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Reducing energy consumption and costs in the AWS Cloud with a new generation of Arm-based CPUs

Steve Demski
Steve Demski
March 5, 2024
4 minute read time.
Note: This blog post was written by Marius Vöhringer, Director of Cloud Transformation & Sustainable IT, Capgemini. Capgemini is an AWS Graviton Delivery partner.

As the world confronts the challenges of climate change and environmental sustainability, reducing energy consumption and minimizing carbon footprint have become important priorities for our customers. The IT sector, including data centers and cloud computing, plays a significant role in global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

So, how do we tackle the challenge of achieving sustainability goals when at the same time the amount of data power needed by cloud data centers is rising? AWS, one of the global cloud computing leaders, might have an answer, by relying on a new microprocessor design based on Arm solutions. Let’s take a look at how this works.

Arm are actively working on innovative solutions to significantly improve energy and cost efficiency for reducing the environmental impact. Arm-based processors, like AWS Graviton, are designed to optimize performance while significantly reducing energy consumption, which aligns with the need to reduce carbon footprints. Those processors are specifically engineered for energy efficiency. They use a lower amount of power to execute computational tasks, thus reducing the energy consumption associated with cloud-based workloads. By reducing energy consumption, organizations can enjoy cost savings on their cloud infrastructure bills.

Level up the Cloud

Through Proofs Of Concept (POCs) and post-implementation customizations in production environments, Capgemini has gained a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the tangible benefits of Arm-based processors by using and validating AWS landscapes. This enabled us to illustrate the commitment to intelligent, green and cost-effective cloud computing.

The first step required an analysis of the existing AWS landscape with a focus on the existing EC2 instances. The main objective of this assessment was to evaluate the feasibility and benefits of transferring existing EC2 workloads to AWS Graviton-based instances. The assessment aims to identify the potential cost savings, performance impact, and energy consumption reductions that can be achieved by using AWS Graviton processors.

Key components of the Assessment:

  • Start by conducting a comprehensive inventory of AWS environments, including data bases, Lambda, EC2 instances, including their types, utilization patterns, and performance requirements.
  • Categorize workloads based on their suitability for fast & direct lift & shift migration to AWS Graviton-based instances. Some workloads may be better candidates than others due to their resource requirements and compatibility. According to our analysis, most workloads can be migrated.
  • Analyze the cost implications of migrating to AWS Graviton. Consider factors such as pricing, licensing, and potential savings on infrastructure and operational costs.
  • Analyze the energy savings and the reduced CO2 footprint within the boundaries of the analyzed company.
  • Assess the compatibility of your workloads, applications, and software with AWS Graviton processors. Identify any potential challenges and plan for necessary adjustments.
  • Choose the appropriate AWS Graviton-based instances based on the workload profiles identified in the assessment. AWS offers a range of Graviton-powered instances with varying levels of computational power and resources.
  • Develop a detailed migration plan that outlines the sequence of migration, potential rollbacks, and contingency measures in case of unexpected issues.

The second step involved migration of the identified workloads and a subsequent test execution to ensure a smooth transition with no or minimal disruption. In addition to functional tests for quality assurance, the test also included load and performance tests to test the workload before and after the migration to Graviton for displaying performance gains, as well as additionally measuring the energy consumption to make the savings potentials achieved visible from this.

Migrating software to Arm-based processors such as AWS Graviton can be a complex process, but with careful planning and execution, you can take advantage of the cost-effectiveness and performance benefits these instances offer. The biggest challenge was to ensure that the software was compatible with the Arm architecture, that Arm-compatible versions were available for all third-party libraries and dependencies used by the application, that the operating system installed on the Graviton instances (for example, a Linux distribution) was compatible with the application and that it was correctly configured for the Arm architecture, and that, for databases used, it was ensured that the DBMS chosen had Arm-compatible versions.

Less energy, lower costs

The migration of large workloads described above contributes to clients’ goals of primarily saving costs through lower energy consumption, which also reduces CO2 emissions. This means that the ESG goals, which are increasingly coming into focus, can be met with a manageable outlay.

The results are very impressive. With little effort and within only a few days, we were able to port the existing x86-based containerized EC2 applications to Arm-based AWS Graviton with the following results:

  • Cost savings of up to 20%
  • Reduction of power consumption and carbon footprint up to 45%

To learn more please take a look at our offering “Cost and energy savings powered by AWS Graviton - Capgemini”. Or you might want to get in touch with me directly? Connect with me on LinkedIn. 

Anonymous
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