Title

AWS re:Invent 2023 - What’s new with Amazon EC2 (CMP102)

Summary

• Martin Yip and Mark Battle presented the latest innovations in Amazon EC2 at AWS re:Invent 2023.
• Amazon EC2 has grown from its first instance in 2006 to over 750 instance types, with over 100 million instances launched daily.
• AWS has a global presence with 32 regions and at least three availability zones per region, plus 35 local zones for lower latency.
• AWS offers instances powered by various processors, including Intel, AMD, Graviton, and Mac instances.
• The seventh-generation Intel processors offer a 15% performance improvement over other cloud providers.
• AMD instances have seen two updated generations within the last two years, with the seventh generation offering 50% more performance.
• Graviton processors, designed by Amazon, are ARM-based and offer significant energy savings and performance gains.
• Graviton4 was announced, providing up to 50% more cores and three times more CPU and memory than the previous generation.
• AWS introduced Mac instances for the developer community, with the latest offering 35% faster performance.
• High-scale instances cater to HPC and generative AI workloads, with AWS being recognized as the best HPC platform.
• AWS introduced EC2 Capacity Blocks for ML, a reservation system for GPU instances.
• AWS announced Tranium 2, a second-generation chip for generative AI and ML training, offering 4X faster performance.
• Inferentia 2 was announced for high-performance, energy-efficient, and low-cost inference chips.
• The AWS Nitro system underpins the modern EC2 instances, separating management functions from hardware and enhancing security.
• AWS has improved networking bandwidth and EBS performance, and developed its own SSDs for better latency.
• Nitro enclaves protect sensitive data, and AWS has been certified by a third-party cybersecurity company for its security architecture.
• New AI-generated features in natural language processing help users select the right EC2 instances.
• AWS introduced console-to-code, allowing users to generate code snippets from actions performed in the AWS console.

Insights

• The continuous innovation in Amazon EC2 reflects AWS's commitment to providing a diverse range of compute options to meet various customer needs.
• The global expansion and local zones indicate AWS's strategy to reduce latency and improve performance for customers worldwide.
• The partnership with chip manufacturers like Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA, and the development of their own Graviton processors, show AWS's dedication to offering the latest and most efficient compute options.
• The focus on energy efficiency with Graviton processors aligns with the growing importance of sustainability in cloud computing.
• The introduction of EC2 Capacity Blocks for ML addresses the high demand for GPUs and democratizes access to these resources.
• AWS's investment in custom chips like Tranium and Inferentia for AI and ML workloads demonstrates their foresight into the future of computing, where AI and ML are increasingly central.
• The AWS Nitro system's emphasis on security and performance showcases AWS's approach to building a trusted and efficient cloud infrastructure.
• The use of AI-generated features and console-to-code indicates AWS's efforts to simplify the user experience and make cloud computing more accessible.
• AWS's commitment to education and skill-building through the new badge system reflects their strategy to foster a knowledgeable community around their services.