AMD Pensando DPUs enable accelerated data centers with VMware vSphere 8

AMD Pensando Distributed Services Card, powered by the industry’s most advanced data processing unit (DPU), will be one of the first DPU solutions to support VMware vSphere® 8 and will be available from leading server vendors such as Dell Technologies, HPE, and Lenovo.

As the scale and sophistication of data center applications grows, so does the demand for infrastructure services and critical CPU resources. VMware vSphere 8 aims to reimagine IT infrastructure as a modular architecture by offloading infrastructure workloads such as networking, storage, and security from the CPU using the new vSphere Distributed Services Engine, freeing up valuable CPU cycles for business functions and revenue-generating applications.

The AMD Pensando DPU, which is fully programmable, is at the heart of this shift toward software-defined infrastructure. The VMware vSphere Distributed Services Engine and AMD Pensando DPUs can help customers save money by unifying workload management, improving performance by freeing up CPU resources, and adding a layer of security by isolating infrastructure services from server tenant workloads. A leading financial services provider, a multi-cloud solutions hoster, and a leading business applications company are among the early adopters of the vSphere Distributed Services Engine, which is powered by AMD Pensando DPUs.

“Performance, efficiency and security are integral components of competitive offerings within cloud computing and hyperconverged infrastructure,” said Forrest Norrod, senior vice president and general manager, Data Center Solutions Group, AMD. “VMware vSphere 8, running on AMD Pensando DPUs, is a key step in bringing the industry closer to composable hardware systems and truly pervasive heterogeneous computing. AMD is uniquely positioned in the industry to deliver performance, efficiency and security with a distributed services platform that is currently deployed with major customers including Goldman Sachs, Microsoft Azure, NetAPP, IBM Cloud and Oracle Cloud.”

“Modern applications are driving workload specific requirements into the infrastructure. This has given rise to the need to reimagine data center architecture with mainstream support for accelerators such as DPUs,” said Krish Prasad, senior vice president and general manager, VMware Cloud Platform Business, VMware. “With combined solutions featuring VMware vSphere 8 with Distributed Services Engine capabilities and AMD Pensando DPUs and EPYC CPUs, customers can improve infrastructure performance, boost infrastructure security and support the evolution of cloud infrastructure for modern applications.” 

“Together with VMware and AMD, HPE continues to define the enterprise architecture of the next decade,” said Krista Satterthwaite, senior vice president and general manager, Mainstream Compute, HPE. “The HPE ProLiant, with vSphere Distributed Services Engine, optimizes resources for data-intensive applications by relieving the CPU of networking services, all with zero-trust security and high-performance. The new integrated solution offers customers a simplified operational experience combining networking, security, storage, management, and lifecycle services to boost application performance and improve TCO.”

“Organizations are increasingly seeking IT infrastructure that is composable and delivers a cloud-like experience wherever their data lives,” said Ashish Nadkarni, group vice president and general manager, Infrastructure Systems, Platforms and Technologies and BuyerView Research, IDC. “AMD Pensando’s volume deployments with cloud providers are a clear indication of the capabilities of the platform, we expect to see a high degree of interest from enterprises interested in vSphere Distributed Services Engine deployments.”

VMware vSphere 8, their enterprise workload platform, also received several new features. The close collaboration between AMD and VMware continues to provide the security that customers have come to expect from the AMD Infinity Guard set of features, which includes the AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) and Secure Encrypted Virtualization – Encrypted State (SEV-ES) advanced technology features of AMD EPYCTM processors. Finally, VMware announced the latest version of vSAN 8, their software-defined storage solution. On VMware HCI powered by vSAN 8, AMD EPYC processors continue to deliver exceptional performance for traditional and next-generation workloads.

VMware vSphere 8 solutions from Dell Technologies and HPE will be available in the coming months, accelerated by AMD Pensando Distributed Services Card. When VMware vSphere 8 is released, AMD EPYC processor support will be available.