Microsoft announced at its Ignite 2024 event the new Azure HBv5 virtual machine, specifically designed for the most demanding high-performance computing (HPC) applications in terms of bandwidthBandwidth is the maximum capacity of data transfer… memory. This development, presented by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, promises a radical breakthrough in performance for sectors such as computational fluid dynamics, aerospace and automotive simulations, climate modeling, energy research, and more.
An Unprecedented Leap in Memory Bandwidth
The Azure HBv5 stands out for its ability to provide memory bandwidth of up to 6.9 TB/s, thanks to a collaboration between Microsoft and AMD. This advancement has been made possible by customized 4th generation AMD EPYC™ processors with high-capacity HBM3 memory. This figure represents a performance 8 times greater than current alternatives of physical and cloud servers, 20 times more than previous generations of Azure H-series (HBv3 and HBv2), and up to 35 times greater than HPC servers from five years ago.
According to Microsoft engineers, this bandwidth not only accelerates processing time in critical applications but also reduces operational costs, making Azure HBv5 an ideal option for organizations seeking cutting-edge HPC solutions.
Technical Specifications of Azure HBv5
The new VM not only excels in its impressive memory bandwidth but also features a carefully designed set of characteristics to ensure balanced performance and flexible configurations for users:
- Processing: Up to 352 AMD EPYC™ “Zen4” cores, with maximum frequencies of 4 GHz.
- Memory: 400-450 GB of HBM3 memory, with up to 9 GB of memory per core, configurable based on customer needs.
- Interconnection:
- 800 Gb/s of NVIDIA Quantum-2 InfiniBand, balanced at 200 Gb/s per CPU.
- 160 Gbps of Azure Accelerated Networking, supported by second-generation NICs.
- Storage: 14 TB of local SSDA solid-state drive or SSD (short for Solid State Drive) is… NVMe, with read speeds of up to 50 GB/s and write speeds of 30 GB/s.
- Design: Single-tenant architecture (1 VM per server) with SMT disabled to maximize security and performance.
Furthermore, Azure HBv5 integrates Azure VMSS Flex, a tool that enables scaling MPI-based workloads to hundreds of thousands of CPU cores powered by HBM.
Performance Testing and Availability
Initial testing has shown that Azure HBv5 far surpasses previous generations in the STREAM Triad benchmark, a standard for measuring memory bandwidth. This makes it an optimal solution for memory-intensive workloads, such as physical simulations and large data set analyses.
Starting today, interested parties can register for the Azure HBv5 preview, set to commence in the first half of 2025. Attendees of Supercomputing 2024 in Atlanta have had the opportunity to learn more about the hardware and discuss its potential with experts for their HPC projects.
The Future of HPC with Azure
Azure HBv5 not only represents a significant technological advancement but also signifies Microsoft’s commitment to cloud innovation. This launch strengthens its position as a leader in HPC solutions, providing companies with tools that combine extreme performance, flexibility, and scalability. With this announcement, Microsoft sets a new standard in high-performance computing and paves the way for the development of critical applications in key sectors.
Source: TechCommunity Microsoft