Microsoft Incorporates FPGA-Powered Network Accelerator into Azure

Microsoft has unveiled a new cloud hardware upgrade named "Azure Boost," aiming to elevate the performance of all upcoming instance types within its Azure cloud platform.

“Azure Boost is a system meticulously crafted by Microsoft to shift server virtualization processes, traditionally managed by the hypervisor and host OS, onto purpose-built software and hardware. This strategic offloading optimizes CPU resources for guest virtual machines, leading to a noticeable enhancement in overall performance.”

In essence, Azure Boost operates similarly to SmartNIC/DPU/IPU technologies, which are standard equipment for hyperscalers, including Microsoft. Although we sought clarification from Microsoft regarding what sets Azure Boost apart from its existing accelerators, the tech giant has not response.

According to Microsoft's announcement, compatible Azure hosts feature the "Microsoft Azure Network Adapter" (MANA), a network interface card (NIC) equipped with the latest hardware acceleration features. MANA ensures competitive performance with a consistent driver interface, incorporating a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

It's important to note that MANA is a bespoke kit developed by Microsoft and is distinct from Pensando SmartNICs already available in Azure or any kit obtained from SmartNIC manufacturer Fungible in early 2023.

Azure Boost is compatible with 17 Azure instance types and is slated to be integrated into all future Azure virtual machines. Microsoft hints at the possibility of backporting it to additional existing VM types as well.

Microsoft asserts that its MANA-and-Azure-Boost-enabled Ebsv5 instance type achieves "260K IOPS Premium SSD storage performance," surpassing the 80K IOPS of the Ev4-series VMs.

Several machine images in the Azure Marketplace already incorporate the MANA driver for various operating systems, including：

• Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4
• Debian 12 “Bookworm”
• Oracle Linux 9.0
• Windows Server 2016
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2022

While the origin of "Azure Boost" remains unclear – whether it's genuinely new or a branding choice coinciding with the debut of MANA – its technical details are significant. Microsoft claims Azure Boost delivers data throughput at 12.5GB/sec, facilitating 650K IOPS through accelerated storage processing and exposing NVMe disk interfaces to VMs.

Ultimately, the obscurities surrounding Azure Boost's nomenclature are inconsequential, as Microsoft's focus remains on providing users with impressive data throughput and the potential to optimize their VM configurations.