Hardware that can run a local model does not automatically participate in every routing or distributed runtime. Check the supported configuration as a whole: operating system, accelerator, driver, inference backend, model format, application API and network policy.
The backend layer
Ollama documents how local model memory and request concurrency interact. Multiple GPUs within a supported system are distinct from multiple independent computers. Its FAQ also distinguishes local operation from cloud-hosted model features. Treat those modes as different data paths when planning a system. [Source 3]
LM Studio provides an API server for local models. Serving an API enables clients to send requests; it is not itself proof that several machines execute one model together. Test the endpoints and features your application uses against the exact backend version. [Source 4]
Product-specific routing
NVIDIA’s PAIR materials describe compatibility across supported Macs, RTX systems and DGX Spark. The current requirements belong to the vendor. Do not infer that every Mac, every Windows or Linux installation, or every accelerator is eligible. Consult the official page immediately before setup. [Source 1] [Source 2]
What to record for every node
Record its operating system and version, processor and accelerator, available system memory and VRAM separately, backend version, model identifiers, storage location, connection type and permitted users. Track model context settings and which capabilities the node has actually demonstrated. Avoid merging shared memory and discrete VRAM into a misleading total.
What to test between nodes
Check endpoint reachability, authentication, encryption where applicable, name resolution, request limits and timeouts. Exercise a busy node and an unavailable node. Confirm that routing preserves the intended model and does not silently fall back to a cloud endpoint. Test with representative prompts that contain no sensitive data until the data path is understood.
The application layer
A successful chat response is only one test. Agent applications may need tool schemas, streaming, structured output, image input or long context. A router can preserve a request format while a backend still interprets it differently. Keep per-node capability checks and pin the tested software configuration.