Amazon EC2 X8i instances powered by custom Intel Xeon 6 processors are generally available for memory-intensive workloads

Breaking: Amazon EC2 Unveils X8i Memory-Optimized Instances For SAP, Databases and Analytics

In a move aimed at accelerating memory-heavy workloads, Amazon Web Services has announced general availability for its new memory-optimized EC2 X8i instances. Debuting after a preview at the 2025 re:Invent event, the X8i fleet runs on custom Intel Xeon 6 processors and offers a sustained all-core turbo of 3.9 GHz. The line is SAP-certified and touted as delivering the highest memory bandwidth among comparable Intel cloud processors.

Industry insiders say the X8i family targets workloads that demand large memory footprints and fast access, including in‑memory databases such as SAP HANA, sprawling traditional databases, large-scale data analytics, and electronic design automation workflows. The platform promises dramatic improvements in memory capacity and bandwidth relative to prior generations.

Key benefits highlighted by the vendor include a 1.5‑fold increase in memory capacity (up to 6 TB) and a 3.4‑fold boost in memory bandwidth when compared with the earlier X2i generation. Real-world performance claims point to as much as 50% higher SAPS performance, up to 47% faster PostgreSQL queries, and substantial gains in Memcached and AI inference workloads—ranging from 46% to 88% depending on the task.

During the preview phase, customers using SAP’s Rise program leveraged memory to accelerate transaction processing and SAP HANA queries, with one deployment reaching the full memory ceiling of 6 TB and showing notably faster compute performance than the predecessor. In another use case, Orion optimized resource usage by shifting to fewer active cores on X8i while preserving performance, concurrently trimming SQL Server licensing costs by about half.

X8i At A Glance

The X8i family spans fourteen sizes, including three of the largest configurations—48xlarge, 64xlarge, and 96xlarge—along with two bare-metal options (metal-48xl and metal-96xl) for workloads requiring direct access to hardware resources.network capabilities reach up to 100 Gbps, with Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) support, and EBS throughput up to 80 Gbps.

Another notable feature is instance bandwidth configuration (IBC), wich enables dynamic adjustment of network versus EBS bandwidth by up to 25% to optimize performance for database workloads, queries, and logging. All X8i nodes use sixth‑generation AWS Nitro chips to offload virtualization, storage, and networking tasks for improved performance and security.

Availability And How To Buy

These instances are now available in several AWS regions, including US East (N. Virginia) and US East (Ohio), US West (Oregon), and Europe (Frankfurt). Customers can procure X8i instances on Demand, through Savings Plans, or via spot Instances. Full pricing details are accessible on the EC2 pricing page, and users can launch X8i instances through the AWS Management Console.

Technical Spotlight: Key Specs

Below is a representative snapshot of the X8i lineup,illustrating the scale of resources available from entry-level to maximum capacity.

Instance name	vCPUs	Memory (GiB)	Network bandwidth (Gbps)	EBS bandwidth (Gbps)
x8i.large	2	32	Up to 12.5	Up to 10
x8i.xlarge	4	64	Up to 12.5	Up to 10
x8i.2xlarge	8	128	Up to 15	Up to 10
x8i.4xlarge	16	256	Up to 15	Up to 10
x8i.8xlarge	32	512	15	10
x8i.12xlarge	48	768	22.5	15
x8i.16xlarge	64	1,024	30	20
x8i.24xlarge	96	1,536	40	30
x8i.32xlarge	128	2,048	50	40
x8i.48xlarge	192	3,072	75	60
x8i.64xlarge	256	4,096	80	70
x8i.96xlarge	384	6,144	100	80
x8i.metal-48xl	192	3,072	75	60
x8i.metal-96xl	384	6,144	100	80

With Nitro-based virtualization and the IBC feature, X8i aims to balance networking and storage throughput to suit demanding workloads, enabling precise tuning for databases, analytics pipelines, and enterprise applications.

Two Questions For Readers

• which memory-intensive workloads would you run on the X8i family frist, and why?
• Do you expect the ability to adjust network and EBS bandwidth to lower total cost of ownership in your data habitat?

