Cluster Optimization: Harnessing DPUs for Ambient Mesh Workloads

Explore a conference talk on optimizing cluster performance by leveraging Data Processing Units (DPUs) for ambient mesh workloads. Dive into the Ambient Service Mesh by Istio, which introduces a sidecar-less data plane architecture with two layers: Secure Overlay and L7 Processing. Learn about the potential of modern SmartNICs and DPUs to provide additional power-efficient compute capacity for specialized workloads. Examine an architecture for migrating ambient mesh functionalities to an OCTEON10 DPU, discussing the challenges encountered and the benefits of unlocking DPU compute potential. Discover how this approach can enhance overall cluster performance and power efficiency, allowing servers to manage additional application workloads.