Feature Overview (aka. Goal Summary)

Test, validate, and officially document AWS m7 instance types for OpenShift Container Platform deployments at tested instances. AWS has released m7 instance types, which offer improved performance and cost efficiency, but they are not currently listed in our tested instance types documentation, preventing customers from confidently using these newer instance types with OpenShift.

Goals (aka. expected user outcomes)

• Enable confident m7 adoption: Customers can use AWS m7 instance types with confidence for OpenShift Container Platform deployments, knowing they are officially tested and supported by Red Hat
• Improve cost optimization: Provide customers access to AWS m7 instances which offer up to 15% better compute price performance compared to M6i instances
• Reduce support friction: Eliminate customer uncertainty and support requests related to m7 instance type compatibility by providing official validation
• Enhanced performance options: Enable customers to leverage the latest AMD EPYC processors with improved networking performance for their OpenShift workloads

Requirements (aka. Acceptance Criteria):

QE team completes comprehensive testing of all m7* instance families

OpenShift documentation updated to include m7* instance types in the "Tested instance types for AWS" section

Release notes updated to announce m7* instance type support in appropriate OpenShift releases

Background

AWS m7 instance types have been generally available since late 2023 and represent the latest generation of general-purpose compute instances. These instances offer:

• Up to 15% better compute price performance compared to M6i instances
• 3rd generation AMD EPYC processors (Milan) with all-core turbo frequency up to 3.5 GHz
• Up to 192 vCPUs and 768 GiB of memory
• Up to 50 Gbps of networking performance
• Enhanced networking capabilities with Elastic Network Adapter (ENA)

Currently, customers are hesitant to use m7 instances with OpenShift because they are not listed in our official tested instance types documentation

This creates a barrier to adoption and prevents customers from taking advantage of improved performance and cost benefits.

Related Issues:

• RFE-6865: "m7 instance types are now available in AWS and should be tested/validated for OpenShift Container Platform usage"

Documentation Considerations

• Update the "Installing a cluster on AWS with customizations" documentation to include m7* instance types in the tested machine types table