In December, there were reports that Microsoft had bought Fungible Inc. based in California. Recently, Microsoft confirmed the acquisition, saying that Fungible, a company that makes a type of data center hardware called a data processing unit (DPU), will help speed up data center network and storage performance. Fungible offers a composable infrastructure for accelerating networking and storage performance in data centers using high-efficiency, low-power data processing units.
Fungible’s technologies help create data center infrastructure that is reliable, secure, and scalable. The Fungible team will join Microsoft’s data center infrastructure engineering teams and aim to deliver multiple DPU solutions, network innovation, and hardware systems advancements.
How Microsoft will use Fungible’s DPU technology
A data processing unit (DPU) is a programmable processor that helps manage how data moves through a data center. A DPU can offload networking tasks and help optimize application performance. A DPU is designed to handle specific tasks related to data processing, including security and directing traffic for data.
The Fungible DPU was invented in 2016 to make data-centric computations more efficient within server nodes. It is a microprocessor designed to improve storage and networking and to take some of the load off the CPU. It comes with software that helps manage the control plane while still allowing for the construction of a high-performance data fabric.
Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Fungible Inc. signals the company’s commitment to making long-term investments in its data center infrastructure. This acquisition will help Microsoft improve its range of technologies and offerings, including reducing costs, increasing data center server density, and optimizing energy efficiency. By acquiring Fungible, Microsoft gets access to DPU technology that it could use to strengthen Azure. This could be done by selling it as a subscription product or a tiered service for block storage.
Recent datacenter centric acquisition by Microsoft
Fungible is Microsoft’s second data center-centric acquisition in recent months for the tech giant. Previously, Microsoft had purchased high-speed fiber startup Lumenisity in December. The UK-based Lumenisity Limited manufactures hollow core fiber (HCF) solutions. According to Microsoft, the acquisition will expand its ability to further optimize its global cloud infrastructure while serving Microsoft’s Cloud Platform and Services customers with strict latency and security requirements. There has been growing interest in the technology as it improves performance and reliability issues.
