Welcome to episode 228 of the Cloud Pod podcast – where the forecast is always cloudy! This week your hosts are Justin, Jonathan, Matthew, and Ryan. In the latest episode, our hosts unpack the cutting-edge shifts in the cloud landscape, discussing new EC2 instances, developer experiences, AI-driven legal challenges, and the nuances of tech partnerships, exploring recent developments from giants like AWS, GCP, Azure, and Oracle.
In some general news with AWS, they’ve rolled out some powerful EC2 instances. The R7a, which boasts a robust 4th generation AMD EPYC (Genoa) processor, has outperformed its predecessors by a 50%.
This instance not only supports AVX-512, Vector Neural Network Instructions, and Brain Float Point but also the latest Double Data rate 5 (DDR5) memory. But the conversation took a nostalgic turn when Matthew reminisced about building a computer with DDR3 or DDR4 two decades ago.
Justin continued the memory discussion, noting, “DDR4 was very long in the tooth. DDR4 lasted a very long time. DDR5 is actually pretty new. I think it’s been in the mainstream for the last 18 months. But the delay in DDR5’s widespread adoption might have been a cost problem. It came about right in the midst of the chip shortages.
Additionally, for those who favor Intel, this next news nugget by AWS is going to be your jam. They introduced the R7iz instance, a powerhouse with a sustained all-core turbo frequency of 3.9ghz. This instance showcases four built-in accelerators, catering to the high demands of modern workloads. Yet, potential users should be cautious, as some features might require specific kernel versions, drivers, or compilers.
A noteworthy change came in the form of IAM session durations. AWS Identity center admins extended portal session durations from 7 days to a generous 90 days. While longer durations might be appreciated by some users, Matthew posed a critical question: “What is the use case that you want to authenticate for that long?”
In a nod to the ever-growing Apple ecosystem here’s some excellent news: AWS now supports iOS development pipelines on the Apple Silicon M2 Pro Mac Minicomputers. These boxes have 12 core CPU, 19 core GPU, 32gb of ram and 16 core Apple Neural engine compute items. Unfortunately, Apple’s reluctance to embrace the cloud means that users need to book and pay for an entire month. ☹
The developer experience on Google’s platform took center stage. Drawing from a McKinsey study, Google highlighted that almost 70% of top economic performers use software as a competitive edge. As software development evolves with concepts like shift left and API-first approaches, it also brings challenges. Newcomers can feel overwhelmed. However, Google’s vision of a “modern developer experience” aims to streamline processes, reduce feedback times, and lower cognitive burdens for developers.
However, Justin and Jonathan scrutinized the vagueness of the strategies. Justin said the lack of practical advice in the article and how cloud workstations seem an odd starting point. Jonathan, meanwhile, questioned the generic statement about companies leveraging software for a competitive edge.
As AI continues to dominate tech conversations, Microsoft’s announcement about its Copilot Copyright Commitment grabbed attention. They assured customers that they can utilize Copilot services without fearing copyright claims. If challenged, Microsoft would shoulder the legal responsibilities. However, Jonathan shed light on the murky waters of AI-generated content copyright, speculating about potential legal challenges and implications.
Azure also beefed up its security measures. The Malware Scanning in Defender for Storage is now generally available, offering enhanced protection for Azure Blob Storage and Azure Data Lake Storage. Justin expressed his relief, highlighting the shortcomings of existing third-party solutions.
Oracle’s big news is its expanded partnership with Microsoft. The two tech behemoths aim to offer seamless experiences for organizations migrating and managing their Oracle database workloads on Azure. The collaboration promises optimized performance, security, and scalability.
Continuing our Cloud Journey Series Talks
The Cloud Journey Series highlighted Google Cloud’s “Golden Paths” initiative, emphasizing consistency in software development for optimal collaboration and efficiency. It offers standardized best practices, tools, and guidance, balancing customization and uniformity. Ryan stressed the burden on Dev teams in the current DevOps culture, while Matthew warned against over-engineering and emphasized company-specific solutions.
The After Show
Lastly, can Yahoo be saved? In the after-show, the conversation veered towards Yahoo and its tumultuous journey. Under Apollo’s ownership, the tech stalwart is undergoing significant changes, with massive cost cuts and asset sales. Both Justin and Jonathan anticipate a surge in legal cases around AI and its data sourcing in the upcoming years.
Closing
And that is the week in the cloud! Check out our website, the home of the Cloud Pod where you can join our newsletter, slack team, send feedback or ask questions at theCloud Pod.net or tweet at us with hashtag #theCloud Pod.
