AWS Graviton Instance

AWS Graviton processors are built on the AWS Nitro System. AWS created the AWS Nitro System so that nearly all compute and memory resources of the server hardware are assigned to your instances. This is achieved by decomposing the hypervisor functions and management capabilities from the servers and assigning them to functionally separate hardware and software. This results in better overall performance, unlike traditional virtualization platforms that run the hypervisor software on the same physical server as the virtual machines, which means the virtual machines cannot use 100% of the server’s resources. AWS Nitro systems are supported by popular Linux operating systems along with many popular applications and services from AWS and Independent Software Vendors.

Multi-architecture Model with Graviton Processors

AWS Graviton requires ARM-compatible container images, ideally multi-architecture (ARM64 and AMD64) to enable cross-compatibility with both Graviton and x86 instance types.

Graviton processors enhance the EKS experience for Amazon EKS Managed Node Groups with instances that deliver up to 20% lower prices, up to 40% better price performance, and up to 60% lower power consumption than comparable fifth-generation x86 instances. Amazon EKS Managed Node Groups EKS based on Graviton bootstrap an EC2 Auto Scaling group with Graviton processors.

Adding Graviton-based instances to your Amazon EKS Managed Node Groups EKS introduces a multi-architecture infrastructure and the need for your application to run on different CPUs. This means that your application code needs to be available in different Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) implementations. There are a variety of resources to help teams plan and migrate applications to Graviton-based instances. Check out the Graviton migration plan and Porting Advisor for Graviton for helpful resources.

The retail store sample web application architecture contains container images pre-built for both x86-64 and ARM64 CPU architectures.

When using Graviton instances, we need to ensure that only containers built for ARM CPU architectures are scheduled on Graviton instances. This is where taints and tolerations come in handy.