After CPU & GPU, DPU to revolutionize

Computing has expanded beyond servers and PCs into large, centralized data centers powered by CPUs and GPUs, the DPU (data processing unit) has arisen as the third major pillar of computing. A recent report uncovers how DPU based offload devices are gaining huge endorsement from hyperscalers as well as CSP's.

As the amount of information available on a daily basis is increasing, however, computing has moved beyond servers and into large, centralized data centers, prompting the need for data to be moved within the center. That's where DPUs come into play. A DPU is a new programmable processor that helps move data around these data centers. DPUs enable more efficient storage and free up the CPU to focus on processing. The DPU offloads networking and communication tasks from the CPU. It combines processing cores with hardware accelerator blocks and a high-performance network interface to handle data-centric workloads. With the help of DPUs, workloads are divided among the processors to enhance communication within data centers, AI, storage, and networking.

AMD Pensando DPUs are accelerating Microsoft Azure. With the recent announcement of Accelerated Connections available now for Public Preview, Azure customers can achieve orders of magnitude higher networking performance. This new service offering is an architectural shift that decouples the DPU adapter and SDN stack from the server.

The Microsoft Azure Accelerated Connections solution accelerates network virtual appliance performance, specifically the number of active connections and connections per second, to support critical workloads such as virtual firewalls, load balancers and switches. Any workload that demands the highest SDN performance without latency, throughput, or availability compromises can benefit from Accelerated Connections.

This new architecture enables Microsoft Azure to programmatically add new features and functionality to address their customers’ evolving requirements without significant architectural changes providing a competitive advantage.

The market for infrastructure processors such as DPUs has become one of the technology battlegrounds in the chip industry, with everyone from AMD and Intel to Marvell and NVIDIA to startups fighting for dominance

Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO, VARINDIA