This month we introduced a suite of enhancements for BlueXP workload factory for AWS that will provide new benefits for multiple workloads.
Let’s dive into the new features that rolled out with this latest workload factory release. Read on or use these links to see the whole list:
More accurate GenAI chatbot responses
Improved knowledge bases protection
Streamlined VMware migration to AWS
Explore MSSQL cost savings on FSx for Windows
Enhanced user experience and permissions management
Generative AI workloads
More accurate GenAI chatbot responses
BlueXP workload factory now makes it possible for those utilizing generative AI workloads to get better and more accurate responses from their GenAI chatbot applications.
The introduction of overlap-based chunking strategy offers more flexibility in handling data sources. Whether a multi-sentence chunking or overlap-based chunking is required for your dataset, both methods are now available and provide enhanced control over how your data is embedded and utilized.
Here you can see the options for defining your chucking strategy in workload factory:
Improved knowledge base protection
GenAI workloads now benefit from a new knowledge base architecture, utilizing a dedicated Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP (FSx for ONTAP) volume for each newly created knowledge base.
This feature allows you to select an individual Snapshot policy for each knowledge base, giving you improved protection against failures and data poisoning—a critical safeguard for the integrity of your AI-driven insights.
Below, you can see the Snapshot policy associated with the knowledge based and the available Snapshot operations from the Actions menu:
VMware workloads
Streamlined VMware migration to AWS
Workload factory now offers a new VMware migration advisor to native AWS using Amazon EC2 and FSx for ONTAP.
Customers can now analyze their VMware environments within minutes and get estimated costs savings and an optimized plan to deploy virtual machines as Amazon EC2 instances with FSx for ONTAP as the underlying storage service.
Together with the previously released migration advisor to VMware Cloud on AWS, this enhancement broadens the scope of your migration possibilities, providing a more comprehensive toolset for VMware migration strategies.
Here you can see the last phase of the migration advisor (Review plan), from where you can see the migration plan cost breakdown and download/export the migration plan:
Database workloads
Explore MSSQL cost savings on FSx for Windows
The recently announced manual calculator for database deployment now supports exploring cost savings for MSSQL deployments using FSx for Windows.
This enhancement empowers users using FSx for Windows as the underlying storage service for their MSSQL deployment to tailor their calculation settings to their specific needs and explore the potential cost savings with FSx for ONTAP.
Whether you're looking to optimize SQL server licensing or assess the cost implications of hosting multiple SQL server instances, this enhancement provides you with the insights needed to make informed decisions, ensuring that your database workloads are not only high-performing but also cost-optimized.
Here you can see a side-by-side analysis of running MSSQL on FSx for Windows with running MSSQL with FSx for ONTAP:
Storage management
Enhanced user experience and permissions management
The new workload factory update introduces “Read mode” support for storage management operations. This feature builds upon the existing “Basic mode” foundation.
In Read mode, workload factory operates with read-only permissions, providing execution-ready Infrastructure-as-Code snippets, filled with your specific environment variables that can be executed as-is in your AWS account. Read mode also allows existing AWS storage environments to be detected automatically by workload factory for use in cost comparisons.
Here you can see how Read mode is activated in the Add Credentials screen, and the permissions it require in the Codebox to the right: (instructions on how to create the policy from the AWS management console appear bellow)
This addition not only simplifies the management of storage resources but also aligns with the security best practice of least-privilege access, to help you maintain full control over your environments.
Conclusion
These updates reflect the commitment to delivering a more intuitive, efficient, and secure workload management experience with BlueXP workload factory on AWS.
By continuously integrating user feedback and industry trends into workload factory, we’re ensuring your cloud operations are not just keeping pace but setting the pace in today's dynamic IT landscape.
To explore these new features and understand how they can benefit your organization, sign up or log in to workload factory. You can also find out more by accessing the documentation.
As always, we’d love to hear your feedback! Leave a comment and let us know what you think. And stay tuned—we have a lot more on the way.