VMware Cloud on AWS Instance M7i FAQ

Overview

Following the announcement of the new M7i.metal-24xl instance support on VMware Cloud on AWS, we have gathered some of the FAQs on this page!

General

What did VMware by Broadcom announce at AWS re:Invent 2023? 

VMware announced support for the next metal instance in the portfolio of instances of VMware Cloud on AWS. The new instance, M7i.metal-24xl, is based on the 4th gen of Intel Xeon CPU, is an instance that allows customers to scale compute and storage capacity independently. 

What is the M7i.metal-24xl instance?

The M7i.metal-24xl instance is a brand-new bare metal instance that was architected by decoupling compute from storage. The new instance offers customers more flexibility when choosing storage and compute options while helping them optimize their infrastructure costs for a certain set of use cases.

Availability

When will the M7i.metal-24xl instances be generally available (GA) for consumption? 

M7i.metal-24xl instances are scheduled for launch in Feb 29, 2024.

In which regions will the M7i.metal-24xl instances be available? 

M7i.metal-24xl will initially be available in:

• Europe (Ireland)
• Europe (Stockholm)
• US East (N. Virginia)
• US East (Ohio)
• US-west-2 (Oregon)

Additional regions will be added based on customer demand. Please refer to the release notes for the latest supported regions as we tend to expand supported regions for the new M7i instance post GA.

Technical Specification

What are the technical specifications of the M7i.metal-24xl instances?  

M7i.metal-24xl instances are powered by 4th generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors (Sapphire Rapid) with 48 cores (96 vCPUs) and an all-core turbo frequency of 3.2 GHz (max core turbo frequency of 3.8 GHz), 384 GB of memory, and up to 37.5Gbps of network bandwidth.

Instance	CPU Model	Physical / Logical CPU	Memory (GB)	Storage	Network (Gbps)
M7i.metal-24xl	Intel Xeon Platinum 8488C	48 / 96 (with HT)	384	NFS based external storage	37.5

What storage options do M7i.metal-24xl instances offer? 

M7i.metal-24xl instances do not have local storage media. Customers need to create and attach external storage to host workload VMs. Supported NFS-based storage solutions for the workload datastores are VMware Cloud Flex Storage and Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP.

Can you describe the high-level provisioning process for the M7i.metal-24xl instance?  

When you choose to provision a new SDDC with M7i instances, VMware will automatically mount a management datastore. This VMware-managed datastore is used to host management components like vCenter, NSX, and HCX appliances. After the deployment, it is the customer's responsibility to provision and mount an external NFS-based datastore for their workloads. 

What technologies are available to connect a datastore using Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP? 

We recommend VPC Peering as it provides a low latency, high bandwidth connection between two AWS VPCs while removing data transfer costs. However, customers using a Multi-AZ FSx for NetApp Filesystem or wanting to access FSx from the guest network can still use Transit Connect (vTGW).

How do M7i.metal-24xl instances compare to I4i and I3en instances?  

M7i.metal-24xl stands out for running the latest Intel Xeon generation CPU with AI accelerators with a flexible storage approach. It is suitable for smaller (2-4 host) clusters to run a wide array of general workloads and environments that may require dynamic scaling and storage flexibility. The I3en is differentiated by its emphasis on high-capacity storage, suitable for storage-intensive applications, while the I4i is a versatile instance that offers a balance of high compute, memory, and local storage resources for various general-purpose applications. Each instance type's selection would depend on the specific workload requirements, such as the need for raw compute, memory, storage capacity, or a mix of these elements.

What are the technical specifications of the M7i.metal-24xl instances?  

M7i.metal-24xl instances are powered by 4th generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors (Sapphire Rapid) with 48 cores (96 vCPUs) and an all-core turbo frequency of 3.2 GHz (max core turbo frequency of 3.8 GHz), 384 GB of memory, and up to 37.5Gbps of network bandwidth.

Use-Cases

What benefits do M7i.metal-24xl instances provide to customers? 

This new instance will provide more flexibility and choice for customers, and allow them to scale storage independent of compute. It also offers a more cost-effective solution, especially for small 2-3 node deployments with low storage consumption.

What are the ideal use cases for M7i.metal-24xl instances?

The M7i.metal-24xl instances are ideal for small SDDCs with 2-4 hosts and approx. 80 virtual machines (~2 vCPU, 4GB Memory). This instance is a great choice for general purpose workloads such as:

• AI/ML workloads (accelerated by Intel® Advanced Matrix Extensions (AMX))
  • Inference Testing
  • Natural Language Processing
  • Machine Learning
• General workloads
  • General enterprise IT workloads
  • Management services
  • MS SQL server
  • Database backends
• Ransomware & Disaster Recovery (based on future availability)
  • Modern Ransomware Recovery
  • Next-gen DR
  • Compliance and Risk Management 

Deployment Options

Is it possible to use a custom core count for M7i.metal-24xl? 

The M7i.metal-24xl instances supports a cluster size from 2 to 16 hosts, with custom core counts as follows:

• 2 node-cluster - 16, 24, 30, 36, 48
• 3 node-cluster and above - 8, 16, 24, 30, 36, 48 

What deployment scenarios are supported with M7i.metal-24xl instances? 

For new deployments, customers can use M7i.metal-24xl as a primary cluster (2-16 hosts). For existing deployments, customers that are running SDDC version 1.24v2 and have three or more hosts in the first cluster can use M7i.metal-24xl as a secondary cluster. SDDCs can have a mix of I3.metal, I3en.metal, I4i.metal and M7i.metal-24xl clusters. 

Is the SRE-led cluster conversion service available? 

The cluster conversion service is not available at this moment for M7i.metal-24xl.

Is VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery (VCDR) supported for M7i SDDCs? 

VCDR is not supported for M7i at GA. We intend to support failover on M7i.metal-24xl for both on-demand and pilot-light use cases in the future. 

Is it possible to use Single host evaluation mode with M7i.metal-24xl instances?

No, single-host SDDC deployments are not supported at this moment.

Can M7i.metal-24xl instances be deployed in multi-AZ and stretched cluster configurations? 

No, M7i.metal-24xl instances will be supported as a single-AZ deployment only at GA. 

Are Elastic DRS (EDRS) policies applicable for the M7i.metal-24xl instance type? 

Yes. However, customers should look into configuring custom EDRS policies as the default Elastic DRS Baseline Policy is only applicable for vSAN storage. M7i.metal-24xl SDDCs are using external storage options, therefor it is strongly recommended to define custom EDRS policies. 

Is it possible to activate and deploy VMware HCX on an SDDC with M7i.metal-24xl instances in the primary cluster? 

Yes, however, this will be gated through support at the time of GA. If customers want to enable HCX for M7i.metal-24xl primary clusters, that include the SDDC management components, they need to contact support.

Pricing-TCO

Does VMware Cloud Sizer support the sizing of M7i.metal-24xl instances? 

Yes, support for M7i instances into VMware Cloud Sizer is included along with full storage sizing recommendations at GA.  

Will customers be charged any extra for the management datastore when deploying a new M7i-based SDDC? 

No, there is no additional charge for the management datastore. The management datastore cannot be used to host workloads. Customers are required to setup external NFS storage options. 

Security and Compliance

Are M7i.metal-24xl instances PCI-compliant?

M7i.metal-24xl is PCI-compliant in supported regions. 

Are M7i.metal-24xl instances available on GovCloud?

M7i.metal-24xl instance availability in GovCloud regions will be based upon customer demand.