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Building and Training Your Own SLM

Creating an independent Small Language Model (SLM) is a rewarding project that bridges the gap between deep learning theory and practical, local application. By keeping your model local, you retain full control over your data and system architecture. Below is a structured approach to building and training your own model from the ground up on a local Ubuntu environment. Before you begin, ensure your development environment is optimized for local computation. A robust setup with a capable GPU (such as an NVIDIA RTX series) and sufficient RAM is recommended for efficient training. Use Ubuntu for a stable, customizable development environment. Verify your environment with the following commands:    * Update your package lists:  sudo apt update.    * Install pip:  sudo apt install python3-pip    *I nstall necessary libraries:  pip install torch tiktoken An SLM relies on the quality of its input data. For a personal AI, curated, factual...

Ubuntu in VMware workstation 17

Download the Ubuntu iso here for installation in

VMware workstation 17.0 for a cheap price

If using an earlier version than 22.04 LTS, you'll need to manually update the snap store

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

sudo snap refresh


It is easy to install Ubuntu on VMware workstation 17. I find that on VirtualBox the 'sudo' commands don't work and you may run into the error 'user is not found in the sudoers list'



Simply start VMware workstation machine wizard and use a typical configuration



Browse to the Ubuntu iso file and click next



Here you will create a username and password. You will need this to log in and use Sudo commands in the terminal



Enter a location for Ubuntu virtual machine




I have Ubuntu installed on one of my external drives and have the storage size at 500 gigabytes



If you have a lot of ram you can use 16gb of ram for the VM so you can get the most use of your systems GPU 



Tap on done and start the virtual machine 



It's pretty straightforward. Set it up like any typical os. Install 3rd party drivers if you want








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