3 ms·

This sounds a bit like a basic version of AWS' Nitro - specialised chips that deal with the storage, networking, etc. leaving only the actual customer workloads

by sofixa 4y ago

This sounds a bit like a basic version of AWS' Nitro - specialised chips that deal with the storage, networking, etc. leaving only the actual customer workloads on the actual CPUs. If Microsoft are buying to add this to Azure, that would indicate they're pretty behind AWS on that front (among many others).

hijba 4y ago
Microsoft have had similar for years. Last I heard it was an FPGA with some ARM cores attached, with the former offloading networking and storage, and the latter running various services that the Azure backend talks to, on a custom Linux distribution. The main processors are all still x86 though, typically running Windows Server to host whatever VMs have been provisioned.
- jen20 4y ago
  Are there any public talks or papers you’re aware of on this? AWS (rightly) make a lot of noise about Nitro and the benefits of their architecture - I’d expect anyone who is actually in a similar position to be doing the same.
  - hijba 4y ago
    They've released some information on this under the name "Project Catapult": https://www.microsoft.com/research/project/project-catapult https://www.microsoft.com/research/project/project-catapult
    - zeusk 4y ago
      Project Overlake is the current iteration
  - watchdog22 4y ago
    You should check out www.nebulon.com They are doing an AWS Nitro system for everyone else
pwarner 4y ago
You'd have to look back, but I think AWS was ahead of many folks in doing this, but surely aren't alone. Today Intel, AMD and Nvidia all offer "DPUs" which is the generic name for what AWS Nitro does. And as others mention Azure has been doing it in FPGAs, so similar idea, just a bit slower and more expensive. AWS seems to own more of the lower levels of the stack than Microsoft. Right or wrong I can't say. If you do it better than off the shelf, and cheaper, then it's a win of course. Screw up and that's another story.

by sofixa 4y ago

hijba 4y ago

Microsoft have had similar for years. Last I heard it was an FPGA with some ARM cores attached, with the former offloading networking and storage, and the latter running various services that the Azure backend talks to, on a custom Linux distribution. The main processors are all still x86 though, typically running Windows Server to host whatever VMs have been provisioned.

jen20 4y ago
Are there any public talks or papers you’re aware of on this? AWS (rightly) make a lot of noise about Nitro and the benefits of their architecture - I’d expect anyone who is actually in a similar position to be doing the same.
- hijba 4y ago
  They've released some information on this under the name "Project Catapult": https://www.microsoft.com/research/project/project-catapult https://www.microsoft.com/research/project/project-catapult
  - zeusk 4y ago
    Project Overlake is the current iteration
- watchdog22 4y ago
  You should check out www.nebulon.com They are doing an AWS Nitro system for everyone else

pwarner 4y ago

You'd have to look back, but I think AWS was ahead of many folks in doing this, but surely aren't alone. Today Intel, AMD and Nvidia all offer "DPUs" which is the generic name for what AWS Nitro does. And as others mention Azure has been doing it in FPGAs, so similar idea, just a bit slower and more expensive. AWS seems to own more of the lower levels of the stack than Microsoft. Right or wrong I can't say. If you do it better than off the shelf, and cheaper, then it's a win of course. Screw up and that's another story.