- Microsoft says Cobalt 200 offers a 50% performance boost over Cobalt 100 systems
- Microsoft Targets Data Analytics and Web Services Using Workload-Specific Design Methods
- Per-core DVFS adjusts power usage independently across all 132 cores
Microsoft has introduced the Cobalt 200, a new Arm-based CPU designed for cloud services in Azure.
The company says the chip, which succeeds the Cobalt 100 and retains compatibility with existing implementations, was designed using workload patterns observed in Azure environments, rather than industry-standard benchmarks, and offers up to 50% higher performance.
These workloads include data analytics, web applications, network-intensive services, and systems that rely heavily on storage access, aimed at real-world use.
Energy architecture and controls focused on efficiency.
Cobalt 200 features per-core dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS), which allows each of the 132 cores to operate at different performance levels, thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption.
The chip is manufactured on a 3nm process and is positioned as part of a broader strategy to manage energy costs in data centers.
Compression, encryption, and decompression tasks are handled by dedicated accelerators, freeing up CPU cycles and reducing compute costs for services like Azure SQL.
Microsoft says these accelerators arose from internal analysis showing that more than 30% of workloads depend on these operations.
The CPU includes a custom memory controller that encrypts memory by default without a significant performance penalty.
It also implements Arm’s confidential computing architecture to isolate virtual machine memory from the hypervisor and host operating system.
Cobalt 200 systems integrate the Azure hardware security module for encrypted key management.
It also supports compliance requirements through Key Vault, which handles availability and scaling responsibilities for cryptographic keys, and Azure Boost, which handles remote storage and network task offloading to reduce latency and improve performance.
Microsoft positions Cobalt 200 as part of a broader platform rather than a standalone chip, powering systems in global Azure regions, with expanded availability scheduled for 2026.
The company plans to deploy the servers across its fleet, and active hardware is already running in select data centers.
This announcement appears to favor lower power systems as data center power demands increase.
Organizations can prioritize systems that reduce operating expenses, particularly those that rely on distributed computing environments, workstations, GPU clusters, and multi-tier deployments that combine CPU-based tasks with accelerated workloads.
That said, the true measure of Cobalt 200 performance will depend on independent comparisons between competing cloud CPUs once customer access expands.
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