How to compile Tensorflow with SSE4.2 and AVX instructions?

Question

This is the message received from running a script to check if Tensorflow is working:

I tensorflow/stream_executor/dso_loader.cc:125] successfully opened CUD         


        

Answer 1

I have recently installed it from source and bellow are all the steps needed to install it from source with the mentioned instructions available.

Other answers already describe why those messages are shown. My answer gives a step-by-step on how to isnstall, which may help people struglling on the actual installation as I did.

1. Install Bazel

Download it from one of their available releases, for example 0.5.2. Extract it, go into the directory and configure it: bash ./compile.sh. Copy the executable to /usr/local/bin: sudo cp ./output/bazel /usr/local/bin

2. Install Tensorflow

Clone tensorflow: git clone https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow.git Go to the cloned directory to configure it: ./configure

It will prompt you with several questions, bellow I have suggested the response to each of the questions, you can, of course, choose your own responses upon as you prefer:

Using python library path: /usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages
Do you wish to build TensorFlow with MKL support? [y/N] y
MKL support will be enabled for TensorFlow
Do you wish to download MKL LIB from the web? [Y/n] Y
Please specify optimization flags to use during compilation when bazel option "--config=opt" is specified [Default is -march=native]: 
Do you wish to use jemalloc as the malloc implementation? [Y/n] n
jemalloc disabled
Do you wish to build TensorFlow with Google Cloud Platform support? [y/N] N
No Google Cloud Platform support will be enabled for TensorFlow
Do you wish to build TensorFlow with Hadoop File System support? [y/N] N
No Hadoop File System support will be enabled for TensorFlow
Do you wish to build TensorFlow with the XLA just-in-time compiler (experimental)? [y/N] N
No XLA JIT support will be enabled for TensorFlow
Do you wish to build TensorFlow with VERBS support? [y/N] N
No VERBS support will be enabled for TensorFlow
Do you wish to build TensorFlow with OpenCL support? [y/N] N
No OpenCL support will be enabled for TensorFlow
Do you wish to build TensorFlow with CUDA support? [y/N] N
No CUDA support will be enabled for TensorFlow

3. The pip package. To build it you have to describe which instructions you want (you know, those Tensorflow informed you are missing).

Build pip script: bazel build -c opt --copt=-mavx --copt=-mavx2 --copt=-mfma --copt=-mfpmath=both --copt=-msse4.1 --copt=-msse4.2 -k //tensorflow/tools/pip_package:build_pip_package

Build pip package: bazel-bin/tensorflow/tools/pip_package/build_pip_package /tmp/tensorflow_pkg

Install Tensorflow pip package you just built: sudo pip install /tmp/tensorflow_pkg/tensorflow-1.2.1-cp27-cp27mu-linux_x86_64.whl

Now next time you start up Tensorflow it will not complain anymore about missing instructions.