Private Preview: Azure Boost confidential device

The Azure Boost confidential device feature is now in preview. 

Azure Boost is a Microsoft Azure system that offloads virtualization tasks—such as networking, storage, and host management—from the hypervisor and host OS to purpose-built hardware and software, freeing CPU resources for customer workloads while enhancing security through physical isolation and hardware root of trust. By reducing maintenance impact and improving scalability, Azure Boost enables faster, more secure, and highly efficient cloud operations for demanding workloads. 

The Azure Boost confidential device feature is designed specifically for upcoming versions of Azure confidential VMs and will allow the confidential computing trust boundary of these VMs to be extended into the Azure Boost card using the PCIe TDISP standard. This standard supports hardware-based attestation of the Azure Boost card and hardware-based encryption of the PCIe data path. This feature will enhance confidential VM performance by eliminating the need for a “bounce buffer” when sensitive data within the trust boundary of the confidential VM is shared outside of that trust boundary. This feature will deliver faster data movement, reduce CPU overhead, and improve confidential VM performance without compromising security. 

Learn more.