AWS recently announced the general availability of its new eighth-generation, memory-optimized Amazon EC2 R8i and R8i-flex instances, which are powered by custom Intel Xeon 6 processors available exclusively on AWS.
The new EC2 instances are designed for memory-intensive workloads and, according to the company, deliver the highest performance and fastest memory bandwidth among comparable Intel processors in the cloud. It states that the instances provide significant improvements over the previous generation, including up to 15% better price performance and 20% higher performance. Furthermore, they also offer 2.5 times more memory throughput and a 4.6x larger L3 cache.
AWS’s collaboration with Intel led to the new instances for enterprises looking for cloud infrastructure to support their demanding workloads, such as real-time data processing, artificial intelligence (AI), and compliance.
In an Intel News Room post, Intel noted:
Intel worked to optimize across every layer of the stack – from processor microarchitecture and firmware tuning to hypervisor tuning, virtualization, and software frameworks. This tight integration ensures customers fully benefit from Xeon 6 capabilities across AWS’s global infrastructure.
R8i instances can scale up to 96xlarge with 384 vCPUs and 3TB of memory, enhancing database application performance. They are SAP certified, delivering 142,100 aSAPS. While the R8i-flex instances provide commonly used sizes from large to 16xlarge for applications with lower compute needs. Both instance types utilize the latest sixth-generation AWS Nitro Cards, offering up to twice the network and Amazon EBS bandwidth of the previous generation.
The availability of these new Intel-powered instances adds to the existing options in the AWS portfolio. Moreover, it provides an alternative to AWS’s own Graviton4 instances. Anastasios Panagou wrote in a LinkedIn post:
AWS is making it clear that workload fit matters.
- Graviton4 (R8g) brings the best price/performance.
- Intel Xeon 6 (R8i/R8i-flex) brings the fastest memory bandwidth on x86.
It’s not just about picking sides. It’s about having real options so that you can get the best total cost of ownership for your needs.
Companies like Netflix, CrowdStrike, and Salesforce are early adopters piloting Xeon 6-based instances for their AI-driven and cloud-native applications.
Lastly, the new R8i and R8i-flex instances are currently available in the US East (N. Virginia), US East (Ohio), US West (Oregon), and Europe (Spain) AWS Regions.
