Reduce network traversal between VMs

Description

Placing VMs in a single region or a single availability zone reduces the physical distance between the instances.

Solution

Choose the VM placement that is best for your workload.

Most cloud providers provide various options, like

• https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/placement-groups.html
• https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/define-instance-placement
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/manage/vm-affinity

SCI Impact

SCI = (E * I) + M per R Software Carbon Intensity Spec

Regarding the SCI equation, reducing network traversal between VMs will impact:

• E: By reducing network travel distance, we reduce the amount of energy consumed.

Assumptions

• VM placement options provided by cloud providers are adequate for this workload,

Considerations

• For business critical workloads, you need to ensure your workload is spread across multiple availability-zones, which may result in more network traversal and increase in your carbon footprint.