Blaze through your setup with Z by HP Data Science Stack Manager

Akash James
4 min readFeb 12, 2024

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Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik

So, you boldly decided to hop onto the latest and greatest in data science? You’re experimenting with LLMs or testing the accuracy of multiple computer vision models. You may have bought a new shiny workstation to supercharge your experiments. Arguably, the biggest roadblock for most of us is triaging and installing the correct dependencies! The world of open source is ever-changing, and keeping up with the pace of rapid change can be tedious. You blink for a second, and NVIDIA releases a new version of CUDA, and PyTorch deprecates certain functions. Z by HP’s Data Science Stack Manager comes in clutch to help you navigate your setup quests!

What is Z by HP Data Science Stack Manager?

The Z by HP Data Science Stack Manager is a software solution designed to simplify the management of data science tools and environments. Developed by HP, a leader in computing solutions, this platform is part of the broader Z by HP product line, which is tailored for high-performance computing tasks such as data science, engineering, and media production.

For you short-form video addicts, here’s the TL; DR you are always looking for —

Z by HP Data Science Stack Manager Video Introduction

What’s in it for you?

Using Z by HP Data Science Stack Manager offers several benefits:

  • Time Efficiency: With carefully curated packages, you don’t have to spend your time searching the internet for the latest set of commands, instructions and packages to install.
  • Consistency and Reproducibility: It ensures consistency in the tools and environments used across teams, which is crucial for reproducible research and collaborative projects.
  • Ease of Use: The intuitive interface and automation features make it accessible even for those with limited technical expertise in software management.
  • Scalability: Designed to cater to both individual data scientists and large teams, it scales effectively with the growing needs of an organization.

Here’s the quick start you’re looking for.

If you’re using Ubuntu, Ubuntu 20.04 and Ubuntu 22.04 are the supported versions. You could also install on Windows, but I’ll focus on Linux for now! Download stack manager here. Once you do, fire up a terminal emulator and type the following command to install the .deb package.

sudo dpkg -i stackman_1.5.2_amd64.deb

“Hey, but I am running an older/newer version of Ubuntu?”

While I don’t judge your choices, I’ve got your back! You can modify /etc/os-release to make the application run. But do this at your own risk!

PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 23.10"
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION_ID="22.04"
VERSION="23.10 (Mantic Minotaur)"Lmao this makes it easy
VERSION_CODENAME=mantic
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy"
UBUNTU_CODENAME=mantic
LOGO=ubuntu-logo

Notice how I have changed VERSION_ID to 22.04 despite running 23.10.

Now kickstart the application from the menu. It’s titled Z by HP Data Science Stack Manager. You should see this screen greet you.

Stack Manager Landing Page

Here you can choose between the main or additional software stack. Alternatively, if you like to customise, you can also choose to head over to Package Brower and select the packages you would like — manually. The curation includes everything from NVIDIA’s CUDA, Intel’s OpenVINO, Docker, cloud services like AWS and Azure and much more!

Conclusion

The Z by HP Data Science Stack Manager represents a significant step forward in managing the complex ecosystem of data science tools. Its user-friendly interface, combined with powerful management features, makes it an essential tool for anyone involved in data analysis, from seasoned professionals to newcomers in the field. By embracing such innovations, we can expect to see more streamlined, efficient, and collaborative data science workflows in the future.

Remember, while tools like the Z by HP Data Science Stack Manager significantly aid in managing technical workflows, the core of data science still lies in the creative and analytical skills of the data scientist. This tool is a means to unleash those skills more effectively! Happy hunting (for the next big thing, of course)!

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Akash James
Akash James

Written by Akash James

Artificial Intelligence Architect at SparkCognition | NVIDIA Jetson AI Ambassador & Specialist | Speaker | Hackathon Enthusiast