "48Gi"
              cpu: "8"
          livenessProbe:
            httpGet:
              path: /health
              port: 8000
            initialDelaySeconds: 120
            periodSeconds: 30
          readinessProbe:
            httpGet:
              path: /health
              port: 8000
            initialDelaySeconds: 60
            periodSeconds: 10
          volumeMounts:
            - name: model-cache
              mountPath: /models
      volumes:
        - name: model-cache
          persistentVolumeClaim:
            claimName: model-pvc
      nodeSelector:
        nvidia.com/gpu.product: NVIDIA-A100-SXM4-80GB
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: llm-inference
spec:
  selector:
    app: llm-inference
  ports:
    - port: 80
      targetPort: 8000
  type: ClusterIP

Performance Benchmarking

from statistics import mean, stdev

def benchmark_inference(
    model,
    tokenizer,
    prompts: list[str],
    max_tokens: int = 256,
    warmup_runs: int = 3,
    benchmark_runs: int = 10
) -> dict:
    """
    Benchmark model inference performance.

    Returns latency, throughput, and memory metrics.
    """
    model.eval()

    # Warmup
    print("Warming up...")
    for _ in range(warmup_runs):
        inputs = tokenizer(prompts[0], return_tensors="pt").to(model.device)
        with torch.no_grad():
            model.generate(**inputs, max_new_tokens=max_tokens)

    # Clear cache
    torch.cuda.synchronize()
    torch.cuda.empty_cache()

    # Benchmark
    latencies = []
    tokens_generated = []

    print("Benchmarking...")
    for prompt in prompts[:benchmark_runs]:
        inputs = tokenizer(prompt, return_tensors="pt").to(model.device)
        input_len = inputs["input_ids"].shape[1]

        torch.cu