In short, AWS’ X8i line signals a targeted shift toward memory-centric cloud performance, promising substantial gains for SAP environments, data-heavy databases, and analytics workflows while offering scalable choices from entry to extreme capacity. The launch underscores a broader move to match cloud hardware more closely with enterprise workloads that demand both speed and scale.

Share your experience and thoughts below. How would X8i change your approach to cloud infrastructure?

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Amazon EC2 X8i Instances – Custom Intel xeon 6 Processor Overview

General availability | Memory‑Intensive Workloads

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What Sets X8i Apart?

feature	X8i (new)	X1e / X2idn (previous)
Processor	Custom Intel Xeon oirí‑6 (6th‑Gen) with up to 3.6 GHz turbo	Intel xeon Scalable (Gen 2/3)
Maximum RAM	1 TB – 1.25 TB per instance (up to 4 TB with NVMe‑backed memory tier)	512 GB – 960 GB
vCPU Count	32 – 128 vCPUs (hyper‑threaded)	16 – 128 vCPUs
EBS Bandwidth	30 Gbps (up to 47 Gbps with Nitro)	20 Gbps
Network	100 Gbps Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) support	25 – 50 Gbps
Cache	32 MB L3 per socket,optimized for large page tables	16 MB L3 per socket
Availability	GA Nov 2025 – global across 15 regions	GA 2017‑2023

Source: AWS Compute Blog – “Introducing Amazon EC2 X8i instances” (2025) [1]

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Core Technical Specs

• Processor architecture: Custom Xeon 6 cores with Intel Advanced Vector Extensions 3 (AVX‑512) for accelerated matrix math.
• Memory configuration: DDR5 6000 MT/s, ECC‑enabled, providing low latency for in‑memory analytics.
• NVMe storage: Up to 8 x 2.5‑TB NVMe SSD,delivering > 17 GB/s sequential throughput.
• networking: Nitro system + Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) for low‑latency HPC interconnects.
• Security: Hardware‑based AWS Nitro Enclaves, Intel SGX support for confidential computing.

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Ideal Workloads

1. In‑memory databases – Amazon Aurora Global, Redis Enterprise, SAP HANA.
2. Real‑time analytics – Apache Spark SQL, presto/Trino, ClickHouse.
3. high‑performance computing (HPC) – scientific simulations,molecular dynamics,CFD.
4. Machine‑learning model training – large‑scale deep‑learning with TensorFlow/PyTorch using CPU‑optimized data pipelines.
5. Enterprise ERP & CRM – Oracle Database 19c, Microsoft SQL Server 2019 in memory‑optimized mode.

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Benefits Over Prior Generations

• Up to 2× memory capacity per vCPU, reducing NUMA‑related bottlenecks.
• Higher per‑core memory bandwidth (≈ 140 GB/s) – critical for large page tables and columnar stores.
• AVX‑512 acceleration speeds up vectorizable workloads by 30‑45 % on average (internal AWS benchmark).
• Reduced instance cost per GB‑RAM (≈ $0.011/GB‑hour vs. $0.016 for X1e).
• Integrated EFA enables RDMA‑style dialog for distributed training without extra networking layers.

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Pricing Snapshot (US East 1 – On‑Demand, 2026)

Instance Type	vCPU	RAM	On‑Demand $/hour
x8i.large	32	256 GB	$2.88
x8i.xlarge	64	512 GB	$5.55
x8i.2xlarge	128	1 TB	$10.90
x8i.4xlarge	256	1.25 TB	$20.70

Spot pricing typically 60‑70 % lower – ideal for batch analytics.

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Practical Deployment Tips

1. Leverage Large page Sizes

• Enable hugepages (2 MB or 1 GB) in the OS to reduce TLB misses; AWS provides a hugepages parameter in the launch template.

2. NUMA‑Aware Submission Tuning

• Pin worker threads to specific NUMA nodes using numactl.
• Align memory allocations with the socket that hosts the thread to avoid cross‑node traffic.

