Key points:
• Custom silicon for cloud workloads: Hyperscalers are designing custom silicon for specific workloads to improve performance and cut costs, as GPUs are power-hungry and in short supply.
• Microsoft’s new chips: Microsoft has introduced two new custom chips, Azure Boost DPU and Azure Integrated HSM module, designed for data processing and security respectively.
• Security-focused custom silicon: The new chips are part of the growing trend of hyperscalers introducing custom silicon to improve security and performance for cloud workloads.
Reporting live from the Ignite conference, Microsoft has expanded its range of custom chip options for cloud computing with the introduction of two new hardware instances. The additions include the Azure Boost DPU, designed to accelerate data processing, and the Azure Integrated HSM module, focused on improving security.
Custom silicon revolutionizes cloud computing
For some time now, the likes of AWS and Google have been developing custom silicon for specific workloads to further improve performance and cut costs. Microsoft has recently caught up, introducing Maia and Cobalt last year to tackle internal AI workloads and make data centers more energy efficient. With the new additions, Microsoft is now playing a bigger role in the custom silicon market.
Azure Boost DPU: A powerful accelerator
The Azure Boost DPU is a hardware-software co-design, developed in collaboration with Microsoft researchers and engineers. It operates on a custom, lightweight data-flow operating system and claims to offer higher performance, lower power consumption, and enhanced efficiency compared to traditional implementations. Microsoft hopes the new chip will become the go-to solution for data processing workloads in its cloud infrastructure.
Security-focused custom silicon gains prominence
The Azure Integrated HSM module is an extension of Microsoft’s foray into custom silicon security solutions. The chip, co-developed with Microsoft, enables encryption and signing keys to remain within the hardware boundary without compromising performance. This is a specific area where custom silicon can provide better performance, outdoing traditional software-based security solutions.
The landscape heats up
With competitors already offering custom silicon-based solutions, such as Trainium and Inferentia for AWS, and TPU for Google, analysts predict that hyperscalers will continue to introduce custom silicon to tackle other workloads and achieve more efficiency.
"This is a trend we’ve seen in the hardware and software industry, especially among hyperscalers – they’re looking for competitive differentiation and cost savings. Custom silicon is a clear opportunity for them to take back control of their ecosystems and create more value in the cloud," said Omdia principal analyst, Alexander Harrowell.
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