Enterprises can now run real-time data through Google Cloud's most advanced VMs

A few months ago, Google Cloud launched C4A as the virtual machine (VM) tools powered by Axion, the first CPU based on Arm. Now, as the next step in this work, C4A is being discussed with Titanium SSDs – the specially designed local disks aimed at increasing storage and performance.

With this move, Google is strengthening its C4A portfolio and offering VMs that can further boost cloud performance for workloads that require real-time data processing. The VMs, as the company puts it, combine ultra-low latency and high-density storage with cost-effectiveness, making it an ideal package for running applications such as high-performance databases. , analytics and search engines.

Currently, Google Cloud makes these C4A VMs equipped with Titanium SSD available in services such as Compute Engine, Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), Batch and Dataproc. Custom C4A VMs are also available in preview in Dataflow, with support for Cloud SQL, AlloyDB and other services in the pipeline.

What to expect from Google's C4A VMs with Titanium SSDs?

Google Cloud C4A cases usually come with three storage options: Persistent Disk, Hyperdisk or Local SSD. Persistent Disk is the standard block storage service where performance is shared between volumes of the same type. Hyperdisk, on the other hand, provides exceptional performance, supporting up to 350,000 input/output operations per second (IOPS) and 5 GB/s throughput per volume – delivering performance much better than Fixed Disk.

However, in some workloads, especially those that require local storage capacity, even Hyperdisk can struggle. This is where the local SSDs come in, with Titanium SSDs being the latest innovation in the sector.

The new C4A instances with Titanium SSDs deliver up to 2.4M random read input/output operations per second, 10.4 GiB/s of read throughput, and 35% lower access latency compared to generation SSDs before.

Titanium SSDs, which are directly connected to the computing times within the host server, offload storage and networking tasks from the CPU, freeing up resources to boost application security and throughput performance. This innovation comes from Google's Titanium system. It runs the offload from the host CPU into a system of custom silicon, hardware and software on-host and across the enterprise. data centersconnected to the host CPU using the Titanium Offload processor.

The available configuration

At the base, the new C4A family with Titanium SSDs comes with up to 72 vCPUs, 576 GB memory, and 6 TB of local storage. Enterprises can choose between Standard (4 GB/vCPU) and High Memory (8 GB/vCPU) configurations. Connectivity options, on the other hand, can scale up to 100 Gbps.

All of this can easily support high-traffic workloads with real-time data processing such as web/app servers, high-performance databases, data analysis engines and find. In addition, it can power applications that require memory storage, media streaming and transcoding and CPU-based AI/ML.

“C4A… providing up to 65% better price performance and up to 60% better energy efficiency than current generation x86 based instances. Together, C4A and Titanium SSDs deliver industry-leading price performance for a wide range of Army-compatible general-purpose workloads,” wrote Varun Shah and Nate Baum, senior product managers at Google Cloud, in the blog post together.

Early adopters note 40% higher throughput

While C4A VMs with Titanium SSDs are just becoming generally available, some early adopters are already seeing performance benefits from them. This includes big names like Couchbase and Elastic.

Matt McDonough, SVP of products and partners at Couchbase, pointed out how Capella Columnar, running on Google Axion C4A instances with Titanium SSDs, delivers unmatched price performance benefits, ultra-low latency and scalable computing power for analytical and operational workload. Similarly, Uri Cohen from Elastic said that the company saw 40% higher throughput than previous VM generations.

C4A VMs with Titanium SSDs are now generally available in key regions, including the US, Europe and Asia, with plans for further expansion. Customers can access them through on-demand, Spot VMs and discounted pricing options.

With significant advances in performance, energy efficiency and scalability, C4A VMs with Titanium SSDs cater to today's enterprise demands, setting a new benchmark for cloud workloads.