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Google has a new family of virtual machines this will be the first in public cloud market is powered by Intel’s fourth-generation Xeon server processors.
On Google Cloud Next ’22, the company lifted the lid on its new C3 VMs, which it claims can offer more predictable and more efficient compute performance, thanks to an architecture that allows certain tasks to be delegated to supporting hardware.
The addition of new Hyperdisk block storage to the mix, meanwhile, means that C3 VMs offer 4x the throughput and 10x higher IOPS per vCPU than the previous generation, C2.
Powered by custom silicon
The key to the performance gains offered with the new generation of VMs, Google says, is the system-on-chip (SoC) design, which pairs a fourth-generation Xeon CPU with a custom-built Intel Infrastructure Processing Unit (IPU).
IPUs, launched by Intel in Summer 2021, are designed to help free up cloud and network providers Processor performance by offloading functions such as storage and network virtualization, which also provides several security benefits. Essentially, IPUs are almost identical to data processing units (DPUs).
“We are delighted to have partnered with Google Cloud to design the first ASIC Infrastructure Processing Unit, which has now been launched in the new C3 machine series,” said Nick McKeown, SVP and GM of Network and Edge at Intel.
“A first in any public cloud, C3 VMs will run workloads on 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, while freeing up programmable packet processing for the IPUs, securely with line speeds of 200Gb/s. This partnership between Intel and Google will enable customers to get an infrastructure that is more secure, flexible and performant.”
Regardless, Intel will be relieved to see its new Xeon CPUs (codenamed Sapphire Rapids) in a production environment. The new chips were originally slated to launch in 2021, but the rollout has been interrupted by repeated delays and Intel is still struggling to bring them to the mass market.
While select customers (probably including Google Cloud) were given access to Sapphire Rapids silicon earlier this year, it now appears that the rest of the world will have to wait until Q1 2023.
But according to Google, the new Xeon CPUs were at least worth the wait, delivering a 20% performance advantage for some VM customers, when combined with the custom Intel IPU.
The new C3 family of VMs is now available in private preview. TechRadar Pro has asked Google Cloud to provide a general availability timeline.