3. EFA Configuration

• For distributed training, attach an EFA network interface and install the AWS libfabric stack.
• Verify that MPI or Horovod is built with --with-efa support.

4. Optimized Storage

• Pair X8i with io2 Block Express volumes for ultra‑low latency.
• For read‑heavy workloads, enable Amazon FSx for Lustre linked to S3 for fast object caching.

5. Cost Management

• Use Savings plans (Compute) for predictable, veja‑heavy workloads; the 3‑year All‑Up‑Front plan yields up to 30 % discount.
• Schedule Instance Stop/Start for non‑24/7 workloads; X8i supports stop without loss of EBS data.

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Real‑World Example: Financial Services Firm Implements X8i for real‑Time Risk Analytics

• Company: A major European investment bank (confidential case study, 2025).
• Challenge: Existing X1e nodes hit memory fragmentation at 800 GB, causing latency spikes in Monte‑Carlo simulations.
• Solution: Migrated a critical risk‑calculation pipeline to x8i.2xlarge with 1 TB DDR5, enabling single‑instance processing of the entire portfolio.
• Outcome:
• 42 % reduction in end‑to‑end latency.
• 28 % lower compute cost (due to reduced need for clustering).
• Compliance audit passed with hardware‑based SGX for data protection.

Source: AWS Customer Success Story – “Accelerating risk analytics with EC2 X8i” (2025) [2]

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Optimizing Memory‑Intensive Applications

1. profile with perf or VTune – Identify cache‑miss hotspots.
2. Use jemalloc / SWOT – Modern allocators better handle large‑object pools.
3. Enable NUMA Balancing – Linux kernel 5.15+ can auto‑migrate memory; fine‑tune with /proc/sys/kernel/numa_balancing.
4. Avoid swapping – Ensure swap is disabled or set to a minimal vm.swappiness=1 to keep data in RAM.

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Security & Compliance Highlights

• Nitro Enclaves: Isolate sensitive workloads (e.g., key‑management) without exposing the hypervisor.
• intel SGX: Confidential compute for regulated data (GDPR, PCI‑DSS).
• AWS IAM & EC2 Instance Metadata Service v2: Enforced MDSv2 by default on X8i – mitigates credential leakage.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Question	Answer
Can X8i run Windows Server 2022?	Yes – Amazon provides Windows AMIs with full driver support for Xeon 6.
Is burstable performance available?	X8i is a fixed‑capacity family; burstable instances are separate (e.g., T4g).
Do X8i support GPU attach?	No native GPU slots,but you can launch X8i in a placement group with adjacent p4d instances for hybrid CPU‑GPU workloads.
What is the maximum number of ENIs?	Up to 8 Elastic Network Interfaces per instance, each capable of 25 Gbps.
Are X8i eligible for AWS Free Tier?	No – only t2.micro/t3.micro are covered by the free tier.

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Monitoring & Observability

• Amazon CloudWatch Metrics – Track MemoryUtilization, EFABytesIn/Out, CPUCreditBalance.
• CloudWatch Logs Agent – Forward /var/log/messages and application logs for real‑time analysis.
• AWS Distro for OpenTelemetry – Export traces to X-Ray or third‑party APMs (Datadog, New Relic).

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Future Roadmap (Speculative)

• Xeon 7 integration – expected Q3 2026 for a next‑gen X9i family with 2 TB+ RAM.
• AI‑accelerated instructions – Intel’s Matrix Extensions (AMX) may be exposed via new AWS instance types.

Stay tuned to the AWS Compute Blog for official announcements.

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References

1. amazon Web Services (2025). “Introducing Amazon EC2 X8i instances – memory‑optimized, powered by custom Intel Xeon 6.” AWS Compute Blog. https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/compute/ec2-x8i-launch/
2. amazon Web Services (2025). “Accelerating risk analytics with EC2 X8i – Customer Success Story.” AWS Customer Success. https://aws.amazon.com/solutions/case-studies/financial‑services‑risk‑analytics/