Microsoft to implement AMD Helios AI racks in Azure
Microsoft has announced the integration of AMD's new Helios AI-optimised racks into selected Azure services to power cloud capabilities, marking an expanded collaboration between the tech giants.
What happened?
Microsoft Corp. plans to deploy AMD's upcoming Helios rack design to support segments of its Azure cloud services. This partnership was recently announced alongside the introduction of three new instance families within Azure. Helios is a reference design that, through AMD's manufacturing partners, enables the production of data centre racks.
Key facts
| Antal GPU:er per Helios-system | 72 |
|---|---|
| Minne per Instinct MI455 GPU | 432 GB HBM4 |
| Bandbredd per Instinct MI455 GPU | 19,6 TB/s |
| GPU-arkitektur | CDNA 5 |
”Microsoft Corp. will use Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s upcoming Helios rack design to power some Azure services.”
”Each system contains 72 of the chipmaker’s upcoming Instinct MI455 graphics processing units.”
Why it matters
The implementation of Helios racks, equipped with AMD's Instinct MI455 graphics cards, signals Microsoft's commitment to enhancing capacity for AI workloads within Azure. This integration aims to offer higher performance and efficiency, which could benefit customers using AI-intensive applications in the cloud. The use of Pensando DPUs and Epyc CPUs in Helios contributes to more efficient infrastructure management and lower costs.
Who is affected?
This initiative directly affects companies and developers using Microsoft Azure for AI-related services, as they gain access to improved hardware. AMD also benefits through an increased market presence for its data centre technology. Indirectly, users of AI applications running on Azure may experience better performance and new features.
Impact on the EU
This integration affects the availability and performance of Azure services globally, including within the EU. For EU users, it potentially means access to more powerful and efficient cloud infrastructure for AI applications via Azure; however, no specific EU regulations are directly affected by this hardware implementation.
What else you should know
Each Helios system contains 72 of AMD's upcoming Instinct MI455 GPUs. These GPUs will feature 432 GB of HBM4 memory, 19.6 TB/s bandwidth, and a new CDNA 5 core architecture. Additionally, the GPUs are supported by Pensando DPUs and Epyc CPUs from AMD's upcoming Venice series.
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