AWS claims that Graviton2 is 40% faster than x86.

That might be true for some scenarios, but not for

many common workloads. For example, Intel® Xeon®

M5 instances outperform Graviton2 M6g in database,

web/Java, and single-threaded computations by up

to 1.8x.1 Intel has the speed your business needs.

You may have heard that it’s no big deal to port your

code from one architecture to another. However,

porting takes time and money. It’s a complicated,

intense process. Plus, ARM doesn’t run every software

program out there, so when you’re ready to add

new functionality from Intel, you’ll be stuck with the

limitation of ARM and the long-term cost and hassle

of managing multiple code bases.

You’re ready to migrate your workloads to the cloud, for all the best reasons: agility,

performance, and the ease of managing your environment. But not all cloud transitions

are as smooth—or as economical—as you might have heard. Make sure to do your

homework to get the full story. Intel® processor-based virtual machines deliver for all

your instances.

AWS claims that Graviton2 is 20% cheaper.

Our testing shows otherwise. Intel® Xeon® M5

instances led Graviton2 in price performance for a

variety of common workloads2—and no additional

investment is needed for software, like porting.

No one wants to limit their business agility by

locking into a specific solution. Instead, build in

flexibility by using common code that runs easily

across many vendors and on prem. Intel-based

instances ensure compatibility and supportability

across multiple cloud solutions to help reduce

business risk and keep your options open.

Performance for all workloads

Just say NO to single-cloud porting

Which solution is cheaper?

Multicloud improves business stability

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10 Considerations When Evaluating Graviton2 for Your Business

Intel has long-standing engineering and

business relationships with the leading

commercial software providers. That’s true for

data center software like SAP and VMware as

well as Microsoft SQL Server, Exchange Server,

Dynamics, SharePoint Server, App-V Server,

Endpoint Manager Server, and more. Intel

processor-based instances are the better choice

for crucial enterprise tools like these.

Security is critical, yet Graviton2 doesn’t provide

end-to-end application security. With Intel, it’s a

fundamental part of the hardware. Intel® SGX5 is

the most researched, updated, and battle-tested

trusted execution environment (TEE) for data center

confidential computing, with the smallest attack

surface within the system. Intel SGX confidential

computing technology delivered in Intel® 3rd Gen

Xeon® processors enables application isolation in

private memory regions, called enclaves, to help

protect code and data while in use.

Choose Intel instances that are optimized for the latest

instruction sets and built-in accelerators to boost

performance on challenging workloads like these:

• AI inferencing, with an average of 8x3 better price

performance compared to ARM-based instances

• Database cloud, with 65% higher4 performance

vs ARM

There are over 50,000 Intel-based instance types across

multiple cloud platforms.7 That makes it easy to scale.

And when you need the latest features, like integrated AI

and crypto acceleration, that’s easy to scale too. These

advanced platforms also include massive memory

capacity, fast networking and storage with PCIe Gen4,

plus 39% more memory bandwidth8 than previous

generations. When you’ve got that kind of scalability in

your cloud instances, the sky’s the limit.

And Intel processors continue to deliver more with each

generation. Comparing the 2nd Generation Intel® Xeon®

Scalable processor to the previous generation yielded

these results on AWS:

• MySQL performance improved almost 1.7x,

with over 1.4x higher price-performance4

• Apache Spark ran 1.7x faster, with over 1.4x

better price-performance4

Think about your high-performance business

computing needs. Are you reaching into your

toolbox for LS-DYNA, Relion, Monte Carlo, Ansys

Fluent, Converge, Altair RADIOSS, Siemens Star-

CCM+, Dassault SIMULIA, or MSC Nastran? They

run better on Intel processors today, and we

improve their performance with every generation6

to deliver increasing value directly to your

business. Intel is the better choice for HPC.

When you specify Intel processor-based instances,

you know who you’re dealing with. We’re the

trusted provider of more than a billion cores

to power the cloud, with a vast ecosystem of

software and hardware solution partners that have

tested, validated, and optimized their offerings on

Intel® processors and platforms. It just works.

Use Microsoft and other ISV apps? Run on Intel

Security matters

Demanding workloads? Intel delivers

Scale to the skies

HPC for the win

Intel is the proven platform for your workload, in any cloud

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Learn more. Go to Intel instances on AWS https://aws.amazon.com/intel

Sources

1. See intel.com/performanceindex [39], [40], [41], [42].

2. See intel.com/performanceindex [39], [40], [41], [42]. Pricing information from Northern California Region, March 13, 2021 https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/on-demand/. Takes into account average discount of 20% on Graviton2.

3. Accenture paper “Reduce your AI TCO with Hybrid Hardware and Software Optimization,” measuring popular algorithms such as linear regression, logistic

regression, random forest, k-means, XGBoost, and DBSCAN.

4. Testing done by Principled Technologies on 11/12/2020 (commissioned by Intel.) For configuration and test details, visit http://facts.pt/H9kHsIV,

and http://facts.pt/cTvUFqi for explanations. AWS EC2 on-demand price as of 11/12/2020 for US East-1f region: M5n USD 0.476/hr., USD 0.952/hr., USD 3.808/hr.

vs. M4 USD 0.40/hr., USD 0.80/hr., USD 3.20/hr. for eight, 16, 64 vCPUs.

5. Visit intel.com/trustsgx for more information.

6. For example, up to 1.52x higher manufacturing performance on 3rd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable platform vs. prior gen. See intel.com/performanceindex [105].

7. Liftr Cloud Components Tracker, April 2021.

8. Up to 39 percent more bandwidth with Intel® Optane™ PMem 200 series 512 GB module vs. Intel® Optane™ PMem 100 series 512 GB module.

See intel.com/performanceindex [14]

Performance varies by use, configuration, and other factors. Learn more at intel.com/performanceindex.

Performance results are based on testing by Intel as of March 2021 and may not reflect all publicly available updates. See configuration disclosures for details.

No product or component can be absolutely secure.

Your costs and results may vary.

Intel® technologies may require enabled hardware, software, or service activation.

Intel does not control or audit third-party data. You should consult other sources to evaluate accuracy.

© Intel Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the

property of others.

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