Direct Answer: Combining RAM over a network or the internet fails for PC gaming and standard desktop apps because mapping a LAN pagefile or Linux NVMe-over-TCP / NBD swap over a 0.125–1.25 GB/s link freezes random-access software (and enterprise InfiniBand / RoCE RDMA cannot cross the public internet). However, combining remote RAM and GPUs over the internet works remarkably well for Large Language Models (LLMs) because multi-gigabyte weights stay parked inside each machine’s local RAM while only tiny kilobyte-sized activation vectors cross the wire per token. With RAMDeck’s built-in 1-click Tailscale integration, pooling a local 12 GB RTX 3060 Mini PC with a remote MacBook Air miles away streamed an 18 GB 30B LLM at 31.0 tokens/sec—virtually identical to local Ethernet (30–32.4 tok/s)!
Petals Public Swarms vs. DIY VPN CLI vs. RAMDeck Built-In Tailscale
- Petals (Public BitTorrent-Style Swarm): Connects volunteer computers across cities (~20–120 ms/hop, ~2–6 tok/s), but sends intermediate prompt activations through unknown third-party machines—making it unsuitable for private code, financial spreadsheets, or legal documents.
- DIY VPN + Open-Source CLI Tools: Private, but requires programmers to configure WireGuard/Tailscale tunnels and command-line environments across every machine manually.
- RAMDeck Hardware Hub ($199 • Includes 1 Free $29 Zero-Install Node USB): Ships with built-in 1-click Tailscale, an automatic 25 ms latency guardrail, zero router port forwarding, and 0-tap iOS/Android cellular switching so your home and office machines form one 100% private encrypted AI pool.
Watch the uncut 7-minute A/B test at Can You Combine RAM & GPUs Over the Internet for Local LLMs? and read the full LAN/WAN guide at How to Pool RAM Across Computers.
— The TradeMAV Team
Trademark Notice: TradeMAV™ is a trademark of TradeMAV LLC. All third-party product names, including Tailscale, WireGuard, Petals, Exo, Distributed Llama, Apple, Mac, iPhone, Windows, Linux, and Android, are trademarks or project names of their respective owners, which are not affiliated with, sponsoring, or endorsing RAMDeck or TradeMAV LLC.
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