Drive Data-Backed Cost Optimization and Savings

Expecting one sweeping change to optimize your cloud performance and reduce costs is wishful thinking. It requires a deep dive. A single unidentified interdependency amplified by your broad approach is all it takes to kill any performance gains and erase all cost savings. No one understands this better than the world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. It's at the heart of the AWS solution that supports cost reduction without compromising performance.

ARM ARCHITECTURE, GRAVITON PROCESSORS, AND AWS

Enter the custom-built Graviton processors. This new system allows AWS to improve a company’s performance and deliver faster speeds at a lower cost. More energy-efficient compute options also help reduce your carbon footprint and meet sustainability goals.

ARM VS. X86: A QUICK HISTORY

While it may not sound revolutionary, when AWS launched their Graviton processors, it was the first public cloud implementation of Arm architecture.

Currently, x86 is the dominant cloud computing architecture. Its framework is based on complex instruction set computing or CISC, so that it can manage extremely complex workloads. But executing these multiple complex operations requires significantly more power consumption.

In contrast, Arm is a family of reduced instruction set computing (RISC) architectures that are meant to be lightweight and generate less heat. Its popularity has continued to increase, and it’s become the most pervasive processor architecture in the world.

ARM AND GRAVITON

Recognizing Arm’s benefits, AWS custom-built its Graviton processors on its architecture. These Graviton processors support several AWS services including EC2, RDS, ElastiCache, Aurora, and EMR. AWS-managed services like RDS can take it one step further and seamlessly convert instances, providing immediate cost savings.

Overall, organizations using Graviton can see their cloud performance improve by up to 40%. They will also use up to 60% less energy without compromising speed and efficiency.

SOFTSERVE TESTS GRAVITON’S COSTS AND PERFORMANCE

To ensure that these significant savings and performance improvements lived up to their hype, the SoftServe team decided to run cost and performance tests.

First, these tests compared pricing between an x86 Intel processor and Graviton. Almost immediately, the Graviton system showed up to a 30% cost reduction for large instances.

Next, the performance tests used sysbench on RDS instances to run basic OLTP read-write tests on both the Intel and Graviton processors.

In the same 300-second time frame, the Graviton 2 processor performed 30% more queries than Intel.

After that, our team ran a CPU stress test using sysbench on larger EC2 instances. During this test, the Graviton 2 processor ran nearly 3 times more CPU events than the Intel one.

At the end of running these tests, the SoftServe team agreed that the Graviton 2 processor saw faster performance and lower costs.

POTENTIAL ROADBLOCK

Yet, while the Graviton results were compelling, SoftServe’s engineers detected a potential roadblock: instance types and sizes. Unfortunately, Graviton 2 processors only support M, R, and C instance types and only in sizes larger than a medium.

To fully benefit from a migration to Graviton, you must first identify which instances would see an impact. You’ll want to compare the costs, and if you decide to migrate, how best to build your migration plan. The more complex, multi-account, and dynamic your environment, the more challenging that migration can become.

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SOFTSERVE’S SOLUTION FILLS THE GAP

Noticing a gap in most analysis methods for this situation, the SoftServe team developed our Cost Optimization Accelerator. Available in the AWS Marketplace, this tool quickly identifies and compares a variety of elements to determine your best cost-saving options.

For Graviton processors specifically, the Cost Optimization Accelerator can identify and compare which workloads can be converted to Graviton instances. It also provides a price comparison table outlining the potential savings.

In addition to the Cost Optimization Accelerator, SoftServe’s Cost Assessment ProServe offering in the AWS Marketplace includes workshops for your organization. Knowing what you can save is only half the battle — you must understand how to implement the changes.

As one of only seven AWS Graviton Delivery Partners worldwide, our in-depth experience means we can provide your team with actionable guidance that delivers cost-savings and performance improvement. Ultimately, SoftServe can empower your engineers with a roadmap of cost assessment factors, along with:

• Insight into the current state of your cost control and governance
• An architecture evaluation
• Graviton migration evaluation and piloting
• Identifying other potential cost savings
• Preparing implementation plan for cost governance

As AWS continues to bring innovative tools to market for cloud optimization, SoftServe is here to help you fill in any optimization gaps and support you through implementation. Make sure you know exactly where your cloud spend is going. Don’t leave money on the table or miss out on further resource utilization by trying to do it alone. Let our experts partner with your team to fully leverage the agility, breadth of services, and cost savings that AWS provides.

Let’s talk about how SoftServe's AWS Marketplace offering can help you identify where you're overspending.