New Amazon EC2 M8, R8 metal instance sizes launch
AWS has launched new metal-48xl and metal-96xl instance sizes for M8 and R8 EC2 instances, offering up to 43% better compute performance and significantly higher network and EBS bandwidth. These instances are powered by custom Intel Xeon processors and AWS Nitro cards, targeting workloads like big data analytics, in-memory caches, AI/ML clusters, and storage-intensive applications. The new sizes are initially available in the US East (N. Virginia) region.
- →New EC2 M8/R8 metal instance sizes offer enhanced performance
- →Targeted workloads for new EC2 instance types
- →EFA networking support for large EC2 instance sizes
- →Increased network and EBS bandwidth for new EC2 instances
- →Availability and access for new EC2 instances
Features (3) ›
- New EC2 M8/R8 metal instance sizes offer enhanced performance
Amazon EC2 M8in, M8ib, M8idn, M8idb, R8in, R8ib, R8idn, and R8idb instances now include metal-48xl and metal-96xl sizes. These instances feature custom Intel Xeon Scalable processors and AWS Nitro cards, delivering up to 43% improved compute performance per vCPU over previous generations.
- Targeted workloads for new EC2 instance types
M8in/R8in instances are suited for real-time big data analytics, in-memory caches, and Telco applications. M8idn/R8idn instances are ideal for network-intensive general purpose workloads with local storage. M8ib/R8ib instances benefit high block storage performance workloads like NoSQL databases, while M8idb/R8idb instances are for storage-intensive workloads requiring high EBS throughput and low-latency NVMe storage.
- EFA networking support for large EC2 instance sizes
The new 48xlarge, 96xlarge, metal-48xl, and metal-96xl sizes for M8 and R8 instances now support Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) networking. EFA enhances cluster performance for tightly coupled workloads by reducing latency.
Enhancements (1) ›
- Increased network and EBS bandwidth for new EC2 instances
M8in, M8idn, R8in, and R8idn instances offer 600 Gbps network bandwidth, the highest among EC2 enhanced networking instances. M8ib, M8idb, R8ib, and R8idb instances provide up to 300 Gbps EBS bandwidth, the highest for non-accelerated compute EC2 instances.
Notes (1) ›
- Availability and access for new EC2 instances
The metal-48xl and metal-96xl sizes for M8 and R8 EC2 instances are now generally available in the AWS US East (N. Virginia) region. Users can access these instances via the AWS Management Console, AWS CLI, and AWS SDKs.
https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2026/06/amazon-ec2-metal-sizes-network-EBS/