What is Azure Boost?
Azure Boost is a system designed by Microsoft that offloads server virtualization processes traditionally performed by the hypervisor and host OS onto purpose-built software and hardware. This frees up CPU resources for guest virtual machines, improving performance. At the same time, Azure Boost provides a secure foundation for cloud workloads, since the hardware and software systems involved are developed in-house by Microsoft.
Azure Boost is not a separately orderable SKU but a platform capability. It is available on selected Azure Boost compatible VM sizes. The documentation lists the supported size families and marks each series as production or preview.
Core Features
Networking with MANA: The Microsoft Azure Network Adapter provides over 200 Gbps of network bandwidth, an active/active connection to the top of rack switch, native DPDK support on Linux VMs, and a consistent driver interface across hardware generations.
Storage offload to FPGA: Storage processing for local, remote and cached disks is offloaded to a dynamically programmable FPGA, and VMs are exposed to NVMe disk interfaces. Microsoft states up to 14 GBps throughput and 750K IOPS for remote storage.
Azure Boost SSD: For local and cached disks, Microsoft states up to 36 GBps throughput and 6.6 million IOPS depending on VM size, with optimized encryption at rest and minimal jitter.
Hardware-rooted security: Cerberus serves as an independent hardware root of trust to achieve NIST 800-193. Workloads only run when the firmware and software on the system are trusted.
Hardened system software: SELinux enforces least privilege on the system on chip, Rust is the primary language for new Boost code, and the system kernel is FIPS 140 certified.
Typical Use Cases
Storage-intensive databases and analytics: Workloads with high IOPS and throughput demands benefit from NVMe interfaces and the FPGA offload.
Network-intensive applications: Applications with high bandwidth needs use MANA and native DPDK support.
Large VM sizes: Workloads that stress the host processes replaced by Azure Boost see a performance increase according to Microsoft.
Azure Dedicated Hosts: Boost-enabled hosts can run additional small VMs or larger VMs, which can reduce cost per host.
Benefits
- More CPU resources for guest VMs because storage and networking tasks are offloaded
- Higher storage throughput and significantly more IOPS with NVMe interfaces
- Network bandwidth of over 200 Gbps with high availability and DPDK support
- Reduced jitter and improved latency for sensitive workloads
- Hardware root of trust, attestation and code integrity as a security foundation
- Continuous improvement through updatable FPGA hardware in the fleet
Integration with innFactory
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, innFactory supports you in selecting Azure Boost capable VM sizes for your workloads: assessing storage and networking requirements, reviewing the deployment status of each size family, and defining a migration and operating model.
Contact us for a no-obligation consultation on Azure Boost and VM sizing on Azure.
Typical Use Cases
Technical Specifications
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Azure Boost a product you can order separately?
No. Azure Boost is a system designed by Microsoft that offloads virtualization processes from the hypervisor and host OS onto purpose-built software and hardware. It is available on selected Azure Boost compatible VM sizes and is not ordered separately.
Which performance figures does Microsoft state?
Microsoft states up to 14 GBps throughput and 750K IOPS for remote storage, and up to 36 GBps throughput and 6.6 million IOPS for local and cached storage with Azure Boost SSD, depending on the VM size chosen. For networking, over 200 Gbps of bandwidth is stated.
Which security features does Azure Boost provide?
Azure Boost employs the Cerberus chip as an independent hardware root of trust to achieve NIST 800-193 certification. It adds secure boot and attestation through the Azure Attestation Service, ubiquitous code integrity verification, an SELinux-hardened operating system, Rust as the primary language for new code, and a FIPS 140 certified system kernel.
Do large VMs benefit from Azure Boost?
Yes. According to Microsoft, large VM sizes that encompass most of a host's resources benefit because workloads that stress the host processes replaced by Azure Boost see a performance increase. For Azure Dedicated Hosts, Boost-enabled hosts can potentially run extra small VMs or larger existing VMs.
What is MANA?
The Microsoft Azure Network Adapter (MANA) is the network interface card introduced with the next generation of Azure Boost. It provides hardware acceleration, a consistent driver interface, high network availability through an active/active connection to the top of rack switch, and native DPDK support on Linux VMs.
Note: All product information on this page has been compiled with care, but is provided without guarantee and may be outdated or incomplete. Cloud services evolve rapidly — features, pricing, SLAs, and availability change frequently. Authoritative and up-to-date information can only be found on the official product page of Azure (official documentation). This page does not represent an offer by Azure.
